Spicy Pork Noodles

1 to 1 1/2 lb ground pork

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 chopped jalapeno pepper

2 carrots, sliced however you like

1 or 2 large bell pepper, diced

1 c chopped broccoli

2 T olive oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 T toasted sesame seeds with hulls

2 T soy sauce

2 T mirin

Grated black pepper

1 T chili garlic sauce

1 lb linguine - cooked per instructions

Brown the ground pork in a very large (I think it's 14" with 2" sides) pan -- add a little oil to the pan, spread it thin and leave it alone until it's nice and brown then flip it over and let that  brown. Break the pieces apart and remove from the pan leaving the rendered fat.  Add a little  more oil, the toasted sesame oil, and the onions, garlic, and jalapeno.  Saute until nearly transparent.  Add back the meat, the soy sauce, mirin, sesame seeds, and chili garlic sauce.  Add the carrots and cook together until they soften and the flavors mix nicely, adding a little water if it's dry.  Adjust the flavors as you see fit.  Add the cooked noodles, broccoli, and bell pepper.  Stir and cook until the veggies are cooked to your liking, once again adding water if it's needed.

Spicy Pork Noodles

I made this once, loved it.   Made it again and brought it to friends who oohed and aahhed and ate seconds because it was so good, and now I'm making it again because I like it so much.  It's a throw together recipe and I do everything to taste so these are estimates.  If you like a higher ratio of sauce to noodles, use fewer noodles.  I've  made it with about half a pound but I like noodles, lots of noodles.  More veggies are good too, use whatever sounds good in amounts that make you happy. 


Spicy Pork Noodles

1 to 1 1/2 lb ground pork
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chopped jalapeno pepper
2 carrots, sliced however you like
1 or 2 large bell pepper, diced
1 c chopped broccoli
2 T olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 T toasted sesame seeds with hulls
2 T soy sauce
2 T mirin
Grated black pepper
1 T chili garlic sauce

1 lb linguine - cooked per instructions

Brown the ground pork in a very large (I think it's 14" with 2" sides) pan -- add a little oil to the pan, spread it thin and leave it alone until it's nice and brown then flip it over and let that  brown. Break the pieces apart and remove from the pan leaving the rendered fat.  Add a little  more oil, the toasted sesame oil, and the onions, garlic, and jalapeno.  Saute until nearly transparent.  Add back the meat, the soy sauce, mirin, sesame seeds, and chili garlic sauce.  Add the carrots and cook together until they soften and the flavors mix nicely, adding a little water if it's dry.  Adjust the flavors as you see fit.  Add the cooked noodles, broccoli, and bell pepper.  Stir and cook until the veggies are cooked to your liking, once again adding water if it's needed.

I freeze leftovers in single serving sizes for lunch...

The next week

Sunday: Pesto with leftover chicken, salad


Monday: Beef stew, Valentine radishes


Tuesday: Hot Italian Sausage and Squash over pasta, cauliflower. I just made this up but it was good.


Italian Sausage and Squash


1 lb hot Italian Sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart winter squash puree (sweet potatoes would probably be good too - I used stuff we'd gotten in the share)
Salt
Pepper


Remove sausage from the casings and break into chunks, then brown the pieces. Add garlic and cook until soft. Add the squash puree (and water if necessary) and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a bit. Serve over pasta.


Wednesday: Julia Child's Chicken Fricassee (I'd frozen the leftovers) over noodles (although Sam had it over leftover mashed potatoes), salad.


Thursday: Take out pizza. Logging this is a good reminder of how much we eat out. Apparently a lot.


Friday: Red Lentil Dal (modified from this recipe) by doubling the spices and using about a tablespoon of fresh ginger in place of the dried. I also quickly cooked the spices in oil prior to adding the other ingredients. I served it over chickpea pancake with a side salad. As always when I make a vegetarian meal Ben says "Needs meat!" but Sam ate this right up.

Saturday: Spicy pork cubes over brown rice, cauliflower.

Spicy Pork Cubes

2 T oil
3/4 lb lean pork cut into 3/4" cubes
2 T sugar
1/2 c chicken broth or water
2 whole star anise
3 T soy sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T minced ginger root
1 clove minced garlic

Brown meat in oil, add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until tender, approximately 40 minutes. Remove heat and stir until most liquid has evaporated.

Bountiful share

Orange storage carrots, parsnips, garlic, mars onions, curly parsley, red and green Cabbage, mesclun, bright lights chard, Butterworks Farm maple yogurt, pearled barley, mushrooms from Amir Habib, Red Hen squash bread, two red kuri squash, and purple top turnips.

The squash and turnips are making up for the share before Thanksgiving when they were originally scheduled to appear.

Tonight I cooked a pulled pork loin (cooked covered at 275 with shallots and apple cider) and made the chard and one of the squashes to go with it. I almost always try to use the greens first because they take up so much space in the refrigerator. I'll likely use some of the pork to make a mushroom and barley soup too.