Orange Chicken

This following recipe is for one big meal or for two.  If you need to make it for more than that, just double up the recipe. It took a bit, but being home by myself and my son being in bed (apparently the law frowns upon going out for take out while your children sleep), I had some time and the ingredients at the house. 

2 chicken breasts
1 pkg Uncle Ben's Bag and Boil White Rice
2 cups orange juice
1/2 small red onion
1/2 medium green bell pepper
2 cups broccoli
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
salt
black pepper
cayenne powder
red pepper flake
flour olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 425

Dice the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and toss in olive oil and then toss in 3 tablespoons of flour. Sprinkle a dash of salt, pepper and cayenne on the chicken.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown and crispy (about 15 minutes). 
In a medium sauce pan bring the orange juice and teriyaki to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, add a dash of salt and 1/2 tsp of cayenne and 1 tsp of red pepper flake to the juice. Reduce and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Boil water for the rice.  It should take no longer than 5 minutes once the water boils.
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Drain the rice and toss it in the pan.  Add the chicken, veggies, ginger, garlic and half of the juice mixture and heat it through.  Once everything is incorporated, turn the heat up to high and add the rest of the juice for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and serve.  A nice addition is a little shredded coconut over the top.

This dish should have a nice amount of heat to it.  The heat should not ruin the meal, but you should feel it in the back of your throat and on your tounge.  Taste the sauce before hand.  If it's too hot, add another 1/2 cup of orange juice and that will tame it.  Or be like me, add more pepper flake.

Quick and Easy Chinese

Instead of take-out, try this.  Healthier and more cost effective, plus it's just as tasty.

1.5lb pork tenderloin
1 pkg angel hair pasta
10 oz cherry pie filling
10 oz crushed pineapple
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 medium green pepper
1/2 medium red onion
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups broccoli
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
olive oil

Rub the pork tenderloin with a teaspoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and place in the refridgerator to marinate (30 minutes will do). In a blender, combine the cherries, pineapple, teriyaki sauce and 1 teaspoon of ginger and blend it together.  Put the pork on the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes, basting with 1 cup of the "sweet and sour" sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  While the pork is on the grill, boil the water for the pasta and start the veggies.  Place 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a saute pan and place the veggies, garlic and remaining teaspoon of ginger in the pan and crisp the mixture.  Once the pasta has cooked, drain and place back in the boil pot and add the veggie mixture.  Remove the pork from the grill and dice into bite sized pieces.  Pour the remaining sweet sauce into the pan and give it all a good stir.  Heat through on medium and serve.

Breaded Pork Cutlet with Lemon Butter Cream Sauce

Having grown tired of red sauce and meatballs or my wife's favorite, Chicken and Broccoli with Ziti, I figured why not try something new.  I like lemon. Check that.  I LOVE lemon. You could put lemon on concrete and I'd eat it. So, why not fire off a lemon butter cream sauce and add the always under utilized breaded pork cutlet?  No reason not to try it.  This is another recipe that you can put together rather quickly with things you most likely already have in your kitchen.  This one just requires you to make your own sauce and your own bread crumbs.  Nothing Earth shattering.

3-4 medium pork chops
3 slices of bread (for bread crumbs, recipe below)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter (room temp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 box of angel hair (or pasta of your choice)
olive oil for sauteing

Pork:
Find a package of 3-4 medium sized pork chops. Trim the fat off and hammer the chops until they are about 1/4 inch thick.  Salt and pepper the cutlets and toss them in a bowl with 2 tbsp of olive oil and set them aside.

Bread crumbs:
3 slices of toasted bread
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

After the bread has cooled, place the slices of bread, along with the spices in a food processor and blend until the slices of bread become a fine crumb.  Toss the bread crumbs into the bowl containing the pork and olive oil and toss together.  After the chops are coated with the oil and bread crumbs (you can add another tsp of oil if the crumbs aren't sticking), place them in the refrigerator for an hour to set up.

Pre-heat oven to 400.

In a saute pan, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil and saute each pork cutlet, browning each side and then place them in a glass baking dish.  Once each cutlet has been browned,  place them in the oven to finish them off (about 15 minutes).

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 half and half
2 tbsp butter (room temp)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan heat the milk, half and half and butter over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, add the lemon juice and cheese.  Bring to a boil.  Once the liquid has reached a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer, whisking frequently.  The sauce should thicken within 5 minutes (if it doesn't, you may want to add another tbsp of cheese).

This dish will work with almost any type of pasta.  I used angel hair, but it really doesn't matter.  Plate the pasta, add the sauce and place one of the pork cutlets on the sauce.  Garnish with fresh chopped basil and perhaps a lemon wedge and you're done.  Very simple.  Very tasty. And it won't take up much of your time. 

Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken

Very easy chicken dish that only needs about 2-3 hours of marinating time before cooking. (Sorry for the stock photo, forgot to take a picture of last night's dinner)

3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
pinch of oregano
pinch of sugar

Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts and toss lightly.  Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, remove and grill.  Doesn't get much easier than that. Light and simple. Works great on it's own or over a salad.

South American Meat Stew

I remember seeing something similar to this cooked somewhere before, but for the life of me I could never remember all the meaty ingredients..  All I knew was that it had meat.  Lots of meat.  There may have been lamb.  There may have been pork.  It looked good and I wanted to attempt it, so here it is.  This is my version of an Argentinian meat stew, with a few veggies just to balance it all out. 

1lb Andoullie Sausage
1lb Steak Tips
1lb Chicken Tenderloins
7 Pork Spare Ribs, bone in
28oz Crushed Tomato
12 oz Black Beans
1/2 cup water
1 medium sweet onion
1 medium yellow pepper
8 oz diced green chiles
1 tsp of the following:
salt
cumin
black pepper
paprika
minced garlic

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cocoa powder

Brown the steak tips and chicken in a pan (they don't have to be fully cooked). Remove the from the heat and dice into cube sized pieces.  Now you can cook this 2 ways: in the crock pot or on the stove top.  If you enjoy wasting energy, use the stove top, but I prefer the crock pot.  Place the tomato, water and black beans into the pot.  Place the ribs (uncooked) on top of the tomato and beans.  Add the onion, chiles and yellow peppers next and then top with the steak, sausage and chicken.  Add all the spices and give it a stir. Set it for low and let it melt together for the next 6 hours.  That's it.  Very simple.  Can be served with rice or warmed corn/flour tortillas for getting all that tasty broth up.