A 3-Hour Pork Stew in Only 35 Minutes!

While I probably try more recipes from magazines than cookbooks these days, I'm making a conscious effort to select at least one recipe a week (or more) from one of the many cookbooks I own.  Maybe it's guilt or the thought that I shouldn't have a cookbook I don't use, but it's something I'm committed to.  One cookbook I received as a gift is a compilation of recipes called "Best of the Best" by Food and Wine.  Essentially, they release a cookbook that pulls the "best" recipes from the "best" cookbooks of that year.  It's actually a great concept since I don't want to necessarily own all of those cookbooks, but I might like a few of the recipes from each.

In the cookbook, I found a pork posole recipe that looked mouth-watering good.  Pork shoulder, hominy, and a homemade tomatillo sauce that's added at the end for a flavorful stew.  Problem is, I had to cook this on a weeknight with limited time AND I wanted to make it a bit healthier.  How to accomplish?  Take a lighter cut of pork, sub frozen corn for hominy, punch up the corn flavor with a secret ingredient (hint: you probably have this snack food in your pantry), and use pre-made tomatillo salsa.

I browned up a pound of pork tenderloin that is cut into small cubes, added in some diced onion, poblano, and a little jalapeño for heat (you can omit the last item to make it more kid-friendly), and cooked until soft.  Then, I added 1 quart of chicken broth 1/2 package of frozen corn, and one jar of mild tomatillo salsa.  Brought to a boil, simmered 10 minutes and served.  While that was cooking, I microwaved a package of the 90-second rice to mix in (though you could cook rice in the soup or separately).

Pork, rice, sour cream, and cilantro - yum!

But the true test, how did it taste?  Well, my pickiest critic (my sweetie) ate two bowls.  I'd say that it passed the test!  Serve this with your choice of toppings - shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro are all options.  Happy eating!

Quick Pork and Tomatillo Stew

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and ribs removed, chopped
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into small cubes
1 jar green tomatillo salsa (mild)
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 package frozen corn
1 cup tortilla chips, crushed.
1 cup rice, prepared according to package directions
Chopped cilantro and sour cream, for garnish

In kettle, heat canola oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion, poblano, and jalapeño (if using).  Cook until onion is translucent.  Add in pork tenderloin pieces and sauté until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.  Add in jar of salsa, chicken broth, corn, and tortilla chips.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a summer.  Simmer 15 minutes or until pork is cooked through.  Check for seasoning.  To serve, divide rice into 4 bowls, ladle in soup and garnish with cilantro, more crushed tortilla chips, and sour cream, if desired.

Five Crowd-Pleasing Pinterest Favorites

I spend WAY too many hours on Pinterest these days, but it's for a good cause - FOOD!  I still love trying recipes from magazines and my cookbooks, but even my favorite cooking magazines are on Pinterest!

Over the past several months, I cooked a lot of the recipes I've pinned.  Since I've pinned over 300 (and counting!), I can't say I'm close to cooking all of them, but here are some that received RAVE reviews from family and friends when I made them.  If you're looking for crowd-pleasing items for a Superbowl party or a casual get-together, put these on your list.  Happy eating!


1. Sweet pork love.  This is my variation on a recipe from tastykitchen.com using bacon, cocktail wienies, butter, and brown sugar.  Anyone who loves pork products will go crazy for these.  Any guy gathering needs a batch (or two!)

2. Jalapeño-ranch dip.  There's this restaurant from Austin, TX called Chuy's.  On request, they will bring you a ranch-jalapeno dressing/dip for your tortilla chips.  Trust me - ASK FOR SOME!  It elevates ranch to new heights.  I found a dip recipe on Pinterest that's very similar from the site plainchicken.com, though I change it up by making it thicker (I use fat free Greek yogurt and reduce the mayo) and add extra cilantro.  Super yummy!

3. Sopapilla cheesecake bars.  Golly these are good!  You combine the taste of a sopapilla (those pillows of fried dough perfection topped with cinnamon and sugar) with a cheesecake filling.  The best part is how easy they are to make - crescent roll dough from a can, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, butter, and cinnamon/sugar.  Yoza!

4. Hawaiian roll ham sammiches.  Great guy food and a nice change from traditional sandwiches.  I made these over the holidays to high praise.

5. Ro-Tel chilaquiles  casserole.  This is a terrific brunch or breakfast dish for a crowd and almost everything is a pantry staple.  Ro-tel (tomatoes with chiles), canned chili, tortilla chips, chili beans, and cheese.  This is also really good for a hearty breakfast after a late night out.  Definitely recommend when doing heavy shopping as it will tide you over until lunch!

I hope you have fun with my current top 5 Pinterest favorites.  Let me know what your family thinks!

Sweet Pork Love

If you've ever attended a get-together with me, chances are you ate something involving pork.  I can't get enough of that swiny goodness nor can most of my friends.  I spent the holiday season cooking up a storm (didn't blog about it, but posted plenty of pics to Facebook) and much of it involved trying pork on pork.  One particular recipe, courtesy of Pinterest, was a recipe for cocktail wienies wrapped in bacon and baked in a butter/brown sugar mixture.

Take #1 resulted in a "soup" of pork fat, butter, and sugar that was a bit watery for my taste.  Judging by the empty casserole, it was still quite tasty!  I decided to modify the recipe by pre-cooking the bacon a bit and omitting the butter, figuring the pork fat would sufficiently blend with the sugar.  Success!  It glazed the pork nicely without creating a soup (shown below).  A little more work, but well worth it for a dish that everyone will consume with abandon.  The chorus of "oh my" and "oh mah gawd" that I heard told me the recipe was a winner.  There was almost a fight for the last few at the tamalada where it was served.  Thanks to Tasty Kitchen for the original idea.  Here's my version, perfect for your Superbowl fiesta.  Happy eating!

Oh mah gawd, these are good!

Sweet Pork Love

(Serves 2 - 10, depending on level of pork addiction)
1 package of bacon (1 lb) (regular, not thick cut and do NOT use turkey bacon)
1 package of cocktail wienies (1 lb)
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place a cooling rack inside.  Cut each strip of bacon into three pieces and place the pieces onto the cooling rack (ok to overlap them).  Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven until the fat starts to render.  Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.  Open the cocktail wienie package and reserve the juices. Wrap each cocktail wienie in a piece of bacon and place seam-side down in a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Sprinkle the porky love pieces with the brown sugar and press down gently.  Pour over the reserved wienie juice.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and baste the love with the sugar/pork juice mixture.  Increase oven temp to 400 degrees and bake 5 minutes more or until bacon has crisped a bit.

*If you want a spicier version, mix the brown sugar with cayenne pepper before adding to the bacon.