Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard............1/05/2012

Since we had a nice harvest of pak choi a few carrots and a little broccoli head last week. I made another Stir Fry using those veggies, some onions, peppers, snow peas, celery & chicken. It is such a pleasure to have all these wonderful veggies from our own garden right here in our cupboard! We were out of the "good" soy sauce though. So, I used a brand that can be purchased at any grocery store. Boy, what a difference a good soy sauce makes!

"The Italian" also made a easy pasta dinner called "Pasta Piselli". There are two different ways to make this Italian dish. One is with a red sauce and the other isn't. I think the one that he makes with a red sauce is more common in Sicily. I totally forgot to take a picture of it. Here's this great and easy recipe.

Pasta Piselli

Ingredients:

• Canned plain Tomato Puree, Sauce or Tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Chopped Onions
• Peas
• Spaghetti

Directions:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the chopped onions for a few minutes
2. Add puree, sauce or tomatoes. If you are using whole tomatoes, I puree them with an immersion blender before adding them to the onions
3. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until sauce is thick. This should not take more then about 45 minutes, much less if you are using puree or sauce.
4. Add peas and server over spaghetti
5. That's it! Enjoy!

Another great dinner we have had recently is Paprika Pork Chops with Pak Choi & Kale

Paprika Pork Chops w/Greens

Ingredients:

• Pork Chops
• Spices: Paprika, Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Wine for deglazing, I used a white wine
• Stock, I usually used about 1 1/2 Cups of  Beef Stock for 2 Pork Chops
• Cornstarch for thickening
• Chopped Greens of choice. I used Pak Choi and Kale. I separate the stalks from the leaves of the Pak Choi as the stalks take longer to cook

Directions:

1. Salt & Pepper Chops and then pat them with a generous amount of Paprika on both sides
2. Heat a little Olive Oil in a deep frying pan or french skillet over medium high heat. You can also add a little butter for flavor if you wish.
3. Sear Pork Chops on both sides, then remove to a plate
4. Deglaze pan with wine
5. Add stock and some cornstarch for thickening. I used about 1 Tbsp.
6. Bring back to a boil
7. Return Pork Chops to pan, add the stalks of the pak choi, lower heat to a simmer
8. Cover the pan and cook the chops until they are almost done. The time will depend on the thickness of the chops. But shouldn't be more then a few minutes on each side.
9. Add the leaves of the pak choi and other greens of choice and cook for about 2-3 minutes longer
10. This dish can be served over rice, by itself or with fried rice

Enjoy!

What's been going in or out of your Cupboard lately?