Sweet & Sour Pork

Sweet & Sour Pork

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This recipe makes a TON of sauce, I doubled the pork, but even then 1 serving of sauce left us with 2 tupperware containers leftover! Hubby's favorite version sweet & sour pork because the pork stays crispy! The best part is the whole thing is GLUTEN FREE naturally!

INGREDIENTS:

PORK:

1 lb. pork butt, cut into 1" cubes (I used pork for stew pre-cut)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white sugar

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 egg white

2 green onions, chopped

1 qt veg oil for frying

1/2 c. cornstarch

VEGGIES:

1 Tbsp. veg oil

3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces (I added red bell pepper too)

1 medium onion, cut into wedges

white sugar to taste

salt to taste

SAUCE:

1 c. water (less water if you want a thicker sauce)

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. white sugar (less sugar if you don't want it as sweet)

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. ketchup

1/2 tsp. soy sauce

1 (8oz) can pineapple chunks, undrained

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 c. water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place cubed pork in a medium bowl season with 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. soy sauce. Mix in the egg white and green onions. Cover and place in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.

2. Heat oil in deep fryer to 365*.

3. Drain pork and put in resealable bag, add cornstarch and shake to coat. Fry in heated oil about 10 min, until evenly browned. (The pork might look pinkish under the coating- cut one open to see if cooked through)

4. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok over medium heat. Stir in celery, green bell pepper, and onion and cook until tender. Season with salt and sugar. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. In a large saucepan, mix first 6 ingredients of sauce. Bring to a boil, and stir in the celery mixture and pineapple chunks with juice. (If you want your pork soft you can add it to the sauce now, if you want it crispy don't add to sauce!) Return to boil. Mix cornstarch in 1/4 c water and stir until dissolved. Slowly add to sauce stirring while adding. Cook until well blended and slightly thickened. Serve pork over rice(if desired) and sauce over pork :)

ENJOY!

Breakfast Cake

Breakfast Cake

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We used to call this coffee cake, but after numerous reminders by my daughter that we don't drink coffee, we changed the name of this to breakfast cake. The original recipe I found calls for only half the cake ingredients, but I found we like it better this way, doubled the ingredients, tripled the streusel (We love the streusel part) This is the way I do it.

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. white sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 c. butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk (or as needed)

3 tsp. vanilla extract

STREUSEL:

3/4 c. flour

2 c. brown sugar

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 c. butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour 9x13" pan. Make the streusel topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients for cake. Cut in butter until resembles coarse crumbs. Crack an egg into a measuring cup and then fill with milk to make 1 cup. Do this with each egg. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour liquids into crumb mixture and mix just until moistened. Spread half the cake batter into prepared pan.

4. Sprinkle with 1/2 streusel topping, spread with remaining cake batter and reserve the last half the streusel topping.

**You can add the streusel topping to the top before cooking, BUT the streusel will melt into your cake if you want a crumbly/crunchy streusel topping wait**

5. Bake in preheat oven for 40-50 min, until cake is almost done. Add the remaining streusel and cook an additional 10 min. Allow to cool.

ENJOY!

Pasta Pomodoro

Pasta Pomodoro

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Kind of similar to the fresh pasta toss recipe I have on here, but this one has an oil&vinegar type sauce instead of cream, another favorite when fresh tomatoes on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

2 (8oz) pkg. angel hair pasta (I used less than this and thin spaghetti cause that's what was on hand)

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. roma (plum) tomatoes, diced

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (I only had red wine vinegar, but add 1/2 tsp. sugar for every 1 tbsp. red wine and it's a great substitute)

1 (10.75 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth

crushed red pepper to taste (a must for hubby)

freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (I used dry)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook fro 8 min or until al dente; drain.

2. Pour olive oil in large deep skillet over high-heat. Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium-high and add tomatoes, vinegar and chicken broth; simmer for about 8 min.

3. Stir in red pepper, black pepper, basil and cooked pasta, tossing thoroughly with sauce. Simmer for about 5 more minutes and serve topped with grated cheese.

