Potstickers

This is the recipe I got from my friend Sarah who got it from her sister-in-law who is of Taiwanese descent. It's the recipe I would use when making them for our New Years parties.

1 pound lean ground pork

1 head cabbage, finely chopped

4 - 5 green onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 egg

2 - 3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 - 2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp salt

About 100 or more wonton skins

Mix everything together and fill wonton skins with a spoonful of mixture. Wet half of the edges of the wrappers and pinch closed. You can flash freeze them separately from each other at this point and fill freezer bags full of the potstickers for cooking later.

To cook, steam or boil in a pot of water or pan fry them with a little bit of oil and then steam them with the lid on. Enjoy!

For a quick potsticker dipping sauce, I add half soy sauce and half rice vinegar, a splash of sesame oil, and maybe a tiny bit of cayenne or maybe a tiny bit of garlic powder. You can also add green onions or sesame seeds, but I usually don't.

Sweet and Spicy Shredded Pork

Pretty basic recipe to get your mock Cafe Rio/Costa Vida sweet pork.

5 - 6 pounds pork tenderloin or roast
21 oz Dr. Pepper or Coke
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 7 oz can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
6 oz medium red taco sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Optional: 2 small cans green chilies

Using Dr. Pepper or Coke and over a blender, rinse all the chilies to try to get all the adobo sauce off of them. Discard chilies. With the adobo sauce and Dr. Pepper or Coke combo, add remaining ingredients (except pork roast) in blender. Blend. Place pork roast in crock pot and pour sauce over pork roast. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours.

This pork can then be shredded and used for delicious taco meat, enchiladas, tostadas, burritos, or chimichangas.

Spicy Country-style Ribs

This is an excellent quick and easy way to make ribs. My friend used to make this in his dutch oven when we went camping.

Country-style pork ribs
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce

Cut pork ribs into serving sizes. Combine brown sugar and hot sauce. Adjust quantities of hot sauce versus sugar to adjust the heat/spiciness of the ribs. Pour into crock pot over ribs and cook on low for approximately 6 hours.

Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs

This is my favorite recipe for crock pot baby back ribs.

1 rack baby back ribs

Rib Rub:

1/4 cup white or brown sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Mix all ingredients of rib rub in bowl. Peel membrane off of the bony side of the baby back ribs. Cut rack in half. Rub rib rub all over all sides of the ribs. Wrap both pieces into aluminum foil. Place side by side in large crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I find that closer to 8 hours is better for fall-off-the bone consistency. I also use tongs to switch sides of ribs about halfway through cooking if I'm home.

Serve after cutting pieces apart like that, or if you want to caramelize sauce on the outside, brush both sides of ribs with barbecue sauce and caramelize in a hot oven for about 20 minutes.

Pork with Apple-Curry Sauce

My dad uses this sauce on occasion for pork.

Cubed pork (or use as a sauce to top slices of pork roast)
1 cup milk
2 tsp yellow curry powder
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups chopped apples (2 medium apples or 1 large apple)
1/3 cup finely-chopped onion
2 Tbsp flour

In a saucepan, cook and stir curry powder in butter for 1 minute. Stir in apples and onion. Cook, covered until apples and onion are tender. Stir in flour. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Spoon sauce over slice of roast or add cubed pork until heated. If the sauce gets too thick, warm some apple sauce and add it to the sauce for thinning.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Pad Thai

This is the Pad Thai recipe my friend Emily and I used to make. It can be made with meat or with a meatless option by using tofu.

1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 red or green chilis, finely sliced or 1 - 2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger spice
2 eggs, whisked together
9 oz Pad Thai rice noodles
2 - 3 Tbsp peanut oil
4 green onions, sliced, separate the white parts from the green parts
Choice of protein: tofu, cubed;1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces; thinly sliced pork or beef cut into pieces; medium raw, shelled and deveined shrimp (at least 12)

Items to garnish:
Green parts of green onion, sliced
1/3 cup peanuts, chopped
2 - 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
Lime wedges

Sauce:
1/3 c chicken broth
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice
3 - 4 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp Fish sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp white pepper

Chop meat and toss with soy sauce. Set aside. Bring large pot of water to boil. Put in rice noodles and turn off heat. Let sit for 6 minutes. Drain (should be undercooked). Rinse with cold water to keep from sticking. Combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Heat large pan or wok to medium-high heat. Saute the following in peanut oil: garlic, chilis, ginger, white parts of green onion. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add meat and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp sauce mixture so it doesn't get dry.

Push ingredients to side of pan. Add additional oil if necessary. Add eggs and scramble.  Add noodles and 3 to 4 Tbsp of sauce. Stir fry, adding sauce until noodles are chewy and sticky (about 8 to 10 minutes).

Remove from heat. Fold in bean sprouts or garnish with sprouts. Also garnish with green onions, peanuts and juice from lime wedges. Enjoy!

Bacon-wrapped Chicken

This is a recipe I got from one of my former roommates. I love this recipe and make it regularly.

Chicken breasts, flattened or butterflied
Cream cheese
Salt
Pepper
Chives
Bacon

Flatten chicken with a meat tenderizer. If desiring smaller pieces of chicken, fillet each chicken breast into two pieces and tenderize. Add a pat of cream cheese on one end of the piece of chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken. Add chives, as well. Roll up the chicken so that the cream cheese is in the middle of the piece of chicken. Wrap the chicken roll with a piece of bacon.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 - 40 minutes until juices run clear, then broil until the bacon is crispy.

Applesauce Curry Pork Chops

These are the applesauce curry pork chops my dad taught me how to make! It's one of the only ways I like applesauce.

1 Tbsp oil
2 - 3 pork chops
1/2 can applesauce
1/2 tsp yellow curry powder or to taste

Add oil to pan with lid. Brown pork chops at a medium high heat in pan, Cover pan with a teeny bit of water to steam with lid on for 10 - 15 minutes. Add 1/2 can applesauce and curry powder. Heat for an additional 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Pork or Chicken

This is my dad's recipe for the Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken that he used to make.

Cubed Pork or Chicken (leftover from Sunday dinner was common)
Onion, chopped into large pieces
Carrots, cut into large pieces
Peppers (green or red), cut into large pieces
Canned Pineapple

Sauce:

1 cup pineapple juice (add water, to get to 1 cup if necessary)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp brown sugar (you can use white if you don't have brown)
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp chicken granules (or chicken bouillon)
1 tsp soy sauce
Optional: Add garlic powder or minced fresh garlic

If uncooked, fry chicken or pork for 2 minutes. Add vegetables and fry about 4 minutes to soften. In a pint jar, shake up sauce ingredients. Add sauce to pan and stir while thickening. Add the pineapple and cook until warm. Serve over rice.

Manicotti

Our  mom made this a few times when I was in high school, and I really liked it, so I've been making it regularly since then!

Sauce:

1 28 - 32 oz can tomato sauce
1 pound of sausage, country style
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sweet basil

Brown sausage and garlic. Drain. Add tomato sauce, sugar, basil, and 1 1/2 cup water. Simmer in crock pot all day.

Cheese mixture:

16 oz shredded mozzarella
16 oz ricotta
1 cup grated parmesan
2 eggs
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped

Mix all cheese mixture ingredients together until well-mixed.

16 oz box of manicotti noodles or large shells

Cook according to box instructions. Let them cool until you can handle them. Stuff noodles with cheese mixture. In a 9 x 13 pan, pour 1/2 of the sauce in the bottom. Place stuffed noodles in pan. Cover with the remaining sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.