DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert

Category Archives: Meat


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Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Folks, I’ve never made pulled pork before in my life. In fact, I’ve probably only eaten it a couple of times. I don’t know why the idea of making pulled pork got stuck in my head, but I’m so glad it did. And I’m so glad I didn’t ignore that little voice, because oh my goodness, you have no idea how good this stuff is.

It’s so simple – toss everything into a slow cooker, set it, and come back to a delicious heap of tender pork. Take a few minutes to shred it, slap it on a roll, and BAM! Dinner. I made it a little more time-consuming, though, by trying my hand at making my own barbecue sauce instead of using the bottled stuff. I loved the way it turned out, but I would definitely use some Sweet Baby Ray’s if I was ever in a rush.

I served it with a side of tangy coleslaw – check back soon for the recipe! Or even better, subscribe or “like” me on Facebook to get instantly notified when it gets posted!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
serves 10

For the barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1  teaspoon black pepper
1  teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

For the pork
4 pound pork shoulder roast
1 cup homemade barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, chopped

To serve
10 kaiser rolls

  1. To make barbecue sauce, combine all barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, or until thick.
  2. Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 10 – 12 hours, or until roast shreds easily with a fork.
  3. Shred roast with two forks. Return meat to slow cooker and cook for 1 more hour.
  4. Spoon pulled pork onto kaiser rolls and serve with a side of coleslaw.


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Pad Thai

It’s just like take-out. But better. I seriously can’t get enough of this stuff. I never bothered making it at home because I thought Mike hated it. Boy, was I wrong. I’m not sure why I ever thought that, but I tentatively brought up making Pad Thai for dinner and he enthusiastically agreed to it. I was thrilled. And disappointed that I hadn’t brought this up sooner. Like, 4 years sooner.

I purchased a large portion of these ingredients at the local Asian grocery store. I was able to find the tamarind concentrate, palm sugar, fish sauce, rice stick noodles, cilantro and mung bean sprouts there. I love the Asian grocery store because everything is so dang cheap. I can buy bean sprouts at the normal store for $2 or pay $1 at the Asian store for 3 times as much.

I opted to use shrimp for this, but I think I’m going to try chicken or tofu next time. Feel free to use whatever protein you want!!

The best part (other than the leftovers, that is)… I was able to cross of the first dish on my 11 for ’11 list!!

Pad Thai
serves 4

For the sauce:
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup tamarind juice concentrate
4 cloves garlic, minced

For the noodles:
14 ounces dried rice stick noodles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups shrimp
2 eggs
2 cups carrots, match stick
1 cup green onion cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cup cilantro, optional
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges, optional

  1. Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan over medium high heat. Cook until sugar has dissolved. Taste, and add more sugar if you would like. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Boil noodles 5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and immediately run around cold water. Cut noodles in half with scissors.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoons oil in wok or large pan and cook shrimp. Remove to small bowl.
  4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil to pan and scramble eggs. Remove to small bowl.
  5. Heat remaining  oil and add garlic and onion to pan. Stir fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add noodles and cook for an additional minute. Add 5 tablespoons Pad Thai sauce, stirring mixture until noodles are well coated.
  6. Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add egg and 3/4 of the following: carrots, green onion, and sprouts to pan and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  7. Taste noodles and add more sauce, if desired. Cook until all additional sauce has been absorbed.
  8. Remove from heat and plate. Garnish with remaining carrots, green onion, and sprouts. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and garnish with lime wedge and cilantro, if desired.
Recipe adapted from savory sweet life.


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Cajun Chicken Pasta

I’ll admit it – I’m kind of absentminded. I make food, take pictures, and forget about them. By them time I find the pictures again, I have a hard time remembering what the dish was and what I put in it.

Today, I realized just how many of these dishes go un-posted and now I’m making an effort to be more diligent. Mike helped me identify this particular dish from 3 months ago.

This particular dish was super easy to make. I opted to make it “lighter” by using less butter and swapping out the heavy cream for half and half. The spices in this make it easy to cut fat without sacrificing flavor. Yum 🙂

Cajun Chicken Pasta
adapted from allrecipes.com – serves 4

8 ounces linguine
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
6 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
3 tablespoons butter
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
8 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 cups half and half
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

  1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, sprinkle Cajun seasoning evenly over chicken on all sides.
  3. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute until chicken is cooked, about 5 – 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and green onions. Cook until peppers are tender-crisp, about 2 – 3 minutes.
  4. Whisk together half and half and corn starch until well combined.
  5. Reduce heat to low and add in half and half. Stir in basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Heat through.


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Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I love spicy foods and I’ve found out that my spice tolerance is a lot higher than 99% of the people I know. That said, I try to stay away from making spicy dishes since I”m a horrible judge of spice levels. What I think is medium spiciness ends up being a light-a-normal-person’s-mouth-on-fire spiciness. Oops.

This dish turned out to be a tolerable amount of spice for Mike, though. At least I think it was. I mean, he wasn’t chugging down glasses of water, so that’s a good sign, right?

That said, if you’re not so good with heat, use a little less ginger and Sriracha. I served this dish with some steamed rice and some vegetables. It was a quick, filling meal and clean up was a breeze. Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken
serves 4

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch strips
whole wheat flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced

  1. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge in flour. Spray pan with cooking spray and cook chicken until lightly browned on all sides. Add in onions and cook, stirring frequently, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, Sriracha, ginger and garlic. Pour into pan with chicken and lower heat to medium. Cook until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with rice.


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Pepper Chicken

There was a Chinese restaurant in Madison that had this pepper chicken that I loved. It was spicy and I loved that the chicken wasn’t fried.  I haven’t had luck finding a comparable pepper chicken in Appleton, WI. So, I decided to make my own.

