Sweet Chili Pork Tacos

 We tried an EveryPlate subscription and it was probably our favorite food delivery subscription that we've tried yet. This was my favorite recipe from the box. 

Sweet Chili Pork Tacos 
(with red cabbage slaw, zesty crema, and peanuts.) 
Source: EveryPlate

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Pork

10 small flour tortillas

2 tbs Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

1/2 head shredded red cabbage

1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

1 lime, quartered

1/2 c Sour Cream

Cornstarch

2 tsp Ponzu Sauce

Garlic, minced

Salt & Pepper, to taste

1 tsp Sugar

Vegetable Oil

Directions: 

1. Wash and dry cabbage and lime. Zest and quarter lime. Peel and mince garlic. Toast peanuts in a dry pan (the pan you'll use to cook your meat), for 2-4 minutes. You'll know they're done when you can smell their nutty smell and they start to release their natural oils. Roughly chop peanuts. 

2. In a small bowl, stir together juice from half the lime, 1 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper until sugar and salt have mostly dissolved. Add 1/4 of the cabbage and a pinch of lime zest; toss to combine.

In a separate small bowl, combine sour cream, 1/2 tsp garlic, a large pinch of lime zest, and salt and pepper. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. 

3. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add remaining cabbage and remaining garlic; cook until cabbage is wilted and pork is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add 2tbs chili sauce. 2 tsp ponzu sauce, 1 Tbs cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water to pan with pork mixture. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. 

4. Warm tortillas on an electric skillet. Divide tortillas between plates; fill with pork mixture, cabbage slaw, crema, and peanuts. Serve with remaining lime wedges on the side. 

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake (Coffee Cake)

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake 
Source: adapted from Lil Luna

Ingredients: 
1 cup oil (Sometimes I substitute this with sour cream)
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 - 1/2 cup butter melted

Directions: 
In a large mixing bowl. combine oil, eggs, vanilla and milk together.
In a medium bowl, blend together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour half the batter into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.
In a medium bowl, prepare streusel by combining brown sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle half of streusel on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and then sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
Drizzle with melted butter (you can do less and use 1/3 cup butter or up to 1/2 cup butter melted).

Bake, covered with foil at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Take off foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Chicken Ranch Pitas (with homemade pita bread)

Chicken Ranch Pitas

Source: https://www.landolakes.com/recipe/17589/chicken-ranch-pitas/



Ingredients:

8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast strips
1/2 (1-ounce) envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 (6- to 7-inch) pita fold breads (Recipe Below) 
4 cups torn Romaine or Green Leaf lettuce
1/2 cup red bell pepper strips
4 red onion slices, halved, separated

2 tablespoons miracle whip
1/2 (1-ounce) envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix


Directions: 
STEP 1
Heat oven to 350°F.

STEP 2
Coat chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salad dressing mix.


STEP 3
Heat oil in 10-inch skillet. Add chicken pieces; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned. Cover; continue cooking 5-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Uncover; cool slightly.


STEP 4
Wrap pita breads in aluminum foil. Bake 4-5 minutes or until heated through.


STEP 5
Combine lettuce, red bell pepper and onions in bowl.


STEP 6
Stir together miracle whip and remaining salad dressing mix in another bowl. Pour mixture over lettuce; toss lightly. Add chicken; toss gently to coat.


STEP 7
Spoon chicken mixture into warm pitas. Fold in half; secure with toothpicks, if desired.

Pita Bread

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients: 
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see note)

Directions: 
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the water, yeast, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat to form a soft batter-like consistency. Add additional flour until the dough starts to come together. 

Add enough flour to form a soft dough that clears the sides of the bowl (but is still slightly tacky to the touch - see the note above) and knead for 4-5 minutes with an electric mixer or 8-9 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll the dough pieces into a ball shape. Lightly cover the balls of dough and let them rest for 10-15 minutes. Roll each dough ball into a thin disc, about 1/4-inch thick. Do your best to keep an even thickness throughout the entire disc of dough since this helps the dough puff in the oven (among other things). Let the pita rounds rest, lightly covered, for 30-40 minutes until they are slightly puffed.

While the pita rounds are resting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. There are two methods for baking the pita bread. 1) Use a baking stone. Preheat the stone in the oven for 30-40 minutes (while the pita rounds are resting). When ready to bake, gently lift a pita disc, with your fingers or a large spatula, and flip it onto the hot baking stone (if your stone is large enough you can bake more than one at a time). Flip the dough so that the side that was resting on the counter is now facing up. You want the the side that has been exposed to air (the dry side) to be down on the baking stone and the side that is more doughy and moist to be facing up - this helps the pita puff up. If you bake one or two and they aren't puffing, spritz the top of the pita round with a light mist of water before baking. 2) If you don't have a baking stone, preheat the oven like normal and then when the pitas have rested, gently flip two of them onto a large, rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Again, make sure you flip them so the side that was resting on the counter is now facing up. Spritz with water, if needed.

Bake the pitas for 10 minutes, until they are starting to brown very lightly on top and they have puffed several inches high. Keep in mind, though, that it won't be unusual to have some pitas that just refuse to puff. Still take them out after 10 minutes - they will make great flatbreads and will still taste delicious even if they don't have the magical pocket inside. 

