Pork Verde Slow Cooked

3-3 ½ lb pork loin cubed
1 tbs ground cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbs olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 jar or can of green salsa (20-28 oz)
1 can (10 oz) green enchilada sauce
1 medium onion cut into half slices
1 red bell pepper diced
2 cloves garlic minced

*rice and or tortillas with all the fixin’s. Sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado etc.

Have the butcher cut (or you) the pork loin into approx 1 inch cubes. Season with cumin, salt, and black pepper. Add oil to hot frypan and brown pork in 3 batches.

Start loading the crockpot or slow cooker. 1/3 of the onions, pepper, and garlic followed by 1/3 of the green sauce. Top with 1/3 of the browned pork. Add in the rest of the ingredients topping it off with a little sauce at the end. Set on low and cook 8 hours.

Serve over rice or with tortillas and taco shells along with your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!

David's Airline Chicken

Arline chicken is a skin-on chicken breast with the wing drumette still attached. *one per person is the usual serving.

Here is a recipe idea that is easy to prepare. Feel free to change it up and make it your own.

Preheat oven 400

 2 pieces airline chicken.
Seasoning: seasonello salt, borsari salt, or seasoning of choice
1 tbs butter or olive oil
2 oz. Cheese of choice (I used Gruyere)

Pre-heat heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Season both sides of chicken.

Add butter or olive oil to hot pan.

As butter melts or oil gets hot, add chicken, skin side down, to pan and cook about 4 or 5 minutes. We want the skin to get crispy and golden. Remove chicken from pan.

Gently lift flap of skin and place cheese underneath. Place chicken on sheet pan and roast in oven 15-20 minutes. Chicken is done when thickest part is 165 degrees.

To serve: I blended ½ cup green salsa with 2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro to make a quick sauce and served the chicken with wild rice and asparagus.  

Experiment and have fun.

Enjoy!

Butternut Sage Risotto
Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Pesto Soup
Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Tenders
Click here for the recipe.

Honey Glazed Salmon
Click here for the recipe.

Mexican Corn Dip
Click here for the recipe.

Tomato Soup
Click here for the recipe.

Wild Mushroom Pasta
Click here for the recipe.

Pasta Very Much Alive

“For The Love Of Cheese”

Afrim Pristine     Cheese Boutique

This recipe is just one of the many New Day Cleveland discoveries from our road trip to Toronto, Canada. It was the final day, on the way home, we visited the “Cheese Boutique”. Afrim Pristine gave us a tour of one of the most beautiful gourmet food collections I’ve ever seen. This recipe comes from his book, ”For The Love Of Cheese”.

Very Much Alive Pasta

1 lb. Rapini
½ c extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp crushed red chili flakes
1 lb. dried Orecchiette pasta
3 tbs grated lemon zest
Sea salt
6 oz. goat cheese room temperature -the kind you can buy anywhere/plastic wrap

1. Rroughly chop the rapini

2. Bring a large pot with 8 c. of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the Rapini to the boiling water, and cook for approximately 4 minutes or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the Rapini to the ice water. Chill, then drain the Rapini. Pat them dry using a paper towel.

3. In a 12 inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until golden. Add the chili flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, for about 45 seconds to allow the flavors to infuse. Add the Rapini, toss to combine the ingredients, and remove the pan from the heat.

4. Bring a medium pot of 6 cups of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, and cook for 1 minute less than the package’s instructions specify.

5. Drain the pasta, and transfer it, along with the Rapini, to the large skillet. Add the lemon zest, and turn the heat back on high. Toss to combine all the ingredients, cooking for about 1 minute, then season to taste with salt.

6. Divide the pasta between your serving bowls, and add a big spoonful of goat cheese to each.

7. Let the heat from the cooked pasta get the goat cheese rich and creamy, and enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Cookies     (optional Ice Cream Sandwiches)

Preheat oven 350F

2 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp table salt
½ lb butter room temperature
1 ½ C. sugar
2 eggs
Cinnamon Sugar

Combine in small bowl:

¼ c sugar
4 tsp cinnamon

OPTIONAL Ice cream or frozen custard of choice

Sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

Place butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and combine completely.

Slowly start to add the flour mixture. When dough forms, it will be a little sticky, were ready for some greased cookie sheets.

These cookies start as balls on the cookie sheet and spread while they bake. You have to be careful how big to make the balls and how far to space them apart. 1 inch balls for regular sized cookies, an inch and a half for really big cookies.

Form a ball with your hands and roll it in the cinnamon sugar. Place on cookie sheet (at least 2 ½ inches apart for 1 inch balls). Bake in 350F oven about 12 minutes.

Cool on sheet 5 minutes, then carefully remove from sheet with spatula and continue cooling on wire rack.

OPTIONAL:When the cookies have completely cooled, place a slice or smashed scoop of ice cream on cookie and top with another cookie. Top with a little chocolate syrup or fudge and place in freezer at least an hour.

Enjoy!