Barbecue Pork Quesadillas with Spanish Rice

Featured Ingredients: Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Black Beans

Here is a delicious double duty meal.  One night make this simple pork roast.  You can even make the marinade in the morning.  Marinate your pork all day then throw it in the oven for about an hour after you come home. The barbecue pork roast recipe is primarily inspired by Paula Deen. The flavor and smell that this marinates imparts is a literal translation of an old fashioned package barbecue sauce in a container, without the artificial flavor you would get from, well, a pre-packaged sauce. 

Barbecue Pork Roast
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup tamari
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large cloves garlic minced
One 2 1/2 lb pork loin roast

In a bowl combine all ingredients.  Whisk together.  Pour into a resealable plastic bag and add pork roast.  Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or more.  No more than overnight.

Remove roast from bag.  Place on a rack in a roasting pan and discard marinade. Pour about 1 cup water into the roasting pan (only if pork is on a rack).  This helps form a dark rich barbecue au jus or gravy whatever you want to call it. It will be thin.  Save this for the next recipe.  Roast pork at 340 degrees for about 1 hour or until pork reaches 160. (Or at 325F if you have more time). Let rest 10 minutes.  Serve.  Strain out the leftover sauce, au jus or whatever you want to call it for the next day.


Barbecue Pork Roast

 NEXT DAY:

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas - Makes 10 or more 6 inch quesadillas

2 cups remaining pork roast sliced and diced
1 cup black beans rinsed
3.5 oz. salsa (my husband gets these single serve packages which are great for recipes like this when you don't think you will use a whole jar).
1 tablespoon leftover au jus.
2 big blocks of monterey jack and cheddar cheese grated.
20 (2 packs) 6 inch soft flour tortillas

Slice and dice remaining pork roast. 

Mix with beans, salsa and au jus.  Grate cheese.
Heat a griddle to medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray.

Heat oven to 275 degrees.

Place cheese and pork mixture in the middle, leaving about a 1/2 inch border by first layering a large pinch of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla.  Add a couple of tablespoons of pork mixture and then another pinch of cheese on top.  You can alternate with monterey jack and cheddar or use one kind.

Place gently on a griddle and press down. Cook uncovered for a few minutes until bottom tortilla starts to crisp up.  Flip carefully with a spatula and repeat on other side. 

Not Pancakes

Place on a broiler pan or rack in the oven (with preferably something under it to keep warm and finish heating through and catch any oozing cheese).  I find if you put it on a pan with tin foil, the bottom gets a little soft and soggy.

Before you start cooking the quesadillas and are about finished with your prep is a good time to put on your rice.

Spanish Rice

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
1 large clove garlic minced
1 1/2 cups Carolina Long Grain Rice
1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt

Heat olive oil in a 10 inch skillet.  Add onion and a little salt to release moisture and saute for a couple of minutes. Add rice and toast until some kernels are translucent.  Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. 
Add tomatoes, broth and spices.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a low/simmer.  Simmer covered for about 10 minutes.  Stir rice and continuing simmering about another 10 minutes until rice is cooked through.

Serve your quesadillas and rice with a simple guacamole.  Mix one soft avocado with juice from half a lime.

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas with Spanish Rice and Simple Guacamole

 



Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

Featured Ingredients: Tomatoes and Vegetable Broth

As winter draws to a close, and what a winter it was, the downside is those cold days that beg for comfort food, will soon be behind us... at least for a while.  In honor of the passing of winter, I figured I would throw in one more soup entry as a last hurrah.

This is a nice rich tomato bisque that is thickened with cashew cream.  For you lactose intolerant folks and vegetarians, this concept may very familiar to you.  I was actually quite intrigued.  The inspiration for this recipe was in an heirloom seeds brochure.  The method and ingredients weren't yielding my desired end result.  The mixture ended up being a creamy but gritty tomato mixture, not optimal for a soup.  

My method is modified so that you separately create the cashew cream to incorporate later in the recipe. This way you can strain out any pulverized bits of nuts and finish with a smoother end result.

Note: You don't have to worry about perfectly chopping the onion or garlic as the final mixture will be pureed.

Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews (must be raw)
1/2 cup hot water
Olive oil as needed
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 28 oz. can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can Vegetable Stock
2 tsps salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (Add more if you like more heat. This provides a subtle burn on your throat)
1 cup chopped arugula
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup water or more to thin

1. Make the cashew cream.  Heat water to boiling.  Put nuts in a heat proof bowl or pyrex measuring cup.  Pour hot water over cashews (there should be enough water to submerge the nuts).  Let this soak for at least a 1/2 hour. The raw nuts absorb the water and turn this:

Into This.

Pulverize the nuts and water in a high speed blender. If your cream is too thick, thin it out with some water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan and saute onion until translucent and slightly golden.  Add garlic and saute a couple of minutes until aromatic.  Add tomatoes, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and chipotle chili powder.  Bring to boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.



Bisque Pre-Cashew Cream


3. Stir in cashew cream.  Reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Let cool and puree soup in batches. Or use an immersion blender.

5. Stir in arugula and basil.  Add remaining 1/3 cup water or more if you would like a thinner soup and heat through.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

This bisque actually thickens as it sits and becomes a wonderful sauce.  Serve it the next day over penne pasta with grated smoked gouda, for a quick dinner.

A Super Bowl of Soup - Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup

Canned Tomatoes & Chicken Broth

Featured Ingredient: Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles and College Inn Chicken Broth (Lower Sodium)*

Super Bowl is around the corner. Not that I follow football, I am only mindful of this time as my dog was born on Super Bowl Sunday 3 years ago. But like the Super Bowl players I like to have game plan that will help me achieve my goal of great meal in record time.

After dinner last night, I was already thinking about what would be on tomorrow's menu.  I knew I had a 3.5 lb raw chicken in the fridge that I could throw into the oven, to save myself some prep time today. Below are my go-to ingredients for a simple roast chicken: 

Onion, lemon, celery, butter & some form of fresh mild herb.  For this chicken I had dill on hand.

I put a couple slices of onion, lemon, and two small stalks of celery into the cavity of the chicken. (Don't over stuff).  Soften about 4 tbsps of butter and blend in 1/4 cup of chopped herb, salt and pepper. With a butter knife loosen the skin on the chicken breast and insert butter under the skin and then spread out the butter by running the knife over the skin.  Be sure to leave little butter mixture. Melt butter and herbs and glaze the top of the chicken with a pastry brush. Put a little water in the bottom of your pan. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes Baste chicken with juices and add more water if needed (about 1/2 way through baking for a 3.5 lb bird).  Roast for an additional 25 minutes until thigh registers at least 175F. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes so it can reach 180F.

Now all you have to do is put together your soup.

Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup - This soup serves 4 very generously.

1 cup thinly sliced/shredded cooked chicken
1 14.5 oz. can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles undrained
2 tsps oil
2 cloves garlic minced
3 scallions
1/2 tsp cumin
3 cups low sodium chicken broth* (if you don't use low sodium don't add the additional salt in the recipe)
2 tsps salt
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 avocado peeled, pitted and cut in chunks
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice + a little extra

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add scallions and garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add broth, tomatoes, cumin.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add chicken and simmer an additional 5 minutes, until heated through. Stir in lime juice.

Meanwhile cut up chicken and avocado. Drizzle avocado with lime to help retain color and deter oxidization. Grate cheese.

Don't you just a love a perfect avocado



The Fire Roasted Tomatoes with the Chiles already pack a lot of flavor, so you don't need a lot of extra ingredients. There is a subtle heat to this product that gives the back of your throat a slight burn.

 You could also garnish with cilantro, but I didn't think it needed it. The creaminess of the avocado and the cheese counter balance the heat from the tomatoes. Sometimes when there are too many ingredients it becomes a clutter of flavors, that is not necessarily ideal. In this recipe you can taste each note individually and how well the ingredients work together as a team

Topped with Tortilla chips, avocado, cheese and you have your soup and deconstructed nachos all in one SUPER BOWL.

 A Super Bowl of Soup - Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup

 This post is linked to: Girlie Chef - Tortilla Soup Challenge