Make sure the dough isn't dry on top when it goes in the oven (hence the reason for flipping the pita onto the baking stone or baking sheet. Don't get discouraged if your pitas don't all puff. Sometimes they won't. 

Veggie Spaghetti

Daniel Tiger has an episode where his mom makes "veggie spaghetti" and when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. (I love Daniel Tiger.)  I made it on a night when David had a work dinner, because he doesn't like mushrooms. But it was delicious and I was super happy with it. I will probably make it again and just serve red sauce on the side and people can have regular spaghetti or try some veggie spaghetti, and I'll eat all of the goodness myself.



Vegetable Spaghetti
Source: Simple Veganista

Ingredients: 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (baby bella)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced and cut in half
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced and cut in half
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, with juices
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
2 handfuls of spinach, or baby greens of choice
8 oz. pasta of choice
parmesan cheese, to serve

Directions:
Pasta: Cook your pasta of choice according to package directions. Set aside.

Vegetables: In a large flat bottom pan, heat oil on medium high, add mushrooms, zucchini, onion, garlic and spices, cook for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until mushrooms and zucchini are tender, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and cook until heated through. Stir in spinach and let wilt. Taste for seasoning.

Assemble: Serve veggies over a bed of pasta with a good dusting of parmesan.

Cream Cheese Chicken Dip

This is David's favorite dip for parties or game-days. One of our good friends, the Perkins, makes it and we finally got the recipe to make on our own. You usually hear us talking about food from the Perkins home that is baked and full of sugar because Amy makes the most AMAZING cookies, cakes, and baked treats. But this is actually a Derek recipe, which I think is funny.




Cream Cheese Chicken Dip
Source: Derek Perkins

Ingredients:
Chicken - shredded (3 breasts or 2 cans)
1/2 c. Ranch Dressing
2/3 c. Hot Sauce (Taco Bell Brand - medium)
4 oz Cream Cheese
1 8 oz bag of shredded cheese (2 cups), any time - preferably Mexican blend.

Directions:
Soften the cream cheese, mix together without the chicken. Add the ranch and hot sauce. Mix in some of the cheese (about 1/2 the bag.) Pour into a pie pan/8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at 375 until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Chicken Orzo Soup

Chicken Orzo Soup
Source : The Casual Craftete via Purely Katie


Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced (UNCOOKED)
8 cups chicken broth (plus more if you prefer)
1½ cups dry orzo pasta
2 lemons, freshly squeezed
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped

Directions: 

In a large stock pot, add chopped onion, carrots, and celery along with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Saute for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Add minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
Add diced chicken, broth, and dry pasta. Bring soup to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken and pasta is fully cooked. Remove from heat.
Add in lemon juice and parsley. Serve hot.

Orzo Sausage Soup

Orzo Sausage Soup
Adapted from: The Kitchen Girl and Gimme Some Oven









Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Pork Sausage [not breakfast sausage]
2 tablespoons oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 cups chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1  Orzo pasta
1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste
4 cups loosely packed spinach
salt and black pepper
optional toppings: freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, orzo (pasta), thyme, oregano, rosemary and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.


INSTRUCTIONS

Heat a 4-quart soup pot on medium-high. Add SAUSAGE to the pot, breaking it into small pieces; brown the sausage, stirring as needed; transfer to a plate; set aside. Carefully drain the extra grease, if needed.
To the same heated skillet, add ONION, GARLIC, and CELERY; sauté until fragrant and tender, stirring as needed (3-4 min). Add dry ORZO; sauté until toasted and fragrant (about 2-3 min); stirring as needed.
Add CHICKEN BROTH, DICED TOMATOES with their juice, ITALIAN SEASONING, SALT, PEPPER, and BROWNED SAUSAGE.

Bring soup just to boil; then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until orzo is cooked to your liking (10-15 min).

Stir in the SPINACH and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Taste, and season with salt and black pepper as needed. 

Serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings.

(Instant Pot) 

Instant Pot Instructions for Italian Sausage Soup
Select "Sauté" on the Instant Pot.
When the display reads "Hot", add sausage, separating it and stirring as needed until fully browned. Transfer sausage to a plate and set aside. You can drain the sausage fat from the Instant Pot into a heat-safe container or use it to saute the veggies.
Continue with the "saute" function on the Instant Pot. Utilize the sausage fat or heat a small amount of OLIVE OIL; then add ONION, CELERY, and GARLIC to the Instant Pot and saute until tender, stirring as needed (about 3 minutes).
Add DRY ORZO, CHICKEN BROTH, DICED TOMATOES with their juice, ITALIAN SEASONING; SALT, PEPPER, and BROWNED SAUSAGE.
Press the "Cancel" function on the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and turn the pressure release valve to the "Sealing" position.
Select "Manual" and set the Instant Pot on Manual +1 minute high pressure (use +2 minutes if using whole wheat orzo).
When the cycle is complete, a Quick Pressure Release (QPR) is needed to depressurize the cooker and prevent overcooking the orzo pasta.
This is done by turning the pressure release valve from "sealing" to "venting" position, using an oven mitt for protection.

Allow the cooker to fully release all of the pressure until the 'float valve' drops before attempting to open the lid. This process can take several minutes. The cooker automatically goes into "Keep Warm" mode until you shut it off.

Stir in the SPINACH and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Taste, and season with salt and black pepper as needed.