This has become a go to recipe for us whenever we have leftover pulled pork. You can also use chicken or really any other meat that you want. If you have leftovers or meat already prepared this dish is super fast and easy to put together!
We started by heating up the pork in a small pan. At the same time – boil water for a couple of eggs. In a 3rd pan, add some bone broth. We were fortunate enough to grab some from our favorite meat market here in AZ last week, but you can work with any brand of bone broth or stock. Bring your broth to a simmer and add in coconut aminos, salt & pepper, gochujang, ginger, lime juice and garlic. (I’ll share approximate amounts, but it’s really all to your taste/preference)
Don’t forget about your eggs. We prefer a nice soft boiled egg which is about 6-6.5 minutes. Add your eggs to boiling water then set a timer.
After you simmer for a few minutes and make sure your broth tastes just how you like, turn the heat up to a boil and add your noodles. They take about five minutes so should be done right about the same time as your eggs! We used the above pictured soba noodles, but there are a variety of options you can use! We also had some shiitake mushrooms in the fridge so we sliced them pretty thin and added in with the noodles.
Once your eggs are done – peel and slice in half. Put your noodles and mushrooms in a bowl and top with your pork. (or whatever meat you are using!)
Then, ladle in your hot broth. Top with and egg and cilantro. Feel free to add any other ingredients you like – hot sauce, thin slice radishes, scallions, other veggies? Grab some extra napkins as it can get kind of messy! Enjoy!
Pork Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups bone broth (or stock or whatever you have on hand)
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2-3 tbsp gochujang
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp ginger dried
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1.5-2 cups pulled pork or chicken or sliced meat or tofu
- 1/2 pint shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 3/4 lb buckwheat soba noodles
- 1 bunch cilantro for garnish
- 3 eggs soft boiled about 6+ minutes
Instructions
- Heat your pulled pork on stove, if it isn't already.
- Cook your eggs to your liking – 6+ minutes for soft boiled.
- Heat your broth in a separate pan. Add all of the ingredients through the minced garlic. Simmer for a few minutes and taste to see if you want to add or amend any flavors to your liking.
- Bring your broth to a boil and add noodles and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add your noodles and mushrooms to a bowl. Top with pork. Ladle the broth over the top. Garnish with cilantro and an egg. Enjoy!
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in the garden. I have had success with them both in the Midwest as well as in Arizona. Currently I am growing.. jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, bell peppers, anaheim, about 6 banana pepper plants (because they grow so well and there is soooo much you can do with them) and then what I thought was pepperoncini, but still have yet to determine what they actually are. I have stuffed all varieties, but find my favorites for this recipe are the banana, poblano , bell and anaheim peppers. I had one large poblano, a couple very large anaheim and quite a few medium size banana peppers ready to go so that is what I used this time around.
I cut the top off of each pepper, slit almost all the way down, but not cutting in half and remove as many seeds as you can. These are all pretty mild peppers so you don’t need to spend too much time worrying about removing each one. Then, I took some tomatoes, also from the garden, and squeezed them into a bowl. They need to be ripe enough for this, that you can actually squeeze them. I then threw in some of my dried oregano (also from the garden) – it has become one of my most favorite spices. I am growing extra right now so that I will have plenty to dry and store again before I use it all up! Next goes in the fresh parsley (a can is fine as well if you don’t have fresh). One thing I have learned about Italian cooking is that all of the best Italian recipes are heavy on fresh parsley. A few sprinkles of some smoked paprika and some fresh ground pepper finish of your mixture in the bowl.
I used ground pork again, you can use whatever ground meat you prefer or keep on hand. I like the mild flavor of the pork in this recipe and it also tends to be one we have on hand the most. I diced up a few of my smaller peppers and threw them into a tiny bit of oil and heated for a minute before adding my pork. Cook the pork all the way through and then add in your tomato and seasonings from earlier.
Stir together until heated through. Then, we stuff the peppers. Line the stuffed peppers in a baking dish. Top them with your favorite marinara sauce. Homemade is great, canned is just fine. If I am going to use a jar one of my favorites is the Sprouts Brand – organic, tomato basil. Come to think of it, I probably should have added basil in our spices above. I guess the sauce will help make up for that!
