Week 25 - BBQ Pork

The Recipe
500g pork for frying
3/4 dl BBQ sauce

3dl brown rice
1 tbsp paprika
1 can tomatoes
2dl stock

Bring paprika, tomatoes and stock to a boil. Add rice and let it simmer for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, coat the pork with BBQ sauce and put it in a single layer on a baking tray / baking sheet. Bake at 225C for 10 minutes. Turn it over, and bake for another 8-10 minutes until crisp. Transfer to plate with tissue paper to drain excess fat.

The Verdict
Both DH and I loved it! Very simple, yet not something I'd ever considered making myself, and absolutely delicious. Just make sure to have proper ventilation, as the smell tends to hang around. It's worth it though :)

Week 24: Slow Jambayala

The Recipe
1/3 chopped green bell pepper
1/2 medium chopped onion
4 chopped plum tomatoes
1 'stalk' chopped celery
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Cayenne pepper
Salt
100g smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch cubes
100g ounces boneless skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2/3 cup low sodium beef broth
1 dl brown rice

Cook the brown rice according to the instructions on the package and put aside.

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients, except rice. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Add cooked brown rice; cover and cook on LOW for 20 to 30 minutes.

The Verdict
The sausage was nice, but the chicken pretty non-distinct. Perhaps it would have been better if I'd quickly browned it in a pan first? But that would kinda have defeated the purpose of easy-easy dinner ;)

Other than that I liked it well enough. Crock-pot recipes just tend to be more bland than their stove-top counterparts. This wasn't as bad as some, but the meal did improve majorly once I put chili sauce and feta cheese on top.

Week 23: Beef with ginger and bell peppers

I ended up using pork instead of beef as beef is ridiculously expensive. Seriously, it cost almost twice as much as the pork! I doubt it changed the recipe all that much though.

The Recipe
400g beef cut into strips
1 tbsp oil
3 bell peppers
1 large leak (I didn't have that, so I used squash instead)
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2.5dl beef stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
some flour for thickening the sauce.

Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds and put them cut-side down on some foil on an oven rack. Grill them for about 10 minutes until they are brown on top.
Heat the oil in a wok and cook the meat for 2-3 minutes or until done. Remove from the wok. Cut the bell peppers and leak into bite sized pieces and chop the garlic and ginger. Add it to the wok and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add stock and soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add flour if a thicker sauce is desired. Add meat and heat through. Serve with wild rice.

The Verdict
Another "I don't need a recipe for this!" recipe. I seem to have acquired a number of those over the years! Guess I'm a better cook now than when I first started collecting these... which is a really good thing ;) It tasted good, and I might definitely make something similar another time, but I don't need to save the recipe.

Week 22: Salsa Chicken

The Recipe
1/2 pound chicken in strips
1 1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnemon
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Cook chicken until done. Mix together the rest, poor over the chicken and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with couscous.

The Verdict
Extremely easy recipe, but I don't know... it was almost too 'rich' in its taste. I wouldn't call it too hot, because that wasn't the case, but it was definitely a taste that needed to be diluted somewhat. I think I may try to substitute half the salsa for canned tomatoes next time, as I think that may have been the culprit. Otherwise it tasted lovely.