Shredded Savory Pork Soft Tacos

This recipe is from the "Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest: Mexican" recipe magazine.

I reduced the amount of chopped jalapeno pepper to just one (from three). This yielded nice, mildly spiced pork that's ideal for kids or anyone who doesn't like a lot of heat. If you do like heat, spice it up with your favorite hot salsa. The same recipe could probably be used with boneless chicken breasts instead of pork.

I snapped the photo before folding the whole wheat tortilla, so you could see the filling. The one in the picture is topped with a few cooked black beans, some cheese, sour cream and homemade salsa. I also added some shredded lettuce to mine before folding.


Shredded Savory Pork

1 2-pound boneless pork loin blade roast
2 large onions, quartered
3 fresh jalapeno peppers, cut up
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Trim fat from meat. Place roast in a large saucepan or Dutch oven;' add enough water to nearly cover. Stir in onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, coriander, cumin, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Summer, covered, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender.

Remove meat from liquid; discard cooking liquid. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Use as a filling for tamales or tacos. Makes about 8 servings (about 3 cups cooked meat).

Slow-Cooker Directions: Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit in a 3-1/2 quart or 4-quart slow cooker. Add 1 cup water and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours or high setting for 4-5 hours. Continue as directed.

Make-Ahead Directions: Place shredded meat in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

"Land of Enchantment" Posole

Odd how these things happen.

The day I'm preparing a cocina tipica, or typical dish, of the State of New Mexico is the very day that Violet posts some more...um... interesting...facts about our 47th state. Pretty coincidental, since Violet and I both live in the same state, which is NOT New Mexico. I don't know about her, but I've never even been there.

This "Land of Enchantment" Posole is a spicy pork and hominy stew. It's another recipe from the February/March 2007 issue of Taste of Home magazine, and the only change I made this time was to add 1/2 teaspoon of the herb epazote that I mentioned in an earlier post. Spouse Guy and I are finding we like the slight tartness it adds to Mexican (and New Mexican) food.

BTW, I guess the posole will end up being dinner tomorrow night. Some friends invited us out for a steak dinner. How could we refuse that?


Land of Enchantment Posole

1-1/2 pounds pork stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups beef broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
Tortilla strips, optional

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook the pork, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the broth, hominy, chilies, jalapeno pepper, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until meat is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with tortilla strips, if desired.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Louisiana Meat Pies

I meant to make these last night in honor of "Fat Tuesday", but time got away from me. Yes, these meat pies are fried, and yes, they take a while to put together, but they taste so good that they are worth every minute and every calorie.

The recipe makes about two dozen pies. I like to flash-freeze them before I fry them, then just take out as many as I need for a meal. They can be baked, but they don't taste nearly as good as they do fried.


Louisiana Meat Pies

Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork (can use ground turkey or chicken or another pound of ground beef)
1 bunch of green onions or one medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, diced
black pepper to taste
1 to 4 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend, to taste
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
1 tablespoon flour

Pastry:

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold butter (can use shortening or lard; lard makes the flakiest crust)
1 egg, beaten
2 cup milk

Oil for deep frying (I prefer peanut oil)

Cook meats, onion, garlic and bell pepper in a large skillet. Drain; rinse away fat if desired. Return meat to pan. Add seasonings and flour; mix well and set aside.

In a food processor, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter and process until incorporated. Pour four mixture into a bowl. Combine egg and milk, then gradually add liquid to the flour until dough forms, adding additional milk or water a tablespoon at a time if needed.

Break off pieces of dough and roll very thin. Use a saucer to cut dough into circles. Place a 1/4 cup (or slightly less) meat filling on half of a dough circle. Fold dough over filling and crimp with a fork to seal. Place on cookie sheets to freeze at this point.

To fry, heat oil to 400°F. Fry pies, one or two at at time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Makes approximately 24 pies.