Try to spread your sauce out as evenly as possible, covering as much of the peppers as you can. This will help them become a little softer as they cook. Lastly, sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on top. I baked these at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. We seem to think these are very filling and one large pepper is more than enough for a meal for myself! They are pretty darn good leftover as well.
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 dozen peppers assorted sizes and kinds
- 6 fresh tomatoes medium size, approx
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh or jar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ground pepper
- 25 oz marinara sauce fresh or jarred (standard jar size)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the top off of your peppers and cut a slit down one side, almost all the way down. Wash out and remove seeds.
- Squeeze your fresh tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Peel and all. Add your spices including: oregano, parsley, paprika and pepper.
- Dice a small pepper or two (that you aren't stuffing) and add to the stove with just a bit of oil. Heat for a minute before adding your ground pork. Cook through.
- Add your tomatoes and seasonings from your bowl to your cooked pork and stir together until heated through.
- Stuff your peppers and place them in a baking dish. You can squeeze them up next to each other.
- Top with your marinara sauce. Spread evenly and cover as much of the peppers as you can. Sprinkle the top with fresh, shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Garden Zucchini Bowl
It is such a great feeling when are able to make entire meals (or most of the meal) from your own garden! I had some monster zucchini as my lead producers this year. We were headed out of town and I couldn’t risk them going bad so I spiralized and threw in the freezer to enjoy when we returned.
I love this spiralizer. I borrowed a similar one from a neighbor previously – Lindly. It might be the same one actually.. I ordered from Amazon. Zucchini really holds water and therefore tends to lose some density, especially when it’s been frozen. Fresh is definitely the best! I used 2 pretty large zucchini for this recipe.
Even when using fresh, start by wrapping your spiralized zucchini in between some paper towels. Try to get as much of the water out as you can.
These are the garden goodies I picked this day to use in this dish (minus the peppers – I didn’t include them). That’s fresh basil, oregano, parsley, cherry tomatoes (several varieties) and some fresh thyme.
Heat up some olive oil and add some minced garlic and a diced shallot. Cook for a few minutes and then add in a pound of ground pork. I also threw in some fennel seeds and crushed red pepper. Simmer until your pork is cooked through.
Slice your tomatoes in half or if you are using larger tomatoes you will want to quarter or smaller. Chop up your herbs (Basil, oregano, parsley, thyme) and add the tomatoes and herbs to your pork.
Next, I added approximately two cups of tomato sauce. I had some in the freezer from last years garden. I simply cook the tomatoes down on the stove, pour in a freezer bag and freeze until ready to use. You could use a canned one as well (but it won’t turn out as good – sorry!).
I let this simmer for a couple of hours. The longer the better, but if you are short on time – 20 minutes should suffice.
Lastly, I squeeze out my zoodles. Heat some olive oil and minced garlic for flavor and add the zucchini. It only takes about 7 minutes to cook through – maybe less. That’s it – place your zucchini in a bowl and top with as much sauce as you would like. Enjoy!
Garden Zucchini Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini large
- 2 dozen cherry tomatoes
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot medium
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fennel seed or more to taste
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp thyme fresh
- 3 tbsp basil chopped
- 3 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp sage chopped
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini. Wrap in between paper towels to get the moisture out.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add diced shallot and minced garlic. Cook until fragrant.
- Add ground pork to pan, fennel and crushed red pepper. Cook pork through.
- Add your sliced tomatoes and chopped herbs. Stir together well and add in tomato sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or more.
- Heat some olive oil in another pan with some minced garlic. Add the Zucchini noodles and heat through approx 7 minutes. Use a medium-high temp to try and crisp up the zucchini a little more.
- Top the zucchini noodles with your sauce and serve hot.
Pork Posole
It was a cooler day for us Monday. It was actually quite nice. An overcast day with the high temp around 81 degrees. A few rain showers rolled through our area throughout the day and a large thunderstorm rolled through at night. It was so peaceful. Those are rare days here and a nice break from the sunny and 100 degrees we had over the weekend.
I had some leftover smoked/pulled pork in the freezer I had been saving to make another batch of posole. The cooler temperatures seemed like the perfect day! Although this soup is so bright and and full of citrus that it’s good in the hot summer days as well.
