Tag Archives: pork

September 17, 2010 · 1:42 pm

Greek Pork with Tzatziki in Pitas

Sometimes I think that I should be a paid spokesman for Ziploc. More often than not, dinner at my house either starts in a Ziploc bag full of marinade, or ends up in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.

I am not a fan of bland meat. Honestly, I prefer my meat to taste like something other than meat (except for the occasional really good-quality steak, and even then I tend to be a heavy seasoner). Which is probably why I lean towards Asian cooking so often. Soy sauce, ginger and garlic are a great cure for flavorless chicken breasts.

This dinner is not at all Asian, but does start in a Ziploc bag full of strong flavors. Mediterranean cooking is also one of my favorite styles, with heavy use of olive oil, vinegar, oregano, feta cheese. No wimpy flavors here!

These filled pita pockets can be made with chicken or pork, but I prefer pork-either a pork tenderloin or a pork loin. The loin is a little tougher cut of meat, but if you leave it in the marinade long enough (overnight, at least), it will be tender when cooked. The sautéed pork is combined with peppers, onions, feta cheese and tzatziki and can be served in pita bread pockets or on a bed of lettuce for great salad.

RECIPE:

Greek Pork with Tzatziki in Pitas

2-3 lb boneless pork loin or pork tenderloin, cubed
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano (or 1 Tbs dried)
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp ground cayenne red pepper

1 sliced Onion and 1 sliced Red Pepper
————— (or 1 bag frozen onions/peppers)
Pita Bread
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Tzatziki

Combine cubed pork with marinade ingredients (next 10 ingredients) in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Drain pork in a colander. Sauté in a large skillet for 5 minutes; drain any excess liquid. Cook 10 minutes longer, or until pork is cooked through and nicely brown. Add peppers and onions to skillet; cook until tender.

Serve pork in pita bread halves with feta cheese and tzatziki.

OPTIONAL SERVING VARIATION: Serve cooked pork, onions and peppers on a bed of Romaine lettuce, topped with the tzatziki and feta cheese.

—–

Tzatziki

1 32-oz container plain yogurt (not nonfat) **
½ of a large seedless cucumber
salt
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dill
Dash white pepper

Line a colander with cheesecloth (or a coffee filter) and place over a bowl. Strain yogurt in cheesecloth in refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until very thick. Grate cucumber (unpeeled), sprinkle with salt and drain in colander until most of the liquid is removed. Combine yogurt and cucumber with remaining ingredients. Add additional salt (usually about ½ tsp) to taste. Refrigerate several hours to blend flavors.

**You can substitute Greek Yogurt (about 16 oz) for the regular yogurt, and skip the straining process

While you can always use pre-made, tomorrow I will share my recipe for homemade pita bread. They really make a huge difference, and are not difficult to make.

Crock Pot Thai Pork Wraps

As we head into kids’ spring sports seasons, crock-pot meals make a more frequent appearance in our house. I especially like this one in the spring and summer, because it is not a heavy meal like many crock pot meals tend to be.

Cooked and shredded pork in a slightly spicy peanut sauce, topped with crisp, cool cucumber slices and lettuce. Sprinkle with some chopped peanuts and an Asian dressing, and roll the whole thing up in a tortilla (or use whole lettuce leaves for a twist on the traditional lettuce wrap).

You can use either pork tenderloins or a cheaper pork loin. After cooking in the crock pot all day, both will turn out super tender. Simply put the pork in your crock pot. Combine sauce ingredients (except peanut butter) and pour over pork. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until pork is tender enough to shred.

Remove the pork roast from the crock pot and shred with forks. Stir some peanut butter (either creamy or chunky) into the sauce in the crock pot. Return pork to crock pot and mix into sauce. Stir in some Thai basil (cilantro also adds a nice flavor, if you don’t have Thai basil).

I grew Thai basil in our garden last year and loved it! I brought some inside in the fall and have been trying to nurture it along during the winter. I am excited to plant outside again soon!

I serve this in warmed tortillas with lettuce, chopped peanuts, sliced cucumbers and an Asian dressing (which is completely optional; the wraps are flavorful enough that you don’t need additional dressing, but the slightly sour vinegar taste does add a nice flavor).

For the cucumber, I use a seedless cucumber and slice it into wide julienned strips. Peel and slice cucumber in half crosswise (giving you 2 cylinders). Cut in half again lengthwise. Slice each piece lengthwise into very thin strips (they should resemble long rectangles, not half-circles).

This in our favorite Asian dressing. It is found in the supermarket in the produce section by the sushi. You could also use any Asian ginger or sesame/tahini based dressing, as well.

The flavorful, tender pork topped by the crunchy peanuts and cool, crisp cucumbers and lettuce make for a great texture combination. And the convenience of preparing it early in the day is definitely a plus on hectic weeknights.

