Easy Pork Lo Mein

After Easter Sunday, I had pork tenderloin leftover. I had marinated half the tenderloin in Tamari soy, and planned to use any leftovers in a Chinese meal. Lo Mein is one of our family favorites, but my usual recipe has chinese cabbage - a special purchase. While I had to substitute on a few fresh seasonings and herbs, I had all the ingredients for this recipe on hand. It's quick,easy, and everyone liked the dish.

Easy Pork Lo Mein
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb. pork tenderloin
¼ cup Tamari soy sauce
3 garlic cloves (or substitute garlic powder, like me, if you don’t have fresh garlic available)
1 tsp. minced gingerroot (or substitute about ½ tsp. ginger powder – I didn’t have fresh!)
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups fresh snow peas (I used thawed, frozen snow peas)
1 medium sweet red pepper, sliced lengthwise
3 cups angel hair pasta
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut the tenderloin in half lengthwise and then cut into ¼ inch strips. Put slices in a large re-sealable bag. Add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes to the pork. Seal and mix up the ingredients. Marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

2. In a large wok, stir-fry the pork for 4-5 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink. Add peas and red pepper strips. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the pasta and chicken broth; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the sesame oil.

3. NOTE: I used leftover, soy-marinated pork tenderloin. It eliminated a few steps and cut down on preparation and cooking time quite a bit. I did marinate the meat again, because a tenderloin roast doesn’t have as much soy flavor packed into it when marinated whole. It was not too salty for my family to use the ¼ cup soy to marinate the strips.

P.S. I must be getting back to my old self, because I've been wanting to cook again!! I enjoy trying new recipes...

Chinese Dumplings

If you like Chinese food, you need to check out this entry on Kimberly's cooking blog. She does a fantastic job of explaining, both in words and pictures, how to prepare Chinese Dumplings.

Menu Planning Part 2

The past couple of weeks, I've taken time with each family member to compile a list of their favorite foods - main dishes, meats, sides, fruits, vegetables, desserts, drinks. It was a way to spend a bit of personal time with each child, and I hope that it'll make menu planning a little easier. Thankfully, there were quite a few overlaps on favorites!


During menu planning, I also like to keep in mind different ethnic foods. Our family enjoys Mexican, Italian, and Chinese foods. When we lived in town, we could order take out at the nearest Chinese restaurant and we'd get at least two, if not three, meals out of the order. Now that we live out in the country, that is not an option at the last minute. While I do have a few dishes that can be prepared at home in the crock pot or stove top that don't require much prep time, I'd like to expand the list with meals that can be frozen.


This week, I tried a new dish called Gingered Beef and Green Bean Stir-Fry. It was quick (prep. time was 30-45 minutes) and everyone liked it. It's definitely a recipe I'll add to our rotation. Here's the recipe:


Gingered Beef and Green Bean Stir-Fry
Yield: 6 servings (1/2 cup rice & 1¼ cup Gingered Beef Stir-Fry)

3 Tbl. Soy sauce (I use Tamari)
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbl. hoisin sauce
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
14 oz. chicken broth
2 tsp. dark sesame oil, divided
½ cup chopped green onion
1 tsp. ground ginger (or substitute 2 Tbl. minced, peeled fresh ginger)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound sirloin steak, cut into ¼ inch strips
5 cups green beans (cut approx. 2 inches long)*
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
¼ cup green onion tops (2 inch slices)
3 cups hot cooked white rice**

Combine the first five ingredients, stirring well. Set aside. Over medium-high heat, heat one teaspoon sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok. Add ½ cup chopped green onion, ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add beef and sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining teaspoon sesame oil to the skillet or wok; heat over medium-high heat. Add beans and red bell pepper to pan. Cover and cook approximately 4 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the green onion tops and sauté for one minute. Return the beef mixture to the skillet. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Cook one minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

*I used frozen beans, broken into 2 inch lengths.

** I prefer basmati rice. It's a wonderful tasting rice. I also use a rice cooker, which cuts my rice cooking time to about 15 minutes. You'll want to start the rice earlier if you don't own a rice cooker.

Preparation Time: Approximately 30-45 minutes