Slow Cook Pork Sirloin Salad

This is one of the things I do when I make pulled pork.  Its perfect over a salad because you won't need any dressing.  Its also great over rice or in a wrap/burrito.  Some times I'll serve it on toasted Pulgese bread with a good coleslaw.

Ingredients

For pork:

Whole pork sirloin

1 Onion sliced lengthwise

Chicken stock

Paprika

Fennel Seed

Spike seasoning and S&P

For Salad:

Romaine lettuce chopped

Spinach chopped

1 Tomato diced

1 Roasted red pepper (jar) diced

Jalepenos (jar) sliced/chopped

Sprouts

Heat dry sauce pan add fennel seed and toast a few mins. until you really smell the fennel.

Make sure as much fat is trimmed from the meat as possible.  Season pork with paprika and spike and S&P

Slice onion lengthwise.

Sear meat on all sides at med high heat and then add onion and saute til sightly translucent.

Add chicken stock until it comes half way up the meat.  Reduce to mid low heat and simmer.

Simmer a couple hours, adding a little stock now and then to keep liquid at about the same level.  Turn meat about every half hour.  When its fork tender and almost falling apart, turn off heat.  Take 2 forks and shred meat with them.  Keep meat in liquid.  Its easier to shred while its still warm.  I do it right in the sauce pan.  Serve pork on toasted buns or by it's self with some mashed potatoes or like I did below on a salad.

Combine the above listed salad ingredients or choose your own, top with pulled pork, and enjoy. 

Herb and Garlic Roasted Turkey Legs

This meal took me back to my days in Germany.  Roasted turkey legs, red potatoes with fresh dill, and an apple and fennel salad.  A crisp white wine. All I needed was an umpa band playing in the background.  There were turkey legs on sale at my local grocery store so this was a great choice. 

Ingredients

1 turkey leg per person

3 cloves of garlic

3 red potatoes per person

1 green apple

1 fennel bulb

1 orange

Fresh or dried herbs (dill, thyme, sage and rosemary)

red wine vinegar

olive oil

dry mustard

Worcesteshire sauce

Spike seasoning

S & P



 I put the legs in a big zip lock bag with olive oil, chopped garlic, pepper, dry mustard, Worcestershire, and chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage.  (you can also use any dried herbs you prefer) The picture shows horseradish but I ended up not using it.

Put it all in the zip lock and refrigerate overnight.

Before you cook these, rinse them off and pat dry with a paper towel. Spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle Spike seasoning on them.  Set in a pan with a rack and use a thermometer set to 180 degrees.  When done take out of oven and let rest 5 mins before serving. 

 

While legs are cooking, slice fennel bulb very thin lengthwise. 

Quarter apple and slice very thin.  Combine in a large bowl and grate orange zest into it.  Then squeeze all the juice from the orange into bowl and add 1 Tbs of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and S&P.  The picture shows shallot too, but after trying it, it would be better without the shallot.

Chop some of the fennel tops and add them too.

While legs are cooking, clean red potatoes and quarter them or if they are small half them.  Boil them til a fork goes through them easily.  Drain and then toss in @ 2 Tbs of butter, salt, and chopped fresh dill.

Serve with a crisp white wine.  Total time for this meal was about 30 - 40 mins.

Mexican Chicken Salad

Here's a super quick lunch that you can use either fresh sauteed chicken tenders or left over chicken.  I buy rotisserie chickens quite often and there is always left over.  Salads like these are great for getting that second meal out of your chickens!

It only takes a couple ingredients to make this delicious salad.  Not shown is the plain fat free yogurt I use instead of sour cream.  Its much more beneficial nutritionally and less calories but tastes just as good. 

Chopped Romaine

Shredded Mexican Style Cheese

Alfalfa Sprouts

Lime wedges

Tomato (diced)

Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

Chopped Jalapenos (fresh or jar)

Salsa

Plain Yogurt

Sauteed Chicken Tenders or any left over chicken cut into 1" pieces

This is some chicken tenders I used and sauteed.  Seasoned with Spike or just S&P.

MY SECRET FOR JUICY SAUTEED CHICKEN!!!

