Pork in orange sauce

This is a variation of pork with peaches and snap peas, the original recipe passed to me from my college roommate.

The sauce, which is added with whatever nuts you want (cashews or peanuts recommended) after the vegetables and meat are cooked, consists of:

- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed juice of clementines

- 1/4 cup corn cob jelly

- 1 tablespoon corn starch

- 2 indivudual serving cups of diced mango

- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

- 2 teaspoons ground ginger 

Asian-style steak leftovers

I'm sure I've posted my Asian-style sauce recipe before... Last night I planned to marinate the leftover meat from the weekend, the asparagus and the carrots, with some added "california blend" veggies from the freezer... I mixed all that into the sauce and let it marinate overnight.

Now, I'm heating my Le Creuset skillet with about a teaspoon butter, a teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon walnut oil and almost two tablespoons sesame oil to stir-fry everything.

I have rice in the steamer.

Clicking "asian" will lead to some variations in the sauce. Or this is the basic recipe:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/02/stir-fry-with-seitan.html

*note* part of the reason I made this was to use up leftover pineapple. I forgot the pineapple! Had I remembered the pineapple I would have sauteed it in the oil before I added anything else.

Pepper Ranch Chicken with French Butter Cream sauce (kind of)

I started this meal with some frozen corn, prepared with no butter or sauce. I also used canned whole potatoes which I cooked in olive oil, low sodium soy sauce (about 50/50 each) and seasonings... in this case I used It's a Dilly. Normally I would use straight dill. You can also use parsley.

The chicken is a variation of Rosemary Pepper Chicken, a French recipe. This is the rosemary chicken recipe as I found it on the Internet about a year ago:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons cracked pink peppercorns
3 tablespoons cracked green peppercorns
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, divided
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1. Mix together peppercorns and spread over both sides of the chicken breasts. Pound with a tenderizing mallet until they are half as thick as before.
2. Melt half the butter over medium high heat. Fry chicken breasts about five minutes per side. Remove chicken to serving dish and keep warm.
3. Stir in the remaining butter, cream, rosemary and garlic into the skillet mixing it into the juices from the chicken. Simmer for five minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over chicken and serve.

My variations:
I always used four color peppercorns in a grinder. I also never seem to have the rosemary so I substitute whatever seasoning I have on hand. Tonight I used organic ranch dip mix. And I don't use chicken breasts, I use tenders. Oh, and I used half and half not cream. But I did use real butter!

Recycling

This may look suspiciously similar to the Cashew Pork with Pea Pods/Pork with Apricots from the other night but it's not (quite). I made more of the orange juice-based sauce, made more veggies, and threw in the leftovers from the pork and the pineapple from our daughter's snack the other day. I served with mini egg rolls and while it was very similar to the original (Sunday) I used slightly different seasonings since I ran out of ginger. We had mango sorbet for dessert. My father-in-law had stuck the mango sorbet in the freezer a while ago...

"Pork with Peaches"

I thawed out the two boneless pork chops I had left from the pork with apples last month and planned to make "pork with peaches" or Cashew Pork with Pea Pods. It's a recipe I got from my college roommate. 

Cashew Pork with

 Pea Pods

1 pound pork, lean and boneless

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups pea pods

1 can peaches chopped

1/2 cup cashews or peanuts

1. Slice pork.

2. Make the sauce: Mix

 the juice, soy sauce, marmalade, corn starch and ginger. Set aside.

3. Cook the pork with the tablespoon oil. When cooked, add pea pods and peaches. Cook long enough to warm the center of the peaches. Add sauce. Cook until bubbly and thicker. Add nuts.

 

4. Serve with rice.

Now, as usual, I deviated from the recipe. I doubled the sauce, used a quarter of the meat, and used Hong Kong Stir Fry veggies (frozen) instead of pea pods. I didn't use marmalade but substituted applesauce. And I skipped the nuts. Oh, and I used apricots instead of peaches.

Then, I made gourmet Asian noodles and stir-fried them so they were a mix of crispy and soft and served them instead of rice.

Daddy's Breakfast Fry

My husband wanted something "hashbrowny" for breakfast. We only have two eggs, but lots of potatoes. So how did he transform this into breakfast for four?

He grated the potatoes, added three Morningstar sausage patties (again, selected because we had them) broken into teeny tiny pieces, and fried it into a scramble with the two eggs. Some oil, some soy sauce, some fresh parsley, and a little garlic pepper. He wanted to add peas, which we, in this family, would have loved, but our house guest hates peas. 

Flea Shampoo Potatoes and Egg Rolls

Tonight my husband has another Christmas party that didn't include spouses or families so the preschooler and I are on our own. I made pineapple fried in equal parts soy sauce, olive oil and canola oil, and the mini egg rolls I mentioned earlier in December.

I also made what is known in this house as "flea shampoo potatoes." I forget the real name, but it's a vegan recipe that can feature either dill or parsley. If you use dill, the smell is oddly reminiscent of flea shampoo. We love dill, and if I have fresh dill I load it on. Simply put, for flea shampoo potatoes you fry the potatoes in olive oil, soy sauce and lots and lots of dill. I like my potatoes salty, so I use 50/50 on the oil and soy sauce but you can adjust to taste. My daughter ate a portion like this and just asked for two more mini egg rolls. AND more potatoes.

Another easy secret to fun convenience food is to use funky sauces. I served these egg rolls with a plum dipping sauce. The 7 oz. bottle was $3.59, which is steep, but it jazzes up a cop-out meal and is used sparingly. I got mine at Wegmans.