Crunchy Asian Slaw

I sure enjoyed this salad for lunch the other day.

It has great crunch and depth of flavor. The dressing really brought it home.

I had a leftover pork chop and figured, what better way to use it. I didn't add it in the recipe because it was really an afterthought, but if you have it, throw it in there. It works!

I cut it into small strips and added it to the skillet right towards the end 

of browning my noodles so it could warm through.

Really fast and easy and oh so yummy,  but just one thing. It doesn't keep in the fridge well. 

I wanted some more for supper and the taste was still there, but the crunch was all but forgotten.

Linked with Foodie Friends Friday, Sunflower Supper Club: Weekend Potluck, Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday and Rattlbridge Farm: Foodie Friday.

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Crunchy Asian Slaw

3 cups Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced

2 cups Cabbage, thinly sliced

1 large Carrot, shredded

1/2 Red Pepper, chopped

5 Green Onion, chopped, divided use

Juice of 1 lime, use on prepared salad

2 tbsp Butter

1 pkg Ramen Noodles, noodles only

1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

1/2 cup Slivered Almonds

Dressing:

1 large Garlic Clove, minced

2 Fresno Pepper, seeded and minced

1 tsp Ginger, freshly grated on microplane

1 tbsp Tamari

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

1 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

Juice of 1 Lime

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients except olive oil. While whisking, slowly stream in oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl; combine cabbage, carrot, red pepper and 3 green onions. Set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet; crunch up ramen noodles and brown in the butter along with sesame seeds and slivered almonds, stirring often. Add to cabbage mixture along with dressing and toss to combine. Juice 1 more lime over top of salad, also adding remaining 2 green onions and more sesame seeds, if desired.

Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

I really enjoy balsamic vinegar. Especially a good quality one. They seem to be just a little bit thicker and sweeter than many of the brands out there. 

My favorite is from Williams-Sonoma. It's called "Olivier" and has been Barrel-Aged 25 years. I think it's actually made by "Olivier Napa Valley" just for them. 
You can read more about it here.

I got side tracked.

Made these potatoes last night and they were scrumptious.

Loved the crust that formed. It had a slight sweetness to it from the vinegar, and that combined with the spices...match made in heaven. Or my kitchen, anyway!

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

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Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs baby new potatoes

1 tbsp rosemary, fresh

1-2 tsp basil, dried/plus fresh for garnish if desired

1 tsp paprika

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash potatoes  and cut them in half, or quarters if they are big. Place in a large bowl and add rosemary, basil, paprika, garlic, and two tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Mix well so that all potatoes are covered. 

Coat a large baking sheet with olive oil or spray; spread out potatoes in a single layer and roast for 25 minutes, or until tender.

Take potatoes out of the oven and drizzle on the balsamic vinegar making sure to get every potato. Put the potatoes back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. 

Slightly adapted from: The Lazy Cook

Crockpot Poblano Pork Roast

I was so pleased with how tender this roast came out. The flavor was awesome!

And the onions and peppers.....my oh my. 

The roast just fell apart and the crust the spices formed was great.

We ended up serving this on corn tortillas topped with the onions and peppers

along with some cheese and salsa. Delicious! It would also be great served over 

something like mashed potatoes or grits, because it formed a wonderful sauce while cooking.

Linked with Foodie Friends Friday, Sunflower Supper Club: Weekend Potluck and Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday.  

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Crock Pot Poblano Pork Roast

3 poblano peppers

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

3 to 4 pound pork butt roast (Boston or sholder)

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp adobo seasoning (optional)

1/4 cup chicken broth

Seed the poblano peppers and cut into slices; slice onions and chop garlic. Put into a slow cooker.

Combine salt, pepper, cumin, adobo and chili powder in a small bowl and rub onto the entire roast. Set roast in cooker on top of peppers and onions. Pour in chicken stock, cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until pork is really tender.

Shred pork and serve on corn tortillas topped with peppers and onions in addition to any other toppings desired. Cheese, sour cream and tomatoes would be good. This would also be great served on mashed potatoes, grits, or polenta.

Adapted from: In Sock Monkey Slippers

Creole Shrimp and Sausage

I've been on a bit of a kick making recipes that have some sort of tomatoes and peppers, 

which makes sense to me, because I have a bunch of peppers.

 I don't apologize. Every one has been super tasty.

This is actually my take on creole food. Correct or incorrect, I couldn't tell ya. 

All I know is I like it! And it's easy, which makes me like it even more. 

It's a safe bet to say my son likes it too. He doesn't even wait for a plate.

It's spicy, full of flavor and fast to make. Serve it up with some rice, or 

even grits would be really good, along with a big piece of crusty bread.

Linked with Sunflower Super Club: Weekend Potluck, Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday,
Foodie Friends Friday and Six Sister's Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday. 

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Creole Shrimp and Sausage

2 tbsp oil, divided use

12 oz. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tsp New Orleans seasoning (Cajun, creole or Old Bay will work)

14 oz. pkg Smoked Turkey Sausage, cut into bite size pieces

1 large onion, chopped

1 red or green pepper, chopped

1 fresno or jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, chili ready

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp celery seed

1 tbsp Frank’s hot sauce

Salt and Pepper

Fresh chopped parsley

Heat up 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Place shrimp and New Orleans/Creole seasoning in a medium size bowl; stir to combine. Add the shrimp to the heated skillet and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each size. Remove to a plate and reserve.

Add another 1 1/2 tsp oil and sausage. Brown on both sides and remove to the plate holding the shrimp.

To the same skillet, add remaining oil and sauté onion and peppers until they start to soften. Add garlic, stir and cook 2-3 minutes more. Add the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring continuously.

Stir in broth, scraping bottom of the skillet to get up any brown bits. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, along with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add reserved shrimp and sausage and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper if needed.

Serve over rice or grits with additional Frank’s hot sauce and parsley.

Swiss-Italian Steak

Love this take on Swiss Steak. 

I needed to use up some of the "many peppers" my dad bagged up for me last

 time I was out at their place. 

I love cooking with peppers. They add such a wonderful flavor to dishes.

The steak in this turned out fork tender and the 
sauce was rich with flavor and totally delicious. 

I used Fresno peppers (jalapeno will work), which I seeded, and it didn't 
make it spicy at all. If you have a hankering for a little heat, don't seed 
one of them, or both of them. It's up to you.

Linked with Foodie Friday and Weekend Potluck.

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Swiss-Italian Steak

2 lbs bottom round steak, cut into 8 pieces

2 tbsp oil, plus

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp seasoning salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 large onion, cut in 1/2 and sliced

2 large red peppers (or peppers of choice), cut into 2” strips

2 fresno peppers, seeded, deveined and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 cup red wine

1 28oz can whole tomatoes, broken up

1 14.5oz Italian stewed tomatoes

1 cup beef broth, low sodium

1 tbsp Worcestershire

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 large bay leaf

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a Dutch oven.

Mix together flour, salts and pepper; rub into steaks on both sides. In 2 batches, brown steak on both sides using remaining tbsp. of oil for the second batch, and remove to a plate; set aside.

Add more oil to pan if necessary and sauté onion and peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper until softened; add garlic and stir. Deglaze pan with wine, stirring up bits from bottom; add tomatoes and remaining ingredients including steak. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours. Off-set the lid for the last hour of cooking time to help thicken sauce. Taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve over brown rice, polenta or mashed potatoes.