Ham and Beans

Extended Shelf Life for: Ham Bone

After the Christmas meal in Sturgis, I was the lucky winner to receive the ham bone! I was truly thrilled and new that we would be enjoying a simple, quick to assemble soup within a few days of the new year.

Since I primarily use dry beans these days I let about three cups of beans soak over night - I used a combination of kidney, pinto and even some lentils.

In the morning, I threw in a diced onion, the ham bone and additional water and left it on low for the day. Upon returning home I merely had to add some additional spices which I deemed necessary at the time (and currently can't recall) and a single can of tomato sauce just for funsies!

Pork Cutlets and Braised Purple Cabbage

Extended Shelf Life for: Red Cabbage, Onion, Bread

If you know the man at all, you are well aware that he is a good eater, bless his soul, because if he wasn't, I don't know what I would do. He eats a wide variety of vegetables and although he claims that the "Only thing better than meat and potatoes is meat and meat," the truth is, we eat a lot of veggie-heavy meals and even a lot of vegetarian meals, so really, his life doesn't center around meat.

This meal is not vegetarian, and it's actually kind of close to a meat and potatoes meal, but my man was so extremely satisfied by this meal that I am extremely confident that it would go over well in many homes...I think...it is still cabbage...which can be unappetizing to some.

Braised Purple Cabbage ~ Ingredients/Directions:

Quarter, core and thinly shred 1 head of Purple Cabbage. Soak in a large bowl of water.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp. Butter in a heavy skillet or cast iron kettle (my personal choice). Once melted and fragrant, add and saute until golden 1/4 cup finely chopped Onion.

Remove cabbage from water and add to pan along with 1 thinly sliced Apple, 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar, and a shake of Salt.

Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 1 - 1 1/2 hours adding hot water as needed - at the end you want moist, but not soaked cabbage. It will be sweet and tangy and perfectly accompanied by a drizzle of yogurt and topped with pork cutlets as described below!

Pork Cutlets ~ Ingredients/Directions:

Thinly slice as many pork chops as you need to satisfy whoever will be at your table.

Heat 2-3 Tbsp. of Vegetable oil in a heavy skillet or cast iron skillet (again, my choice).

Dip each pork cutlet into a shallow bowl of flour, followed by a bowl of 2 beaten eggs and finally a bowl of bread crumbs (I made my own by saving the heels of bread, drying them in the oven and running them through our juicer on the mincing nozzle, a food processor would work as well).

Fry in the skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side, drain on a layer or two of paper towels, enjoy on a bed of braised cabbage!

Samgyupsal Breakfast Burritos

Samgyupsal is Korean three-layered pork which resembles bacon but doesn't have that cured and salty factor the American bacon possesses. Regardless of your opinion on how bacon/pork should taste, Samgyupsal is delicious as a grilled/BBQ'd meat which is the typical serving style here in South Korea - but it also makes for a nice addition to various dishes including good ole Saturday Morning Breakfast Burritos.

Also, i did these burritos up with some additional flare because it just so happened to be a day when I need to clear a few things out of the refridgerator - so while I add a common Korean meat dipping paste and a few tablespoons of ranch to my eggs, it's not really necessary, but helpful if you find yourself in need of clearing out some room in the fridge.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large skillet, fry up some thinly sliced samgyusal until cooked through, use scissors to cut the pork into bite size pieces. If loads of fat have been rendered, drain some off, however about a Tbsp. or so will be a nice way to add flavor and non-sticking power to 1 chopped Green Pepper a handful of diced Cherry Tomatoes and 2 cloves of minced Garlic. While sauteing the pork and the veggies, beat in a seperate bowl 6-8 eggs with no more than a 1/4 cup of ranch and a Tbsp. or 2 of Korean bean paste for dipping meat. Make sure sufficient oil/fat remains in the skillet to keep the eggs from sticking before pouring it over the meat and veggies. Let egg set slightly before using a spatula to break up the egg and continue cooking. Throw the mix in a flour tortilla, top with cheese, fold it up and throw on to a hot, dry skillet to  melt the cheese and make the outside crispy. Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Fried Rice

