Hoisin Pork Roast

I found this recipe on Katie’s Kitchen. We had everything on hand and a day off from anything today so I figured I would give it a shot. We served this with Jasmine Rice and an Asian Vegetable blend. We were stuffed & had a bunch leftover. This is a great way to cook pork loin and has a great flavor to it. Enjoy!!


Hoisin Pork Roast
cooking spray
1 boneless pork loin (3 lbs.), tied
1   10oz. jar of hoisin or duck sauce
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
2 T. fresh grated ginger
1 T. chili paste
1 T. rice wine or rice wine vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
4 tsp. cornstarch
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray and add pork roast.  In a small bowl combine hoisin, garlic, ginger, chili paste, rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Whisk in corn starch.  Pour sauce over the pork.

Cover the slow cooker and the roast until fork tender or 160 degrees.  Which is about 3 1/2 hours on high heat and 8 hours on low.  Transfer the pork to a platter, cover with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes.  Pour the cooking liquid in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes, then skim any fat from surface. ** I cooked mine for 6 hours on low and it was perfect.

Slice the pork and arrange on a platter.  Sprinkle the scallions and cilantro on top.  Serve the Asian sauce on the side.

Chili-Lime Steak Salad

I was in the mood for taco salad and ended up coming across this recipe. I’m so glad I did too. It looks like a lot of steps but really, it comes together super easy. Make your dressing at least an hour before you start the rest of it. Take care of the steak and while the steak is grilling & resting, prep the rest of your veggies. In this link, you’ll find the main recipe with links to the dressing and steak rub.

Cancy & I both really liked this. It’s definitely going to be put on the menu again soon.

Chili-Lime Steak Salad

1 1/2 lb flank steak, cooked with lime-chile rub and sliced into 1/4" slices
1 recipe Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing
1 large head romaine lettuce
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed in cold water
1-2 avocados, sliced
cilantro for garnish

Start with a nice bed of cold, crunchy lettuce, top with steak, tomatoes, onion, black beans, and avocado.  Top with cilantro and fried tortilla strips if desired.  Serve with lime-cilantro dressing

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (ignore directions on the packet)
1C mayo
1/2 C milk
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa
hot sauce

Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender.   Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice.  Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa.  Blend 'er up.  Sample it and add hot sauce to taste.  Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

Lime-Chili Steak Rub

1 t chili powder
1 t granulated garlic
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t oregano
1/8- 1/4 t cayenne pepper*
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
*If you have chipotle chili powder, you can substitute it for the cayenne or just add a little in addition
1 lime (about 2 T lime juice)
1-2 lbs flank steak, or other good grilling cut

Juice the lime into a small bowl. Add spices and stir to combine. Some limes have more juice than others, so sometimes the mixture will be more liquid-y and sometimes it will be more pasty. If you find you're a little short on lime juice, just add a teaspoon or two of extra virgin olive oil to stretch it out.

Place the steak in a shallow dish and pour the spice mixture on top. Use your hands to massage it in there.

Let it sit for 15 minutes. During that time preheat your grill.

Place meat on hot grill. If you're using flank steak it should take about 5-7 minutes on each side.

When steak is finished, remove from grill and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it.  Slice in strips against the grain.

Italian Chicken & Marinara

This something I’ve been making for awhile. It’s super easy for those nights when you don’t feel like spending forever in the kitchen. If you can find the fat free croutons, it’s also a fairly healthy italian dish. I hope you like it.

Italian Chicken & Marinara

Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts
1 egg, whisked
1 pkg of croutons, I used fat free seasoned croutons, crushed

Marinara
1 16oz can of tomato sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp each basil & oregeno
4 Tbsp of fat free 1/2 & 1/2

Prepare chicken breasts by dipping in whisked egg, then dredging in crushed croutons.
heat abut 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium pan and use this to pan fry breaded chicken.

Saute garlic in the butter until the edges of the garlic begin to brown. Add tomato sauce, salt & herbs. Simmer until ready to serve. Add the 1/2 & 1/2 and heat through just before serving.

Boil 2 servings of pasta until al dente

Lay pasta on plate, set chicken breast on top and pour marinara over top.

A Manly Meal...

Every so often, Cancy grows tired of experimenting and longs for some simple man food. He's a good taste tester for my experiments more often than not, so when he requests simple, I've got to give in.



Steak & Loaded Baked Potato

For our steak marinade, we tend to use a random combination of the following:

Worcestershire, Soy Sauce, Liquid Smoke, Beer, salt & pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Grill it up and you have a man pleasing meal.

Jalapeno Grilled Lamb Tortas

Every once in awhile, I find a really interesting recipe at my grocery store. This was in the April magazine put out by HEB. I’m a huge fan of ground lamb and all things avocado so this seemed like a great fit. Cancy & I both really liked it and it’s perfect for the many spring/summer grilling evenings that we get in Texas.

Jalapeno Grilled Lamb Tortas


1 pound ground lamb
1 cup Diced Sweet Onion
1/2 cup cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
4 whole wheat bolillos (I used small loaves of Ciabatta Bread)
1 cup Grated Cotija Cheese
1 Avocado, thin sliced

Combine lamb, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño. Do not over mix or it will be tough. Shape into 4 patties 1 inch thick.

Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium 375°F to 400°F. Grill for 6 minutes, turning once and cooking to desired degree of doneness (145°F to 155°F internal temperature).

Place patty on half of bread, top with cheese, 3 to 4 slices of avocado, and the top of the bun.

Roasted Red Pepper, Beef & Goat Cheese tossed with Pasta

Yeah pretty original on the name, right? Couldn’t come up with anything creative so here you have it. I was inspired by a flank steak roll that Elly made, but not a fan of sundried tomatoes and not enough patience last night to make the actual rolls. So why not just toss it all together. :)

Roasted Red Pepper, Beef & Goat Cheese tossed with pasta

1/2 lb flank steak, cut into bite sized pieces
1 8 oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained, diced
1 4 oz log of goat cheese (we used 4 pepper goat cheese)
a splash of red wine
1/2 Cup Beef Broth
2 servings of cooked and drained pasta.

In a large pan, brown beef and add red peppers about 1/2 way through. Cook until beef is medium. deglaze the pan by adding about 1/8 - 1/4 Cup of red wine. Let that cooke down. Add the beef broth, let that reduce by about 1/2.

Add the goat cheese by breaking into small pieces and adding a little at a time, stirring to combine as it melts. Add your seasonings at this point. We just used a little garlic salt and some fresh ground black pepper.

Toss with cooked pasta. Enjoy!