Pork & Veggie Stir Fry with noodles

I used to make this all the time with soba noodles and their yummy little spice packet. Then I read what was in the spice packet, so I'm doing it all natural now. I need to find a better option for noodles that doesn't have so much extra crap in it, but I'll use yakisoba for now. Let's see how this turns out. This should include scallions, but I was out. Oh well.

Marinade:

1 large pork sirloin chop, sliced thin
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs dry sherry
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 small piece ginger, smashed

Put this all together in a bowl and throw it in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.

To make:

2 tbs peanut oil
Marinated pork
1 12 oz package stir fry veggies (or chop up one carrot, 1 broccoli head, handful of snow peas)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
3 tbs dry sherry
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch, whisked into soy sauce
One 2 serving package stir fry noodles

Heat 2 tbs peanut oil in a large skillet. When hot, throw in the pork and saute for a minute until slightly brown. Pull it out into a big bowl. Add in veggies, garlic and ginger, stir fry for about five minutes until they soften slightly. Pull that out to the pork bowl. Add a splash of sherry and cook down for a minute. Add the soy sauce with cornstarch and sesame oil with about a 1/2 cup of water. Add the noodles and stir with a fork until they separate. Put on the lid to make it happen faster. Once this is hot, throw the pork and veggies in, then cook until warmed, about 1-2 minutes. Grub.

This needed twice the meat and noodles, but other than that, it was super yummy. Boom.

Arabic yogurt beef with herb potatoes and brussel sprouts

This is a marinade I use all the time with chicken, so I figured I would give it a shot with beef. This goes great with herbed potatoes and brussel sprouts. Yes, I absolutely love brussel sprouts.

Marinade:

1 cup greek yogurt
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs fresh sage, chopped
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes

I marinated 1 1/2 lbs of london broil in this, then threw it in the oven at 325 for 40 minutes.

Herbed potatoes:
2 large yukon gold potatoes, chopped into inch sized cubes
Sprig each of rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage
Kosher salt
Olive oil

Put the herbs into a spice grinder, saving a tsp for the sprouts. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, herbs and kosher salt. Roast under the rack holding the roast for 40 minutes.

For the brussel sprouts, cut off the stems, chop in half and pull off any dead leaves. Toss in olive oil, herbs, a tsp of paprika and a bit of kosher salt and throw in the bottom of the roasting pan for the last 10-15 minutes.

This goes great with tzatziki.

Tzatziki:
3 persian cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 cup greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, smashed
5 grinds black pepper
Kosher salt

Chop the cucumbers into chunks. Put about 2 tsp kosher salt on them and put them in something to drain for at least half an hour. Dry them with paper towels and chop very small. Stir everything together, add salt to taste. Let this sit at least an hour to let the flavors blend.

Crockpot beer chicken

I keep hearing about recipes like this, so I figured I would give it a shot.

4 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large sprig rosemary
1 can beer

Put the chicken breasts in the crockpot. Mine started out frozen, I'm curious if that will turn out well. Pour the beer over the chicken, sprinkle with the spices and drop the rosemary in. Set it on high for two hours then low for four hours. You can set it on low for 8 hours if you're going to be gone all day.

This would be super good with a can of black beans with about 1/8 tsp of each spice. Yum.

I let the chicken go way too long tonight, as the football game turned into extended happy hour. It was a tiny bit dry, but damn that flavor is there.

Spaghetti with red sauce

I eat pasta all the time. This is my go to meal when I'm rushed. I always make a vat of this sauce and freeze a bunch so I always have some on hand.

Red sauce:
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can black olives
2 large springs basil
1/2 bunch italian parsley
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs black pepper
Kosher salt

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook until transluscent, a few minutes. Add the garlic, saute a minute or two. DO NOT let this burn, it will ruin this. Add in the wine and cook down for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Put the olives, basil and parsley in a food processor and pulse until the olives are small chunks and the herbs are shredded. Add this to the sauce. Add in the oregano and pepper. Simmer at least twenty minutes. Taste and add salt. Mine needed about 1 tsp, but this can vary widely. Go by taste, not measurement.

Cook 1/2 lb of spaghetti. Drain, saving a bit of water. Put some of the sauce in a pot, add in 1/2 lb of cooked hot italian sausage, the spaghetti and a small splash of pasta water. Cook for a minute, add parmesan, grub.

Fettuccine with white clam sauce

The first time I ever saw this dish, I was on one of those lame no carb diets back in the early 2000s. The smell of it drove me insane! I have only had it maybe a dozen times since then, but I love it. Except when it's crunchy and you know you got some sand in there, but still. Here's my version, borrowed heavily from others:

Scrub up 16 clams. Saute two smashed garlic cloves in olive oil. Once it starts to brown, add in the clams along with ¾ cup white wine and ½ cup water. Boil and steam for ten minutes. When I saw them open up, it felt like they were happy and saying hello!

