Gourmet Ginger Pork Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground pork
• 1 T canola oil 
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce (use gluten-free for GF recipe)
• 1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and slivered
• 1 large leek, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• Butter, Bibb, or Boston lettuce leaves
  
  Toppings:
• minced cabbage sprinkled with Thai chili sauce or Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce (Oriental dipping sauce)
• pickled ginger
• 1 apple, sliced thin, sprinkled with lemon or lime juice
• 2 avocados, sliced thin
• 1-2 large carrots, julienned
• limes, sliced

Directions

Start browning ground pork in canola oil. Add red onion, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, water chestnuts, and leek. When cooked through, add sesame oil.

Serve warm with lettuce leaves. To eat, fill lettuce leaves with pork filling and top with whatever toppings you like. It's nice to have as many of these options as possible, and they all work together well, also.

Stuffed Tomatoes & Peppers

1 cup red quinoa (uncooked)
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup calamata olives, seeded and diced
1 can artichoke hearts, diced
2 T lime juice
1 t basil
1 t garlic
sea salt to taste
8-12 small, round tomatoes (like over-sized golf balls)
1 package sweet, mini-peppers

Cook quinoa according to package directions (boil for 15-20 minutes). Drain. Mix top 8 ingredients. Slice off top of tomatoes and hollow out. Slice a hole in the sides of the peppers and seed. Spray dish with olive oil. Place all tomatoes and peppers in the casserole dish. Top them with extra feta. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Cilantro Lime Salmon (Whole 30 Compliant)

I've been doing the Whole 30 diet (it's an elimination diet that helps you determine which foods are triggering other health issues). You have to eliminate dairy, sugar, alcohol, legumes (including peanuts, peas and soy), grains (including corn), and a few other things, such as additives. You can have meats, potatoes, eggs, vegetables, fruit, vinegar (except malt vinegar), healthy oils (coconut oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, ghee, etc.), and nuts & seeds. It's been a challenge, but the benefits have been pleasing and interesting. Anyway--I've had to come up with a few dishes that comply with the diet, and some of them are actually pretty tasty. Here's one of my favorites:


Cilantro Lime Salmon
(Serves 4-6)

8 Fresh or frozen salmon fillets (thawed in warm water)
3/4 to 1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
Salt
Coconut Oil (or avocado oil or grapeseed oil)

Melt oil in pan. Place salmon fillets in the pan and sprinkle with salt. Pour lime juice on top and spread cilantro liberally over fillets. Fry lightly on one side for a few minutes, then flip and fry the other sides, being careful not to overcook. Fillets are done with they can be easily flaked with a fork.

Serve with a side of roasted red potatoes and asparagus.

Almond Cranberry Biscotti

2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 T grated orange peel (or lemon juice)
4 large eggs
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup dried cranberries
Melting chocolate

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, butter, orange peel, & eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Shape half of dough into a rectangle on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat with second half of dough.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices (approx. 4 inches long.) Bake 15 minutes or until crisp and light brown. Cool. Drizzle melted chocolate over biscotti pieces and let dry.

Cranberry Bacon Pork Tenderloins

Pork Tenderloin
Bacon
1 can whole-berry or jellied cranberry sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 T spicy brown mustard
½ cup red wine

Chop pork tenderloins into thick rounds—about an inch and a half – 2 inches each. Wrap edges in a slice of bacon and secure with toothpick. Braise in hot oil in a pan briefly before placing in a casserole dish. In separate bowl, combine cranberry sauce, brown sugar, mustard, and red wine. Pour over tenderloins and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Gourmet Guacamole

Ingredients: (measurements are approximate)
4 avocados, diced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 T cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
2 T lime juice
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Tip: Retain one of the avocado seeds and push it into the top of the finished guacamole. It will help keep the avocado from turning brown. (Do not eat the seed.)

Pistachio Sausages or Patties

3 lbs ground pork

1/2 c pistachios, shelled (about 1 cup before you shell them)

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 t salt

1 T fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1 t coarsely ground black pepper

Extra black pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients. For sausages, divide into four portions and roll into sausage shapes using plastic wrap. Otherwise they can be shaped into patties and eaten as the main course or hamburger style. Store mix in refrigerator until just before cooking. Discard plastic wrap. Coat surface with black pepper to taste. Grill over high heat until cooked through and browned, turning frequently.

This recipe comes from the Everybody Grills Cookbook.

Turkey-Avocado Sandwich

Arrange the Following in the Correct Order:

A Slice of Whole Wheat Bread (or your favorite gourmet bread)

Mayo

Peppered Turkey (or your favorite deli turkey)

6 slices of pepperoni (optional)

pepper jack cheese

thin slices of fresh avocado

4-6 red bell pepper spears

fresh spinach

fresh clover sprouts (or spicy sprouts--alfalfa is okay, but has a slight, bitter aftertaste)

Top with another slice of bread

Beef Empanadas

Empanada Dough
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or Red Mill Gluten-free Pie Crust Flour)
½ cup butter
1/4 cup shortening, butter-flavored
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten (beat another egg for the egg wash)
2 T warm water


Blend together butter, shortening and flour, salt, sugar, and egg, stirring in gradually liquid mix to make a soft and pliable dough. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour, then roll onto a floured surface. It is best to add more flour to dough and be short on liquid. If liquid is not enough, add a little more warm water. Knead dough until smooth and elastic.

Filling
1 lb lean ground beef
2 T olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 T each chopped garlic and parsley, mixed
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin (can use chili powder)
½ teaspoon paprika
2 T chopped green olives
2 large hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 T, or a little more, seedless raisins
salt and pepper

1.) Heat olive oil in deep heavy skillet. Sauté scallion until it turns bright green. Add tomatoes, then pepper with garlic and parsley mix. Then add oregano, cumin and paprika. Blend well and take away from fire. Let cool.
2.) In the same pan, brown the ground beef until cooked through. Add mixture from step 1, olives, and boiled egg. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from fire.

Directions
1.) Divide dough into small balls and roll out, approx. ¼ cm thick. Fill each with filling. Wet borders with egg wash and close with a fork or by pinching, making half-moons.
2.) Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 15 min, depending on size. Remember, the filling is all cooked. You are baking the dough and heating the filling.