BBQ Sloppy Joes

2 T. of butter melted in a saute pan, add 1 t. minced garlic, cook till golden.

Add:

• 1 red and 1 green pepper diced 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 splashed of terikayi soy sauce (just enough to coat) 

Cook veggies until starting to turn translucent, than add 1 lb. hamburger. Splash teriyaki soy on the hamburger as it goes in. Cook. 

Add 1/2 c. sweet baby rays original bbq sauce, 1 big squirt of ketchup, 1 squirt of texas road house steak sauce, and 2 T. brown sugar and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on buns with french fries and corn on the cob if desired! :)D Enjoy! 

Roasted Pepper and Sausage Alfredo

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. sausage (ground is what we uses this time but we want to try sliced sausage next time)

1 red pepper chopped into slices and then thirds

1 green pepper chopped into slices and then thirds (example below) 

1 red onion moderately chopped (see below) 

1 jar of four cheese Alfredo 

A couple shakes of paremsan Romano cheese

A little bit of milk

A spagetti squash 

Salt 

Pepper

Olive oil 

Directions: Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, put flesh side up in a baking pan. Generously baste the insides with Olive oil. Then salt-and-pepper generously too. Next time we are also going to sprinkle Parmesan Romano cheese on top too. Stick them in the oven at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until tender and fork can break the flesh easily. Don't over cook it or it will become mushy. 

Meanwhile, Cut up the peppers and onion if you haven't done so already. Then take the meat, peppers, and onion and cook them together. We didn't do it this time but next time we will add a splash of soy sauce. 

Next add Alfredo sauce, and a splash of milk to thin it out a little. Also add a couple of shakes of Parmesan Romano cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. 

Take your spagetti squash and using two forks shred it into strands and place it in a bowl. 

Ready to eat! Just serve the sauce over the spagetti. :) 

Glazed Pork Chops

I made these tonight. The recipe is from here. I'm only changing with the changes I made. It was super easy and super fast to make. I served it with rice and veggies.

Note: the pepper and cayenne increase the spiciness a lot. Use caution and to taste. I used a little more the second time but we liked it. I also doubled the sauce recipe and used 3 large bone in pork chops. My husband thought it was even better the second time.

 

Ingredients

• 4 thin or thick cut pork chops 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/16 to 1/8 tsp cayenne powder (to taste)
• ½ tsp garlic powder 
• ½ tsp paprika 
• ½ tsp salt 
• 1/16-1/8 tsp black pepper (to taste) 

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees if you have thick cut, thin cut won't need the oven. (skip step 4 in that case). In a bowl combine the brown sugar and spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and garlic powder or whatever spice blend you like).
2. Remove the pork chops from their package and rub the brown sugar/spice mix all over both sides. Use all of the spice mix.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. When the oil is nice and hot (it will look wavy in the pan), add the pork chops. Cook the chops for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned.
4. If you are using an oven safe skillet, place the skillet in the oven for an additional 5 minutes to make sure they are cooked through. If your skillet is not oven safe (most plastic handled skillets and teflon are not safe in the oven), transfer the chops to a baking sheet lined with foil then place in the oven.
5. Remove the chops from the oven and drag each side around in the thick glaze that has formed around the chops in the pan prior to serving.

Our Sweet and Sour Sauce and Fried Tempura Battered Meat (Barbecued Pork)

So last night I made one of our favorites...sweet and sour {Chinese style cured barbecue pork} (you can use any cooked meat or veggie)  fried in tempura batter. Here's the recipe! :) Sorry I didn't take a picture...I was too hungry to think about it.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:


(image source and recipe altered from here) 
(Serves about four-- we usually use about half and freeze the rest for another day)
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup pineapple juice (use the juice from your can of pineapple, measure though because there is more than 3/4 c.) 
• 2 T-3 T. sweet chili sauce
• 3/4 of a can of pineapple chunks
• 3/4 of a green pepper, chopped

Directions.

• Mix pineapple juice and cornstarch in a bowl. Spray a medium saucepan with oil and add ketchup, white sugar, brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and your pineapple/cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring until sauce thickens. Add chopped green pepper and pineapple chunks and let simmer so that the ingredients warm through and share flavors. Stir frequently. :) 

Tempura Batter: 

1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cups of seltzer water/ginger ale/ sprite

Mix all together. The batter will be like a think pancake or funnel cake batter... You don't want it too thin or it won't stick, but if it's too thick add more soda. 

(Modified from here) 

To make your fried pork: 

Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. You will know when it is ready when it bubbles a little and if you put in some batter it will sink but quickly rise. Dip your fried pork or any other cooked meat or veggie in batter. (Cut the pork or other meat into bite sized pieces ahead of time). Let cook in oil until it floats to the top and browns. Place on a paper towel. Keep going till you have enough. This recipe makes enough for probably a full package of the sliced pork. We usually can only eat half the package which weighs about 3/4 lb. 

Serve the tempura fried meat over white rice with the sweet and sour sauce over top! So good! 

PS. The closest picture I could find to what the meat we used looks like is this: 

Image source

Meatballs

I've been craving meatballs lately and we finally got around to making some! They were delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 cup onion chopped

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

1 T. Butter

1 T. Teriyaki soy sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 T. Parmesan cheese

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. Minced garlic 

1/4 t. Celery seed

1 T brown sugar

1 t. Better than boulloin chicken flavor

40 frozen meatballs (or enough to cover large sauce pan)

1-24 oz jar of pasta sauce (we used Classico four cheese) 

Directions: 

Sauté the peppers, garlic, and onion in the butter, soy sauce, and seasonings until they are soft. Add the tomatoes as cook until the onions are red/pink. Add the Parmesan cheese. Then add the sauce and meatballs. Add a little water if it's too thick or if you want to make sure it cooks down and incorporates the flavors a bit more. Bon appetit! 

Serve on hoagie rolls or over spaghetti.  Sorry for the lame photo. We were hungry!