So I was looking for some pork recipes the other day because that's what my girlfriends said she was taking out of the freezer for dinner that night. And, well, that's how it works at our house. I cook. She will pull something out and tell me what it is, and I find something new or exotic to try with it. I actually really like the system that we have. I love to cook, and frankly, she's still learning.
But as i was perusing through some random recipes, I found a couple that stirred some ideas in my mind. I kept seeing a lot of taco and fajita recipes and it was starting to sound good. So I wondered to myself if it was something that i could make myself... I knew the basics of making a taco type sauce and wondered if I could put my magic touch, so to speak, on it, and make it mine?
I tell you what... I did! And it was great! It was simple and easy enough that just about anyone, regardless of experience level, could make. All you need is:
2 Pork Filets
Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce
Garlic
Chili Powder
Cilantro
4 Jalapeno Slices
Crushed Pepper (optional)
Well here is an abbreviated version of the recipe i used.
Start with 2 pork filets. About the size of a sandwich patty. Marinated in worchestshire to liking. Now, I did this on a whim, and really didn't preseason at all. It worked out well for me, but I can see that it may have been a little bit juicier had it been marinated ahead of time.
Lightly Grease a pan with butter or Pam and place on medium heat. You will cook each filet for about 15-18 minutes, depending on how you prefer your pork cooked. While in the pan, give the pork filets 2 or 3 generous splashes of Franks Original Red Hot Sauce. You want to mostly cover the filet with the sauce. After that, you want to lightly season the filet with some minced garlic, cilantro, chili powder, and two jalapenos. Now, the amount of each that you use will depend greatly on the level of hot that you want in your tacos / fajitas.
I added a fair amount of my step-dads crushed pepper, which he grows and grinds himself. He does it with some pretty hot peppers and it makes for a great smoky, and rich heat. Now, if you are into that type of heat in your food, i recommend adding it. Additionally, if you would like a sweeter type of hot, maybe try Sriracha Sauce instead of Franks.
About halfway through the cooking process, turn the filets over. Only do this once during the cooking process for a more complete cook and reduction to the loss of juices. Put some more Franks Sauce on to lather in taste. If you feel daring, put another slice of jalapeno on it. When flipping it over, try to keep the paste that should be forming on the meat. Use a spoon or other utensil to replace on the filet.
When finished with the pork, take your tortillas and microwave them for 20 seconds and cut the pork into strips about 1/2" thick. Place strips on tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.
This is a really simple meal to make. Pair it with some Spanish or Mexican Rice, or maybe Re-fried Beans or another favorite Tex-Mex Side Dish and you've got a quick easy and tasty mean in under 20 minutes.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
New Years Resolutions
This may be the first year in quite a while that I've thought about making any New Years Resolutions. Now, that isn't simply because I've always been one of those people that think that my life is pretty perfect the way that it is, but maybe a little. It was more due to the reason that I never really saw the point of waiting until one specific day to try and repeal all bad habits and try and change your life all at once.
But this year was a vastly different for me. And with such epic events, trials, tribulations, parties, and celebrations, I think the time has come to be a little more introspective into the way I'm living life. As i examined parts of my life, I saw things that I no longer recognize, things I need to change, things I want to change, and things that are no longer useful.
With that said, I have decided to put my resolutions into written word in the hopes that it will make me more cognizant of what, and why, I need to change my life to better myself and those around me. I think it will also be a valuable tool if I feel I'm starting to stray from my intentions...
1. No More Procrastinating - This is probably my biggest flaw as a human being. I have the knack to get the things done that really need to get done, but it's almost like i feel the need to challenge myself almost too much. Like I need to wait til the last possible second and see how good it works out. Well, I no longer want this to be a staple trait of my personality. I want to push myself to get the things done that need to get done. And with time to spare. I think that if I can manage to accomplish this one, the rest can become easier. At least that's how I'm going to look at it.
2. More Defined Morning Schedule - I don't like waking up early. Don't misunderstand this... I'm not planning on waking up earlier than I have to. I just don't see the point of it. But I do see the point of organization. And I believe that to be really organized, one should have a set schedule, beginning in the morning. A great benefit that would come from this one, would show up in the later resolutions that you will read. If I can wake up and prepare the rest of my day, it would greatly increase the ability to eat better and make sure that time will not be spent foolishly after work hours.
3. Read More - I was recently on a family vacation that involved a lot of driving. One thing that I had forgotten how much I loved to do, came back to me because of that trip. I love to read. And I love to read about so many things! I want to set aside one night a week and do nothing but read. No TV, no movies, no video games, no nothing! (Unless one of my favorite teams has a game...) I think this may be one of the easiest of my resolutions to accomplish. The only difficult part of it, will be the planning of time to commit to reading.
