Category: Pork

Sweet Braised Pork Empanadas

Mexican, Pork

Hey guys! Happy Sunday! On my meal plan this week I had empanadas. I had wanted to make the dough, but remembered that my trusty food processor had bit the dust. Luckily, I had some back up puff pastry in the freezer, so I rolled with it. This was pretty yummy; sweet and a bit spicy. I made half spicy and half non-spicy. The hubby had the spicy and the girls and I had non-spicy, but I added some hot sauce and jalapenos to my sour cream, so mine had a nice kick to it. I think next time I will do beef or chicken with a different seasoning. Hopefully by then I will have a new food processor and can make homemade dough.

Sweet Braised Empanadas – I got this recipe from http://www.dinneralovestory.com/coke-braised-carnitas/ and tweaked it a bit. Was meant for carnitas, but I thought it would still be amazing in an empanada. I was right. =)

3 pounds pork loin
2 tablespoons peanut oil (olive oil is fine if you don’t have peanut)
2 cans coke (or enough to go half-way up the pork)
1 tablespoon hot sauce or Sriracha
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 container of beef broth

Preheat oven to 325°F. Over medium-high heat, brown pork in peanut oil in a Dutch Oven on all sides. (Don’t skimp on this part. You want a nice brown crust.) Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and place the pot in the oven with lid slightly askew. Turn every 30 minutes or so, and remove after about three hours. Remove pork from liquid and shred on a cutting board using two forks. Place pork in a bowl or platter as you go. Toss with a little bit of the braising liquid — just a little, it’s very sweet.

Defrost some puff pastry. Cut in squares. Add a spoonful of pork and shredded Mexican cheese. I made half of them spicy- I added a couple of shakes of hot sauce and some diced jalapenos. For the non-spicy, I just added the pork and cheese. I brushed all with an egg wash and poked them with a fork.

Becca really loved the puff pastry, so I told her I would make her apple turnovers soon. Be on the lookout =)

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Smothered Pork Chops

Pork

Hey guys! Happy Friday! Today was a pretty nice day. We slept in until about 8:45. Then I relaxed more with some coffee and went to an amazing Pilates class. Later I met a friend for lunch and chatted. The girls came with me and had a good time as well. It was also my dog’s birthday. Brutus got spoiled with some treats and toys.

This afternoon I cleaned out the kitchen to see what I could make. I defrosted some pork chops and decided to come up with a new recipe. My kids LOVE pork chops and gravy, so I thought to make a gravy smothered pork chop with mashed potatoes and veggies. I turned on my I-pod, poured myself a glass of wine, and got to cooking. It felt amazing to get back in the kitchen.

The verdict?
Everyone loved it, so this is totally going in to my pork chop recipe rotation.

Be on the lookout for a new chicken dish tomorrow. I am brewing up some ideas…

Smothered Pork Chops

Ingredients
1/2 stick of butter or 1/4 cup olive oil
3-5 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in—- you could do this with any pork chop; no bone or thinner pork chops need less time. Just reduce the browning time or time it is cooked in the gravy. For accurate cooking, use a thermometer. Take out at 145 and let rest for 5 minutes. It will come up to 150-160 and be perfectly safe to eat.
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream (sub. buttermilk or half and half)

Directions
Dry off your chops with a paper towel. Put the flour in a shallow plate/bowl and add the salt and pepper. Dredge the pork chops in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. I used one large and one med. so I would not over crowd the pan. You may end up steaming them and they will not brown, so make sure you have plenty of room. No overcrowding!

When the oil is hot, your pan should be smoking and ready for the meat. Lay the pork chops in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Add more butter if necessary.

Add your onions and cook them down, about 8-10 minutes. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in a little at a time. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken a bit.

Stir in the heavy cream a little at a time to finish the gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through.