Pull out the clams and set aside, discarding any clams that didn’t open. That’s important, the closed ones are dead and will make you sick. Once the clams cool slightly, pull out the meat. Discard the shells unless you want to use a couple for garnish. Save the liquid.

Cook ½ lb linguini until just barely al dente. Add to the skillet the reserved liquid and clams, 1 tbs butter, 1 tbs chopped parsley and oregano, a little bit of lemon zest and juice. Once heated through, add in the pasta along with ¼ cup pasta water. Cook until it starts looking like the sauce is friends with the pasta.

Throw on some parm and grub!

This is the first dish I have ever made that the boyfriend didn't like. He said it tasted funny. To be fair, though, he told me earlier in the day he didn't like mussels and when asked if he liked clams, he said "in chowder." Which I also make awesomely. I thought it was pretty damn good, although I would probably add less water to the clams next time.

Biscuits and Gravy

Prepare to have an all day food coma from this one.

Biscuits:
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs butter
2 tbs shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Gravy:
1/2 lb pork breakfast sausage
3 tbs flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Side dish:
More sausage, of course

Combine two cups of flour with 4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Use a pastry cutter or two forks and cut in 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs shortening. Hurry up, you don't want them to melt. Stir in up to 1 cup of buttermilk, but avoid over mixing. Once it comes together, put it on a floured board and fold it together a few times.

Roll or pat it 3/4 inch think. Cut into 2 1/2 inch circles. You'll get about ten. Put these into a 9" cake tin. You want the edges to touch. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

The gravy is incredibly easy. Cook 1/2 lb crumbled pork breakfast sausage. Once done, add in three tbs flour. Keep cooking until the flour starts to brown. Add about 1 1/2 cups of milk. Keep cooking and stirring until it thickens. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Proceed to drown the biscuits in it.

Beef Stroganoff

This is one of those dishes that I hated when I was a kid and absolutely love now. Mushrooms used to completely gross me out, but the last four years I can't get enough of them as long as they're cooked. Especially in wine. Go figure. I tend to make this with ground beef, but it's easy enough to substitute a similar amount of beef cut into 1/2 inch pieces, you just need to cook it in more butter to make up for the fat content of the ground beef. Here's my version:

Ingredients:
4 tbs butter, maybe more
1 lb ground beef
3 chopped garlic cloves
3 chopped shallots
12 ounces mushrooms
2-4 tbs flour
1 cup white wine or vermouth
4 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups of milk
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 lb egg noodles

Heat 2 tbs of butter in a deep skillet. Brown 1 lb of ground beef. Here's an important tip: this can't run out of grease. If you cook it too long and it soaks back in, or if you use super lean beef, you have to keep adding in a couple tbs of butter here and there. It will not work if it's dry.

Once it's almost cooked, add 3 large chopped garlic cloves and two large chopped shallots. Fry for one minute, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Add in 12 ounces chopped mushrooms. I usually use crimini, but tonight I'm trying it with portabellos. Try to avoid using the boring white button ones. Yawn.

Once the mushrooms start to shrink, add 2-3 tbs flour, enough to soak up the grease from the butter and the beef. If it's a crazy amount of grease, scoop a bit out. Think the consistency of a roux. Cook until the flour starts to turn color, stirring constantly. If you haven't noticed yet, your arm might be a bit sore after this one.

Add 1 cup of white wine, one bay leaf and four sprigs of thyme. Use dry vermouth for a stronger flavor. Next time, I'll let the thyme and bay leaf sit in the wine when I start it. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan. Cook for a bit to lose the stong alcohol flavor. It will be thick from the start, but let it go for at least a couple of minutes, then pull the bay leaf and thyme stems and add 1 1/2 cups of milk. Heat through, still stirring, it will get thick almost immediately. Taste it, add salt and lots of pepper. I used about 1/2 tsp of salt and about ten grinds of pepper. I love lots of pepper in this. Pull off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup sour cream when you're ready to serve.

While this is going on, cook 1/2 lb of egg noodles. Add salt and pepper, lots of butter, and serve the stroganoff over the noodles.

Carne Asada

This is one of my all time favorite dishes. So simple and tasty. Here's the marinade for two pounds of meat:

2 garlic cloves crushed
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs thyme
1 tbs paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs white pepper
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 small onion sliced
1 cup lemon juice

Mix this all together and then throw in the meat. Marinate at least an hour then grill it quickly over high heat. Tada!