Spiked Sausage and Shrimp

At first I wasn't going to post about this recipe that I found as part of a football party spread in the January 2007 issue of Woman's Day magazine. It just wasn't what I was expecting when it was done, and at first I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. For one thing, I mistakenly got chorizo that needed to be cooked instead of sausage that was fully-cooked, and it may have made a flavor difference. Not to mention that when I cut the recipe in half in order to have four servings (I was planning on leftovers later in the week) what should have been four servings only served two.

But then I considered that it had shrimp in it, so what was not to like? The more I ate of it, the more it grew on me. Ultimately, I decided I did like it, despite it not tasting the way I thought it would. I think I'll keep the recipe, but next time, I think I'll try it with smoked sausage or fully-cooked bratwurst instead.

Here it is as it appeared in the magazine (paraphrased):


Spiked Sausage and Shrimp

1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 oz. fully-cooked beef or pork chorizo (Mexican sausage), sliced
2 lbs. shrimp, thawed and shelled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
chopped parsley
French bread for soaking up pan juices

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute garlic in hot oil for about 1 minute.

Add chorizo to skillet and saute for 3 minutes or until slices have browned.

Add shrimp, salt and red pepper flakes and saute until shrimp turn pink.

Add wine and cook until shrimp are fully cooked, about 2 minutes more.

Toss with chopped parsley and serve with French bread.

Makes 8 servings.*


*Count on this to make closer to 4-6 servings instead of 8.

Asian Stir-Fried Vegetables With Pork

I don't try to do a lot of Asian cooking. Most of the time, I can't get it to taste as good as what I can get in a restaurant, and more importantly, when I eat Asian food, I love the variety I can get at a Chinese buffet.

That said, I decided to try a stir-fry for tonight. I didn't use a recipe for this (although I looked at a couple for basic sauce proportions). Sometimes I surprise myself. This turned out really good!

You can use chicken instead of pork, if you like; you wouldn't need to simmer the chicken to make it tender. Just cube it and cook it in a skillet until it's done, and set it aside until you're ready for it. Or leave the meat out entirely and use water or vegetable broth for the liquid for a vegetarian meal.


Blogarita's Asian Stir-Fried Vegetables With Pork

1 lb pork loin, but into 3/4" cubes
1 teaspoon chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube
_____

3 cups broccoli florets
3 cups cauliflower floret
1 large carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 medium onion, cut into wide strips
1 small zucchini, peel left on, sliced lengthwise, then cut into crosswise slices (half-moons)
1 can (7 or 8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 to 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c. red and/or green bell pepper strips
_____

1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (available in Asian foods section of market)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground ginger (the kind sold in a jar in the produce section)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Asian hot chili sauce (optional)
reserved pork or chicken broth
_____

Oil for stir-frying (I like peanut oil or extra-light olive oil)


Place pork and chicken base/bouillon in a small saucepan and add water just to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes to help tenderize the meat. Drain, reserving the meat and the meat broth separately.

Place broccoli and cauliflower florets and carrot strips in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Set veggies aside.

In another bowl, combine onion, zucchini, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and pepper strips. Set aside.

In a 4 cup glass measuring cup, combine cornstarch, soy sauce, white wine, white vinegar, sugar, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and hot chili sauce. Whisk until well-blended. Add enough of the reserved meat broth and/or water to make 3 cups total. Set aside.

In a very large, deep skillet or a wok, heat about 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli-cauliflower-carrot mixture to skillet and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add the reserved pork and remaining vegetable mixture; stir-fry for 4 minutes.

Whisk sauce again to make sure ingredients are well-blended, then add all at once to skillet. Stir constantly until sauce is thickened and all vegetables and the pork are well-coated with sauce. Serve immediately with steamed or fried rice.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Breakfast Served Anytime

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of breakfast. Sometimes it's all I can do to fix something for Sparky on the mornings she's here. After I'm awake for a couple of hours, I start to get hungry, but it's usual not for typical breakfast food. Once in a while, on a lazy weekend morning, I'll fix a big breakfast or we'll go out for breakfast. Most of the time, though, I'd much rather have my omelets and sausage links for lunch or supper.

