Thai Larb Bowl

Ready for something different!!!

This is a dish introduced to me by a dear friend and I really love it! I have been playing with it, as I always do, and thought I would give a quick share!! This was put together in under 25 minutes!!

What is the dish? LARB. It is a Thai-inspired “salad” technically. In fact, you will find it on the salad area of an Asian restaurant menu. I love it warm with rice!

Super simple ingredients, fresh, and a great make-ahead meal!!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or pork
1/2 small onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
Freshly grated ginger, 2 tsp
2 tbsp gluten-free soy
2 tsp fish sauce ( can omit)
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp-1 tbsp sriracha, depends on your spice love
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, diced
Rice, cooked
Romaine lettuce leafs
Cucumbers thick sliced

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Putting together:

Add the first four ingredients and cook the meat. Then add all the sauces, combine. Add the herbs and green onions last! I serve in a bowl with a little rice, cucumber slices, and a lettuce leaf. So incredibly simple and delicious!!

Shrimp Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet

I kinda squealed with excitement as I tasted this creation. I have never cooked with chorizo but I happened to see a package at Whole Foods and thought I want to try that with something. Now to be real….It sat for a bit. I just didn’t know what to make, then bam. It came to me after watching a Top Chef episode. Shrimp and Chorizo!! Fast and full of flavor. This is a 30-minute dish that can easily feed a well. My hubby and I did pull out the tortillas for some dipping, we love some crunch. Check out some of the swaps you can do with this basic recipe in the box below.

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pork chorizo

• 1 pound of shrimp

• 1/4 red onion, diced

• 1 sweet potato, diced

• 1 medium yellow pepper, diced

• 4 oz sliced mushrooms

• 3-4 hand fulls of baby spinach

• 1 cup corn (frozen)

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 juice of a lime

• 1-2 tsp salt to taste

• 1/2 tsp pepper

Pulling together:

First: Heat pan on medium heat and add chorizo and cook. Once mostly cooked add butter and sweet potato. Stir

Secondly: Continue cooking the chorizo and sweet potato for around 5-8 minutes, then add the onion, pepper, mushroom, stir. I do cover with a lid to help the potatoes cook. Be sure to stir frequently.

Third: Once the potato is mostly cooked through, add the shrimp and corn. I sprinkle a little salt over the shrimp then toss with the mixture. Once the shrimp is pink add the spinach and squeeze of lime and toss

Lastly: Once the spinach is cooked down, taste and add more salt as needed. Otherwise, you are ready to serve with tortillas or even on a bed of rice or leafy greens. Feel free to add a sour cream or avocado too!

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pizza

Do you ever try a food combo swap? Ya know, taking a favorite meal and combining it into a salad, pizza, grilled cheese? I remember the first time I thought of this pizza. We love wings and we LOVE pizza so why not do a combo! You get my drift. Man, it's fun, and it switches up the humdrum of some worn-out dishes.

So here is the first Food Swap of this brand new series:

Playing with Pizzas

Buffalo Chicken Pizza a goodie and pretty simple! It has all the best parts: Wings plopped on a bed of creamy ranch and topped with zesty buffalo sauce. This is a crowd-pleaser and a family favorite!

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound Chicken Thighs

• 1/2 -1 cup Buffalo sauce

• 14 in Pizza Crust (my favorite GF Namaste)

• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

• 3/4 cup Ranch dressing, thicker the better

• 2 handfuls shredded Carrots

• 1 Celery stalk, diced

• 4 Green Onions, diced

Putting IT Together:

STEP ONE: Pre-heat oven at 450. If you have time, I recommend marinating the thighs in 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce then adding all to the IP to cook. You can marinate up to 24 hours. If no time, no worries! Just coat the thighs and cook in the Instant Pot for 12 minutes on HIGH pressure, then release pressure when done. Once cooled a bit, shred and add 2 tbsp of buffalo sauce to the chicken. Now it is ready for the pizza.

STEP TWO: Cook your crust per instructions. If you have a full pre-made crust I recommend cooking for 10 ish minutes to get crispy crust! Have your crust ready to go and load up the toppings!

STEP THREE: Load the Pizza:

Spread 1/2 cup of ranch onto the crust, I save 1/4 cup of ranch to drizzle on the top after cooking. Next add shredded chicken, carrots, white part of the green onions, and drizzle with a couple of tbsp buffalo sauce. Top with cheese.

STEP FOUR: Place on the lower rack of the oven for 10ish minutes till cheese is melted! Top with celery, green part of the green onions, and extra ranch and buffalo.

A couple of TIPS for pizza cookery. Cook on the lowest rack of the oven. Get a good pizza pan, it’s worth the investment. Always let pizza cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting or it will pull apart the cheese!!

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Instant Pot Veggie Loaded Creamy Peanut Butter Pork

If you are looking for a FAST, SIMPLE, ONE POT Meal. I have got you covered! Thanks to Spice Shack Asian Booster Pack this recipe will not lack flavor! Honestly, I am always looking for a way to incorporate veggies into our meals and Asian food makes my job easier!. Even if you have picky eaters, this creamy peanut butter sauce will win them over. Yes, this is a great hack for encouraging kids to try new things with familiar flavors.

Feel free to play with the veggies used. Even make with ground beef, turkey, or chicken. Allergies to nuts. No worries you can use Tahini (ground sesame seeds) as a substitution!

The Sauce:

• 1 cup Coconut Milk

• 1/2 cup Gluten Free Soy Sauce

• 2 tbsp Peanut Butter (or other Nut butter)

• 1 tbsp Honey

• 1 tsp Sriracha

• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 1/2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

• 2 tsp Garlic

• 1-2 tsp freshly grated Ginger

The Pot:

• 1 pound Ground Pork

• 2 Red Peppers, sliced

• 2 cups Mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cups Broccoli

• 1/2 Onion, diced

• 2 Garlic, pressed

• 1 tbsp oil of choice

• Rice, Zoodles, Rice Noodles (Your Choice)

Bringing all together:

Place the Instant Pot on saute. Add oil to pot then pork, onions, garlic. Sprinkle 1 tsp Asian basic blend and break up the pork and cook. Meanwhile, make the sauce. I put all the ingredients into a blender or mini Cuisinart and mix. I do blend then let sit for 5 minutes then blend again.

Back to the Pot. Add veggies, stir then add the sauce. Cook on manual setting for 3 minutes to cook through.

Done!

Serve over Rice, Noodles, even Zoodles

Perfectly Brine Pork

Perfectly Brine Pulled Pork

Ingredients: 

• 1 (4-7 pound) whole pork shoulder (bone-in with a layer of fat on the bottom)

DRY RUB

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

BRINE SOLUTION

• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 quarts cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons dry rub mix

Directions:

FOR THE DRY RUB

1. Mix well and store in an air tight container.

FOR THE BRINE SOLUTION

1. Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar, dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.

PORK SHOULDER PREPARATION

1. Place in a large container, pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 to a max of 24 hours. I use a Doubled up Ziplock
2. Remove pork shoulder from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, place in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least a inch in length and width and at least 3 inches deep. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides. Make sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking! Place baking pan uncovered in a 225 degree F oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the center or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this). Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200 degrees.
3. When the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. When the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove from oven. Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Pull apart with two forks, it will pull apart very easily. Serve for friends and family!
4. ADDITIONAL COOK TECHNIQUE You can also make in the crockpot, I cook for at least 10 hrs on lowest setting. This is my preferred technique.