Pig

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeds removed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¹⁄₃ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• ³⁄₄ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

For the sauce

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ¹⁄₂ onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound sweet italian sausage
• 14 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
• salt and freshly black pepper, to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons basil, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400*F.  
2. Place squash in microwave safe dish and cover.  Microwave 8-9 minutes, or until soft.  
3. In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons parmesan, and parsley.  
4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.  Add sausage and cook, breaking into smaller pieces, until browned and cooked through.  Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add bay leaf and simmer, covered, over low heat, for 20 to 30 minutes.  Once sauce is finished, remove bay leaf and stir in basil.  
5. Using a fork, remove spaghetti squash.  Drain the squash on a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.  Toss squash with sauce and transfer to baking dish.  Top with dollops of ricotta cheese mixture and 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese.  
6. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until everything is hot, bubbly, and cheese has melted.  

Comments

This recipe is from Skinnytaste.  I haven’t had a lot of spaghetti squash in my life which is a bit strange, since I am quite the winter squash lover.  I guess it always seems too complicated?  It’s not, though, it’s super easy to cook with!  This was a tasty recipe and we all quite enjoyed it.

Ingredients

For the roast

• 3 pound pork roast
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ¹⁄₂ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

For the glaze

• ¹⁄₄ cup olive oil or coconut oil
• 3 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425*F.  
2. Place roast in baking dish and score fatty side with sharp knife.  
3. Combine paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper in small bowl.  Rub spices on all sides of roast, getting into all of the scores.  Sprinkle cilantro over top.  
4. Roast 15 minutes at 425*F then reduce heat to 350*F and cook another 15 minutes.  
5. Meanwhile, whisk glaze ingredients together in small bowl.  After the roast has cooked 30 total minutes, remove from oven and brush all sides with glaze, getting glaze into all of the scores.  
6. Return to oven and cook, still at 350*F, for another 40 to 50 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 150*F.  Remove roast from oven and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before thinly slicing.  

Comments

This recipe is from Paleo Leap and, even though I didn’t make it that long ago, I actually don’t remember it.  I’m sure it was tasty enough since I certainly don’t have bad memories of it!

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried thyme
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon onion powder
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon paprika
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except for tenderloin in shallow dish.  Stir well to combine.  Add tenderloin, cover, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight, turning occasionally.  
2. Heat oven to 375*F.  
3. Remove tenderloin from marinade and place on rimmed baking sheet.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 140*F.  Exact cooking time will depend on thickness of meat.  
4. Meanwhile, transfer marinade to small saucepan set over high heat.  Bring to boil them reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat.  
5. Once tenderloin is almost finished, remove from oven and change over to broil.  Brush marinade over tenderloin, return to oven, and broil 5 minutes.  
6. Cover meat with foil and let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing.  

Comments

This recipe is from Against All Grain and it was pretty tasty!  The meat was tender and delicious, the glaze had a little bit of sweetness to it and a lot of flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 2 pounds sweet italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8-12 ounces baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.  Place in microwave, cut side down, and microwave for about 10 minutes, or until flesh is soft.  (My microwave is small, I had to do the halves separately.)  Let squash cool then scoop out flesh with fork.  
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add sausage to skillet and cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with spoon.  Cook 10 to 12 minutes, or until sausage is browned and cooked through.  Add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in spaghetti squash strands.  Toss to combine, then season with salt and pepper and top with pine nuts and parsley.  
3. If desired, scoop mixture into spaghetti squash shells for serving.  Otherwise just scoop mixture onto plates.  

Comments

This recipe is from Paleo Grubs and was super delicious!  I’m not sure why we don’t have more spaghetti squash, since it’s really yummy.  The flavors in this were all super and I’m happy that I seem to be able to eat small amounts of leafy greens again with no problem!

Ingredients

• 3-5 pound pork shoulder roast
• 8-10 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 3-5 tablespoons dry rub of your choice

Instructions

1. Place meat in slow cooker.  Add Worcestershire to top of meat then sprinkle with dry rub.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.  Leave on WARM for 4 more hours or until meat easily shreds.  
2. Remove pork from slow cooker and rest 5 to 10 minutes.  Slice or shred for serving.  Serve with juice from slow cooker if desired.  

Comments

This recipe is from Add a Pinch and I don’t remember making it at all.  However, due to it’s location in my bookmarks, I’m pretty sure that I used a mexican-type spice rub and then used the meat to make Pork Enchiladas.  At least that’s what I assume I did.  This is the problem with being so far behind in my blogging.  You can use any flavor profile of spice rub and use the meat for anything you’d like.

Ingredients

For the pork

• 2-4 cups leftover Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde, shredded

For the sauce

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin, ground
• 2-3 fresh sage leaves, minced, or ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried sage
• ¹⁄₂ cup sour cream

For serving 

• 10 to 12 corn or flour tortillas, or as many as you need
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat butter in small saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in flour until garlic is coated.  Slowly add broth and continue stirring until smooth.  Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and sage.  Increase heat to high and bring to boil, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.  
2. Heat oven to 350*F.  Add ¹⁄₂ cup sauce to 9 by 12-inch baking dish.  Heat tortillas in microwave for 15 to 30 seconds or until pliable.  Divide pork evenly between tortillas, top with a sprinkle of cheese and cilantro.  Roll and place seam-side down in baking dish.  Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.  
3. Heat broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese has browned on top.  

Comments

This recipe is from a few different sources.  The idea is from Eat Cake For Dinner, the pork chile verde and enchilada sauce are from other blog posts.  This is a great way to use leftover shredded pork that has the appropriate flavor profile.  You can use any shredded pork that matches, not just the one I’ve linked.  I love enchiladas and it was really nice to have ones with a different protein than normal!  

Sorry this recipe isn’t great with precise measurements.  This is what happens when you’re cooking with leftovers.  If you want exact numbers, check out the original recipe instead.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 ¹⁄₂ - 4 pound pork loin roast
• 2 tablespoon cooking fat such as olive oil or coconut oil
• 3 cups coconut milk
• ¹⁄₄ cup water

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine garlic, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper.  Rub pork with mixture and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.  
2. Add fat to Dutch oven (or lidded skillet) and heat over medium-high heat.  Place pork in skillet and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total.  Add 1 cup coconut milk and stir, scrapping browned bits from bottom of pan.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to low.  Add 1 cup coconut milk and cover.  
3. Cook pork 2 hours on low, turning every 15 minutes.  After 1 hour, add remaining 1 cup coconut milk.  After 2 hours, remove pork from Dutch oven and rest on serving dish, lightly covered with foil.  
4. Increase heat under Dutch oven to medium.  Add ¹⁄₄ cup water and stir, cooking until sauce reduces to desired consistency.  
5. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce.  

Comments

I think this is the first officially Paleo recipe that I ever made.  It was super simple and very tasty!  I found it on Paleo Leap, one of the many Paleo blogs that I started following in 2014.  The coconut milk make the house smell amazing and the meat came out very tender and flavorful.  This is definitely a keeper of a recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 whole dried shiitake mushrooms
• ¹⁄₂ cup boiling water
• ¹⁄₂ pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons sesame oil
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon sugar
• 1 box (20 ounces) soft silken tofu
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cornstarch
• Kosher salt
• 1 green onion, chopped
• ¹⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Combine dried mushrooms and boiling water in small bowl.  Cover and set aside for 5 minutes.  Remove mushrooms, squeeze out excess liquid (reserving all liquid), and slice.  Set aside mushrooms and liquid.  
2. Combine sausage with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and sugar in small bowl.  
3. Place steamer insert in large Dutch oven and fill with 1 inch water.  Bring to simmer.  Place tofu on plate and place plate in steamer.  Cover and steam until hot, 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove tofu from steamer, carefully pour off excess liquid, and cover with foil.  
4. Combine mushroom liquid, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, oyster sauce, and cornstarch in small bowl and mix with fork to blend.  
5. Heat sausage and mushrooms in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up sausage until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Stir sauce mixture then pour into skillet and heat, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute.  
6. Uncover tofu and pour sauce over it.  Top with green onion and cilantro.  Serve with rice if desired.  

Comments

This recipe is from Serious Eats and, well, we didn’t love it.  I think it was the texture and amount of tofu.  If I end up making this again, I’ll try a number of tweaks.  First, I’ll use firmer tofu and cut it lengthwise into two thinner pieces.  I’ll sauté that to add some color and texture.  I’d also double everything except for the tofu, so that there’s half as much in relationship to everything else.  This had potential, the flavors were great, the texture of the tofu was just a distraction.

Ingredients
For the pork
2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pork tenderloins
2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa
1 fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces
¹⁄₂ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¹⁄₂ large red onion, chopped
Juice of 2 limes

For serving
Corn tortillas
Cotija cheese, chopped or shredded
 
Instructions
1. Combine chiles in adobo, olive oil, oregano, chile powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper in large ziptop bag.  Mix well then add pork.  Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. 

2. Add entire contents of bag to slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours. 

3. Meanwhile, prepare salsa.  Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and mix well.  Refrigerate while flavors meld and pork cooks. 

4. When pork finishes cooking, remove from slow cooker and shred.  Return to pot and toss with sauce. 

5. Microwave corn tortillas for 1-2 minutes to soften then serve with pork, pineapple salsa, and cotija cheese. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Mommy’s Menu.  I’ve always wanted to make pineapple salsa and this seemed like it would be a good vehicle for the experience.  The salsa was delicious, the pork was fantastic, and these were a great addition to our taco repertoire.

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup soy sauce
¹⁄₄ cup plum sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry
1 tablespoon sriracha
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 pounds pork roast
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onion, chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced into thin sticks
Tortillas for serving

Instructions
1. Whisk together soy sauce, plum sauce, rice vinegar, sherry, sriracha, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.  Place pork in slow cooker then pour sauce over roast.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. 

2. Shred pork with two forks then return to slow cooker.  Cook on LOW for 15 more minutes. 

3. Serve on tortillas with cabbage, green onion, cucumber, and extra plum sauce if desired. 

Comments
This recipe is from Branny Boils Over.  My pork roast was huge, so we had leftovers for many days.  It was all delicious.  Art preferred his over rice, Lance made his into burritos, and I had mine as described in the recipe.  This was super tasty and we all enjoyed it.