Friday, December 6, 2013

Just Another Cooking Post

Weeknight Edition. 

This post really has no point other than to state that I tried a new recipe and I really liked it.  Just like every other house we have our weekly go-too menu.  This includes classics like spaghetti, tacos/burritos and some sort of breakfast.  Last night I tried something new and it totally rocked.  We tried a variation of Honey-Soy Braised Pork.  Now, I can't claim that I found this recipe on my own because I didn't.  Hubby did.  I did make a few tweaks though.

For one, I didn't realize that we didn't have anymore Sriracha.  I was only going to use half what the recipe called for anyways since Clover doesn't have an appreciation for spicy foods yet.  I think the tip got gunky and I threw it out with every intention of picking up more.  But since we didn't have it, I left it out.  I also added in some mushrooms about twenty minutes before I was going to serve dinner.   

I also did not have fresh ginger.  But I do keep a knob of ginger in the freezer.  It comes in handy and freezes very well.  I use a small grater and just grate it into recipes.  It's one of those things I don't buy every week but need it in recipes.  I also like a little grated into some green tea with honey. 

The only question I had about the recipe was the timing.  My crock pot runs a bit hot.  Even on "keep warm" it can still burn stuff.  The recipe calls to cut the pork and then leave it in for 7-8 hours.  If you were making this while you were at work I would say skip the cutting part and just shred the pork when you get home and mix it in the cooked sauce.  I chopped up my pork and it was done by hour 5.  Then again I know my crock pot runs hot so I prepared for that.           

Although I messed with the recipe, it still came out really tasty.  My husband devoured his.  I'm not sure if it was because he spent all day in two airports trying to get home or if it was because he actually had a home cooked meal in front of him.  Left overs today were just as yummy.  Clover ate it too and requested that the noodles be in her lunch box.  I didn't have rice to I made some rice noodles I had in the cupboard from the Asian market.  I cooked them according to the instructions and added a little sesame oil to it.  Instant Sesame Noodles.

I think that since this recipe was so easy and only had like four ingredients I can add it to the weeknight menu.