Featured Recipe

Ok, to be completely honest, I have never had a pulled pork sandwich before. I understand the basics (that pork shoulder cooked low and slow until it's fall-off-the-bone tender and then shredded ("pulled") and simmered in a sweet-smoky sauce and piled high on a soft white bun) but I've never actually eaten one. So when thinking of what to make for dinner tonight (I have been very bad about meal planning and have had to think on the fly for a few days now) I asked my husband to take the pork strips out of the freezer as I was planning to make something with that and some quinoa and whatever few veggies are still in the fridge. He said "we have these really nice buns, why don't you make pulled-pork sandwiches." I said okay but I started to panic a wee bit since, as indicated above, I have never eaten one before and was worried about getting the flavour right. The panic quickly passed and the wheels started turning and what came out tasted "pretty close to bang-on" (according to the hubby). Not bad for trying to re-create a flavour you've never tasted.
These are not "traditional" as I did not cook a pork shoulder for hours and hours until it was uber tender (I cheated and used pork stir fry strips) and I did no actual "pulling" but the flavour was good and they were totally satisfying (and it didn't take me all day).

Pulled Pork Fakies

Ingredients:
1 package uncooked pork stir fry strips (enough for 4 large sandwiches)
2 green onions, minced
1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 TBSP ketchup
1/4 cup thick teryaki sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
1 tsp barbeque sauce (I used Bulls Eye brand because it's not as vinegar-y as some other brands)
1 tsp lime juice
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 smidge cinnamon (a smidge is about half a pinch or, if your spice is in a shaker jar, one light shake)
1 smidge ginger powder
1 smidge red pepper flakes
1 pinch black pepper
4 large soft, good quality white buns 

Method:
1. Slice the pork into very thin slices, then into pieces around 2cm long or so
2. Heat a large pan over medium-low heat (if your burner dial has 8 increments, put it at about 4). Add the oil, green onion and pork and cook, stirring frequently, until pork is cooked through and no longer pink (7-10 minutes)

3. Make the sauce. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the buns) in a small bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork. Add to the cooked pork

4. Turn the heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce is reduced and thickened and clings to the meat (about 12-15 minutes)

5. Slice each bun in half and top with a quarter of the meat mixture. Enjoy!

Featured Recipe

For some reason, I have a lot of eggs in my fridge. And they will all hit their expiry date before the end of the month and I didn't want them to go bad. Solution: crustless quiche! The nice thing about a crustless quiche is that it is way lighter and does not have the heavy greasiness of a pastry crust, so it is nice even on a summer day.  Plus, it takes way less time to prepare. A meat thermometer is handy for this dish as the eggs need to be at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit to be fully cooked but not over 180 or they will turn kind of rubbery. 


Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
2 TBSP 1% milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 green (or red) pepper, finely diced
1 cm wide section red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
cooking spray or vegetable oil

Method;
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F
2.  Crack eggs into a medium size bowl. Whisk with a fork together with salt, pepper and milk. Set aside
3. Spray a 9x9 pan with cooking spray (or brush lightly with vegetable oil). Put peppers, onion and bacon in the bottom of the pan and pour the egg over top
4. Top with grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes (eggs need to be at least 160 degrees F but not more that 180 degrees F) 
5. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares


Here are a few other flavour variations to try:

• mushroom, spinach and gruyere
• ham, broccoli and swiss
• sundried tomato, basil, mozzarella
• turkey sausage and monterey jack cheese
• mild Italian sausage (pre-cooked), red pepper, parmesan and mozzarella 

Featured Recipe

I ADORE apple crisp. A lot. The soft apples, the cinnamon, the crunchy granola topping....yum! And my mom makes the very best apple crisp in the world. Sadly, my husband cannot eat cooked apples so I do not make it very often. Plus, it's a lot of work to have just 1 person eat it. So.....I have come up with a 1 serving version that is super quick, low carb, low fat and totally delicious!

Guiltless 5 Minute Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
1 medium McIntosh apple (soft apples like McIntosh work best)
2 shakes of cinnamon
1 tsp brown or white sugar
2 TBSP Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal or other granola (Go Lean Crunch is the best for this but Harvest Crunch would be good too)

Method:
1. Peel apple and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar
2. Cook in mircowave on high heat for 1 minute. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds or so.
3. Top with cereal and let sit for 1 minute to cool.

For an added treat, top with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt