Pork – Page 10 – Fun Foodie Family

Pork Ragu with Bucatini

Pasta, Pork, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there! You truly deserve a day pf relaxation and great time with your family. Last night I made a tasty steak and potatoes for my hubby; the best daddy for my girls that I could ever ask for! Tonight, I made this delicious Pork Ragu for my Daddy. I made this for Christmas Eve Dinner with Cheesy Polenta and he LOVED it. Instead of Polenta, I added to Bucatini; a thick spaghetti like pasta. It was pretty delicious. I added a nice oven roasted squash (roasted 400 with salt, pepper, and olive oil), fresh from the farmer’s market, and a delicious mixed green side salad.

Pork Ragu with Bucatini

Ingredients

1 large Pork Butt
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped (feel free to add any more veggies…mushrooms, peppers, etc…)
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons Worschestire Sauce
1 glass of red wine
1 large can tomato sauce
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/2 container of beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs, chopped- whatever you have- use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh…tablespoons of whatever, don’t be scared to add herbs…sage, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, parsley, etc.
1 pound of Bucatini- I have also used polenta, egg noodles, couscous, mashed potatoes etc. Use a sturdy pasta/grain/potato

Directions

Salt and pepper each side of your Butt. Make sure you heat your large Dutch oven on high.

Brown your meat on all sides. Give each large side a good 8-10 minutes. Each small side gets a good 4-5 minutes. There probably will be a lot of smoke. This is normal.
While browning all sides, cut up all your veggies.
Once all sides are brown, take the meat out.
Add your veggies and cook down for 6 minutes. Add your garlic. Add your tomato paste. Cook together for about 4 minutes or so. Add the wine and worcestershire; reduce to half, about 8 minutes. Mix well.
Add the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes.
Add in your beef broth. Mix Well.
Add back in your pork.
Cook for at least 4 hours. Turn every 1/2 hour.
Cook your pasta. Add your sauce to the pasta. AMAZING!

Potato Chip Crusted Pork Chops

Pork

You guys… for real… this was so delicious! The next time you do a breading of either chicken or pork cutlets, skip the bread crumbs and go straight for the bag of chips. This was so fast and easy…
Step 1- Find some chips- here are the ones I used…

Step 2- Salt and pepper both sides of your pork chops- bone in is best- they have more flavor

Step 3- Make your breading station- flour, 2 eggs whisked, and your potato chips, crushed- no need to salt and pepper…lots of seasoning in the chips and already seasoned pork

Step 4- Heat 2 skillets (I used cast iron) with enough bacon fat/veg.oil to cover the bottom (I used both)

Step 5- Coat each pork chop in this order- flour, egg, chips…When your oil ripples, it is ready. Fry each side until brown. I would say about 8 minutes or so on each side. If you are wondering about time, 145 is your go to time. The USDA recommends that pork be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. The federal agency says it is lowering the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160 degrees to 145 degrees and adding a 3-minute rest time.

I never really measure, I just go by color…red is bad, light pink to clear white is fine. Any more is going to be DRY! If it is too red once you cut in to it, just put it back in the oil for a few minutes. Make sure you let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Tent it…It will continue cooking for a bit outside the pan.

Crunchy and tender. Perfectly cooked. Those chips really help seal in the moisture. I wasn’t really sure how this would turn out, but it was so worth the gamble!

Ultimate Potato Salad

Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pork, Sandwiches, Side dishes...veggies

Today has been a great day! The girls spent the night at my parents, so I got to sleep in a while. After I woke up, I put a pork shoulder in the crock pot to have for BBQ sandwiches. I went for a leisurely stroll through the farmer’s market with a nice iced coffee, had a nice long walk with my dog in the neighborhood, and read a few magazines, where I came up with the idea to make this potato salad. I made it and put it in the fridge until dinner. Then everyone came home and we spent the afternoon at the pool.

