Just had to share it with you...

I just had to share this recipe with you. I found it on meals.com and it was a great way to use any leftover pork I had from the previous night. I just sliced it up and then added it to the recipe as it called for it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Fettuccine with Creamy Pork & Asparagus Sauce

 

Ingredients:

12 oz. (3/4 lb.) dry fettuccine pasta, broken in half
2 teaspoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground pork
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups (about 1/2 lb.) fresh asparagus, tips and tender stalks cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 can (12 oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
3 oz. grated queso fresco or Parmesan cheese or more to taste
Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (optional)

Directions:

COOK fettuccine according to package directions.

MEANWHILE, MELT butter in large skillet on medium low heat. Add onions; cook until lightly golden about 3 minutes. Add ground pork; cook on medium heat stirring constantly, until no longer pink; drain. Stir in asparagus tips. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine; bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes to reduce. Reduce heat to low; add evaporated milk. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

COMBINE pork and asparagus sauce with drained fettuccine. Serve immediately sprinkled with a little queso fresco and parsley, if desired. Remaining cheese can be served along with pasta and sauce.

Enjoy :)

Spare Ribs... and still on budget...

Okay so I've fallen behind already with trying to keep up with my weekly list of updates but I have been cooking regularly so that's always a bonus right? With a goal this month to really try to stay on budget and not to waste food, I'm so excited to say that we've been really good about it (even with hosting a birthday party and a sleepover for 10 kids) . Yes, there is always room for improvement but we are in much a better position than where we were a couple of months ago. With only a couple more days left in the month, we'll see if this month will be a success or a learning experience :)

In the meantime, while at the grocery store a couple of days go, I came across a sale with 2 racks of sideribs for the low price of $6.00. With only a mere 24 hours before meeting the expiry date, threw these ribs into the crockpot and dinner was ready in just a couple of hours with some yummy side dishes too. The original recipe can be found using the link below as I've made changes to the recipe that are reflected already below.

Crock Pot Spare Ribs

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Vinegar
1 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Dehydrated onion
2 racks of side ribs, (cut in 4 ribs)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and stir well. Add the spare ribs. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Once ready, pour crockpot liquid into a pan to thicken sauce. I added a tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of cold water to the liquid, put it to heat until it reduced and thickened to my likening. I then took the sauce and poured it on the ribs in the crockpot, although you could serve it on the side with the ribs.

Serve with pesto rice, crunchy coleslaw and/or green beans with sherried mushrooms.

Enjoy!

Filipino BBQ

Anyone who knows me, will tell you how much I absolutely love filipino BBQ. I've tried numerous times to obtain the ever famous recipes from my in-laws with no luck but this year I am happy to announce that my father-in-law was more than happy to share the recipe to his Filipino pork BBQ sticks... and they were just as yummy as ever!


Dad's Filipino pork BBQ sticks


Ingredients

1 pound pork tenderloin, cubed
¼ cup soy sauce
5 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ cup tomato ketchup

Directions

Add all ingredients to a resealable bag and marinade overnight. Before barbecuing, soak wooden skewers in water for 30 mins.

Thread pork through skewers and BBQ.

Serve with vegetable shish kebobs and hot steaming rice.


Enjoy!

Crockpot... could it get any easier?

There is a restaurant close to our home that has absolutely the best BBQ ever!! Everything from ribs, barbequed chicken to pulled pork sandwiches. People flock to this small restaurant often waiting in line as the smell from the grill envelops them... Pulled pork is what I had on the brain but the I wasn't brave enough to go out and weather the storm so I pulled the crockpot out of its dusty cupboard and decided I was going to try to replicate these sandwiches at home. Never suspected it could be this easy...

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 pork shoulder roast (about 2 ½ pounds)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 bottle (21 ounces) President’s Choice BBQ Sauce
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp brown sugar
2 medium onion, chopped, divided
8 hard rolls

Directions

Place 1 chopped onion along bottom of slow cooker. Rub garlic all over pork shoulder. Place roast in slow cooker on onion. Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.
Remove pork; shred meat with 2 forks. Discard any fat and any liquid in slow cooker. Return pork to slow cooker and top with remaining onions.
In a separate bowl, combine barbecue sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar. Cover pork in slow cooker with this mixture. Cover; cook on low for 2 hours or on high for 1 hour longer.

Serve on hard rolls with coleslaw and potato salad.

Enjoy!

Another pork recipe...

With so much pork defrosting in the fridge, I was glad to come across this recipe in my archives...

Honey-Soy Glazed Pork Chops
(from Good Housekeeping)

Ingredients

4 boneless pork loin chops
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 garlic clove, minced
2 green onions, sliced for garnish

Directions

Sprinkle 1 side of each pork chop with black pepper

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot spray with cooking spray. Add pork chops, pepper side down and cook about 4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat and continue to cook chops until they just lose their pink colour. Transfer chops to platter, cover with foil to keep warm.

In a cup, mix honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and cornstarch until smooth.

Add garlic to skillet, cook for 30 seconds. Stir honey mixture into skillet (mixture will boil) and cook for 1 minute (stirring constantly). Spoon sauce over pork chops and sprinkle with green onions for garnish.

Serve with wilted spinach and baked sweet potato or fluffy rice.

An old favorite...

In the process of baby proofing and decluttering our apartment, I came across some of my old (college) recipe cutouts... Now I remember why I had kept these recipes this long. It was perfect timing too because I had a large package of boneless pork loin defrosting in the fridge with no idea what to do with them.

Pork and Broccoli Stir-Fry
(adapted from the Milk Calendar: Millenium Edition)

Ingredients

2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
1 tbsp sherry
1 lb lean boneless pork, cut in thin strips
1 cup milk
½ tsp hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
1 tsp of dark sesame oil
1 bunch broccoli
2 tbsp Mazola oil
1 cup baby carrots, halved or sliced
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced gingerroot (or 2 tsp ground ginger)
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Directions

In bowl, stir together 1 tbsp of cornstarch, 1 tbsp soy sauce and sherry. Add pork and stir to coat well.

In separate bowl, stir milk with remaining cornstarch, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and sesame oil; set aside.

Separate broccoli into florets.

In wok, heat oil over high heat. Add pork mixture, carrots and onion. Stir-fry for 4 minutes or until meat is lightly browned. Stir in garlic, ginger and broccoli; stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Stir in milk mixture; cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes or until sauce is thickened and broccoli is tender-crisp. Add oyster sauce and heat through.

Enjoy!

Giada's Pork Chops

Today's dinner was a twist on Giada's Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Marmellata. It was absolutely yummy, especially when served with couscous and a side salad or green beans and steamed baby carrots.

Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Marmellata




Onion Marmellata:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large onions, thinly sliced (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup quince marmalade
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or ½ tsp of dried thyme)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon hot pimento paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Pork Chops:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons of hot pimento pepper
2 tablespoons of water
4 to 6 boneless pork loin chops

For the onion marmellata, place a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the onions. Stir to combine and cook until starting to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to scrape up any brown bits. The onions should be a soft, jam-like consistency and a deep mahogany color.

Meanwhile, for the pork chops, combine the garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Using your fingers, work all the ingredients together until well combined. Rub the mixture over the pork chops. Cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

About 20 minutes before the onions are finished, remove the pork chops from the refrigerator. Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Grill the pork chops to medium, about 7 minutes a side depending on thickness. To serve, spoon the onion marmellata over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!