1.  Med high saute pan

2.  Add a small amount of oil

3.  Add chicken to pan and turn down to med low

4.  Cook first side with no cover while pan is still hot and will gradually cool down

5.  Turn chicken over when the juices start forming on top of chicken

@ 4 mins for tenders and @ 6 mins for breasts

6.  Cover with a lid but leave a 1/2" crack

7.  Cook a couple more mins and remove cover for the last min.

8.  Its done when you press the chicken with a fork or finger and it is still a little springy (not firm)

Remove chicken and let it rest (sit) for a few mins so the juices redistribute back into the meat.

Cut into "1 cubed pieces.

Put all ingredients into a large bowl in this order.  Romaine, black beans, sprouts, tomato, chicken, jalapenos, salsa, yogurt, and cheese . 

Finish by squeezing fresh lime juice over the salad and enjoy!

Shrimp with Red Thai Curry and Vegetables

 

Serves 2 people but can be stretched to 4 by increasing shrimp by 1/2 more and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock.

1/2 lb P&D (peeled and devained) Shrimp any size will do

4 lg stalks of bok choy sliced 1/2"

1/2 onion sliced lengthwise

1 can of water chestnuts sliced

1 cup baby bella mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced carrots

2 stalks sliced celery

1 Tbs Red Thai curry paste

1 can coconut milk

1 Tbs fish sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 Tbs soy sauce

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp Agave nectar or sugar

Chives

Cooked rice of any kind

Separate a little coconut milk and mix in the red curry paste.  You can also add that back into the other coconut milk once the paste is thoroughly mixed in.  Add the agave(sugar), lime, fish sauce, chicken stock, and soy sauce to the coconut milk mixture.

Saute onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, water chestnuts and shrimp for a few mins.  Add coconut milk mixture and bring to a boil.

Add bok choy and chives and cook for a couple more mins.  Serve with rice on the side.

Grilled Lamb and Curried Mushrooms

3 Lamb chops per person
Spike seasoning
1 cup Baby Bella mushrooms per person (quartered)
Curry Seasoning
White wine
Chicken Stock
1/2 head of escarole (for 2 people)
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Chop escarole into @ 1" pieces.  Finely chop garlic.

Quarter mushrooms.
Season Lamb with Spike seasoning and get grill hot.  Wait till lamb is room temp before grilling.  Get two saute pans hot and add a small amount of oil.  Put lamb on the grill and cook @ 4mins. per side.
Add mushrooms to one pan and sprinkle with curry powder and S&P.  You can use your own blend of curry spices or a pre-made one.  I used a combination of both.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook a few mins before adding a couple splashes of white wine.  Reduce wine to au sec(almost dry) and add a couple splashes of chicken stock.

In the other pan add escarole and garlic. S&P  After a min add lemon juice and a splash of chicken stock.  Cook a couple more mins and remove from heat.

Remove lamb from the grill and let it rest at room temp or warm place for a few mins so the juices redistribute into the meat.

Mushrooms should be done by now and the liquid should be almost gone.  Remove from heat and plate everything.

This meal only takes about 20 mins start to finish.  There aren't a lot of ingredients which makes it simple.  Pair it with a full bodied red wine like Cabernet or Zinfandel.

Sweet n Spicy Grilled Flat Iron and Lemon Rice

1 Flat Iron Steak

Lg head of broccoli

1 cup Short Grain White Rice

1/2 cup frozen peas

Juice of 1/2 a lemon and its zest

2 Sprigs of Thyme

1 Sprig of Rosemary chopped to fine

Spice Rub (equal parts brown sugar, chipotle powder, minced garlic, chili powder, rosemary 1/2 portion cumin, salt and pepper)

Rub flat iron with olive oil and coat with spice rub.  Let sit until room temp.

Cook rice with sprigs of thyme.  When done add peas, lemon juice and zest.  Hold warm covered.

Add chopped broccoli to boiling salted water.  About 5-8 mins til al dente.

Grill flat iron about 7 mins on each side and let rest for 5 mins before slicing against the grain in 1/4" slices.

White Fish with Spaghetti Squash

Most of the recipes I've been posting lately have come from my "quick, you have a half an hour to cook something before work" files.  They are simple and I think most people wouldn't have trouble replicating them.  This one is sauteed white fish (any will do) and sauteed asparagus.  The spaghetti squash is steamed, shredded with a fork and topped with spaghetti sauce.