Weekend meals...a little bit of the Orient

Pin It Tina and I had Chinese food last night from Chinatown....yum!! Tonight I made Chinese pork casserole with my leftover pork roast from two nights ago...yum!!

Photos (Chinatown on left (beef and broccoli, hunan chicken [spicy!], chicken fried rice, egg roll and spring roll - had the spring roll with the leftovers for lunch today), Chinese pork casserole on right):





Ratings - Chinatown - 5 star; Casserole - 5* (it's an old family favorite that Mom has made for years)

Today's recipe

Pin It Chipotle Pork Roast



Yes, I'm trying to use up the whole can of peppers! I know they can be frozen, but hey! If I find a recipe, why not try it out! This has certainly been a hot and spicy week :-) Review and photos to follow after supper as usual!

Chipotle Pork Roast Recipe

Recipezaar recipe #23605

SERVES 8

2 lbs boneless pork roast

1/3 cup olive oil (used some spicy oil I brought back from the US)

2 chipotle chiles

1/3 cup brown sugar substitute (I used real brown sugar)

1 tablespoon onion powder (didn’t have it, so left it out)

1 tablespoon garlic powder (used epicure minced garlic)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/3 cup water

• Place pork roast in baking dish.
• In a separate bowl, assemble the remaining ingredients, stir well.
• Pour marinade over roast, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (I did it for 45 mins)
• In a preheated oven, cook at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees.
• Cook until roast reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
• Allow to cool five minutes before serving.

Review/pictures:



This is my new favorite way to cook pork loin roast!!!!!!! I give it a 6 out of 5 (yes, I can do fractions, but it was just that good!)

Corn Chowder - a slight deviation from my original plan

Pin It Tonight I am making corn chowder and adding the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (gotta use 'em up!). I don't have a real recipe for this, I just cut up the bacon (I prefer maple, but regular was on sale for $2.99), fry it and add onions. When onions and bacon are done, add chopped potatoes (bite size) and water and/or chicken broth to cover and boil til potatoes are done. Add chopped peppers, 1 med can of creamed corn and about 2 cups of frozen corn and salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you want) to taste. Bring to a boil and then add milk and/or cream. Tonight I am also going to toss in some shredded cheddar cheese - I think that might be good :-) Pictures to follow after supper!

***
Update:
Forgot to mention - when you add the milk, also add a couple Tbsp of butter/margarine....I also added some fresh cilantro to give more of a Mexican feel. Overall it's great! I added the cheese, but can't really taste it, likely would leave it out next time (to save calories and $!)

Photos: (first one is before adding the milk)

Mexican Lasagna - photos/review

Pin It This is going on my top 5 list! Photos below...as I said, I didn't use the monterey jack cheese, but I forgot to mention that due to the spice level in the peppers and salsa, I also left out the chili powder and cayenne pepper...neither of which were missed. This recipe was TOTALLY not as spicy as I anticipated it would be. It was too spicy for Linda (she was here when I ate supper), but she's totally not into spicy food. I think for someone who likes a touch of heat to their meal, it is a great recipe.

Food Network chef I am not...

Pin It but I am going to give three Food Network recipes a try this week:

• Mexican Lasagna (tonight's supper...picture to come later)
• Smoky Sweet Potato Chick Stoup (yep, a Rachael Ray recipe)
• Spaghetti Carbonara

I also picked up one of the Superstore's Pork Roasts (boneless) that are on sale this week for $1.49/lb (great deal!!) It's about the size of my thigh...huge! And it was only about $10. I figure I can cut it up and get at least three nice size pork roasts. I will roast the pork and have it for supper one night and with the leftovers I will make my Mom's Chinese Pork Casserole (recipe to come when I dig it out).



Now I know what you're thinking...how in the world is she going to eat ALL of that in one week??! The Lasagna, if it turns out will be supper tonight, with 3 servings remaining...one for lunch tomorrow and, if it turns out I'll share my leftovers with a couple friends :-) I am a bit concerned that it is going to be trés piquante! I used hot salsa and then, when I didn't have the chopped green chiles it called for, I used...chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (just one!) I took a teensy taste of the sauce...WOOHOO!! It's hot! Taste it if you dare. I also refused to pay $5 for a small package of Monterey Jack cheese when the no name "regular" cheeses were on sale for $3.99 for the 540g package...I used sharp cheddar and marble.



As for the other two recipes (Stoup and Spaghetti), both of these will freeze quite nicely, so they will be future lunches.

Mexican Lasagna

Robin Miller, Quick Fix Meals (The Food Network)

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

4 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray

12 ounces cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

1 cup sour cream (regular or low-fat)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (regular or low-fat), divided

1 cup shredded Cheddar (regular or low-fat), divided

1/2 cup mild, medium or hot salsa

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 6 wedges

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat an 11 by 7-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, sour cream, 3/4 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, 3/4 cup of the Cheddar, salsa, chiles, cilantro, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of prepared pan, overlapping pieces slightly to cover the surface. Top with half of the chicken mixture and smooth over with the back of a spoon to even the top. Layer remaining tortillas over top, and spoon over remaining chicken mixture. Top with remaining 1/4 cup each of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 more minutes, until top is golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

To reheat, bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes.