Happy Thursday! It is all about the letter “P” today. Pork, Peppers, Pasta and Parsley together to make this quick and easy dish on a weeknight.

I don’t know about you but I am always looking for ways to make satisfying, healthy meals in short order.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love to cook and be in the kitchen. However, after a day at the office there are times I just want to relax on the couch and watch an episode of “house hunters”.  You may laugh but I do love that show (except for all the repeats lately)!

Back to the task at hand.  Everyone wants quick and efficient meal ideas and this recipe will not let you down. As long as it takes you to cook some whole wheat spaghetti - this meal is ready to roll. Serve this with a slice of fresh warm beer bread and you are set.

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Happy Tuesday!  I know this post is just a sandwich but it’s an interesting and tasty sandwich that I threw together over the weekend.  Pork chops were on sale at the super market so I decided to pick them up.  I was craving avocado and hummus as well.  That is when I clued in - lets create a new sandwich!  I simply pan fried the pork chops with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Let them cook through but allowed them to remain juicy. After that just add your hummus and sliced avocado and it is complete.

This is super simple with a nice balance of flavors and texture.

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After visiting the new local market, I left with a nice pork roast that I was planning to roast for sandwiches, stir-fry and whatever else rolled through my brain. This dish was an ad hoc lunch prepared in less than 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

A couple of days prior, I slow cooked the pork roast for about 8 hours with a combination of Apricot Jam, Rosemary and splash of apple juice. To say the least - the meat was amazing! So tender, juicy and full of flavor.

Ingredients (Pork Roast)

• Pork Roast
• 1/2 Cup Apricot Jam
• 1 Tbsp. Dried Rosemary
• 3 Tbsp. Apple Juice

Method

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and set to low and cook for 8 hours.  Your final roast should look similar to this below.  Oh so good!

Ingredients (Pasta Dish)

• 2 Cups cooked Pork Roast
• 1 Cup Button Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Broccoli
• 1 Cup Baby Spinach
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1/4 Cup Feta Cheese
• 2 Cups Spiral Pasta
• 1 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Tbsp. Ginger
• 2 Tbsp. Orange Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Method

1. Preheat Large Pan on Medium- High Heat and add olive oil.
2. Add pork pieces and mushrooms, sautee for 3-4 minutes until the pork and mushrooms caramelize.



3. Add Ginger and Garlic, Cook for 3 more minutes
4. Add Soy Sauce and Hoisin Sauce



5. Add Orange Juice and Broccoli - stirring to coat the broccoli ( be sure to add a sprinkle of salt on the broccoli to ensure it stays bright green.
6. Add Spinach - cook for 1 minute while stirring ( If you find the hoisin sauce is sticking to the pan which is quite possible due to all the sugars - add a tablespoon of hot water to the hot pan and de-glaze the pan and get all those great flavors.



7. Add Walnuts and cooked spiral pasta (you can use whatever pasta you have on hand as well).



8. Plate and top with Feta Cheese.



9. Enjoy!

As part of the zesty tradition, I can’t wait to hear what people both think of this recipe as it is so simple but quite tasty and also what’s your favorite type of pasta.

It’s Monday again!  I hope everyone has a great start to the week.

Zesty

Yes it’s true!!  Slow Roasted Cajun Ribs were on the menu last night.  I was going to do them in the slow cooker but I totally forgot in the morning to put them in so I decided we would have a late supper and I would slow roast them after work.  This process takes a bit of time but like anything…. good things are worth the wait! I have a previous post sharing tips while cooking ribs, all the tips still apply however these ribs will utilize the oven as well as a two step basting process.

Ingredients ( Dry Rub)

• 3 Tbsp Dried Thyme
• 2 Tbsp Paprika
• 2 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
• 1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tsp Salt

Ingredients ( Sauce)

• 1/4 Cup Molasses
• 1 Tbsp, Soy Sauce
• 1 Tsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

Method

1. Prepare the meat and remove any silver skin to allow the meat to breakdown and become tender while cooking. Preheat oven at 250 degrees.



2. Add dry rub mixture all over and meat and ensure you rub it in well. This will allow the flavours to penetrate the meat as it cooks. If you have time you can leave the rub on all day or even over night. I just let it sit about 20 minutes.



3. After 90 minutes of cooking - I add the sauce to the top of the meat. Brush the glaze all over the meat and make sure that it is evenly distributed over the meat. This will form a nice crust to the top of the ribs.



4. After 2 hours and 20 minutes in the oven at the low tempreature. I like to blast the heat to 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes and really build the crust on the meat. By this time the meat has already pulled away from the bone and is very juicy. The higher tempreature for the short burst just adds more flavor to the surface of the ribs.

Once out of the oven - I like to let the ribs sit there for about 10-15 minutes so that the juices will travel back to the center of the meat and ensure the succulent flavor you come to expect from pork ribs.

A great side dish with ribs is a nice coleslaw. I just grated some cabbage and some carrot then sprinkled in some cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes and used a store bought dressing and called it a coleslaw. Yesterday’s french fries would also be a nice treat beside this ribs. Now the only thing left to do is grab your favorite drink, a handful of napkins and ENJOY. Let me know your favorite sauce that you use when you make ribs.

This past weekend was a special weekend as we attended a 65th birthday for my aunt. There was a lot of food preparation of course as the party was for about 50 people. I was asked to bring a pork roast, which in my mind I was more than happy to do that.

The weather is cooling down here so I decided to go with the oven method for this roast. When cooking large pieces of meat I usually always opt for the low and slow method. I added a dry rub the and let it sit for about 20 hours prior to roasting. This allows the rub to penetrate the meat and add even more flavor.

The recipe for the rub is:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 3/4 teaspoon ground savory
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

So as for the cooking technique…. it doesn’t get much simplier.  I add the meat to a roasting pan and preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  I like to let the meat rest for a few minutes on the counter and it does not tense up coming directly form the fridge and then into the oven.  I cover it and let it roast for about 20 mins per pound ( depending on the size of your cut)  I also like to remove the cover 3/4 through the cooking time to allow the rub to form a crust.  When cooking for a crowd or anyone for that matter I like to check the internal tempreature of the meat using a meat thermometer just to be safe.  As you all know, pork can be cooked with a hint of pink and also remember, the meat will continue cooking once you take it from the oven.  Once you do remove the meat from the oven, be sure you cover the pork with tin foil to allow the juices to stay inside.

Once covered for 15-20 minutes you are ready to slice and enjoy.