Ultimate Potato Salad

5 medium potatoes, boiled for about 25 minutes until tender, cut up in bite sized pieces
4 boiled eggs, cooled and sliced or chopped
about 1/4 of mayo
about 1/4 cup of honey mustard (I made mine- Add 3 tablespoons of stone ground mustard, a few squeezes of honey, and about 1/2 cup or so of olive oil in a Bell jar and shake it up. I just added a pinch of salt and pepper.)
1 cup or more of shredded cheese- I used a combo of cheddar/colby, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
6 pieces of bacon, chopped

I added the potatoes and eggs in a large bowl. I added the mayo and honey mustard and carefully folded in to the bowl. If it looks too dry, just add more mayo and honey mustard. Then I topped with cheese and bacon. Cover with wrap and refrigerate. This was a big hit at the table. Plates were cleaned!

Here is my recipe for easy crock pot pulled pork…
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/03/04/easy-crock-pot-pulled-pork/

Easter Sunday Dinner 4/14

Pork, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Happy Sunday, my fellow foodie friends! I hope you had a great weekend spent with your family. We had 2 sets of grandparents here this weekend, so we ate lots of yummy food. There was my pork ragu last night. Pretty awesome guys, really. I marked the recipe last night, so if you haven’t checked it out, you should.

Today was a pretty traditional Easter meal; Honey Baked Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Beans, Squash Casserole, corn, and salad. It was pretty awesome. Desert in a separate post. Hope you stick around to check it out. It was so yummy!

My mom brought the ham. If you do not know what a honey baked ham is, I feel sorry for you. Basically, it is a company that makes them. They are all around the south. You can pre-order them for special occasions or just them pretty much any time of year.

Green Beans- Cooked with onion and bacon cooked until tender. Delicious!

Corn- Frozen cooked with butter. Easy, but still yummy.

Squash Casserole-

Boil about 3 pounds of squash thinly sliced with diced onion and a few tablespoons of butter. Cook for about 20 minutes. Cool.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 eggs, 1 cup of bread crumbs, and 3 heaping tablespoons of sour cream. Mix with the cooled squash and put in a greased Pyrex dish. Level off and top with small cubed chunks of butter over; don’t be stingy, ya’ll. This is not healthy squash.
Bake at 350 for around 45 minutes-1 hour. My favorite holiday indulgence!

Potatoes Au Gratin
I have made this before. It is always a hit. The recipe before was for only 4-5, so I doubled it…here is the new ingredients and directions…
Au Gratin Potatoes-
INGREDIENTS
2 cup heavy cream
8 tbsp. butter
2 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large russet potatoes, peeled, and thinly sliced
2 cup grated cheese- I used a combo of colby jack, mild cheddar, and gruyere. What an amazing combo!

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat cream, butter, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, layer a greased 8″ × 12″ baking dish or med. sized cast iron skillet alternately with potatoes and ¾ cup of the cheese.

3. Carefully strain heated cream over assembled potatoes, then sprinkle potatoes with remaining ¼ cup of cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper, cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue baking until potatoes are tender and gratin is golden and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Allow gratin to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Italian Sausage Sandwiches

Pork, Sandwiches

This sandwich was amazing. Now, it is not like your regular sandwich. You cannot really eat this with your hands. You gotta get in there with a knife and fork. It is a cross between a meatball sub and a sausage and peppers sub. Just do me a favor and make this. Soon. Did I mention it has cheese? Ooey Gooey Cheese. Clean plates all around!

Italian Sausage Sandwich

Ingredients

small onion, chopped
2 heads garlic, chopped
1 container mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
5 Sweet Italian Sausages cut up in 1 inch pieces- You could substitute chicken or turkey sausage
4-6 hoagie rolls
1 container of marinara sauce- You could make your own, but for a quick meal, use your favorite jarred sauce. I actually found a sausage and peppers marinara that was perfect (Publix brand).
1/2-1 cup of mozzarella cheese- feel free to use as much as you like

Directions

Preheat broiler to high
Hollow out the top halves of rolls. Arrange rolls on baking sheet. Broil 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted. Set aside for the time being.
Heat a large skillet or pan over med. heat. Add some veg. oli to the pan and let it get hot. Add your onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add your sausage pieces to pan; cook about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, peppers, and marinara; bring to a boil. Reduce heat,and simmer 5 minutes or so until peppers are tender.

Arrange some of the sausage mixture on each half of roll. Add plenty of mozzarella cheese on each sandwich. Broil for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy!

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