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I served with a side of mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. Dinner was a hit. Trust me…just do it! =) Amy

Christmas Eve Dinner Tradition… Pork Ragu

Pasta, Pork

Hey ya’ll!!! So it is Christmas Eve. The last 2 weeks have been kinda weird. Sad because we are missing our Lizzie; weird because life goes on and we feel a strange kinda “normal” which we love and hate.

So Christmas/Holiday is upon us. Kinda of a normal thing for most. Weird for a family who just lost their baby girl. We went shopping for 2 instead of 3. We ordered a table of 4 instead of 5. I set a table with 2 kid plates instead of 3…etc… kinda sucks, but it is our reality now.

So the last few years we have had Christmas Eve dinner at our house. I have made this the last couple of years. It is a hit. No fail. Easy win. Just do it…

https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/06/15/pork-ragu-with-bucatini/ or try
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/12/27/pork-ragu-and-cheesy-polenta/

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Spaghetti and Meatballs

Beef, Pasta, Pork

Hey guys! Happy Friday! Yesterday I ran to the store after work and picked up the ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs. Lizzie has been asking for this for a few days, so I figured I would honor her request. This was a pretty simple recipe. I usually just make them with just beef, but this time I spied some mild ground Italian sausage, so I thought I might change up my normal recipe and use 2 meats. Perfection! I hope you give it a try next time your family is craving meatballs. It is SO much better than those frozen ones. My family raved about them, and I got 5 sets of thumbs up for this meal!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the Meatballs-
1 pound ground sausage
1 pound ground beef (I used sirloin)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
about 2 teaspoons each of onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper
tablespoon or so of dried Italian Herbs or a good handful of fresh herbs
1 tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Mix all of the above ingredients. Do not over mix. Make into small-medium sized balls. I use a small ice cream scoop to make mine. Brown each side in a bit of oil in a large dutch oven. Take out. You will continue to let them cook in the sauce…

Easy Sauce (this makes tons of sauce…freeze the leftovers or use for a future meal)
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 container mushrooms, sliced (optional)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 glass red wine
A couple tablespoons of Worcestershire
1 tablespoon of sugar
Any fresh or dried herbs you have- I added rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram
You could even add in some chopped parsley if you have it.

Start by adding your chopped onion to the pan you cooked your meat in. Cook that for a a few minutes. Then add your garlic,mushrooms, and tomato paste. Mix until combined, about 2 minutes. Then add in your wine. Scrape off all those brown pieces on the bottom of your pan. Add in all your tomatoes, Worcestershire, sugar, and herbs. Mix well. Add your meatballs back in. Cook until meatballs have cooked through and your sauce is hot, about 20-30 more minutes depending on the size of your meatballs. Perfect over spaghetti!

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Crockpot Pork Ragu

Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pasta, Pork

I have made pork ragu a few times on the blog. I have made it with different forms of pork and varied the recipe each time to what I had in the cupboard with what I thought I should buy and add in it. It is a really special meal. It is not hard, but it still takes time and love to create. I recently found a nice pork butt in the freezer and wanted to use it in a new and creative way. I had wanted to cook it yesterday, but we went to the zoo and didn’t get home until late in the afternoon. No time to cook it for dinner, so I thought maybe I could make it in the crock pot instead. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, but it was a big hit at the house. Tons of leftovers, so that is a plus. Seriously, you have to try this!

Crock Pot Pork Ragu

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
large handful of mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 cups beef broth
red wine-optional

Pork Butt seasoned with…
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper, italian seasoning, fennel seed,

Directions

The night before, I brown the pork on all sides (seasoned with the herbs and other seasonings) in a dutch oven. I had to cut my pork in half so it would fit. I actually cooked all the veggies and sauce for just a bit so they could cook down a little to fit in the crock pot. Then I put the meat in the crock pot and covered it with the sauce. I refrigerated it over night. Then I cooked it on low all day. When I got home, my house smelled amazing! Serve over pasta, rice, polenta, mashed potatoes… Always serve with crusty bread for dipping and sopping up all the meaty sauce!

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