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Food, Savory

Quick Spicy Pork and Rice

Spicy Pork and Rice

Every day at lunch, I make the same thing. Hard to believe, right? But it’s true. I dice up a cucumber, dice up a few Roma tomatoes, and grill some chicken. Then I toss it all together with a bit of Parmesan dressing and call it a day.

It’s a cheap lunch, but it’s boring after you’ve eaten it five days in a row. So the other day when I would normally go to the meat counter and ask for a single piece of chicken, I decided instead to make a go at the packaged meat to see what was there, and what was cheap.

I lucked out and found a small package of pork – diced up and scheduled to be eaten with someone’s stir fry. Instead, it was coming home with me as well as some white rice and a package of McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning. I have some green pepper and some cherry tomatoes to go with and and headed headed out to cook.

Now I know what you’re thinking, Roni, that’s chicken seasoning. Well, no, not really. That’s how they’re marketing it. It’s really just garlic, salt, paprika, red pepper, and some other seasonings. None which are only allowed to be on chicken. I wanted spicy pork, and so be it, I was going to get spicy pork.

So I moderately seasoned the pork, cooked it with the green peppers, then tossed it with the diced tomatoes, and cooked white rice. Surprisingly easy, and divine.

Quick Spicy Pork and Rice

Gather
1/2 pound of diced pork (shoulder or butt)
McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1/4 green pepper, diced
3/4 of a cup of halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup of Minute Rice

In a medium-sized pan, cook pork seasoned with spice blend. Add diced green peppers to pan and cook. It is important that the meat is not all stuck together in one clump, otherwise, it won’t brown. The meat needs room. Cook meat until it is no longer pink and cooked through.

Cook rice. (I like to use the Minute Ready to Serve White Rice in the single serving packages.) Toss rice with tomatoes and cooked green peppers and spicy pork. Enjoy!

September 5, 2014 by Roni

Food, Savory

Garlic Chicken White Pizza

I am not a fan of pizza sauce. Sure, I’ll dunk bread sticks in it, but for the most part, I’m not one to choose a really saucy pie. I’m more of a white pizza gal, meaning, no sauce, tons of garlic, and Italian herbs.

So when my friend Lauren and I decided we wanted to cook for lunch, we miraculously selected white pizza. I say miraculously not because it was crazy that we chose white pizza, it was miraculous we decided on a meal in less than an hour. We’ve been known to spend an hour on Pinterest scrolling through pages of pins just to realize we never decided on what to make and now it’s dinner time.

Anyway, back to the pizza. She had the brilliant idea of using an herb pizza dough and adding spinach to our pizza. So we got to work and came up with this Parmesan and mozzarella covered pie that, I have to say, is better than any bread stick I’ve ever had before.

Garlic Chicken White Pizza

Gather
1 chicken breast, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup of frozen spinach (brought to room temperature)
1 Roma tomato, diced
1/2 teaspoon of basil
1/4 teaspoon of parsley
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 ball of basil-infused pizza dough

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out pizza dough until about 1/2 inch thick, and when placed into a cookie sheet (aka jelly pan) will fill all sides of the pan. Poke a few holes in the top of the dough. Place cookie sheet in oven and bake for 8-10 minute or until dough and slightly risen and is cooked mostly through. The outside will be slightly crusty and browned. Remove from oven.

In a saute pan, cook onions in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add chicken on medium high heat until chicken is browned. Add minced garlic, basil, parsley, and spinach. Cook until spinach is warmed.

On cooked dough, sprinkle evenly the Parmesan cheese. Top with chicken and spinach mixture, and then diced tomatos. Top evenly with mozzarella and add a dash of sea salt and black pepper. Place in oven.

Cook for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove from open and coat edges of crust with a mixture of 1/4 cup of olive oil and garlic powder. You may not use all of the olive oil, just coat the crust. Place pizza back in oven and bake for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.

Remove from oven, let cool, and serve.

August 20, 2014 by Roni

Food, Savory

Spicy Garlic Chicken

I was craving hot sauce the other night. I just wanted to hop into the car and head to the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings for some spicy wings. That, or I was going to make a pan of buffalo chicken dip, which would have been a bad decision, seeing as it’s basically cream cheese, chicken, and hot sauce. None of that being very good for me, my heart, or my waist.

So I opted to experiment and came up with the following compromise – Spicy Garlic Chicken over a bed of chicken rice. So I grabbed some fresh garlic from the cupboard, a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot, and preheated the oven to 375.

Spicy Garlic Chicken (for one)

Gather
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1 chicken breast
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. In a shallow glass baking dish, coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Place cleaned chicken breast into pan, top with minced garlic. Slowly pour hot sauce over chicken until chicken is completely covered.

Place baking dish into oven, and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked and browned.

Remove from oven, serve over a bed of rice, and enjoy.

August 17, 2014 by Roni

Food, Savory

Philly Cheese Steak Fries

Gah, I totally feel like I just said goodbye to my diet for this one. Soooo good though. It really started as I was having a hankering for a Philly Cheese Steak. And while I did buy bread, for some reason I didn’t really want it on bread. And then I remembered going for poutine the other day with one of my girlfriends (fries topped with gravy and cheese curds). Even more sinful than what I made.

So I pulled some French fries out of the freezer and went to work. The results? A very fabulous, cheesy, dinner. You’ll need a fork for this one.

Philly Cheese Steak Fries

Gather
1/2 medium-sized sweet onion, diced
3/4 green pepper, diced
1 pound of flank steak, sliced thinly
1/2 bag of frozen french fries
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Sea salt
Cheddar cheese, sliced thinly

Red the instructions to your frozen french fries and cook them until slightly crispy.

In a frying pan, cook onions and green peppers. Use a dash of olive oil if you do not have a non-stick pan. Cook on medium heat until onions are slightly browned, almost carmelized. Add steak and a dash of garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to taste. Cook on medium-high heat until meat is cooked through and browned.

Spread meat mixture over cooked French fries. Top with cheddar cheese and put back into the oven at 375 for about 8 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.

Remove, let cool, and serve. Enjoy with a fork!

July 27, 2014 by Roni

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