Recipes

Slow Cooker Char Siu

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup soy sauce
¹⁄₄ cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder (McCormick makes one that can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 pounds pork loin

Instructions
1. Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five spice powder, ginger, garlic, sriracha and sesame oil in slow cooker.  (Feel free to skip the mincing and do this all with your immersion blender.) 

2. Place pork in slow cooker, on top of sauce, and turn to coat.  Cook on LOW for 8 hours. 

3. Leaving pork in slow cooker, shred with two forks and stir well to coat with sauce.  Serve with Green Onion Pancakes. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Cast-Iron Darling, another great blog.   It’s funny that we’re not super huge fans of cow cooked in the slow cooker, but pig is awesome.  Pork lends itself well to the shredded meat results that the slow cooker yields.  The flavor of this meat was great and we all enjoyed it quite a bit. 

I would make a few changes next time, but just minor ones.  The meat and the pancakes were both great, but it would have been nice to have some green crunchy things to go along with the dish.  I’ll be serving this with some combination of shredded cabbage, sliced green onions, and sliced cucumber next time. 

Shown here with Green Onion Pancakes.

Internet - Cast-Iron Darling

Green Onion Pancakes

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 green onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
1 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup water

Instructions
1. Mix the dry ingredients together in large bowl, except for 1 cup of the flour. Add wet ingredients and mix. 

2. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add some or all of remaining flour if needed.  (I needed to add all of the remaining flour.)

3. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap, then divide the dough into 12 pieces.

4. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten it and roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Each dough piece should make an 6 to 8-inch circle when flat.

5. Heat oil in skillet over high heat.  Fry each pancake for a minute or two per side until cooked through.  (You could also grill them if you’d like.) 

6. Serve with Slow Cooker Char Siu. 

Comments
These is the pancake recipe which goes with the Slow Cooker Char Siu from The Cast-Iron Darling.  I ended up doubling the recipe from what you see here which gave us the right amount of pancakes for 3 pounds of pork loin. 

I would make a few changes next time, but just minor ones.  The meat and the pancakes were both great, but it would have been nice to have some green crunchy things to go along with the dish.  I’ll be serving this with some combination of shredded cabbage, sliced green onions, and sliced cucumber next time.

Shown here with Slow Cooker Char Siu.

Internet - Cast-Iron Darling

Penne with Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Fresh Basil

Ingredients
2 pound grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
6 cloves garlic, minced
²⁄₃ cup fresh bread crumbs (I processed 4 slices of bread in the food processor to get these.)
²⁄₃ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound penne pasta
¹⁄₂ cup fresh basil, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Place tomatoes on a baking sheet.  Combine garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and then sprinkle mixture over tomatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 to 35 minutes. 

2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta as directed on packaging.  Drain and return to pot.  Add tomato mixture, stir well, and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the blog “In the kitchen with Kath.”  The roasted tomatoes were a great change from the normal fresh tomato pastas I make during the summer.  Leftovers were equally tasty! 

Shown here with Chicken with Goat Cheese Sauce.

Internet - In the Kitchen with Kath

Broiled Salmon with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Ingredients
4 (6 ounces each) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoons ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large tomato, chopped
¹⁄₄ red onion, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced

Instructions
1. Preheat broiler.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place salmon fillets, skin side down on baking sheet.  Drizzle fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil, half of the lime juice, garlic, and coriander.  Season with salt and pepper.  Broil for 10 minutes, or until salmon is done and flakes easily with a fork.

2. In a small bowl combine tomato, red onion, remaining olive oil and lime juice, and parsley. 

3. Top salmon with salsa and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the blog titled “and then I do the dishes.”  Sadly I made it when I was sick so nothing tasted very good.  Lance enjoyed it, and leftovers, so I might give it another go when I’m able to taste things. 

Shown here with Golden Summer Squash with Dill and Chèvre.

Internet - And Then I Do the Dishes

Heirloom Tomatoes and Bacon Salad

Ingredients
For the croutons
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups Italian or French bread, cut in ³⁄₄-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped
¹⁄₄ cup shallot, chopped
¹⁄₄ tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 head romaine lettuce leaves

Instructions1. Make the croutons: Preheat the oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl toss the bread cubes with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.   Spread them on a baking sheet, and bake them in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden. The croutons may be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container.

2. Add bacon to large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring, until crisp.  Drain well in sieve set over bowl.  Reserve bacon fat. 

3. Add shallots to hot bacon fat.  Stir in vinegar and whisk to combine. 

4.  Place tomatoes, bacon, and croutons in large bowl.  Toss with dressing.  Serve over lettuce. 

Comments
Once upon a time I had an amazing BLT Salad at St. Elmo’s in Indianapolis, IN.  I can’t wait to go back there since I’ve never been able to perfect the salad in the privacy of my own home.  This time, I will take notes.  This recipe is an attempt at the awesome St. Elmo’s salad, while it was very delicious, it wasn’t as perfect as the salad in my mind.

