Caribbean Pork

Pork has always been one of the unsung heros at the butcher counter. Maybe we just need some new ideas on how to prepare it? Our family just bought our first naturally raised whole hog, so I’ll hopefully be inspired to come up with new recipes. This is a really tender way to cook an inexpensive pork shoulder. The flavors are uniquely Caribbean. Delicious with rice and green beans.

For the recipe, click here.

Thai-style Pork over Rice Noodles

One of our family jokes comes up every time we are choosing where to go out to eat. I say to my husband, “Where would you like to go”? And he answers, “Has that new Thai place opened in town”? It’s a joke because there will NEVER be a Thai place in this town. We struggle to hold on to our pizza joints and the one sports bar.

And so, it is my most recent endeavor to make more “Thai take-out” at home. This pork has that perfect Thai balance between sweet and spicy, salty and sour. To make Thai take-out in your home, click here.

Pork and Saurkraut

Here it is, another nod to Mama Redmond and her good ol’ homestyle cookin’. She made this Pork and Sauerkraut with Stewed Potatoes every New Year’s Day. Supposedly, eating kraut on New Year’s will bring good luck. I figure it can’t hurt. Luckily, I started cooking while she was still around to call and ask for help. The problem with this dish is that I only made it on New Year’s Day, and I would forget from one year to the next how she made it. I must have called her 5 years in a row! She never seemed impatient with my questions. In fact, I’m pretty sure she enjoyed them.

We all like this dish so much, that we would always say, “Why do we wait until New Year’s to make this?”. And so, now I don’t. And I think of Mama every time.

Pork and Sauerkraut with Stewed Potatoes for New Year’s . . . or any day of the year.

What to do with all the turkey? I have a few simple ideas for you. Especially if you are one of the few who actually has to go to work on Black Friday (ugh!). At least you’ll have a quick and easy lunch to pack.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup: Bring a carton of chicken broth to a simmer. Add shredded turkey, leftover diced vegetables, and cooked egg noodles. If you like, add a pinch of dried thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until heated through and serve.

BBQ Turkey

BBQ Turkey: Shred leftover turkey (white and dark meat work well) and add your favorite BBQ sauce. Combine and serve hot or cold on a bun. No buns? Use a leftover dinner roll!

Turkey Salad: Dice white turkey meat and add just enough mayonnaise to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with diced apples and chopped walnuts, or mix the fruit and nuts right into the turkey salad. Serve with pita bread, or leftover dinner rolls.

Make a lovely Cobb salad. Fresh Romaine lettuce topped with leftover ham and items from the relish tray. We never have any deviled eggs left, but if you did you could use one here in place of the hard boiled.

A few other ideas:

Bean soup with leftover ham

Quesadillas made with leftover meat and/or veggies

Roll-ups: flour tortilla topped with salad dressing and leftover meat and veggies rolled up and secured with a toothpick.

If you have your own favorite way of recycling the turkey dinner, let us know. We love hearing from you!

Pitawurst

I come from the self-proclaimed “Bratwurst Capital of the World”. We have an annual festival in August, and this is my take on a popular festival tradition. It’s fun to take to potlucks, because the flavors are familiar, and yet it’s a bit of a novelty. Just put the meat mixture in a slow cooker and the sauce in a squeeze bottle. Set the out the pitas and let folks make their own. I always come home with an empty crock.

Just follow this link for more on Pitawurst.

Roasted Pork and Sweet Potatoes

Some recipes just seem too easy to be true. This is simply pork, sweet potatoes, and a couple spices from your pantry. Only two things to remember at the store: pork roast and sweet potatoes. So, next time you find yourself stopping at the store without a plan in mind, just pick up those two things and come home and make this dish.

The recipe gives instructions for making it stove top, but I’ve had great success with it in the crockpot, too. Like most meats in the slow cooker, it does benefit from browning first, but if you are in a true hurry and just want to throw it all in the pot in the morning, you will come home to a delicious dinner. And the house will smell great, too.

One more thing, the recipe does not call for any salt. That’s not an oversight. It really doesn’t need it. Of course you can add it if you prefer, but for those looking for low-sodium recipes, this one is a winner.

To read more on Roasted Pork and Sweet Potatoes, just click here.