Fried rice is an easy go-to dish, especially with some pulled pork, rice pilaf and rosted veggies waiting patiently in the freezer to be used. My day of cooking back in September is still serving us in May - I could be embarassed by this, but I will choose to be proud that food stays in our freezer for ridiculous amounts of time ^^

In the Korean grocery store it is a simple task to find 'bulgogi marinade' a kind of sweet sauce for one of my personal favorite Korean meats. Therefore, with marinade in hand and a thawed baggie of pork, rice (plus an additional cup left over from a previous meal) and roasted peppers and onions, I went to work re-heating and preparing, topping the whole thing off with some monteray jack cheese and a fried egg!

Seaweed Dinner Wraps

The meal and the chef that inspired me ^^

In Korea, it is not highly uncommon to enjoy a variety of vegetables, a meat and some lettuce to wrap everything up in. Many of the man and my favorite meals involve just that, wrapping meat in lettuce. Recently, a friend of ours invited us over for dinner and had a sort of mini-buffet of deliciously marinaded meat, a variety of vegetables, rice and seaweed and lettuce for creating wraps. Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious and inspiring! You can definitely go about this type of meal anyway you wish, our friend included Muenster cheese with her wraps which was fantastic! Ours were a bit more simple just because...it's what I had time for. This particular dinner I cooked up some thinly sliced pork (dae-pae samgyupsal - similar to bacon but uncured), mixed in some bulgogi marinade and a sliced onion for the meat dish. For the vegetables I served up thinly sliced carrots and cucumbers as well as a beautiful mix of sprouts I got at our little grocery store. Throw in some rice and have some lettuce or seasoned seaweed ready to go and you're all set for a most delicious and enjoyable dinner!

Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

 

This is amongst one of the first recipes I ever pinned on Pinterest, unfortunately it took me entirely too long to get around to preparing this insanely easy and delicious pork tenderloin. Fortunately, it made for a perfect Easter-away-from-home dinner.

Ingredients/Directions:
Pinned from Let's Dish Recipes

Season a 2 lb. (~1Kg) Pork Tenderloin with Oregano, Salt, Pepper and minced Garlic to taste (just a few shakes of each) and place in the slow cooker with 1/2 cup of Water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. In the last hour of cooking, combine on the stove-top 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch, 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, 1/2 cup Water and 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce until thickened. Brush the pork loin with this mixture 2-3 times during the last hour of cooking and serve the loin with any left over sauce. Enjoy with rice and a fresh green salad and more importantly with good friends!

Colcannon and Guinness Sausage Gravy

Closet Cooking lead to the majority of my St. Patrick's day cooking inspiration. Following Sour Cream Banana Bread (which was intended to hold me over while preparing this Colcannon and Gravy before our Iron Chef: Guinness St. Pat's Party) I took a look at his recipe for Bangers and Colcannon with Guinness Onion Gravy before making some adjustments and creating a pork gravy to accompany the colcannon since Bangers are not readily or affordably available in South Korea.

Colcannon - Ingredients/Directions:
Boil a large pot of peeled and cubed Potatoes (I used 8-10 small-medium potatoes) until fork tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet cook 1 small package of Bacon or 4-5 slices until the fat is rendered. Season the bacon with salt and pepper and add 1 Tbsp. of Butter until the butter and bacon fat is foamy. Add 1/4 of head of cabbage that has been thinly sliced and coat in the greasy goodness. Cook until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Add 4 sliced Green Onions and cook about 3 minutes before setting aside until potatoes have finished cooking and you have added sour cream, milk and butter to taste. Then mix the cabbage and the potatoes together, serve with gravy. (If you're waiting for guests, it's possible to keep this mixture warm in a slow-cooker.)

