Pico de Gallo
Mix all ingredients and chill until ready to use.
Another hot day in Yucatan and time for a cold dinner of salads. Previously I shared 10 Minute Canned Salmon Salad (May 31,2020) and also Chilled Asparagus Salad (last week). Here I am adding an easy Vietnamese Noodle Salad with garnishes of jicama, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and black olives. The “noodles” are actually rice vermicelli which is readily available in most grocery stores where pasta or Asian foods are displayed. It made a great looking salad bowl! (I took this photo before I added the tomatoes) LOL.
The “salads” can easily be made ahead and assembled as shown when lunch or dinner calls.
Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Ingredients
Lime
1. Soften the vermicelli noodles in a large bowl by covering with boiling water and soaking for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Rinse under cold water, drain, and add to a large bowl. Add the shredded carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts and chopped cilantro to the noodles.
2. In a glass jar fitted with a lid or a bowl, mix together the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper. Pour 3/4 of the dressing over the noodles and toss to coat. Add more dressing if desired. Sprinkle with more cilantro and green onion and a squeeze of lime if desired. Salad can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight, however if making ahead, add the cilantro just before serving.
How many times have you realized that the only vegetables in the house were in the freezer? Sure you can sometimes steam them, but often they turn out mushy. Thankfully on Pinterest you can find recipes for using them straight from the freezer without thawing! This recipe is a keeper, along with others I found there for using frozen spinach in a pasta and frozen butternut squash. (more on those another day).
Roasted Frozen Broccoli
Ingredients
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange frozen broccoli florets in a single layer on the parchment paper
Spray the frozen broccoli with olive oil spray to coat
Sprinkle on even amounts of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder over the tops of the broccoli (no need to toss or stir)
Roast at 450 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, checking once or twice, until broccoli is crisped to your liking
Remove from oven and sprinkle on parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately.
You just can’t have one without the other, as the old song used to say! Oh, that was love and marriage….for those old enough to remember. I had purchased ground pork and ground beef to make Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie. Since I did not use all of the pork I had fresh ground pork to use up. Pinterest again! There was also some leftover chicken breast from the rotisserie chicken I had purchased. Clean out the fridge!!! Today you are getting both recipes…..
Chinese Pork Meatballs
Ingredients
∙ Makes 20 meatballs
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the pork, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and pepper, and mix well.
Roll 1 heaping tablespoon of pork mixture into a ball and continue until all the pork mixture is used.
In a wok over medium heat, heat the peanut oil. Using a wok spatula, spread the oil to coat enough of the wok surface to fry about 10 meatballs at a time. Lower the meatballs into the wok in batches.
Cook without moving for about 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are cooked through. Use the spatula to carefully rotate the meatballs to cook on the other sides.
Keep rotating the meatballs gently until cooked through.
Serving Tip
For a heavenly dipping sauce, combine equal parts low-sodium soy sauce and honey.
Chinese Fried Rice Serves: 4
Ingredients
Instructions
This is an older recipe which I did not realize I had never posted before. I served this with my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork which was posted last year I believe. I served the pork on a ciabatta bun topped with a little sauce, the red onions and slices of avocados. Hope you might try this semi-Mexican dish. FYI…this recipe will last a couple of weeks in the fridge. Drain off the liquid before serving.
And here is the recipe…
Marinated Red Onions (LCBO Food and Drink)
1 lb. red onions sliced (2 large)
2 cups white wine vinegar
¼ cup cilantro sprigs
½ cup lemon OR lime juice
½ cup orange juice
½ tsp. salt
Put all of the ingredients together and marinade for at least 24 hours. The acid cooks down the onions… remember to drain it off before serving.
Serve with my Slow Cooked Pulled Pork!!
Think this is great for all of you vegans…right Jaromey?
Brown Rice Salad
Ingredients Nutrition
Directions
Two for one day. Both recipes are great for a BBQ party. The salad you can make ahead. The green onions should be done a half hour or so before you want to BBQ them.
ZESTY POTATO SALAD www.cooks.com
4 cups cooked potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon horseradish* (optional)
dash of green Tabasco or red pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Simmer potatoes until fork tender. Remove skins, and cut into cubes. At this point I usually cover the warm potatoes with the cider vinegar and celery seed (that’s how my Mom did it…LOL)
In a bowl, combine celery, eggs, potatoes, onions, vinegar* (see above note) and seasonings. Toss lightly to combine.
In a separate small bowl, mix mustard, and salad dressing. Stir into potatoes.
Refrigerate before serving.
Variation: Add cooked and crumbled bacon bits to the salad dressing and proceed as above.
Cebollitas Asadas (Grilled Green Onions)
Cebollitas is Spanish for little onions. It’s a Latin staple when it comes to grilling. These onions when grilled become soft, fragrant, sweet, and caramelized with a salty and tangy flavor.
Ingredients:
20 spring onions or large scallions (about 4 bunches) washed and trimmed
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt
1 lime, juiced (optional)
Directions:
Preheat grill.
Place onions on a large sheet of foil with butter and soy sauce. Seal onions securely in the foil. To do this lay the onions in the middle of the foil sheet, and fold in each side of the foil. Do the same with the remaining two sides. Wrap the foil around the onions like a present.
Grill onions or scallions on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over grill, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from foil and place on the grill (across the rungs) and grill on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes on each side until softened and lightly charred.
This recipe can also be made in the broiler about 3 inches from heat for 10 to 12 minutes.
Broil open for 6 to 8 minutes more until a desired char is achieved.
Transfer onions or scallions to a platter and sprinkle with salt and garnish with lime juice (if using).
www.muybuenocookbook.com
As a kid we used to pick asparagus along the ditches near our home in early spring. Mother always boiled it…YUCK!
Both of us love asparagus and it is in season here right now. In the past I always have done it on the grill, with garlic and Parmesan cheese. Sometimes I make asparagus fries in the oven with panko, egg and Parmesan. Feeling lazy I looked for something simpler. It was a lot less time consuming.
Baked Lemon Asparagus (http://natashaskitchen.com)
Ingredients
• 2 bunches asparagus
• 1 lemon
• 4 Tbsp butter
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Rinse 2 bunches of asparagus and break off the ends by holding the base end and snapping it wherever it snaps.
2. Place asparagus in a large baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Squeeze ½ of a lemon over the asparagus. Cover the top third of the asparagus with lemon slices from the other half of your lemon (optional).
4. Thinly slice 4 tbsp of butter and line the center of the asparagus with butter.
5. Bake at 400°F for 12 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Remove asparagus from the oven and set oven to Broil.
6. Sprinkle the center of the asparagus with Parmesan cheese and broil 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.
Buen provecho...2022 