**TO MAKE THIS GLUTEN FREE-USE GLUTEN FREE PASTA**

Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting

Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting

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Hubby can't rate this once since he has an insane fear of bananas, but neighbors gave great reviews! Nice change to banana bread when the bananas start to brown.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. (18.25oz) plain yellow cake mix

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 medium-size ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 cup)

1 c. water

1/2 c vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 c. chopped toasted pecans (I'm not really a fan of nuts, so I omitted these)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place a rack in center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350*. Lightly grease and dust two 9" cake pans. (I did one 9x13 pan instead) Set pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add the mashed bananas, water, oil, and eggs. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 min. Stop and scrap sides, increase mixer speed and beat for 2 min more. The batter should look well blended and the bananas should be well pureed.

3. Pour batter into pan/pans. (If using 2, put in oven side by side)

4. Bake the cakes until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 min. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 min. Allow to cool completely.

5. Prepare Quick Caramel Frosting. This only takes 5-10 min; time the frosting preparation so the cake is cool enough to frost, the frosting sets up FAST!

QUICK CARAMEL FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar (I only had light, so I used 1 c. light)

1/4 c. whole milk

2 c. confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the butter and sugars in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat.

2. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until frosting is smooth.

3. Use immediately (while frosting still warm) to frost the cake, or frosting will harden. **If it does harden simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.**

Cafe Rio Style Rice

Cafe Rio Style Rice

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MMM... love me this rice! Great in burritos, salads, and as a side too.

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. water

2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bunch cilantro (I used dried and came out great)

1 can chopped green chilies

3/4 t salt

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 onion, chopped

2 c. rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend cilantro, green chilies and onion together in food processor.

2. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 min. (This time was a little long for mine, I ended up adding some water so it wouldn't dry out, but I'm at high altitude so rice is always a pain to cook.)

**Check your bouillon but if it's gluten free then so is the rice!**

ENJOY!

Cafe Rio Style Chicken

Cafe Rio Chicken

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So, this isn't an exact replica, but it's pretty dang good, especially if you are making a cafe rio style salad or burritos! Super easy (SLOW COOKER) and so versatile! Make sure you make the rice too!

INGREDIENTS:

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (I used regular Italian dressing and about half the bottle and loved it)

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp cumin

3 cloves garlic - minced

5 lbs chicken breast (I used about 3 lbs boneless skinless tenders instead)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook all together in the crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

**AS LONG AS YOUR SPICES ARE, THIS CHICKEN IS GLUTEN-FREE** :)

ENJOY!

HOOTENANNY (& Gluten-free version)

Hootenanny

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I got this recipe from my mom and its a weekly mainstay. I have no idea if I spelled this write, or to be honest what this is even called. This is our version of German pancakes, although I've heard some people say German pancakes are more like crepes. So Hootenanny is an appropriate term since according to Wikipedia, it's definition is something who's name you forgot. Kind of like whatchamacallit? Anyhow, it's a puffy pancake and it's DELICIOUS!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cube butter

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1 c. milk

little vanilla (I use about a capful)

dash salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter in 9x13" glass pan while preheating the oven to 400*. (Just melt it, don't burn it)

2. In blender, mix eggs, flour, milk, vanilla and salt.

3. Pour mixture into hot pan with melted butter. (Straight in, DO NOT MIX, the bottom will immediately start to set, this is good, don't mess with it.)

4. Bake at 400* for 15 min.

5. Serve with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

GLUTEN-FREE HOOTENANNY

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. butter

3 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. gluten free flour (I use an all-purpose blend, you can use plain rice flour and it works, but a blend works better)

little vanilla

dash salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter in 8x8" glass pan while preheating the oven to 400*. (Just melt it, don't burn it)

2. In blender, mix eggs, flour, milk, vanilla and salt.

3. Pour mixture into hot pan with melted butter. (Straight in, DO NOT MIX, the bottom will immediately start to set, this is good, don't mess with it.)

4. Bake at 400* for 12 min.

5. Serve with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

** Other than the puffy factor, little is lost in making this gluten free. I've served the gluten free version to my boys and they didn't even notice.**

ENJOY!