Month: April 2013

Pork Carnitas in a Pita Pocket
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Pork Carnitas in a Pita Pocket

With the warm weather sneaking in everyone started to talk about ribs, pulled pork and the likes. I love pulled pork, saw this recipe and pinned it for another time. Well today my last day of vacation was that another time. I am so glad I did, I did to have any taco or tortillas but we did have some pita pockets worked just fine. I will warn you this is a slow cooking meal and the smell is like a brisket on a cold winter day it fills the air and it is hard to keep your stomach quiet.  I made the double mistake of doing some outside choirs then walking into the house.

 Ingredients

  • 4 pound boneless pork butt, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 Tb fresh lime juice
  • 2 C water
  • 1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

ingredients

How

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered.  Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.  Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.

cut into 2 inch chunks add all ingredients to dutch oven

2.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Remove and discard everything from the pot except for the cooking liquid.  Place pot over high heat on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You should have about 1 C of liquid remaining when it is finished.

simmer for about 2 hours break into 3 eaqual parts

3.  While the liquid is reducing, use two forks to pull each cube of pork into three equal sized pieces.

reduce to about 1 cup break into 3 eaqual parts

Once the liquid has become a syrup, gently fold in the pieces of pork into the pot.  Try not to break up the pork any further.

fold meat back into sauce

Taste and add additional salt and pepper.

4.  Spread the pork back onto the foil lined pan and evenly spread the meat around so there is a single layer of meat.  Place the jelly roll pan on the lower middle rack of the oven and broil until the top of the meat is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.

remove from pot to cookie sheetUsing a wide metal spatula, flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings.

Serve2

I intially thought it would be too dry but that was not an issue this was moist and tender no topping required.

Note: I squeezed some extra lime juice on it just before serving.

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Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices
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Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices

Next to work is a bakery called Ray and Dicks and they make a great bread or sheet pizza. The sauce is heavy tomato paste base and when slightly warmed it melts in your mouth. My wife does not care for it likes the Portland style sheet pizza better. I will buy one for work every once in a while freeze in single servings of the left overs to reheat and top with whatever is left over or in the frig that hits me when I open the door. This week it was in celebration of avocado season.

 

So this is simple reheat top and eat!

 

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Continuing with my avocado celebration how about a turkey rollup

Sorry this post was supposed to go up Monday but with the excitement  of the new season you know….

Ingredients

  • Avocado sliced
  • Store roasted turkey sliced thin
  • Romaine lettuce shredded
  • Cranberries
  • Thinly sliced tomato
  • Whole wheat wrap

 

How

Layer lettuce, cranberries, turkey, tomato and avocado roll tightly

Cut the wrap in half, or don’t bother–it’s ready to eat

2013-04-13_12-54-26_524

sorry forgot to take picture took this with my camera

How To Roll Up A Wrap

Picture borrowed from Entre Fogones con Mimi!

how-to-roll

 

You can make an open-ended wrap or a closed one.  And everyone seems to have their own best way to wrap a wrap.  This is how I wrap a wrap.

Smear sandwich cranberry within an inch of the perimeter of the tortilla.

Layer makings in a wide swath down the center of the tortilla and to within a couple inches of the left and right edges—kind of a rough rectangle.

 

To make a closed end wrap, fold both the right and the left edges over the goodies and roll from the bottom.  To make an open-ended wrap, fold only one edge.

 

If I make a closed end wrap, we cut the wrap in two at an angle and eat half at a time, or share with my honey.

 

If the tortilla is a little stiff and hard to wrap and keep closed, try microwaving the tortilla under a paper towel for 15 to 20 seconds.  It will be more pliable

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Minced chicken Wrap with Avocado Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar
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Minced chicken Wrap with Avocado Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar

I don’t know about you but I just love the flavor of Hoisin sauce not sure what it is about it but it is soooo good. I had a craving for it the other day and when I took the boneless chicken breast out of the freezer I kind of thought that a lettuce wrap would be a good thing to make. I included the avocado because I am still celebrating the beginning of avocado season. Anyway this is a dish that is from the gut one never knows what is in the frig or cabinets and what tickles the taste buds until you see it.

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Ingredients

  • 1 boneless chicken breast
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  • 1 small shallot diced finely
  • 1 carrot thinly julienned
  • A few asparagus (depending on size) thinly julienned – another spring crop delight!
  • Small handful of raw cashews – minced
  • Romain or Boston lettuce leafs

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How

Pound the chicken breast to about ¼” thickness and dice roughly

Pan sear in a drizzle of olive oil until lightly browned about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.

Remove to cutting board and dice finer pieces

Return to pan add shallot cook about 1 minute

Add carrot, asparagus and cashews and cook for about 1-2 minute add the hoisin sauce and stir to coat.

Spoon into lettuce and enjoy.

I just sliced the avocado and drizzled with my 18 year old balsamic vinegar

Oh I used the leftovers in my salad that I brought for lunch today!!

