Spiced Pork with Caribbean Salsa

It has been awhile since I participated in the Eat the Alphabet Challenge that is hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This is a great challenge to eat more produce and legumes.  Head over to Brenda's blog to view the challenge details.  She also hosts a 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats challenge that is about to start in September.

It seems like by the time I get the reminder for the challenge each month, I'm already drowning in other things.  However, this month I planned ahead and found this recipe with mangoes for the 'M, N, O' letter challenge.  I love mangoes, but the huge pit often leaves me frustrated.  I have decided only to use them if a recipe sounds really amazing.

I love Skinnytaste.com because her recipes are ones that my husband requests.  I can make Weight Watcher food without it being boring and seeming like healthy food.  She had this recipe that I've been meaning to make for awhile, and seemed perfect to tie in with this challenge.


Spiced Pork with Caribbean Salsa
slightly adapted from Skinnytaste.com
Ingredients
Pork
2 pound boneless pork loin
6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil 

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 lime, squeezed
1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Caribbean salsa
1 haas avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 large ripe mangos, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2-3 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1) Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the pork and stuff holes with half of the crushed garlic. Combine the remaining garlic, seasonings, and salt, rub all over pork. Place in a large container, pour the lime and orange juice over the pork; cover and refrigerate 5 hours or overnight, turning pork occasionally so the marinade covers all of pork.
2) The next morning, put everything in the crock pot and cook on LOW for 9 hours.  After 9 hours, shred the pork.
3) Remove liquid from crock pot and reserve. Add shredded pork back to the slow cooker. Add about 1 cup of the liquid back into the crock pot and taste for salt and pepper. Let it cook an additional 15 minutes.

4) Meanwhile make the  Caribbean salsa. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate salsa until ready to serve 

 

 

The original version of this is for Jerk Pork, but I can't eat red pepper flakes or spicy seasonings.  I found a home-made recipe for Jerk Seasonings and left out the spices I couldn't have.  In return, I bumped up the heat in the salsa by using a jalapeno that had the seeds left in.  I thought it was very spicy but the avocado and the sweetness from the sugar in the pork counterbalanced it really well.  The meat in this recipe turned out so tender and delicious.  In my opinion this dish wouldn't be the same without the salsa though.  I love the brightness and the flavor that this brings to the dish.

 

Please check out all the other blog posts and stop by to see the dessert that I have planned for next month's Eating the Alphabet challenge!

 



Orange Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

It's time for another Eating the Alphabet challenge.  Brenda from Meal Planning Magic, issues the letters for the challenge and then you select something that corresponds with the letter to make.  This month was 'G' or 'H'.  I decided to use ginger because it is something that I rarely use.

A few months ago, I had Barbara Bakes for the Secret Recipe challenge.  I found these chicken kabobs while browsing through her blog and decided they'd make a great weeknight dish since the marinade comes together quickly and the chicken is grilled.  Something we're all looking for in summer meals: easy.

Head on over to Brenda's blog to get more information about the challenge and sign yourself up to participate!

Orange Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs
barely adapted from Barbara Bakes
Ingredients

Orange Teriyaki Glaze

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 clove garlic, finely grated or pressed

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon honey

 

Kabobs

6 bamboo or metal skewers

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

Orange Teriyaki Glaze

 

Directions

1) If using bamboo skewers, soak in water 30 minutes.
2) Prepare Orange Teriyaki Glaze- Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger, orange zest, and garlic and cook stirring occasionally, about two minutes. Add vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, marmalade, orange juice, honey and red pepper. Cook stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. and set aside.

2) Thread chicken onto skewers. Preheat grill to high heat and grease grates with oil.

3) Grill kabobs 2 - 3 minutes on all four sides. When the chicken is nearly done, reduce the heat of the grill and slather on the glaze. You want to be careful to let the glaze caramelize onto the chicken but not let it burn - rotate frequently and slather on more glaze after turning. Total cooking time should be about 15 minutes. You can slide the chicken cubes apart and check to see if it is done, or cook to 170º.

