Do I get bonus points for being the first to post about a recipe? 🙂 Um, this was awesome.  Seriously, you should make it (she says that in her book and blog, so I figured I would too!).  We really liked this, but I did make a few tweaks…

First, the recipe calls for 5-7lbs pork butt.  It would take Will and me about a year to eat 7 lbs of pork. Okay, not really, but it would take a long time.  So, I did a 3lb pork butt and halved the rest of the recipe.

Secondly, I did a little less than 1/2 of a can of chipotles in adobo. I was not feeling super well and did not want it to be too hot on account of my stomach.  She says in the book that it’s sinus clearing spicy, and while I enjoy that on occasion, I wasn’t in the mood for too hot.  It was the perfect amount of spicy!  Enough to burn your tongue a bit but not be BYA (ask Matt) status! 😉

Third, I cooked it in a crock pot.  The shame of my kitchen outfitting is that I do not own a big pot that can go in the oven.  I need and want one, it just hasn’t happened yet. And I LOVE my crock pot.  In fact, the crock pot was so easy, I would do it that way even if I had a pot!  I did not get the dark color she talked about, but the flavor was incredible and meat juicy…

When I was at the grocery store, I looked up the recipe to see the amount of meat (or what half would be) on the PW website and I saw this coleslaw that she made with it…I made that also, well, half of it, and served the meat on buns.  SO GOOD.  Here’s the slaw recipe for your convenience.  (Please make this too!).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1/2 head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped

Directions:

Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.

Nothing fancy about this recipe, just tastiness.  I took leftovers to work for lunch, and it was delicious.

Sausage and Rice Stuffed Peppers
Everyday Food, September 2011

The rice and sausage mixture can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container until needed.

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used hot)
1 zucchini, diced small
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 garlic clove, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)
4 cups cooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
4 large bell peppers (any color), halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed

1. Preheat oven to 400.  In  large skillet, cook sausage, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 5 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to medium bowl, leaving fat in skillet.  (If sausage is especially lean, add 1 tsp oil.)  Add zucchini, onion and garlic to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender, 8 minutes.

2.  Add zucchini mixture to bowl with sausage, along with Parmesan and rice; stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.  Brush a rimmed baking dish with oil and arrange bell peppers, cut side up, on sheet.  Divide rice mixture among peppers and top with breadcrumbs.  Bake until breadcrumbs are browned and peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.  Serve warm.

This was a good, easy meal that was a little different from our every day cooking.  It was great left over for lunch the next day too.  I recommend a spicy sausage.

Cajun Rice with Sausage
Food Network Magazine, June 2011

2 slices bacon, chopped
12 ounces spicy chicken sausage (I used spicy pork sausage)
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped frozen okra, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp.  Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Add the sausage, onion, celery and bell pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and the sausage begins to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the skillet, then stir in the rice.  Add the chicken broth and 1 cup water and bring to a boil.  Stir in the okra, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, 5 minutes.  Add the bacon and parsley and fluff with a fork.

Um, yum. This was easy and delicious. It’s a Guy Fieri recipe and I don’t watch his show, but I wanted to make Pork Chops and Apples and I found this recipe. The marinating of the pork really helped it to stay juicy, which has been my number one problem with making pork chops. I also bought super thick chops, which I’m sure didn’t hurt. Here’s the recipe!

Ingredients

4 pork chops, double cut, center cut, bone in
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup sliced (1/4-inch) yellow onions
2 cups cored and sliced (1/4-inch) Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

In a resealable plastic bag, add the chops, apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saute pan heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to almost smoking, then add pork chops, shaking off excess marinade. Brown on both sides, then place on a sheet pan and put in the oven for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F.

In the same saute pan deglaze with wine then add onions, apples and raisins and cook until apples are soft and onions are translucent. Add butter salt and pepper, to taste, and keep warm.

Remove chops from oven and add to the apple mixture. Serve hot.

I’ve decided to pick our favorite meal from each week and post it, and I’m already a week behind, so I have a couple recipes to post, and they’re both soups!  I love soups…they’re usually quick to make and they’re great to take to work the next morning!

This is one I found while reading one of the 800 food blogs I follow, and it was surprisingly good!  It’s from Nigella Lawson, who may love food even more than I do, so even though the recipe seemed a little weird, I gave it a try.  You should too!  Matt spiced this up with his favorite, chile garlic sauce.

Vietnamese Pork Noodle Soup

Serves 2-4, depending how hungry you are

• 10 ounces pork tenderloin, cut into thin discs and then fine strips
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 8 ounces ramen noodles
• 1 tablespoon garlic flavored oil
• 6 thin or 3 fat scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh (or frozen) gingerroot
• 1 quart chicken broth (good-quality carton, can or cube is fine), preferably organic
• 3 cups (10 ounces) bean sprouts
• 2 small baby bok choy, torn into pieces
• 2 teaspoons chopped red or green chiles

Put the strips of pork tenderloin into a bowl and add the lime juice, soy sauce, paprika and fish sauce, but don’t let this stand for more than 15 minutes.

Cook the noodles following the package instructions and then refresh in cold water. Heat the chicken broth until almost boiling.

Heat a wok or a deep, heavy-based frying pan, then add the garlic flavored oil and fry the scallions and ginger for a minute or so. Add the pork and its liquid to the wok, stirring as you go.

Cook the meat in the pan for another 2 minutes, then add the hot chicken broth to the pan and bring to a boil.
Check that the pork is cooked through, then add the bean sprouts and baby bok choy. Add water if the soupy base has evaporated too much – about ½ cup of freshly boiled water should do the trick, but you may not need it.

Arrange the drained noodles equally in 2 large or 4 small warmed bowls, ladle over them the pork and vegetables, and finally the soupy stock. Scatter the chopped chiles on top and serve.