Zesty Pork Chop and Cucumber Salad Wraps

Zesty Pork Chop and Cucumber Salad Wraps
Serves 5-6

We wanted a fresh and new recipe that was quick and easy to make for dinner. For some reason, we thought pork chop and cucumber salad in a wrap. Go figure! It was delicious! These might be great on the grill. Will definitely try it when it's not raining.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops
• 1 bottle zesty Italian Dressing
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 large red onion
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• 3 large tomatoes
• preferred wrap or tortilla shell (Flat Out Healthy Grain Harvest Wheat)

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet. Marinate the Pork Chops in a bowl of ziploc bag for 30 minutes in the Italian Dressing, saving 1 cup for the salad.
2. Peal and slice the cucumbers in half and then slice them into thin strips. 
3. De-seed and slice the tomatoes into chunks.
4. Slice the red onion in half and then into 1mm strips.
5. Mix the cucumber, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add the Italian Dressing and pepper to taste. 
6. Now cook the marinated pork chops in the skillet until cooked through. Let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
7. Next, take a wrap and put down a layer of spinach. Make sure it has been rinsed and dried, first.
8. After putting down a layer of spinach leaves, put some pork chop strips in the middle and then a spoonful or two or cucumber salad. 
9. Wrap and enjoy!

Spicy Ham, Egg, Cheese, and Spinach Sandwiches

Spicy Ham, Egg, Cheese, and Spinach Sandwiches
 Inspired by a recipe from Food Network.

Ingredients

• 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 English muffins, split
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 Ham Steak or 1/4 pound of Canadian Bacon
• 8 cups baby spinach (about 8 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon Siracha Chile Sauce
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Put the oven on Lo-Broil.
2. Place the tomatoes skin-side down on a baking tray. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the tomatoes.
3. Take the ham and put 4 pieces on the pan with the tomatoes. Place in the oven until cheese is melted and ham is to your preferred texture.
4. Toast the English Muffins in the toaster (or your preferred toasting method).
5. In a large pan over medium-high heat, put the 8 cups of baby spinach and 1 teaspoon of Siracha Chile Sauce. Cook down until wilted.
6. When the Spinach is done, wipe out the pan with a damp paper towel and return to the heat.
7. Heat one tablespoon of butter and put in two eggs. Cook evenly on both sides, allow for the middle to stay gooey. 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on how cooked you want the middle.
8. When the muffins have been toasted, take out and put a little bit of butter on the muffin, then sprinkle cheddar cheese on the bottom.
9. Check the tomatoes and ham.
10. When the ham is finished, put a slice on the muffin. Then put the egg on the muffin. Then put some of the spinach mixture on top. Salt and pepper to taste.
11. Repeat for each sandwich that is made.
12. Put the tomatoes on the side and serve.

Pork Schnitzel and Creamy Corn

Pork Schnitzel and Creamy Corn
Inspired by Rachael Ray's recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
• 1 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 - 2 pound pork tenderloin cut crosswise into 8 pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cans corn
• 3/4 cup half-and-half

Instructions

1. In a shallow bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper.
2. In a another bowl, whisk the eggs.
3. In yet another bowl, pour the bread crumbs. Line up flour, egg, and bread crumb, in that order.
4. Working with 1 piece at a time, place the pork between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound into 1/4-inch thick cutlets.
5. Dredge each cutlet in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
6. Dip in the egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place on a wire rack.
7. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
8. Add the corn and 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. 
9. Stir in the half-and-half and cook for 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
10. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot.
11. Add the two breaded cutlets at a time and cook, turning once, until golden, about 3 minutes per side.
12. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with a little salt.
13. Serve with the corn.

Moo Shu Pork

Moo Shu Pork
Inspired by Rachael Ray's Moo Shu Pork Kebabs.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 12 ounces boneless pork chops, cut into thin strips
• 16 white mushrooms (cut into small chunks)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3-5 cups shredded coleslaw mix
• flour tortillas or rice pancakes (layered in 3s)

Instructions

1. Heat on Hi a pot on the stove.
2. In a bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Pour half of the mixture into a second bowl and stir in the cornstarch.
3. Toss the pork strips in the cornstarch and liquid mixture. Put into the hot pan to cook through.
4. When cooked through, throw in the mushrooms, shredded coleslaw mix, and the last of the liquid mixture.
5. Soften the coleslaw to taste.
6. Serve with tortillas or make the rice pancakes per directions and layer three on top, wrapping the mixture in the pancakes.