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Similar post

Lettuce Wrapped Pork with Pine Nuts in a Hoisin Sauce ( stevesacooking.com)

 

 

lee-kum-kee-hoisin-sauce-85-oz

Hoisin Sauce

Q. I’ve heard hoisin sauce is like a Chinese barbecue sauce, but I’m not sure if that’s true. What exactly is hoisin sauce?

A. In some ways, hoisin sauce is like a Chinese barbecue sauce: it’s used in Chinese cooking much like barbecue sauce is used in American cooking.

The Chinese use hoisin sauce as a glaze for meats and as a condiment. Hoisin is a reddish-brown sauce that’s salty, sweet, and spicy.

hoisin-sauce

Hoisin sauce is made from soybean paste, garlic, chilies, and various spices, and can contain sugar and vinegar.

Hoisin sauce is also sometimes called Peking sauce, because it’s used in making Peking duck.

Hoisin is a great glaze for meat and fish. A little dab of hoisin sauce also gives extra flavor to stir-fry and noodle dishes.

 

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Greek Souvlaki Sandwich

This is Steve now:  I put my pictures and the recipe so I would have it handy for next time.

Made this tonight and it was great!

One of my wife’s favorite recipes in what she calls my Lambie Pie, my version of Gyros Sandwich so when I found this on pinterest I had to try it and it was well worth it.

Marinated Greek Pork

1 lb boneless pork sirloin chops Juice of 1 lemon 1 clove garlic, finely minced ½ tsp oregano ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp granulated sugar ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil Fresh pita bread

pork Ingredients

Optional toppings: Thinly sliced sweet onions Sliced kalamata olives Greek pepperoncini peppers, drained and sliced Sliced tomatoes Shredded lettuce

TOPPING 2

Thinly slice the pork and place in a bowl. Squeeze the lemon and add to the pork strips, along with the garlic, oregano, salt, sugar pepper and olive oil. Combine well and set aside to marinate about 20 minutes.

Mix in marinade for about 20 minutes

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork strips and stir fry until any liquid is evaporated and the meat is lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes. Cool and serve. Can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. Very good served at room temperature.

Stir fry until liquid gone   Stirfry until slightly browned

To serve, fill pita with pork strips, any of the optional topping and tzatziki sauce (recipe below).

Let meat cool and grab a peta Eat

Serves 6-8 (depending on size of the pita bread)

Tzatziki Sauce

8 oz. Greek yogurt 4 oz. sour cream 1 medium cucumber, peeled grated and squeezed dry Juice of ½ lemon 1 small clove garlic, finley minced and mashed 1 tsp olive oil ¼ tsp salt

Sauce ingredieints

Peel, grate and squeeze the cucumbers to remove as much water as possible. Place in a medium bowl, add the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Can be made a day in advance and refrigerated until needed.

SAUCE

Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado
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Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado

Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado

So its lunch time and every day I bring a salad for lunch. Usually on Sundays make one huge base salad and store in a container that you can give CPR to the top and it pushes the air out of it.freshvac

I don’t put in things like cucumbers or other things that tend to spoil quickly just the base salad. Then in the morning I grab a bunch put it in my container and add my condiments if you will. saladshakerThe condiments are things cukes, tomato, whatever I had left over from dinner last night.  My handy little container has a compartment for dressing which for me is just plain ole 18 year old balsamic vinegar.

 

Ingredients

  • Base salad
  • Organic Strawberries cut in chunks
  • Fresh pineapple cut into chunks
  • ½ avocado slices
  • Cumber cut into chunks
  • Cherry tomatoes
  •  18 year old Balsamic Vinegar (you could add oil but why dilute the vinegar.)

 

How

Place all in your handy take to work container along with an orange and banana maybe some celery or carrot sticks.

Release vinegar, shake or toss and eat!

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4 Healthy Reasons to Eat a Salad Today

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

WebMD Feature

 

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Have you had your salad today? Eating salad almost every day may be one of the most healthy eating habits you can adopt — and one of the simplest, experts say.

 

Eating salads is a super-convenient way to work in a couple of servings of vegetables and/or fruit. Green salads are on the menu of almost every restaurant. You can even buy a side salad (with Romaine lettuce, carrots and tomatoes, available with fat-free or reduced-calorie salad dressing) for a buck at many fast food chains these days. And you can make a green salad at home in 5 minutes, armed with a bag of pre-washed salad greens, a few carrots or other veggies, and a bottle of light salad dressing.

 

Not only that, but salads are cool, crunchy, and fun to eat (lots of textures, colors, and flavors). Most people enjoy eating salads–even kids! You can customize them to include the fruits and vegetables that appeal to you the most, and whichever ones you have on hand.

 

Here are four health reasons to reach for a salad today:

 

1. Eat Salads for the Fiber

It’s hard to believe that something we can’t even digest can be so good for us! Eating a high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and prevent constipation.

Read more…

Not only that, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan, eating more fiber can help you feel fuller, eat less, and ultimately lose weight.

 avacoda about

Avocado Health Benefits: The World’s Most Perfect Food?

