Asian BBQ Chicken (and Pork)

I made this as a marinade for my chicken, grilled it up and served it over rice. It was superb! The next day I made the same marinade and tossed it in a crockpot with a pork roast. I served that on pita bread with coleslaw. It also was superb. This is a great sauce!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/05/asian-bbq-chicken/

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.  Optional:  garnish with sliced green onions

Roast

This is an adaptation from Paula Deen. While it's a roast recipe, it's also good with pork chops. Mmmmmm.

hunk of meat
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion
garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 C. red/marsala cooking wine
2 Tbsp. beef bouillon (or 2 cubes)
3/4 C. water
1 bay leaf

season the meat all over with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sear it in a hot pan, getting all the sides nice and golden. Then transfer to slow cooker or roasting pan, depending on your method of cooking.

combine soup, wine, boullion and water. Pour over the meat. Add bay leaf.

Cook for 7ish hours in slow cooker or 2-3 hours in oven (though I don't know what temp. since that's not how I make it.)

The gravy from this is crazy good, so you'll want to be sure to serve it with some mashed or roasted potatoes and carrots.

Nachitoches Meat Pies

Another big winner from OurBestBites.com. I made a double batch but only put half of it in pie crust and the other half in pizza dough, calzone style. We had the pizza dough tonight and loved it. The others are still in the freezer.

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2+ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (it’s the cheapest, best, and widely available)
Tabasco sauce to taste (start with about 1/4 tsp.)
1 can beef broth
Pie Crust, tripled
1 egg
1/4 c. cold water

In a large skillet, brown ground beef and ground pork, breaking the meat into small pieces. When it’s about halfway cooked, drain excess fat (if necessary) and then add green and red peppers, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Add 2 tsp. Tony’s and 1/4 tsp. Tabasco. Add beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with additional Tony’s and Tabasco if necessary, keeping in mind that the seasonings will mellow in the pie. You can refrigerate this mixture for 3-4 days before baking the pies.
Prepare pie crust and roll the entire ball onto a floured surface. For large (meal-sized) pies, I use a bowl that’s about 6″ across the top; I just invert the bowl onto the dough and trace a knife around it to cut the dough. Put meat in the middle of the dough, fold over and crimp the edges.

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place prepared pies onto your baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cold water and brush over the pies.

Bake 25-30 min. or until golden brown.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: You could do this one of two ways; you can freeze them unbaked and just add the egg wash and bake them for an extra 15-20 minutes, or you can bake them and heat them up in the oven or microwave, whatever suits your needs better.

Pad Thai

This is one of my favorites, but I don't make it often enough b/c it makes so much darn food. It's great for big family get-togethers. I'm using it for a church potluck this week. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but really you just pick and choose your favorites.

1 16 oz. oriental noodles or linguine (I prefer linguine)
1/4 C. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. sweet thai chili sauce (found in the oriental aisle)
3 Tbsp. salad oil
1 sm red pepper
1 green pepper
1 Tbsp. grated ginger root
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
bunch of green onion chopped
1-2 C. meat (stir fry chicken works well. So does shrimp. I like shredded pork roast the best)
2 C. bean sprouts
red cabbage, sliced
shredded carrots (about 2)
1 shredded zucchini
1 sm tomato, cut in wedges
1/4 C. salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. cilantro or parsley
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
lime wedges for garnish

Prepare noodles, keep warm.

Combine soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, 1/2 C. water. Set aside.

In skillet heat oil and cook peppers, ginger, garlic, all but 1/4 C. green onion. Cook until tender and lightly browned. add meat. Stir in bean sprouts and soy sauce mix. Combine with noodles. Top with zucchini, cabbage,carrots peanuts, tomato, cilantro, limes, etc.

Top with two sauces:

Peanut Sauce
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes


Ginger sauce
1 C. soy sauce
1/2 C. rice vinegar
small onion chopped
thumb size ginger chopped

Blend and strain, refrigerate

Combine all and enjoy