Note: Add more or less coleslaw per the ratio of your meat. Fried rice is a good side dish.

Onion and Cider Pulled Pork

Slow-Cooker Apples, Onions, and Pork

This dish was inspired by a what I saw Zane Homlquist cook on the Today Show the morning of January 11, 2012.

Ingredients

• 2 large granny smith apples
• 2 large yellow onions
• 2 TBSP minced garlic
• 2 TBSP coriander
• 2 TBSP paprika
• 2 TBSP salt
• 2 TBSP pepper
• 4 TBSP Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1.75L (59 FL OZ) bottle Apple Cider (Simply Apple Pure Pressed)
•  Pork shoulder
• 2-3lbs pork shoulder
• 3TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 Bay Leaves

Instructions

1. Season the pork shoulder with half of the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Heat up a hot pan and sear off the meat.
2. While the meat is searing, slip and quarter the onions and put them in the slow-cooker. Check your meat and make sure you're searing the other sides.
3. Wash and core the apples. Cut into 16ths. Put them in the slow-cooker. Check your meat to make sure you're searing all the sides.
4. Add the minced garlic, coriander, paprika, bay leaves, salt, and pepper to the slow-cooker. Your meat should be fully seared. Add it to the slow-cooker.
5. Pour in the apple cider until everything is completely covered. Then add the Worcestershire Sauce.
6. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, then turn down to low and cook a minimum of 4 more hours. Best option would be to cook for a full twelve hours to get the most tender pork.
7. Strain the liquid from the slow-cooker into a large bowl. Take the meat and the onion pieces out of the colander and put it back into the slow-cooker. Make sure all the liquid is drained from the colander and discard the contents.
8. Take two forks and shred the pork and onions in the slow-cooker. Then add as much liquid back in as to cover the shredded pork. Continue to let warm in the slow-cooker until serving.
9. The leftover liquid can be made into a Carolina Barbeque style sauce by using the recipe listed below. Add to the sandwich or adjust the re-added liquid to the recipe and make your whole slow-cooker flavored that way. Save any extra in case the liquid in the slow-cooker seems to dry up, you can keep re-adding to keep the pork moist. 

Note: Suggested side dishes are a salad, scalloped potatoes, or wild rice and sauteed snap peas. Any BBQ side-dish works just as well.

Carolina BBQ-Style Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cider Vinegar
• 3 cups the above recipe Seasoned Liquid Leftovers
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 3 TBSP red chili flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP pepper

Instructions

1. In a bowl or a contain with a spout, add in all the ingredients list above.
2. Shake the container, stir, or mix in some way.
3. Taste and season or adjust liquid ratio to your preferred taste.
4. Serve over pulled pork.

Punchy Pork Chilli (Sainsbury's Experiment Night 9)

Because Ray was working late tonight, I decided to switch to the Punchy Pork Chili over the Meatball Casserole. I know Chilli reheats alright, so that I could eat at a normal time and not 10:30-11PM at night!!!

Punchy Pork Chilli
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
1 x 475g British Freedom Food endorsed pork mince.
1 Lime
1 Onion
1 x 500g pack Easy cook rice
1 x 390g Carton chopped tomatoes
1 x 420g tin basics red kidney beans
1 tsp Hot chilli powder

1 TBSP ground cumin

1 chopped garlic clove or 1/2 tsp minced garlic (if you like garlic, I suggest adding 1 TBSP)

250ml Vegetable or Beef Stock (8 fl oz, a little over a cup.. I think a cup would work out just fine)

Method
1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan.
2. Add 1 peeled and chopped onion and 1 peeled and chopped clove garlic and cook until softened. 3. Add 1 x 475g pack pork mince and 1 teaspoon hot chilli powder and cook for 5 minutes, until light brown.
4. Add 1 x 420g tin basics red kidney beans, drained, and 1 x 390g carton chopped tomatoes
5. Reduce the heat and add 250ml vegetable or beef stock, made with 1 stock cube. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat, then squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and stir.
7. Meanwhile, cook 200g rice following pack instructions.
8. Serve with the chilli, sprinkled with grated Cheddar or sour cream.