This is pretty simple to put together. It can be done quickly, but I do like to let it simmer a while before serving so the flavors really have time meld. Start by chopping a large, yellow/sweet onion and 2 large green chilies/peppers. I used anaheim peppers. Heat some oil over medium heat in a dutch oven and add your onions. Cook the onions for about 2-3 minutes until mostly soft. Add in 1.5 tablespoon of minced garlic and cook for another minute.
Add about 1 tablespoon+ of each, ground cumin, and oregano. I used dried oregano from the garden.
Stir in your diced peppers, cook for a few minutes and then add your pork.
Once your pork is heating and mixed in well, add your pinto beans (one can, drained), hominy (29oz can) and chicken broth (I used a 32oz box of organic, low sodium). Squeeze in the juice of about 2 limes. Simmer together with the lid on for at least 20 minutes. In my opinion, the longer the better. We probably simmered for a little over and hour.
Just before serving, prepare a couple of tortillas – trust me, this is one of the best parts. I found some great gluten free, ancient grain tortillas. They are from La Tortilla Factory, and I found them at Sprouts. Lay them on a baking sheet and brush with a little bit of ghee butter. Place them under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Then, use a pizza cutter to cut into triangles for serving.
Add diced avocado, fresh cilantro and another squeeze of lime juice into individual serving bowls and serve with the tortillas. Enjoy!
Pork Posole
Ingredients
- 1 quart pulled pork smoked, or grocery store
- 1 large sweet, yellow onion
- 2 large green peppers anaheim (or similar)
- 2 tbsp olive oil or other oil
- 1.5 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp crushed, dried oregano
- 1 can pinto beans drained (14 oz)
- 2 can hominy 30 oz
- 32 oz chicken broth or stock low sodium, organic
- 4 limes
- 2-4 tortillas gluten free 🙂
- 2 avocado
- 1 tbsp ghee butter
- fresh cilantro to taste
Instructions
- Chop your onion and peppers. Heat your oil over medium heat in a dutch oven and add onions. Cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add your cumin and oregano and stir in diced peppers. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add pork and cook for a few minutes until heated through. Add pinto beans and hominy.
- Pour in chicken broth and squeeze in juice of about 2 limes. Simmer with lid on for at least 20 minutes – up to a couple of hours.
- Place tortillas on baking sheet and brush with a little ghee butter. Place under broiler for about 3 minutes (until starting to brown and/or puff up).
- Cut tortillas into triangles using pizza cutter. Serve soup in bowl with diced avocado, fresh cilantro and another squeeze of lime – and tortilla strips. Enjoy!
Creamy, Roasted Tomato and Chicken Zoodles
Like usual, we had a few things in the fridge that needed to be eaten before going bad.. rotisserie chicken and cherry tomatoes were a couple of those things. I tend to overbuy tomatoes anytime I find beautiful heirlooms.. I just can’t get enough! Any day now we will start picking our own right out of the backyard! In my opinion there is nothing better than eating your own homegrown tomatoes. In my family we call the cherry’s “Karen’s candy.” That’s because my sister ate them as if they were candy.
I used a mixture of zucchini and yellow squash zoodles this time. You can make your own or at our local grocery store I like to purchase the Cece’s: https://cecesveggieco.com/products/#noodled. First thing I do is wrap my “zoodles” in paper towels to soak up any extra moisture. Then on to the tomatoes. Set the oven to 450 degrees. Roll your cleaned tomatoes onto a jelly roll pan with some olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add some minced garlic, crushed red pepper and some vinegar (I used champagne vinegar, red wine vinegar works as well). Toss together well and place in the oven for approx 10 minutes. They are finished when they start popping open.
Next, add a little oil (olive, avocado or ghee work) enough to coat the pan. Over medium heat, add a little minced garlic for flavor and throw in your rotisserie chicken. Stir occasionally until the chicken is heated through. Squeeze your zoodles in your paper towels and add them to your pan. Stir together until the zoodles are cooked through. Should take about 6-7 minutes.
Grab your pan of tomatoes from the oven and stir into the mix. Use a spatula to scrape any bits left on the pan into your mixture. Mix this together well and you are almost done. I wanted to make this a little creamy and decided to add some goat cheese.