Pork Guinness Gravy - Ingredients/Directions:

Begin by marinating ground pork in 1/2 can of Guinness, 3 minced cloves of Garlic, 1 tsp. Thyme, 2 Tbsp. grainy brown mustard, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. I let it marinate for one or two hours before browning in a skillet. Once the ground pork has cooked thoroughly add 1 chopped Onion and 1 cup chopped Mushroom, saute.  Now remove the meat and veggies from the pan, leaving the drippings in order to create a savory gravy. To pan drippings, add the remainder of the can of Guinness and sprinkle in two Tbsp. Flour. Quickly whisk together the beer and flour while on medium-low heat. Depending on the amount of gravy you desire, continue to add Guinness (or water) and flour until you have the perfect consistency, reintroduce the meat and veggie mix stirring together and ensuring the gravy consistency is as you would desire.

Chilie Sour Cream Pork Layer Enchiladas

This was delicious. So much so, we ate it two nights in a row. So much so, that the man and the Lady (annyeong) licked the plates clean.

I recently made yogurt. Two jars were exactly what I wanted my yogurt to be. Three jars were a little more sour and thick than I had intended, a little like sour cream, so I decided. Therefore, I searched for recipes that used sour cream and substituted my home-made sour-creamish yogurt.

There's a lot of parts to enchiladas. Don't fret. Just breath and take your time, the efforts quite worth it!

Ingredients/Directions:

I began with the sauce which came together by melting 1/4 cup Butter in a small saucepan and then adding 1/4 cup Flour and stirring about 5 minutes to make a roux. (The author of my recipe inspiration states the key to roux is working the flour-butter mixture until  the flour smell resides). Slowly whisk in 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth before reducing the heat and whisk in 1 1/2 cups Sour Cream. Once sauce is well mixed, add diced green chilies from a can or fresh diced green chilies, salt and pepper all to taste.

With the sauce complete, move on to the meat filling. For this, I simply diced up one Onion, minced 2-3 Garlic cloves and sauteed them before adding a small package of ground pork and cooking it through.

Now, it's time for assembly. You can do the whole wrapped enchilada concept which will likely look more lovely, however, in an itty-bitty oven I've found the layered, casserole style dish is a much better option. For this, I just dip a corn tortilla in the cream sauce, place in the bottom of a small round casserole dish, sprinkle with pork filling and shredded Monterrey jack cheese until the dish is filled. Pop the dish in the oven at 350*F (177*C) and bake for 15 minutes with a cover and 5 minutes uncovered until golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

Tomato, Basil and Pork Pasta

Ingredients/Directions:

Bring some water to boil and prepare some pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown up some ground or finely diced pork, add a touch of oil and saute an onion and a few cloves of minced garlic before throwing in 2 cups of Tomato Sauce and heating thoroughly. Mix in pasta and one or two handfuls of fresh basil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, enjoy!

Pork Fried Rice

Spring must be around the corner since I'm a bit anxious lately to 'clean things out' - I've really been taking to my freezer since I have all those pre-made frozen dishes that were intended to get me through the end of my MAED course, which they did.  But so did cheap Korean food.  So, there's still a lot of frozen dishes which have proven a blessing, but also a challenge, I like cooking completely fresh, I'm not a busy mom, so once-a-month-cooking isn't a must...not to mention, cooking is a sort of outlet for me. If I don't cook/bake regularly things get rough, or as rough as they ever do for me and the mild-mannered man.

Anyway, I used up a good bit of frozen pieces in this fried rice, so it was a quick dish to make, which is always nice.

Ingredients/Directions:

Prior to making the rice, prepare some vegetables in this fashion, I did bok choy once again.

Also consider roasting some tofu as suggested and directed here.