Tonight we're having Biscuits & Gravy, either Fried or Scrambled Eggs, and Hash Browns for supper. A few years ago, I was working at the time with a man who had transfered here from near New York City, and he had no idea what Biscuits & Gravy was. Until then, I had no idea that good ol' B&G might be a somewhat regional dish. For that reason, I'm posting the recipe.

BTW, Sparky helped roll and cut out the biscuits.


Biscuits With Sausage Gravy

1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon ground sage (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 cups of milk, or a mixture of milk and half-n-half cream
Hot homemade biscuits (see recipe below)

In a large deep skillet, fry crumbled sausage until completely cooked. Drain, leaving about 4 tablespoons of fat in the skillet with the sausage crumbles.

Stir in flour, sage (if using), salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until flour begins to give off a nutty aroma, about 2 minutes.

Gradually add about half of the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. This mixture will thicken very quickly. Continue adding milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately over split homemade biscuits.

Makes 3-4 cups of gravy.


Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 (1/2 stick) cup cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice stirred in to "sour" it)

Heat oven to 400° F.

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.

Stir in just enough buttermilk so that dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly about 20 times. Roll or pat to 1/2 inch thick and cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Makes 8-16 biscuits, depending on size of biscuit cutter.

New Year's Day Traditions

There's chatter today in the blogosphere about what people are eating for their New Year's Day meal. Some folks don't keep with any traditions, while others have one or more food traditions they observe on January 1 each year.

I found this website that lists some of the New Year's Day food traditions. They are in the center column, not far down the page.

No one has ever been able to decide if Blogaritaville is in the South or not. Some say it's in a Midwestern, but historically, it has been considered a Southern state. In any event, I'm following Southern tradition today and eating black-eyed peas and mustard greens for luck and prosperity. Bucking the traditional ham, I'm serving super-easy-to-make pork chops instead, and mashed potatoes.

I'm just getting over a nasty cold, so to avoid some work in the kitchen, I opted for canned mustard greens and canned black-eyed peas. Normally I'd cook fresh greens and dried beans, but I just didn't have it in me today. I bought "Southern seasoned - ready to heat" greens, and I am surprised at how good they taste. The beans are just like any other canned beans; they are acceptable but not great.

For those who are interested, here is the recipe for the pork chops.


Easy Baked Pork Chops with Gravy

6 pork chops, trimmed of fat
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup*

Heat oven to 350° F. Spray an oblong baking dish with non-stick pan spray.

Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly over bottom of baking dish.

Place pork chops on top of onion soup mix; spread condensed cream soup over chops.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Serves 4 to 6.

*If you want more gravy, use two cans of soup.

Pork Roasts of the Caribbean

"That roast has killer flavor."

That's what Spouse Guy said when he tasted this Crockpot Caribbean Pork Roast. I used a rolled and tied pork butt roast. It's a bit fattier than other cuts of pork, but it yielded meat so juicy and tender it literally fell apart when I tried to slice it. A pork loin would be leaner, and probably slice-able, but it might end up a little dry, so be forewarned if you go that route.

With the pork, I served long grain rice and Spirited Sweet Potatoes. The picture and recipe are below.


Crockpot Caribbean Pork Roast

1 boneless pork shoulder roast - 2 - 3 pounds in size
6 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
1 piece of ginger root, approximately 2 inches, cut into slivers
20 whole cloves
2 T. brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup dark rum
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water

On all sides of meat, make small slits. Insert garlic and ginger slivers and whole clove's. Pat roast dry with paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and mustard. Rub all over the roast. (At this point, if you like, you can place the roast under the broiler and broil, turning to ensure that roast is browned on all sides. I did not do this with the roast pictured, although I do believe it would have added to the flavor had I taken time to do so.) Transfer roast to crockpot.