It has achieved this distinction because many nutritionists claim it not only contains everything a person needs to survive — but it has also been found to contribute to the prevention and control of Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.

The avocado (Persea gratissima or P. americana) originated in Puebla, Mexico and its earliest use dates back to 10,000 years B.C. Since AD 900, the avocado tree has been cultivated and grown in Central and South America. In the 19th century, the avocado made its entry into California, and has since become a very successful commercial crop. Ninety-five percent (95%) of U.S. avocados are gown in Southern California.

The avocado, also called the alligator pear, is a high-fiber, sodium- and cholesterol-free food that provides nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, is rich in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids), vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate) — as well as potassium.

Read more here

My California Burger, I guess
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My California Burger, I guess

I already express my delight with the official start of Avocado season and in celebration I will try to use avocado in at least one meal a day until the 5 I bought are gone. Anyway last night I had a burger and Lyn took a look at it and said that’s a California burger. I don’t care what you call it, it sure was tasty.

avacado

Ingredients

  • 1 ground sirloin patty
  • ½ avocado, sliced
  • 3 grape cherry tomatoes sliced
  • 1 piece of ROMAIN lettuce
  • Some cheese
  • 1 all natural organic bun

How:

Cook the burger to your doneness, melt cheese on top

Arrange the lettuce, tomatoes and avocado on top.

Important note: you can pile up the avocado

You can top with any condiments you want, I choose none.

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Shhhhh don’t tell anyone I also took a potato pancake out of the freezer it became my giant tater tot.

avacoda about

 

Are you up to speed on your avocado nutrition knowledge?

This creamy, delicious fruit packs a punch! Read on for the tastiest top five facts about avocado nutrition:

  • Avocado nutrition fact #1: Avocados are naturally cholesterol free!
  • Avocado nutrition fact #2: When used instead of other fats, avocados can be a satisfying addition to a calorie-reduced diet.
  • Avocado nutrition fact #3: The avocado is virtually the only fruit that has heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
  • Avocado nutrition fact #4: Avocados are included in dietary programs from some of the world’s leading nutrition organizations.
  • Avocado nutrition fact #5: California Avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit.

As you can see, avocados have more to offer than just great taste! Add California Avocados to your diet today.

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Roasted Asparagus
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Roasted Asparagus

By Amy Johnson

 

Spring is here!

This was so easy and delicious the rosemary was a perfect complement.

Ingredients

•1 bundle/bunch of asparagus

•1 lemon

•handful of rosemary sprigs

•2-tablespoons olive oil

•salt and pepper to taste

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Note: I did not have any fresh rosemary on hand so I used dry. I have made similar but never thought about rosemary, can’t wait until I have some fresh.

 

How:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Thinly slice half of lemon.

Prep asparagus shoots, and spread them along with the lemon slices and rosemary on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Toss all with olive oil, as well as salt and pepper.

Squeeze juice from remaining half of lemon.

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Roast in oven for 7 minutes, then carefully turn asparagus over and continue roasting for another 8 minutes. Watch for preferred doneness. Add additional time if needed. Total roasting time should be between 15-20 minutes.

This Picture by Amy Johnson

This Picture by Amy Johnson

Serve warm.

Here is a good source

https://www.positivehealthwellness.com/diet-nutrition/10-health-benefits-asparagus-need-know/

 

 

 

Glazed Blueberry Chicken
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Glazed Blueberry Chicken

You may have read that I am addicted to my 18 year old balsamic vinegar, well the last time I ordered online they accidentally sent me a bottle of blueberry balsamic vinegar along with that I ordered. Their mistake was quickly fixed and the blueberry was mine to play with for free!! I thought that it would be great on some fresh fruit, which it was, I tried over avocado but not quite my thing then my wife handed me the Silver Palate cook book and asked do you think you could make this. I have trouble refusing those eyes and a new recipe always excites me. After she said that she had been waiting for 25 years to try something like this what do I think about raspberry?

 

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 lbs., cut into quarters (or I just use boneless thighs)*
  • 1/2 c blueberry vinegar
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/3 c blueberry chutney
  • chopped Italian parsley and grated zest of an orange for garnish

 

*Note: I just used 2 bone in chicken breast there is only 2 of us but did make the same amount of marinade since it would become the sauce.

 

How:

Combine chicken quarters, blueberry vinegar, and thyme in a bowl and marinate 2 hours.

marinate

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Arrange chicken, skin side up, in a glass baking dish. Reserve marinade. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper and coat with chutney.

Set baking dish on the center rack of the oven and bake, uncovered, 40 minutes, or until done. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cover, and keep warm.

roast

Skim the fat from the cooking juices and move to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce by 1/3 or until sauce is lightly thickened.  Pour over chicken and garnish with fresh parsley and orange zest. (You can also stir in some fresh blueberries to the sauce in the saucepan when you are simmering that.)

sauce

Serve.

Bluebery glazed Chicken SERVE

Other posts

Balsamic Vinegar

Pan Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce

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