Food Friday #2

 Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  Lots of goodies were eaten, but surprisingly I ended up not taking any pictures at all! But that's okay, being there 100% with family is important, and I'm glad we got to have a nice Thanksgiving.

But here's what other fun things I got to eat this week...

Wonton Wrapper Jalapeno Peppers:

I went grocery shopping the other day, and out of nowhere started craving Jalapeño poppers.  But I didn't really want already-made ones, I wanted to make something on my own, so I picked up some ingredients and decided to make my own.  

It was a very fun learning adventure...to say the least 😂.

So I have only cooked with jalapeños twice before.  Once I chopped them without gloves...oh my God, what a mistake that was!  My hands were burning for hours!  The second time I learned my lesson, and put on gloves as I chopped.  

Well, I apparently never sautéed jalapeños on there own before this.  I thought I was being smart and bought pre-cut jalapeños from my grocery store, because I didn't have a pair of gloves on hand.  I directly threw them in my frying pan, and sautéed them up. 

You know what no one ever talks about when it comes to jalapeños...that they burn your throat and nose not just from eating them, but also FROM COOKING THEM!!!

My nose was on fire for over an hour!  It wasn't sinus clearing, my nose just felt like it was on fire on the inside!  My husband was being nice about, and pretended that his wasn't, but I could see him sniffling when he thought I wasn't looking 😂.

To make matters worse, I burned the first batch!!

We just got a new oven this summer, and on it is a Air Fryer setting, and I accidentally put 5 hours instead of 5 minutes on the time, so I realized 20 minutes in, that five minutes don't take that long 🙄.

But the second batch looked a bit prettier...

Here is what they looked before going into the oven...

Ingredients:

• Wonton Wrappers
• Sliced Jalapeno
• Cream Cheese (I used 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese)
• Water for putting the wonton wrappers on top of each and making them stick together after being filled.

Steps:

1. Sautéed Jalapeños (or not!)

2. Wonton Wrapper, place a small spoon full (maybe 1/2 tsp) of cream cheese in middle of wonton wrapper, and then place 1 slice of jalapeño on top. 

3.  Place another wonton wrapper on top topped wonton wrapper after putting water along the edges to make them stick (I used my finger to do so).

4.  Air Fry for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

So I realized something after I made these...I like the flavor Jalapeño brings out, but I don't like the spicy 😂.  So if you like Spicy (these probably weren't even THAT spicy) you'll probably like these.  

My next recipe was my favorite thing I made this week!

Pulled Pork Chow Mein

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but since it was vegetarian, and my husband does request there to be some form of meat at most meals, I decided to put my own spin on it.

We had a pork loin in the fridge, and so I looked up some recipes that would make some yummy meals for the week.

On top of that, I had the biggest craving for Chinese food the day before, and since its the pandemic we've  been trying to really limit going out to only essential trips to the grocery store, and must-do errands.  

So a little fact about me...I LOVE chopping vegetables.  Love it.  And this recipe needed quite a bit of vegetables,  and I ended up adding more, because I also love eating vegetables!

Pictured: bell pepper, celery, carrots, zucchini, mushroom.  Not pictured: shredded red cabbage, red onion, and bean sprouts.

So here is the recipe:

-boneless pork loin (crock potted over the day, until tender and shredding with a fork) (also I used a Dr. Pepper as liquid (learned that trick from my husband, it tenderizes nicely), sage seasoning, salt, and Herb de Provence (but you can season however you want, I just wanted it to be versatile, so I could use it for multiple meals)

-Sliced thin bell pepper (I bought a presliced pack from my grocery store, but I would say it equaled about 1 1/2-2 bell peppers)

-2 celery stalks sliced

-1/2 bag of shredded carrots (I buy the preshredded bag)

-1-2 zucchini sliced into thin matchsticks

-1 pack of baby-bella mushrooms, sliced

-1/2 red onion sliced and cut into as tiny pieces as possible.

-shredded red cabbage (3/4 of the prepackage bag)

-3/4 of the bag of prepackage bean sprouts

-one pack of thin spaghetti 

-1-2 tablespoon of butter for crisping up the pork

Sauce:

-1/2 Tablespoon corn starch

-1 1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce

-1/3 cup chicken, veggie, or beef stock (your choice)

-1 Tablespoon brown sugar

-1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (very important for flavor!)

-Toasted Sesame Seeds for topping.

Directions:

1. I sautéed all the vegetables.  I had to do it in sections because my pan wasn't big enough.  But in the end I mixed them all together, and put them aside in a bowl.

2. Boil Pasta in hot salted water to desired texture.

3. Meanwhile, make sauce in a small saucepan.  Mix all sauce ingredients together in sauce pan, and put over medium heat.  Stir constantly until it thickens slightly into a sauce.

4.   Melt 1-2 tablespoon of butter in pan, and take some of the crock potted pork, shred it into pan, and crisp it up.

5. Drain pasta, if you haven't already done so.  And mix everything together in big pop!

6.  Plate, top with some sesame seeds, and enjoy!

 

It was delicious!  And we had left overs for a few days, which was awesome!

I've got a few more recipes coming up, but I'll save them for the next Food Friday Post! :)

The Romance Bookie :)