Tasty Tuesday – Curried Pork in Phyllo

Hi there!

It’s time for Tasty Tuesday!! 🙂

Make sure you remember to head on over to Lena’s page to check out all the fantastic foodiness and links over there! Oh, and you’ll be excited to know – she’s one of Lärabar’s newest brand ambassadors! Congratulations, Lena! ❤

Now, onto my Tasty Tuesday input!

I was in the mood for some curry but 1. didn’t want to make one of our old standbys and 2. didn’t want to spend the money on a restaurant (even though this place is on our list of ‘hell, yeah, let’s go eat there!’).

So, I made a Curried Pork in Phyllo!

Yes, I’m aware that’s lame and I need help with recipe naming. I’ll gladly take suggestions. I can’t figure out what else to call it. Curried Pork Log just sounds wrong to me and Curried Pork Pastry evokes strange thoughts – I mean, is it savory? Is it sweet? Is it confused?

Anyway, you’ll find Phyllo dough in your grocer’s freezer. Probably in the same area where you’d find puff pastry. Which is not the same thing. Don’t get them confused. And yes, apparently Phyllo can be spelled fillo.

Each package of phyllo comes with 2 separately packed rolls. You’ll only want to use one roll for this recipe. Otherwise, it’s too much phyllo. And, while delicious, sometimes too much of a good thing isn’t good.

And no, they won’t stick together to form a wreath or a circle. No matter how hard you try, how much you cuss, cry, or beg. So, don’t even bother.

So, even though it may not be the most beautiful creation in the world, once you slice yourself a piece and take a bite, you’ll forget all about it. Warm, flavorful, curried pork nestled into a flaky crust? WIN!

We topped our individual pieces with a little of this Thai Chili & Ginger sauce for a sweet and spicy addition to the curry. It was lovely. It’s also pretty tasty if you just want to drink some straight from the bottle. 😉

Curried Pork in phyllo
serves about 6-8 people

1 pound ground pork
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add pork; cook, breaking into small pieces, until no longer pink. Add onions and bell pepper and cook 5-8 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

2. Mix in remaining ingredients and cook 2-3 minutes.

3. Unroll one roll of phyllo dough and separate in half (sheets should come right apart). Spread half of pork mixture on one set of phyllo and roll up; place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Spread remaining mixture on other phyllo sheets and roll up; place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Spray tops of phyllo with cooking spray.

4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until phyllo is deep golden and crispy. Serve immediately.

5. NOM!

Talk to me: Have you ever cooked with phyllo? What about puff pastry? What’s your favorite recipe?

– jennifer

Friday reflections – my 2014 goals and how I’m doing

Hey there, hi there, ho there!!

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It’s Friday!!

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So, um, did you realize that it’s October already?

I mean, I knew it was October but I didn’t really comprehend that it’s OCTOBER already.

There are only 82 days until Christmas, which also means that there are only 89 days until it’s 2015.

What?!

In the middle of my mild panic attack, I remembered that I had set some goals for this year.

Let’s see how I’m doing.

1. Get a BQ at the Flying Pig Marathon

Well, that didn’t happen.  And, way back on January 16, I KNEW it wasn’t going to happen which is why I reevaluated my goal and edited it to breaking 4 hours.

Which didn’t happen either.

But, that’s okay. I had FUN and sometimes, that’s the most important part. 🙂

2. Run a 50k

Hmmm.  The 50k is in 8 days and you know I’m not running it. 😦

BUT, I’m not letting it get me down and I’ve already started thinking about next year now that I’m out of that stupid boot!

The time IN the boot, as much as I hated it, was really good for me to evaluate who I am, as well as helping to heal my injury.

I’ll be back to running soon and I CAN. NOT. WAIT. #patiencegrasshopper

3. Upgrading my pantry, cutting out processed foods, and recipe development

Well, I think I’ve done pretty well with upgrading my pantry and cutting out processed foods.

I didn’t really eat too many to begin with but I’ve definitely been more conscious about what I buy at the grocery store.

As for recipe development, I think I’ve been doing pretty well!