In a large skillet, wok or whatever you can fit all required ingredients into, heat some olive oil. Meanwhile, whisk 2-3 eggs with a splash of soy sauce and some minced garlic. Scramble egg and remove from the pot. Next add a touch of oil if needed and throw in 2 cups of shredded pork and three cups of day old or frozen rice and soy sauce to taste, mix and heat thoroughly. Add prepared vegetables and egg, mix and season to taste with soy sauce, serve alongside roasted tofu and enjoy!

Black and White Chili

I've been talking up White Chicken Chili to a Korean friend of mine here.  She then told me it was necessary I make this dish for her. And because she's a true gem, she kept on me and when I finally invited her over she decided to invite a couple of her friends that I'd been wanting to meet.

(I realize this may seem obnoxious to some folks, but truly, I love her for her boldness in these matters. I also love having my home filled with new people. AND considering the fantastic friend that she is, I'm always eager to meet those whom she describes with affection and joy, so I was thrilled to have more than a couple mouths to feed.)

But, here's the other part of that story. I only have one of two bags of white beans left in my kitchen and I didn't buy them in South Korea, nor can I buy them in South Korea, so I brought them from the states. And I'm a little selfish with these sorts of things. Black beans however, are available in Korea. So, I opted for a Black and White chili which was just as satisfying to my friend and prevented me the sadness of using up a treasured food item, heaven forbid.

Ingredients/Directions:
Inspired by this post at Black Girl Chef's Whites

In a large stockpot heat about 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil.  Add to heated oil 1 Onion, chopped, saute 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, mince 3-5 Garlic Cloves and chop 2-3 large Mushrooms (between 1-2 cups), add to sauteing onions and oil (I also like to add 1-2 Tbsp. Butter anytime I cook with Mushrooms, just a habit). Stir to coat additions in oil before adding 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder, 1 tsp. Oregano (or basil if desparate), 1 tsp. Salt, and 1 tsp. Cumin - saute and heat until spices are aromatic.  Next add 3 cups of shredded or ground meat (I used 1 cup pre-cooked Chicken and 2 cups pre-cooked Pork) cook thoroughly if not pre-cooked. Add 2 cups Chicken Broth, 2 cups White Beans and 2 cups Black Beans and water if necessary for proper consistency.  Add seasonings as you see fit for your palate as well as a can of diced green chiles (or fresh roasted green chiles, I often roast a large batch, even a mix of peppers, throw them into a food processor with olive oil and garlic, spoon into ice cube trays and then use these to spice up my soups, but that's primarily because when I buy peppers in Korea I get a couple dozen for about a dollar...but never need that many at once) and a handful of fresh cilantro (or ice cubed, frozen cilantro pesto, another trick I've acqured thanks to Korea).

Serve this soup with grated cheddar cheese and a few corn bread muffins and you've got yourself a hearty, winter meal.

Ddeokguk - Korean Rice Cake Soup

You can have a new year in Korea without having a bowl full of Ddoek-guk.  And when we opted to host a Redneck Life game night on the 2nd of January our friend Aaron and a Korean friend decided it was good and appropriate to bring us a bag of ddeok-guk-ddeok (the rice cake noodles specific to this soup - pictured top left and top center). So I did a bit of research and whipped up an incredibly large pot of ddeok-guk one week after the new year!

The original recipe calls for boiling beef in the first step but since I still have an abundance of freezer goods including shredded pork, I went that route.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large pot bring to boil 1/2 onion, 3 scallions and 8 smashed garlic cloves with 10 cups water (or mix of water and choice of broth).  Reduce heat and simmer (1 hour if you added beef, 20-30 minutes if you're using freezer pork).  Meanwhile, soak ddeok, Korean rice cake, in a bowl of cold water about 20-30 minutes.  Mix 1/2 lb. cooked meat with 2 minced cloves of garlic, a touch of sesame oil, salt and pepper (can be used as topping or thrown into broth after the next step). Strain onion, scallions and garlic from broth pot. Drain ddeok of cold water. Add deok and meat to the boiling broth, let boil for 8-10 minutes until ddeok is soft and chewy. Whisk 2-3 eggs, drizzle into soup, let set about one minute before stirring. Serve soup with crushed seaweed on top and welcome in the New Year!

