MONDAY RECIPE POST - PORK LO MEIN

This was originally in one of our Blue Apron deliveries. It was a hit and we have made it again at least twice. At the end of this recipe I will share a few changes we made. 

10 ozs. ground pork
2 stalks of celery, sliced and cut at an angle
10 ozs. baby Bok Choy, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 lb. fresh Lo Mein Noodles
2 tablespoons of sherry or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of black and white sesame seeds  

Fill a medium pot of water 3/4's of the way up with salted water; cover and heat to boiling on high.  

Wash and prepare all the vegetables.  

Combine the chopped Bok Choy and garlic in one bowl.  

In a separate bowl combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water.  

In a large pan heat the sesame oil on medium-high heat until hot.  

Add the sliced celery.  Cook stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened.  

Add the chopped Bok Choy and garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Transfer to a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm.  

Wipe out the pan.  

Meanwhile, add the noodles to the pot of boiling water, stirring gently to separate.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2 to 4 minutes, or until tender.  

Drain the noodles and rinse under warm water for 30 seconds to a minute.  This prevents sticking.  

In the same pan as you cooked the vegetables, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium high heat until hot.  Add the pork.  

Cook without stirring 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.  

Very carefully add the sauce to the meat (you don't want it to splash and burn yourself).  Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pork is coated and cooked through.  

Turn off the heat.  

Add the cooked vegetables and cooked noodles, stir until combined.  Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.  

Serve the finished pork and noodles garnished with the sesame seeds.  

Enjoy!  


Here are our changes:

1/2 lb. ground beef 

2 stalks celery, sliced and cut at an angle

1/2 of a green cabbage, roughly chopped

1 sweet red pepper, deseeded and sliced thin lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon hot chili paste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (we only had the regular kind in our pantry)

1 Ramen Noodle packet with the seasoning packet removed
1 tablespoon  sweet chili sauce

Wash and prepare all the vegetables.

Combine the chopped cabbage and garlic in one bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of chili paste, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water.

In a large pan heat the sesame oil on medium-high heat until hot.

Add the sliced celery.  Cook stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened.

Add the chopped cabbage and garlic.  Cook stirring occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened.

Add the sweet red pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

Transfer all to a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm.

Wipe out the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the Ramen Noodles according to the package directions. This is the type we used.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil, carefully add the noodles to the boiling water, reduce heat to medium and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain the noodles and rinse under warm water for 30 seconds to a minute.  This prevents sticking.

In the same pan as you cooked the vegetables, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium high heat until hot.

Add the ground beef.  Cook without stirring 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.

Carefully add the sauce as you don't want the liquid to spatter.  Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the ground beef is coated and cooked through.  

Turn off the heat.  Add the cooked vegetables and cooked noodles, stir until combined.  Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.  We found it was just fine without, to our own taste anyhow.

Serve the finished beef and noodles garnished with the sesame seeds.  We also added a dab of sweet chili sauce which makes a nice accompaniment.  This is the one we used.  We purchased it at our local supermarket.

This meal is one of our favorites.  What we did and knowing how much we like this dish, we doubled up on all the ingredients, except the ground beef as we had it leftover from making cheeseburgers the night before.  Gregg would have liked more meat but this dish is very versatile, in that you can also use shrimp or scallops for a seafood twist, or tofu if you want to go vegetarian.  An ingredient we added when cooking our meal was hot chili paste, this one.  

We bought it from an Asian market we like to go to.  We have bought other brands at our supermarket before.  

It was very nice eating the leftovers the next day.  They seemed to taste even better.  

Thank you for looking and I wish for you to stay safe and healthy, and have an enjoyable week.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - BAKED GARLIC BUTTER PORK TENDERLOIN

I was away from my computer for the last few days, so have been late visiting you all. I am looking forward to catching up this week.  I hope you have all had a great weekend. 

Today's recipe was our Sunday Dinner and I found it at this website called the Sweet C's, hosted by Courtney.  We bought the pork first and then I looked for a recipe online that we both liked the look of.  

In other recipes Courtney suggests marinating pork to not only help soften the pork tenderloin, but also to keep it from drying out.  She uses a bottle of Italian Dressing or a cup of olive oil with some lemon juice, salt and pepper, for an easy, overnight pork tenderloin marinade.  With the butter in this recipe and wrapping the pork in foil, it makes its own gravy and stays moist, but she also said that the extra flavor if marinated is a nice addition.