I’ve made

Triple Chocolate Avocado Brownies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Brownie Cookies

Bacon Bourbon Blue Cheese Bison Burgers

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Salmon Fillets

Crockpot Tomatillo Salsa Chicken

Quick and Easy Crockpot Roast

Wow! I’ve been busy!!

And, there’s still 89 days left this year for me to come up with some more new stuff!

4. Have fun

I think I’ve aced this goal so far. 🙂

I went to my first FitBloggin‘ conference, got to hang out with my blogging buddy Lena, and met a whole bunch of  awesome new people – including Arian Foster!!

lemme take a selfie

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, I took Thing 2 to Busch Gardens, went to our first Navy Dining Out, my sailor got promoted to Master Chief!, we went hiking, I saw a bear, we went antiquing, got gussied up and rode a water taxi to the Navy Khaki Ball, etc, etc, etc.

Yeah, definitely hit the nail on the head with this goal. 🙂

So now, it’s time for me to start evaluating and thinking about goals for next year.

And, some short term goals for the rest of this year.

Like, finally trying my hand at some homemade barbecue sauce.

Or, power cleaning more than 95#.

Or improving my overhead squat.

And definitely – MOST definitely – having more fun. 🙂

Talk to me: Did you set goals for this year? How are you doing on them? Do you reevaluate your goals regularly or do you forget about them until faced with a new year?

Tasty Tuesday – Korean Beef Bowls

Hello!

Happy Tasty Tuesday!!!

Make sure you head over to Lena’s page to check out all the other Tasty Tuesday yumminess, like her Single Serving Sweet Potato Casserole! Hello, Fall!! 🙂

I have a recipe worth sharing with you today, too. Whoop!

I found it in a Pampered Chef cookbook when I was at my folks’ house this past weekend.

Sidebar – did you know I sold Pampered Chef for 4 years? Seriously. That’s why I own EVERY. PIECE. OF. STONEWARE. known to man. Let me know if you need to borrow a piece. 😉

I stopped because it was just plain difficult to “restart” my business every time we moved. I tried but…..I’m really not an outgoing person and cold-calling people to book a party was not my favorite thing.

Anyway, I saw the recipe and it sounded like it was right up our alley.

The bonus was it was listed as a “20 minute recipe.” Oh yeah, I’m totally down with that.

You know that I had to adjust it a little, though.

I can’t remember the last time I followed a recipe exactly as written. I’m not even sure I know HOW anymore!

But, either was, this will definitely become a staple in our house. Delicious, easy, quick, and healthy – can’t think of anything wrong with that!

Korean-style Beef Bowl
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from The Pampered Chef

2 green onions, sliced (whites and greens)
1 pound skirt steak (you can use flank if you can’t find skirt but it may adjust your cooking time)
4 garlic cloves, pressed (or 2. that’s what the recipe called for. we like garlic.)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil (I used fiery toasted sesame oil from Harris Teeter. Mmmm…spicy!)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or regular or what you have. not confectioner’s.)
1 teaspoon olive or coconut oil
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
2 medium carrots (or 8-10 baby carrots, which is what I used)
2 cups mung bean sprouts

1. Thinly slice green onions, reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish (if desired) and place remaining in large bowl.

2. Cut steak crosswise into 2-inch pieces and slice into thin strips, cutting against the grain.. Place in bowl with green onions. Press garlic over beef, add soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, and sugar, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

3. While beef marinates, cook rice according to package directions.

4. For vegetables, peel carrots and discard skins. Continue peeling carrots to make long ribbons and place in ice water until ready to use. If using baby carrots, cut into matchsticks. Don’t cut your fingers. That’ll hurt.

5. Add oil to large (12-inch) skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add beef to skillet in a single layer and cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes or until beef is brown. Stir; cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until no longer pink. If using matchstick carrots, add to pan during this stage. Remove from heat.

6. Fluff rice with fork. Divide among serving bowls and top with vegetables and beef. Garnish with reserved green onion tops, if desired.

7. Om. Nom. Nom. Don’t expect leftovers. 🙂