Italian Pork and Potato Stew

The slow-cooker is absolutely wonderful. I can't imagine life without.

Ingredients/Directions:

Throw into a crock pot - 3-4 cubed Potatoes (peeled if you prefer), 1 chopped Carrot, 1 chopped Onion, 2 diced Tomatoes, 5 minced Garlics, one or two cups of Shredded Pork, 1/2 cup Tomato Paste, and a combination of Cold Chaser Tea, Water and/or Broth to cover all fresh ingredients, turn on low and cook for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5. Season with salt, pepper, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning blend and enjoy with fresh bread and friends!

Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Once again, thanks to a plethora of frozen foods, the Man and I plus our friend Aaron had a decent meal regardless of the hours I had spent and still needed to spend sitting at a computer busting out MAED papers and such.

So, with a bag of thawed pork and a few fresh ingredients including: ginger, bok choy, bean sprouts and green onions, I set to work on these Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Ingredients/Directions:

(from Everyday with Rachel Ray - September 2011)

Soak rice noodles in warm water.  In a large pot bring 1qt. of beef or pork broth, 4 cups water and a 1 inch sliced piece of ginger to a boil.  Divide 1 cup (or two if you want more meat) pork, 6 baby bok choy, 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts, and 1/4 cup sliced green onions among 4 large soup bowls. Divide soaked noodles into four equal portions.  Using a mesh strainer lower one portion of noodles at a time into the boiling broth for 1-2 minutes. Transfer noodles to soup bowls, continue until all noodles are cooked.  Ladle hot broth into bowls serve with fresh cilantro, lime and hot chili oil.

Pulled Pork: For a Month

Rachel Ray does this massive dish in the oven. My oven is small. And...I prefer the slow cooker. You need a TON of pork roast - I'm sayin' like 8-10 lbs which is a lot. For the slow cooker, just cut it into chunks that fit into the slow-cooker, season with salt, lemon zest, minced garlic and pepper then cook on low 8-10 hours. Let cool slightly and shred it with two forks. Freeze in 1 cup portions should be between 10-15 cups of pork to be used with a number of dishes at a later date.

(If you aren't familiar with once-a-month-cooking, the concept is simple. Prepare food in large portions, freeze and use at a later date. Most once-a-month-cooking sites/recipes have you prepare quite a few dishes, Rachel Ray gives you five --in a recent magazine that is -- which you prepare, freeze and then use her simple recipes to jazz up one to three of the ingredients which are happily stored in the freezer. It'll make more sense as I begin my overlapped coursework with the Master's and start pulling foods out of the freezer for some uber-convenience cooking that's still 'fresh' and home-made. I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing).

Biscuits and Gravy -- Hallelujah!

It finally happened. And it happened multiple times. And it's happening as leftovers. Praise the Lord! I love Biscuits and Gravy!

Ingredients/Directions:

Heat 1-2 Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet. Brown about 12 links (out of their casings) of sausage or the equivalent (I recently just used ground pork which required a bit more oil but filled the craving regardless). Once cooked through, throw 1-2 minced garlic cloves into the pan and saute until fragrant. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of Flour to soak up the oil/grease. Time to gradually add in some milk, probably 1.5 - 2 cups. Heat on the stove top 10-15 minutes until thickened. (I get impatient and occassionally add another Tbsp. of flour...you can too if you want, I won't tell).

Meanwhile, mix two cups of flour with 1 Tsp. Sugar, 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder and 1 tsp. Salt. Cut in 8 Tbsp. Butter with a fork or pastry blender. Make a well of the crumbly mixture and add 3/4 cups of Milk. Knead the dough, drop or roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter or top of a glass, place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes.

Smother those biscuits with gravy and you will be lovin' life!