In a small bowl, combine jalapeno, salt, pepper, rum and lime juice. Pour over roast. Cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.

Remove roast and keep warm. Skim fat off of cooking juices and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch-water mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve alongside pork.


Spirited Sweet Potatoes

2-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (I don't recommend canned, although previously cooked and frozen sweet potato puree is fine)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon or apple juice (yeah, I used bourbon)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Bake sweet potatoes until very tender, about an hour. Remove sweet potatoes from oven; let cool 10 minutes: leave oven on.

Scoop pulp from warm potatoes into large bowl, discard skins.

Add butter to bowl; mash with potato masher until potatoes are fairly smooth and butter has melted. Stir in brown sugar, bourbon, cinnamon and vanilla.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into sweet potato mixture.

Spray 1-1/2 qt. dish with nonstick spray. Spoon sweet potato mixture into dish, top with pecans. Bake until mixture is slightly puffed and nuts are toasted, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dressed Up Meatloaf

Tonight's meal is a dressed up version of meatloaf called Meatloaf Wellington. The originally came from the October/November issue of Taste of Home. I made one fairly major change; I added 3/4 pound of ground pork in place of 3/4 pound of ground beef.

We ate this meatloaf with a mixed salad, some of the apples and onions leftover from last night, and these cheesy potatoes that I came up with based on a basic macaroni and cheese recipe.



Meatloaf Wellington

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds ground beef (or 3/4 pound EACH of ground beef and ground pork)
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls

In a large bowl combine the egg, 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

On a piece of heavy-duty foil, pat beef mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese and all of the parsley to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side and peeling foil away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour; drain. Unroll crescent dough; seal seams and perforations. Drape dough over mat loaf to cover the top, sides and ends; seal ends. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and crust is golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer meat loaf to a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve with remaining spaghetti sauce.

Serves 8.


Three-Cheese Potatoes

8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Place diced potatoes in medium saucepan. Add water just to cover and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are just beginning to get tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine Velveeta, milk, salt and pepper. Stir frequently until Velveeta melts completely. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted.

Drain potatoes and return to pan. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and stir well to coat. Spread potatoes into 13-in. x 9-in x 2-in. baking dish that has been greased or sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake at 350° until potatoes are tender and cheese is bubbly and golden, about 20 minutes.

Serves 8.

Amish Apples and Peasant Pork

Tonight we had the epitome of comfort food: Gravy made from boiled smoked pork shanks along with Amish apples and onions.

Pork shanks are basically cross-wise slices of a ham near what would be considered the hogs ankle. The meat is sparse, but what's there is tender and smoky. The gravy is great served over homemade biscuits (or those handy frozen bake-n-eat kind...those're good, too) with a salad on the side.

We left the table very happy.


Pork Shank Gravy

1 pkg. (about 1/2 lb.) of smoked pork shank slices
1 qt. of water
approximately 4 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Place pork shanks in water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
Remove pork shanks from broth. The meat will literally fall off the bone.
Remove any fat and bones, shred the pork and return it to the broth.
Bring broth and meat back to a gentle boil.
Stir in cornstarch and water mixture and stir until gravy thickens. (You may have to add additional cornstarch and water mixture.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 over biscuits.


Amish Apples and Onions
(from More Recipes From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams)

3 T. bacon fat (can use oil)
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 medium apples, skins left on, cored and sliced 3/8" thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Saute onions in bacon fat over medium heat until tender and onions are just beginning to take on color.
Spread onions evenly in pan, then top with apple slices.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, cinnamon and brown sugar over apple slices. Do not stir.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and let cook without stirring for 10 minutes.
Remove lid, increase heat to high. Stir mixture lightly.
Continue to saute mixture until apples are tender and liquids have thickened. This may take 10-15 minutes, depending on type of apples used.
Serve as a side dish along with pork or alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Serves 6.