It turned out pretty darn well and I know for a fact that I will never pay a restaurant to make this for me. I loved that I could make it as (not) greasy and spicy as I wanted.

Pepper Chicken
serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
black pepper
white pepper
salt

  1. Marinate chicken in soy sauce for 15 minutes.
  2. Heat up oil in large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until aromatic. Add green bell pepper and jalapeño. Cook for 2 minutes and add in chicken strips with soy sauce. Season liberally with black and white pepper, until desired  level of spiciness is reached.* Cook until chicken is cooked through.
  3. Serve immediately with steamed rice.


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Lemon Chicken Piccata

Between working at the bank and working on the house , I find myself with little energy left at the end of the day. It was hard enough to find the energy and motivation to cook for Mike, but now I have my younger brother to feed, too! No complaints, though!* Except for the fact that he eats enough for 3 people. I made this dish thinking there would be plenty of leftovers. Boy, was I wrong. So, in my case, this dish fed 3. I think that you could easily get away with making this for a group of 4 or 5, though! But hey, at least it was easy to make!

Lemon Chicken Piccata

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whole wheat all purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound pasta of choice

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Butterfly the chicken and then cut in half. Tenderize the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge through flour and shake off excess.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.**When butter and oil start to sizzle, add chicken to pan. Cook until browned, flip and cook until other side is golden brown and chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken to plate. Cook remaining chicken in same manner, using more butter and olive oil as needed before each.
  4. Add lemon juice, broth and capers to pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping pan to release browned bits for more flavor. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir until melted.
  5. Pour sauce over plated chicken and garnish with chopped parsley.
  6. Serve immediately with pasta.

*Ok, I have one complaint – my parents didn’t take me to Italy with them. They get Italy, I get my brother.

**I have this Calphalon pan. I love love love it. It was big enough to cook 5 pieces of chicken at a time without over-crowding the pan.


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Lemon Pepper Shrimp Linguine

I stumbled across this recipe on allrecipes.com and just had to make it. I made a few adjustments and was pretty pleased with the results. I think next time I may kick it up a notch and make it a 3 Pepper Lemon Shrimp Linguine. Ohhh yeah: that’s this recipe with a dash of cayenne and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes added to it to give it an even bigger kick than plain black pepper. Some white pepper might even be good.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp  Linguine
adapted from allrecipes.com

8 ounces linguine pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, zested and juiced
salt to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried basil

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Saute garlic in oil 1 minute.
  3. Add in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 7 minutes.
  4. Mix in shrimp, butter, parsley and basil and cook until shrimp is opaque, about 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and toss, coating evenly. Cook for 2 more minutes and then serve immediately.


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Oklahoma Chili

My college roommate kindly shared her recipe for beanless chili with me. I am a huge chili fan, but I love mine with lots and lots o’ beans. I decided to do something different and decided to make it without the beans for once.

I love the simplicity of this recipe. My all-time favorite chili recipe has almost 30 ingredients in it. This has just 13. It involves little prep work and the results are so dang tasty.

I like my chili with elbow macaroni, shredded cheddar cheese, onions, and some hot sauce.

Oklahoma Chili

3 pounds lean ground beef
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large can V8
6 tablespoons chili powder
3 teaspoons salt
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper
3 tablespoons  paprika
3 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons cornmeal
1 cup water

  1. In a large pot, brown ground beef in olive oil. Season the beef with salt and pepper, to taste.
  2. Add V8 to pot and simmer for 2 hours.
  3. Add chili powder, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, sugar, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Simmer for 30 more minutes.
  4. Whisk flour and corn meal together with water and add to chili. Cook for 5 minutes.


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Chicken Pot Pie

I planned on making my Soy-Mirin Tofu with Peanut Sauce a few weeks ago, but a blizzard decided to blow into Wisconsin. So, change of plans to a comfort food – chicken pot pie! I hadn’t made one for a good 3 years or so and was excited to give it another try.

I spotted these adorable bowls in the cupboard and just had to use them. I love that they had little wicker bowls to go with them; they are perfect for keeping your hands from getting burned. These made eating in front of the fire pretty darn easy.

Chicken Pot Pie
serves 5

1 cup carrots, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth*
1/4 cup milk

For crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or shortening, chilled
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water

  1. Simmer carrots, celery, potatoes and chicken in 2 cups water and bouillon for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid, and set aside.
  2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, garlic powder, celery seed, and pepper. Slowly add in chicken broth and milk. Simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. To make crust, blend flour,salt, and butter or shortening together until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
  4. Pour into a bowl and drizzle ice water over dough. Gently mix with a fork until dough comes together.
  5. Gather dough gently into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 380°F.
  7. Divide dough into 5 pieces. Place one piece between two sheetws of parchment paper and roll into a circle. Repeat with remaining dough. Set aside.
  8. Divide chicken mixture between 5 oven-proof bowls. Pour sauce over chicken and place crust on top, sealing the sides. Cut slits into crust to vent steam.
  9. Brush crust with milk and bake for 45  minutes.
  10. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* I used the broth left over from boiling the chicken. It takes zero time and effort and it tastes so much better than the canned stuff!


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Spaghetti with Spinach, Tomato, and Bacon

I had leftover bacon and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I’m not a huge fan of bacon (yeah, yeah, don’t hate me), so having it for breakfast wasn’t really an option. I threw this together for dinner and it turned out pretty tasty. It was simple and I was able to use up the leftover bacon! Win-win.

Spaghetti with Spinach, Tomato, and Bacon

1 pound spaghetti
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch fresh spinach, torn into pieces
Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain most of the fat off and add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add in tomatoes and cook until warmed. Add in spinach and cook until just wilted. Toss with cooked spaghetti until well incorporated. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.