Even though the picture is horrible, this was a great dish.  While this chicken was fantastic, the ginger wasn't really prominent.  I changed the recipe to have double the amount of ginger. I loved the amount of orange in the glaze though, it definitely came through.  This was an easy dish and I served it with cilantro lime rice for a delicious dinner. 

 

Roasted Eggplant Spread

It's time for another Eating the Alphabet Challenge.  I missed last month as March is the craziest month in my family.  Three birthdays and an anniversary all within two weeks is a lot to do.

This month, the letters for the alphabet challenge were 'E' or 'F'.  I honestly wanted to try something with figs.  I found some great goat cheese and fig recipes, but then I found out that they aren't really in season yet.  Nonetheless, when they do come into season, I found some great recipes.

When I ruled figs out, I kept thinking about eggplants.  I am one of the few people that I know personally that LOVES them.  If I was still single, I think I'd eat several of them a week, but my husband isn't a fan.  One of my favorite flavors for eggplants is roasting them, so I found this new recipe for a spread that I knew would be simple yet delicious.

Roasted Eggplant Spread
slightly adapted from FoodNetwork
Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

1 red bell peppers, seeded  

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

 

Directions

1)  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2)  Cut the eggplant and bell pepper into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool the vegetable mixture slightly.

3) Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

 

 I like this spread as an appetizer idea because it seems like a lot of appetizers are either really heavy with cheese or meat based.  This is really simple, but the roasted flavor of both vegetables really comes through.  Depending if you like roasted red peppers or the roasted eggplant more, you could go heavier on the vegetable that you like.  I served these with pita chips and it was amazing.  Definitely a great appetizer.

Please check out all the other letter 'E' and 'F' submissions below.  Thanks Brenda for hosting this challenge!



 

Maple Pecan Crusted Apples

Early in January, I was asked by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic to join her Eating the Alphabet Healthy Challenge.  The challenge is to make foods that feature fruits, vegetables, grains or beans starting with different letters of the alphabet each month.

This month was either 'A' or 'B'.  When I told my husband about this, he suggested avocados... I think this is because we eat avocados A LOT.  However, I kept going back to a recipe for baked apples that I had seen as part of the Secret Recipe Club.  So, in order to challenge myself, for the purposes of the swap, I abandoned my husband's avocado suggestion and went for the baked apple suggestion. 

I hope you follow this swap throughout the year and if you're interested in joining, head on over to Brenda's blog to sign up!

Maple Pecan Crusted Apples
slightly adapted from Sustainable Cooking for One
Ingredients
1 medium apple
Pinch of: cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
2 tablespoons craisins
2 tablespoons chopped raw pecans
1 tablespoon maple syrup (real, preferably grade B)

Directions:
1) Peel one circle around the middle of the apple, and a little off the top of the apple. Remove the core.
2) Place the apple in a small baking dish or oven-safe bowl. Mix together the spices and roll the apple in them.
3) Mix any remaining spices with the craisins, and add about 1/3 of the pecans. Stuff that mixture into the center of the apple. Pour the maple syrup over the apple, and top with the remaining pecans. 4) Bake until soft (mine baked about 40 minutes, but it will vary for the size of the apple). Spoon the syrup over the apple before serving.

I loved these apples because I just made one for my husband and one for me, so there isn't a whole nine by thirteen pan of dessert sitting at our house calling our name.  We felt like we ate something sweet enough to qualify as a dessert, but weren't so bogged down that we felt guilty. 

One of my favorite desserts is those baked apples that you can get at places like Boston Market.  They are just so comforting.  This tastes very similar.  I went a little heavier on the cinnamon, so that was the predominant spice flavor in ours.  The maple syrup kind of cramelized and made a delicious coating.  I liked the nut addition as well as the craisins, I think they would have been missed if they hadn't been added.  We learned that  fruit can make a very delicious dessert...and simple too.