Stir in just enough crumbles to make your creamy texture. The flavor of goat cheese is strong enough that you don’t need much. And it soaks up the juices in the pan well. If you are a goat cheese lover like myself, you can add a few extra crumbles on top of your bowl. That’s it – enjoy! How simple right?!
If you don’t like goat cheese you could use cream cheese or even a little plain yogurt. Also on the red pepper flakes – they add heat so if you are sensitive to spicy use sparingly.
Creamy, Roasted Tomato and Chicken Zoodles
Ingredients
- 4 Zucchini and/or squash Large
- 2 Pints Cherry tomatoes
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil Divided
- 2 Tbsp Minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp Red pepper flakes Approx
- 2 Tbsp Red wine or champagne vinegar
- 2 Tsp Salt Himalayan
- 1.5 Cups Rotisserie chicken
- 2 Tbsp Goat cheese Crumbled
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini and squash (if not already done). Place between paper towels to soak up moisture.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place cherry tomatoes and 1/2 of olive oil on jelly roll pan. Add pinch of salt, crushed red pepper and 1/2 of minced garlic. Mix together well. Place in oven for approximately 12 minutes.
- Heat remaining oil and garlic in pan over medium heat. Add the rotisserie chicken and stir until heated through.
- Squeeze the zucchini noodles and add to the pan. Mix together well until cooked to desired doneness. Approximately 7 minutes.
- Once your cherry tomatoes are popping open, remove from oven. Use a spatula to scrape all juice and any remaining bits from pan into zoodles mixture. Cook for a few minutes to let flavors mix.
- Add in your goat cheese crumbles. Stir until mixed together.
- If you love goat cheese like we do, top your bowl with a few extra crumbles.
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
We grabbed some great, huge sweet potatoes from the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers market. There are so many different ways you can cook them. We love them, especially on the savory side and they are healthy! I used some things that I typically have in my kitchen for this recipe.
Two large sweet potatoes is way more than enough for the 2 of us. We will have leftovers! I like to rub some sort of oil on the outside to add some flavor while baking. Throw them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour – these actually took a little less. Even as big as they are!
I usually wait until the potatoes are done so they can cool enough to handle when you need them. Then, brown about a pound of sweet Italian sausage.
Once the sausage is almost done, I added in some julienne-cut, sun dried tomatoes and stir together over low-medium heat. Then add in some crushed red pepper – to taste. We like spicy food so probably threw in 2 tablespoons.
I then added some torn salumi that we had on hand. We have this amazing meat market in Carefree that makes some of the best salamis. Well, everything they have is amazing! Then, dump in some organic spaghetti sauce. I love the sprouts brand. I used about 1.5 cups.
Scoop out your sweet potato filling and mix in with everything else. Cook on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, until well mixed. I’ve saved the potato skins before to “refill,” but this time I decided it was just easier to use ramekins. Scoop your filling into your potato skins or your ramekins and place on cookie sheet in oven for about 10 minutes.
There you have it! A pretty quick, simple, healthy dinner recipe.
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
- 2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Julinne-Cut
- 6 pieces Salumi (or pepperoni, etc) approx
- 1.5 cup Spaghetti Sauce
Instructions
- Coat your sweet potatoes with the coconut oil. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for approx 1 hour. Until they are fork tender. Let them cool enough to handle.
- Brown 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage in a pan over medium heat. Add the Sun dried tomatoes and stir together.
- Add in Red Pepper Flakes and your torn Salumi and mix together well.
- Pour in your spaghetti sauce. Whatever brand you prefer. I used a sweet basil this time.
- Cut your sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the filling. If you want to use your potatoes as your shell be sure to leave a thin wall.
- Mix your sweet potato filling with the other ingredients and cook for approx 10 minutes.
- Put your cooked, combined filling into your potato “shells” or into Ramekins. Put back into your 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Pork Lettuce Cups & Spanish “Rice”
It’s not my husband’s favorite thing to smoke, but it’s my favorite thing for him to make – pulled pork! When we lived in Kansas City he and a good buddy started a little competition BBQ team and everyone loved being on that cheer squad. He still loves to use his smoker(s) and we are both always looking for excuses to use them. Last weekend I asked him to smoke a pork butt – mostly because I just love using the leftovers for some of my favorite recipes. So – for this recipe, I used leftover pulled pork. Maybe in the future we will add a “secret” smoker recipe for those of you that want to try it, but I would suggest either making your pork in the slow cooker or you can typically purchase one already done at the grocery store (at least in KC anyway). Seasonings don’t really matter as we are going to change it up in this recipe. If you have one with BBQ seasoning or whatever options there are – it will be okay once we re-heat and re-season.