RECIPE:

Crock Pot Thai Pork Wraps

2-3 lb pork loin roast (or pork tenderloins)
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup peanut butter
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh Thai basil or cilantro

Tortillas (or use iceberg/Bibb lettuce for lettuce wraps)
Chopped lettuce
Julienned cucumbers
Finely chopped peanuts
Asian dressing (we like the Miso flavored dressing, found in the produce section by the sushi in our grocery store, but any ginger or sesame/tahini based dressing would be good)

Place pork roast in crock pot. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Pour over roast. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours (about half that on high). Remove pork and skim excess fat. Stir in peanut butter. Shred pork and return to crock pot. Turn crock pot to high and cook for 5-10 minutes uncovered (longer if pork is too liquidy). Stir in Thai basil or cilantro just before serving.

Chop lettuce. Finely chop peanuts. Julienne cucumbers: Peel and slice cucumber in half crosswise (giving you 2 cylinders). Cut in half again lengthwise. Slice each piece lengthwise into very thin strips (they should resemble long rectangles, not half-circles).

To serve: Place pork in tortillas. Top with lettuce, cucumbers, peanuts and dressing.

**These are also good eaten as lettuce wraps; just use iceberg or Bibb lettuce instead of tortillas.

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Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as Asian, crock pot, lettuce wraps, peanut sauce, pork, pork wraps, shredded pork, Thai pork, tortillas

October 12, 2009 · 7:23 pm

Sweet & Sour Pork Stir-Fry

Tonight was one of those “Oh no, what I am going to make for dinner tonight!?” nights. You would think that after 20 years of marriage, dinnertime would not come as such a shock to me. But, alas, sometimes it does. I try to be organized and have a list of meals and available ingredients so that dinner preparation is a little easier. However, there are many a night when 5 o’clock rolls around and I have yet to even consider what we are going to eat for dinner. When those nights happen, one of my favorite fall-back recipes is a stir-fry. I can usually scrounge up enough ingredients, fresh or frozen, to pull something together in a fairly short amount of time.

Tonight, the meat of choice was pork. I had a nice pork tenderloin in the freezer that would not take too long to thaw in the microwave. Vegetables included fresh onions, carrots and celery, frozen broccoli (I wish it had been fresh, but it still worked out fine) and a can of water chestnuts. The sauce: sweet & sour (not too sweet, however: I do not enjoy overly sweet stir-frys).

If you are tackling this last minute like me, put the pork in the microwave to thaw and start chopping vegetables. Put the yellow onions, carrots and celery in a bowl, and have your water chestnuts and broccoli handy. If you have green onions, place these in a separate small bowl. They are added at the very end.

Stir together sauce ingredients and set aside.

When the pork is thaw, cut it into bite-sized thin strips. Once everything is chopped, it is time to start cooking. Don’t try to cook and chop at the same time when making a stir-fry. It is easy to overcook the vegetables and end up with a really soggy stir-fry. It is worth the small wait to have all of your ingredients cut before you start cooking.

Heat 1 Tbs peanut or coconut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add yellow onions, carrots and celery. If you have fresh broccoli, add it now too. Or any other fresh vegetable you have with a slightly longer cooking time: like red or green peppers, mushrooms, green beans, Chinese cabbage. Wait until later to add quick-cooking vegetables like green onions, snow peas. When vegetables are crisp-tender, remove them from the wok and place them in a bowl.

Add one additional tablespoon of oil to the wok and add your pork. Stir-fry on high heat until pork is cooked through and begins to brown.

Pork tenderloin is often a high water content meat, so if you have a large amount of liquid in the bottom of your pan, drain it off. You want to stir-fry the meat, not boil it.

When meat is cooked through, add the sauce with any frozen vegetables you are using and cook 3-4 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken and vegetables are crisp-tender. Return onion/celery mixture to pan along with water chestnuts and green onions (and any other quick-cooking vegetable you are using). Heat through.

Serve with white or brown rice.

RECIPE:

Sweet & Sour Pork Stir-Fry

2 Tbs oil (peanut or coconut), divided
2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 red or green pepper, diced (I used broccoli instead this time)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1″ slices

Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice vinegar (unsweetened)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs sugar or agave nectar
1 Tbs cornstarch

Combine sauce ingredients; set aside. Chop vegetables and pork. Heat 1 Tbs oil in wok or skillet. Add vegetables (except water chestnuts and green onion); cook until crisp-tender. Remove from pan. Add additional 1 Tbs oil to pan. Add pork and cook until pork begins to brown. Add sauce to pan and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in cooked vegetables, water chestnuts and green onions. Heat through. Serve with white or brown rice.

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Tag Archives: pork

Greek Pork with Tzatziki in Pitas

Crock Pot Thai Pork Wraps

Sweet & Sour Pork Stir-Fry

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