First, I would just like to point out the gimmick of these cheap recipes. TONS OF NOODLES/RICE!!! What my friend hates to call "CARBS"!!! That drives me INSANE!!! It really makes you feel horrible, because you don't feel like you're getting enough vegetables and other healthy things. Its just lots of grains and starches.

With that realization made, I'd like to say this was okay for a quick chili. I was shocked to see that there was no Cumin in the recipe!!! I added it, because you can't make chilli without Cumin! And, in the end, it was pretty good. Doesn't make much, unless you want some chilli with your rice (instead of some rice with your chilli). I'd double the recipe for more than 3 people. There also isn't alot of sauce with the recipe, so if you like a more saucy, thick chilli, this is not the chilli for you. You can eat it without rice, too. You can use noodles if you prefer. But it was delicious on its own and you won't feel all stodgy from the starches.

And as a final note, I don't know why it's "punchy". There is hardly any heat, so add more spice if you want some REALLY punchy chilli or add some chillis.

Oriental Pork Noodles (Sainsbury's Experiment Night 8)

For those of you who don't know, I have been getting these recipes off of Sainsburys.co.uk. If I use another site, I will link it. So I haven't made any of these up, they are recommended as cheap, quick meals by the grocery store website. That also means that the ingredients are sometimes certain brands, so work with what you have at home.


Oriental Pork Noodles
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5-7 minutes

You will need:
500g British diced pork,
4x65g packs basics instant chicken noodles,
500g basics vegetable stir fry,
500g black bean stir fry sauce
(items from your store cupboard: olive oil, salt and pepper)

Method
1. Cook 4 x 65g packs of basics instant chicken noodles, following pack instructions.
2. Meanwhile, in a hot wok, stir-fry 500g diced pork with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 4–5 minutes. Ensure the pork is thoroughly cooked, season with salt and pepper and remove.
3. Add a 500g bag of basics stir-fry vegetables to the wok with a little water and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add a 500g jar of black bean stir-fry sauce and combine with the noodles. Add the pork and heat through until piping hot. Serve immediately.

This dish was really disappointing. There was no flavor. The sauce was immediately soaked up by everything in the dish. And it doesn't have a good reheat quality about it, because of the noodles. I just couldn't believe how flavorless it was. We added Chinese 5 Spice at the end, just so it wasn't bland vegetables with bland meat with bland noodles. Don't think we're going to cook this again.

Savoury Sausage Bake (Sainsbury's Experiment Night 7)

Week 2 is looking promising with some really quick and easy meals that helped to cut the corners. Our first night I am a bit nervous about, because I think I am confusing pork sausages with breakfast sausages. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, but I'm just worried about the meat in the dish. The rest sounds delish.

Savoury Sausage Bake
Serves 4
Cook time: 15 minutes
Prep time: 30 minutes

You will need:
400g Taste the difference ultimate pork sausages (or flavored pork sausage of your choice)
300g basics broccoli (chopped up broccoli)
250g Be good to yourself mozzarella (2 fresh mozz ball)
500g penne
390g chopped tomatoes with basil & oregano
(Items from your store cupboard: cooking oil).

Method
1. Grill a pack of Taste the difference ultimate pork sausages (refer to pack for cooking instructions) and cut each one into four pieces.
2. In an ovenproof dish, mix the sausage pieces with cooked penne, a carton of chopped tomatoes and cooked broccoli.
3. Top with sliced mozzarella and bake for 20 minutes at 200c, fan 180c, gas 6, or until the cheese is melted, for an easy dinner.

What a homerun with this meal! Granted, the pasta was a bit overwhelming compared to the amount of the other ingredients, but the dish was absolutely delicious! This is definitely one we will cook again. Quick, easy, delicious AND there were leftovers, so the happiness will continue at lunch tomorrow!