Let’s start with our pulled pork. I keep quart sized bags in the freezer for things just like this. You want to make sure it’s mostly thawed. Using a medium size pan, throw in a little olive oil and garlic and cook for a few minutes on medium heat, until fragrant. Then, add about 3/4 of a small can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce. You may want to roughly chop the peppers up before you throw them in the pan. I then toss in my pork. I like to pull it apart with my fingers to make sure it’s shredded and not stuck together too much. Stir this into your sauce and heat through. The Adobo peppers can be pretty spicy so depending on your level of heat tolerance you may want to adjust your amounts. I like to squeeze in 1/2 a lime, about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, paprika and some ground cumin. Adding in a little bit of dark shaved chocolate gives you taste similar to a good mole. I typically have the Williams Sonoma hot chocolate shavings on hand (I like to use them in a lot of recipes such as chili!) – I added about 1/4 cup. Lastly, add about 2 tablespoons of local honey (maybe more if you need to balance out the heat).
While your pork is heating, grab another pan and heat up some olive oil and minced garlic. Once fragrant, add in a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos (or green chilis). Add the remainder of your can of peppers and stir together for about 2-3 minutes. Now add your riced cauliflower. I like to buy the Cece’s brand from the grocery store that is already riced for you to save time. You can find it in the refrigerated section, not frozen. Or you can grab a head of cauliflower and rice in a food processor (or chop up by hand). Stir your cauliflower into your sauce, mixing well. Add in the remainder of your small can of tomato paste, some ground cumin, paprika and squeeze in the other 1/2 of that lime. We are almost done!
We love to have some sort of guacamole, avocado or a similar sauce to put on top – you’ll probably want it to balance the heat of the peppers. This time I just mashed up some avocados, added a little lime juice, a dash of garlic and some chopped up cilantro – mixed it all together in a separate bowl.
Next, you assemble. I always use butter lettuce – it’s sweet, it wraps pretty easily and the flavor just goes perfect with this dish! If you can find it, buy the “living” lettuce. It lasts for weeks! Depending on how big your lettuce “cups” are – we usually dish about 3 per person. I scoop the pulled pork into a cup, top with some guacamole and some fresh, torn cilantro. I am a cilantro lover, for me, the more the better!
Pulled Pork Lettuce Cups & Spanish “Rice”
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 tbsp Minced Garlic split
- 7 oz Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1 Quart Pulled Pork previously prepared
- 1 can Diced tomatoes with Jalapenos
- 1 can Tomato paste small
- 1 head Cauliflower riced
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1.5 Limes
- 1/4 cup Dark Chocolate shaved
- 1 head Butter lettuce
- 2 Avocados
- 1 bunch Cilantro
Instructions
For the Pulled Pork Lettuce Cups
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1.5 tbsp minced garlic, heat over medium until fragrant.
- Add 3/4 of your can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce, chop the peppers if you would like. Stir together until heated.
- Add in your pulled pork – shredding by hand to make sure it’s not stuck together in large chunks.
- Add in juice of 1/2 a lime, approx 3/4 can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of paprika and ground cumin. Mix well.
- Add in about 1/4 cup of shaved dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons of local honey. You may want to adjust these amounts based on your heat tolerance.
- Whip up some quick guacamole: mash together 2 medium avocados, add the juice from 1/2 a lime, a dash of garlic and a little chopped up cilantro. *If you want it thinner you could add a tbsp of water or some Whole30 mayo.
- Assemble your lettuce cups: scoop about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of pork (whatever fits in your lettuce), top with a scoop of guacamole and some torn, fresh cilantro.
For the Spanish “Rice”
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1.5 tbsp minced garlic, heat over medium until fragrant.
- Add in a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos and the remainder of your can of Adobo peppers. Stir together for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add your riced cauliflower and mix together well.
- Add in the remainder of your small can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of paprika and ground cumin and the other 1/2 of that lime juice.
- Heat through and top with a little guacamole and/or torn cilantro if you like.