Person - Gwen

Loaded Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients
12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped
3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 stick butter, softened and cut into 8 pieces
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 cup sour cream (Light sour cream is great.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup French’s Fried Onions

Instructions
1. Add bacon to large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring, until crisp.  Drain well over paper towels or sieve. 

2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Add potatoes and boil until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.  Smash with potato masher or fork, leaving potatoes chunky.  Add butter, green onions, bacon, and sour cream.  Stir to combine.  Add salt, pepper, and fried onions. 

Comments
This recipe is from Pioneer Woman and we fought over leftovers.  I won.  I should have made more. 

Shown here with Smoked Brisket and really wet and messy Caprese Pie.

Internet - Pioneer Woman

Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients
12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped
3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (Other cheese will work well.)
2 ¹⁄₂ cups half and half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 

2. Add bacon to large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring, until crisp.  Drain well over paper towels or sieve. 

3. Place sliced potatoes in microwave safe container and microwave for 5 minutes.  Stir and microwave for 5 more minutes. 

4. Layer half potatoes in 9- by 12-inch baking dish.  Top with half bacon and cheese, season with salt and pepper.  Layer remaining half potatoes followed by remaining bacon and cheese, season with salt and pepper.  Slowly pour half and half over potato mixture. 

5. Bake until potatoes are tender, 45 minutes to 1 ¹⁄₂ hours.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

Comments
I love au gratin potatoes but I don’t make them often.  In fact, I haven’t made them in the entire time I’ve been blogging!  I had a lot of potatoes from the CSA and wanted to do something comforting with them while I was feeling sick.  Au gratin seemed like a good candidate!  Zapping the potatoes in the microwave significantly cuts down on baking time.  My potatoes, which were about ¹⁄₈-inch thick, took about 45 minutes to bake.  Yum. 

Shown here with Mom’s Chicken.

Person - Gwen

Chicken Fajita Casserole

Ingredients
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet fajita seasoning
¹⁄₄ cup water
4 cups grilled fajita vegetables, chopped (I used the vegetables I had leftover from the last time I made fajitas.)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 ¹⁄₃ cups milk or half and half
12 ounces shredded cheese (Cheddar, Mexican blend, Colby, jack, or some mixture.)
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained
12 flour tortillas, sliced into 1-inch strips

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F and spray 9- by 12-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté until cooked through.  Add seasoning packet and water and continue stirring until liquid is gone.  (If you’ve got leftover chicken from making fajitas, you can completely skip this step.) 

3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Gradually add milk and stir until smooth.  Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until thickened.  Remove from heat and add 8 ounces cheese, stirring until melted.  Stir in Ro-Tel tomatoes. 

4. Place half of the chicken and vegetables in prepared baking dish.  Top with half of the tortilla strips and half of the cheese sauce.  Repeat layers, ending with cheese sauce. 

5. Top with remaining shredded cheese and bake 20 to 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese has melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
I made entirely too many vegetables the last time I made fajitas and I needed to figure out what to do with them.  I figured that I should be able to make some sort of casserole with the leftovers and this is what I came up with.  Lance and I both enjoyed this quite a bit – fajitas in a casserole dish with queso sauce to bring it all together.  Next time I end up with too many vegetables after fajita night, I know what I’ll be doing with them! 

I didn’t have leftover chicken from fajita night, so I had to cook some more.  If you have leftover fajita chicken, you can skip step 2.

Person - Gwen

Soy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
1 cup soy sauce
¹⁄₂ cup water
¹⁄₄ cup plus 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
¹⁄₄ cup green onion, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Stir together soy sauce, water, vinegar, and sugar until sugar is dissolved.  Just before serving, stir in green onion.

Comments
This recipe, from epicurious.com, makes two cups of dipping sauce which was more than enough for the six zucchinis worth of Tempura Squash.  It’s a cinch to make and is the perfect accompaniment for tempura veggies. 

Shown here with Southwest Asian Grilled Flank Steak and Tempura Squash.

Internet - Epicurious

Marinated Eye Round Steak

Ingredients
For marinade
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
¹⁄₃ cup red wine vinegar
¹⁄₄ cup fresh lemon juice
¹⁄₄ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 onion, sliced

3-4 eye round steaks, 1 to 1 ¹⁄₂ inches thick

Instructions
1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a ziptop bag or container.  Add meat and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.  Turn meat occasionally to distribute marinade evenly.  

2. Heat skillet over high heat.  Sear steaks for 2 minutes per side, reduce heat to medium and cook until desired doneness is reached.  

Comments
When I bought grassfed cow a few months ago one of the cuts was an eye round roast weighing .9 pounds.  I’ve only ever roasted large eye rounds, so I wasn’t very sure what to do with the eye round.  I decided to cut it into two steaks and cook it this way.  It worked very well and looked a lot like filet mignon.  The marinade did help to tenderize the meat and we enjoyed the taste as well.  The marinade recipe is from TheMeatSource.com.  

Shown here with Roasted Beet Risotto.

Internet - The Meat Source