June 2013 – Friday’s Swap
All recipes serve 6 unless otherwise specified.
Pork:
Keri’s Spicy Sweet Pork Tacos
2 1/4 pounds pork loin, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Tortillas
Prep Day: Mix the spices and sugar together. Rub the spice mixture onto the pork loin. Put into a freezer bag and freeze.
Serve Day: Place in crockpot. Cover the loin half way with water or chicken broth Cook on high for 3-4 hours (until it pulls apart easily) (cook longer if cooking from frozen). If it starts to look dry, add more water/broth while cooking. Serve with your favorite taco accompaniments!
Your Choice:
Simone’s Pulled Turkey Sandwiches
Roasted Turkey breast
Minced garlic
Chicken stock
All added to a roux and seasoned with salt and pepper
Prep Day Directions: The night before take out of the freezer and put in the fridge.
Serve Day Directions: Can be warmed in crock pot or stove top on low. The pulled turkey is fully cooked already so it just needs to be warmed to taste.
Beef:
Gretchen’s Beef Shish Kebabs
1 zucchini, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 (15 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
2 T steak sauce (such as A1®)
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup water
1 1/2lbs. beef sirloin, cut into 1 in cubes 12 bamboo skewers
Prep Day: Place the zucchini, bell pepper, and pineapple in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Divide the mixture into freezer bags. Whisk the ketchup, salt, steak sauce, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and water together in the same bowl until smooth. Add the beef cubes, and toss until evenly coated. Divide the beef into freezer bags. Seal, and freeze the bags.
Serve Day: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 8 hours. Soak the skewers in warm water at least 30 minutes, or place into water when you begin thawing the meat and vegetable packets. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. Make the skewers by alternating beef, vegetables, and pineapple on the skewers. Discard any remaining marinade. Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning occasionally until cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 10 minutes total for medium-rare.
Lindsey’s Mini Cheeseburgers
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
small buns
onion powder
garlic powder
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese
Prep Day: Mix seasonings in small dish. Set aside. Use ice cream scoop to drop beef onto wax paper. Smash beef with another sheet of wax paper to form small patties. Patties should be less than 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on top of patties. Cover and freeze. Place buns in bag. Freeze.
Serve Day: Thaw burgers and buns in fridge. Preheat griddle to med-high heat. (I use a griddle when making more than 4 burgers…otherwise a saucepan over the stove works great too.) Put patties on griddle and flatten with spatula. Let cook about 2-3 minutes and flip. When it’s almost ready top with half a slice of cheese. Cover with a metal bowl or lid to melt cheese. Check middle to make sure they are done to your liking. Place the bun, sliced side down on the griddle to toast. Serve with your favorite condiments!
Poultry:
Heather T.’s Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken with Harvest Grains
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup cilantro
3 tablespoons asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
6 chicken breasts
Trader joes harvest grains blend
You Provide:
1 3/4 cups Chicken broth
Prep Day Directions: Place top 4 ingredients above in a food processor/blender and process until smooth.
Pour over chicken in ziplock bag.
Freeze.
Serve Day Directions: Thaw chicken.
Prepare your grill or broiler. Cook until temperature registers 165F on the meat thermometer. Let the chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes before serving, this prevents the meat from drying up.
For the Trader Joes Harvest Grains Blend, prepare according to instructions on package. I always use chicken broth instead of just water, it adds more flavor.
Seafood:
Rosemary Shrimp Scampi
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves, minced 2 (6-inch) rosemary sprig, finely chopped and stems discarded
40 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray
Lemon wedges (optional)
Prep Day Directions: Combine the marinade and freeze.
Serve Day: Thaw the marinade and shrimp. Once thawed, combine marinade and shrimp and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally. Grill or broil shimp 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done (should be pink). Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
Serving Suggestion: You could boil the remaining marinade (to make sure it’s safe after having raw shrimp in it) while the shrimp is cooking, and then toss it with angel hair and the cooked shrimp. Toss with additional olive oil if necessary. Grate a little fresh Parmesan over the top and sprinkle freshly chopped parsley.
Happy cooking ladies!
Northerly Nosh 