You can also look for pre-seasoned pork tenderloins at the store, which are often sold already marinated.

Searing beforehand helps to seal in the juices. 

If you want to visit Courtney's blog and this particular recipe, there are lots of other good tips and many great recipes.  

Baked Garlic Butter Pork Tenderloin

8 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

2 lbs. pork tenderloin (optional to pre-marinate pork before cooking for foolproof never-dry tenderloin, using a bottle of Italian Dressing or 1 cup olive oil, with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste) 

4 ozs. butter, sliced into 4 to 6 pats 

2 tablespoons chopped garlic 

1 teaspoon dried basil 

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1 teaspoon dried thyme 

1 teaspoon dried parsley 

1/2 teaspoon dried sage 

(or instead of all the above herbs, you can use 

1 tablespoon of Italian Herb Seasoning Blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl combine garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley and sage (or the 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning blend if not using the previous herbs).  Set aside.

Generously season tenderloin with salt and pepper.

In a large pan heat oil until hot.

Add tenderloin to pan and cook on all sides until a dark, golden brown.

Transfer the tenderloin to the baking sheet.  Generously coat it with the herb mix.

Place pats of butter on top of the tenderloin and wrap in foil.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until pork thermometer reaches 150 degrees F. after being placed in the widest part of the tenderloin.  

When done transfer to a cutting board and let rest for at least five minutes to lock in the juices.

Slice against the grain and serve immediately.

To store leftovers place in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.  You can also freeze by wrapping tightly in aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, or a plastic freezer bag, for up to three months.  To reheat let thaw naturally in the refrigerator overnight, and bake at 350 degrees F., wrapped in foil, until heated through and ready to serve

8 servings

449 calories per serving

This was delicious and very flavorful.  There were leftovers and made a great snack served cold.  Neither of us could think of anything we would want to change about this dish.

Our new favorite condiment (in the photo above) is Sweet Chili Sauce.  The bottle we bought wasn't as hot as the last one.  We found it at our local supermarket.

We roasted a sheet pan of vegetables with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, in a 400 degree F. oven for 45 minutes, checking on them half way through to make sure they weren't browning too much.  You might want to cook them in less time.  We like our veggies more softened than a lot of people we know.  This time we used potatoes, carrots and zucchini.

  

MONDAY RECIPE POST - SHEET PAN PORK TENDERLOIN WITH ROAST POTATOES AND CARROTS

Browsing through food blogs, as I do when trying to find a new recipe, I came across "Chew Out Loud - Sweet Savory, One Bite At A Time" hosted by Amy.  I found the sheet pan pork dish here.  Thank you Amy, this was a delicious dinner.


Roast Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes and Carrots
6 servings

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 20 minutes 

2 lbs. boneless pork tenderloins 
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
6 tablespoons high quality balsamic vinegar 
2 heaping tablespoons pure honey 
1 whole head of garlic, peeled and minced 
1/2 cup onion, minced 
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves, minced 
2 teaspoons kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
2 lbs. baby potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch small pieces

Put rack on lower middle position and then preheat oven to 350 deg. F.  

Line a large baking pan with foil and grease foil liberally.

Use paper towels to pat and dry all excess moisture from the pork tenderloins.  Place tenderloins in center of greased-foiled pan and set aside.

In a large bowl combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Use a whisk to combine well.  

Don't forget to reserve 1/3 cup of this marinade in separate small bowl.  

Add potatoes and carrots to marinade in the large bowl and toss to combine well.  

Evenly drizzle the reserved 1/3 cup of marinade over the pork, making sure all sides are coated.  

Place the potatoes and carrots evenly around the pork tenderloins, again making sure that vegetables are well coated with marinade.

Roast in oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 deg. F. when tested in its thickest center portion. 

If pork is done before veggies, carefully use tongs and transfer pork to a plate, cover with a clean piece of foil  and keep warm at room temperature for at least 5 to 10 minutes.  Do not slice or cut into it yet (pork's temperature will continue to rise during resting at room temperature).  

If the potatoes and carrots need to cook longer, turn up the oven temperature to 425 deg. F. Continue roasting vegetables until nicely browned and tender.  Check often for doneness.

Once ready to serve, transfer pork to a cutting board and cut 1/2 inch slices, or to whatever thickness you normally have.  Drizzle with any pan sauces that remain.  Serve with the potatoes and carrots.

We served our meal with a green salad.  

It was delicious and we both really enjoyed the marinade.  I also served this up for friends who were all very complimentary and wanted the recipe.

I was a little unsure using a whole head of garlic.  It took me a couple of minutes before deciding to go ahead.  The only time I use garlic is a couple of cloves at a time, but surprisingly this larger amount wasn't overpowering and only enhanced the flavor.

My thanks again to Amy for broadening my horizons.  She has a lot of other interesting recipes that I would like to try sometime.  Not much effort really.  I made the marinade earlier and refrigerated it until putting everything else together.  

MONDAY RECIPE POST - EASY COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIB COOKED IN THE OVEN

This is the third time I have made the recipe found here at the blog Baking Mischief hosted by Tracy, and we have enjoyed it each time.  She has very detailed steps, advice and photographs, and would recommend you visit her blog at the link provided in red letters above.  Also she has other great recipes to browse through.

The only difference is that we don't actually put the barbecue sauce on in the last hour of cooking, as one of us prefers the meat plain.  Have to say it was excellent without.  Thank you for a delicious recipe Tracy.

Easy Country-Style Pork Ribs in the Oven
Servings: 4
Calories: around 372 per serving

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Resting time: 5 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Country-style pork ribs (quantity depends on how many people you are serving - Tracy suggests two ribs for each person)
Salt and Pepper
Your favorite Barbecue Sauce

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Salt and pepper your ribs and place in a single layer in the pan, fattier side up.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours.  Carefully remove ribs from the oven (steam and liquid in the pan will be hot) and check your meat.  They should be starting to become tender.  If they still feel tough re-cover and place them back in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes.

Transfer the ribs to a plate and drain liquid from the pan.  Return ribs to the tray and brush generously with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Turn down the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and bake ribs, uncovered for 1 hour more, or until you can pull the meat apart with a fork.  Brush with another coating of barbecue sauce.  Rest for 5 minutes and serve.

Tracy's notes:

if your ribs are very large, 10 ounces or larger, extend the initial cooking time by 10 minutes.

If any of your ribs have the fat cap attached (a very thick layer of fat attached to one side of your meat), you can cut that off.

The approximate calorie content for each serving is 6 ounces of cooked meat and 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce.  (It will be lower of course if like me you didn't add the barbecue sauce.)

Denise's note: I cooked the meal as directed except for leaving it in the oven the whole time because I didn't add the barbecue sauce.  

As you can see by my photos we also kept the ribs in one piece right through to cooking.  Ours was a regular cut spare rib, not the country-style as in Tracy's recipe.  We shopped in Costco and bought a big rack of meat, separated into three portions and froze the other two portions.  Our meal today was the third meal we made of this recipe, and each time we were very happy with the results.

We went with a very plain meal today.  Boiled potatoes and carrots, and Gregg had sautéed zucchini and sweet red pepper with a little teriyaki sauce.  They made a very nice accompaniment.

MONDAY'S RECIPE - PARMESAN BAKED PORK CHOPS

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the Happy Birthday wishes for Gregg. He was very touched and enjoyed reading everyone's comment. You all added a very genuine warmth to this special milestone. 

Now for the recipe, a simple but very tasty way to cook pork chops. It came from "Just A Pinch" by Janet.  You can find her recipe here.  Thanks Janet!

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

4 boneless pork chops about 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Italian Breadcrumbs (I used a blender to crumble a day old roll and added a good dash of Italian Seasoning)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a plate combine the last 4 ingredients.  Rub the pork chops with olive oil and dip each one into the cheese/breadcumb mixture.  Press the mixture over the pork chops to coat really well and completely covered.

Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray.  

Place the pork chops on the pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes.

~~~~~~~

I forgot to take a photo the first night, and can't remember now what we served it with, but we must have had potatoes for one side dish. The next day we shared the leftover pork chop for brunch, with leftover potatoes that I sauteed in a smidgen of olive oil, a fried egg and a broiled tomato (not shown), also a little Branston Chutney.  This second pork chop dish was delicious.