4. Work Out More Regularly - I want to get into better shape, and who doesn't? I like to work out, so you would think that this is a pretty easy one for me. The fact of the matter is that time doesn't always agree with that notion. I do have a busy schedule, and I hate using that an excuse to not be healthy. But unfortunately, it has always been easy to pass over things that require a lot of effort or time when you have little time, and that leaves you so tired that you don't want to put in the effort. But as we all know, you get out of things what you put into them. And I want to get healthier, so it's now my turn to do the work. I'm planning on working out 4 days a week. That's four of the five days that I don't currently play hockey. All things being equal, in conjunction a couple of my remaining resolutions, I think I could easily have myself heading in the right direction pretty quickly.
5. No More Pop - This is a fairly easy one. I don't drink much pop, to begin with. And for the most part, there aren't many sodas that i really care for. Every now and then I will have a craving for a Pepsi. And my daughter likes to have Sprite or Sierra Mist when she is over. But I think i can manage those two things pretty handily. I'm really only putting this one in here so that i remember that I need to do it.
6. No More Fast Food - Pretty Self-Explanatory. It's not healthy. It's expensive. It's something that I no longer want to be a part of...
7. Smaller Portions - I sometimes struggle with this one, mostly because I'm such a good cook, and love food. My biggest issue with food isn't so much that I eat poorly. Rather, it's more that I don't eat the proper amounts of things. I tend to have seconds of whatever I make for dinner, and I'm rarely that hungry. But I'm certain that if I can control this, most of all, that it will give me the best shot at losing the fat that i need to get rid of to achieve the condition that I'm looking for.
8. No More Beer (So to speak...) - Not looking to quit drinking or anything, here. Everybody Relax! And I'm not really even talking about not drinking beer anymore. I just need to need drink so much of it. It's a lot of dead calories that I could do without. A beer here and there, or maybe a couple for special occasions will probably remain. However, the Thursday nights with the guys (which I previously mentioned were out of my schedule from now on) will really be done for me. Maybe the occasional one to have a drink... I just don't see the point of always drinking beer. There are so many good tasting drinks out there. Plus the obvious health benefits that would come from cutting back.
note: I may later blog about beer and/or beer making. That is something that I'm planning on starting this summer. Don't call me a hypocrite.
9. Save more money - Who wouldn't want to save more money? There are so many things that I would like to start doing, and amazingly, they all cost money. I do some pretty pointless stuff with my money. And even though, I'm not one of those people that buy random unnecessary gadgets and whatnot, I definitely do spend my money a little too frivolously.
10. Get rid of harmful people in my life - I obviously am not talking about physically harmful people... But some people just don't serve a purpose. You know the person that makes you do things you don't want to... Makes you think things that are childish, are still fun... Wants to do things that you would've done in High School... That's the person I'm talking about. And truth be told, there are more than a couple of those people in my life. I think with my 30th Birthday on the horizon, it may be time to outgrow "That Guy." Hopefully, I'm not that guy...
But this year was a vastly different for me. And with such epic events, trials, tribulations, parties, and celebrations, I think the time has come to be a little more introspective into the way I'm living life. As i examined parts of my life, I saw things that I no longer recognize, things I need to change, things I want to change, and things that are no longer useful.
With that said, I have decided to put my resolutions into written word in the hopes that it will make me more cognizant of what, and why, I need to change my life to better myself and those around me. I think it will also be a valuable tool if I feel I'm starting to stray from my intentions...
1. No More Procrastinating - This is probably my biggest flaw as a human being. I have the knack to get the things done that really need to get done, but it's almost like i feel the need to challenge myself almost too much. Like I need to wait til the last possible second and see how good it works out. Well, I no longer want this to be a staple trait of my personality. I want to push myself to get the things done that need to get done. And with time to spare. I think that if I can manage to accomplish this one, the rest can become easier. At least that's how I'm going to look at it.
2. More Defined Morning Schedule - I don't like waking up early. Don't misunderstand this... I'm not planning on waking up earlier than I have to. I just don't see the point of it. But I do see the point of organization. And I believe that to be really organized, one should have a set schedule, beginning in the morning. A great benefit that would come from this one, would show up in the later resolutions that you will read. If I can wake up and prepare the rest of my day, it would greatly increase the ability to eat better and make sure that time will not be spent foolishly after work hours.
3. Read More - I was recently on a family vacation that involved a lot of driving. One thing that I had forgotten how much I loved to do, came back to me because of that trip. I love to read. And I love to read about so many things! I want to set aside one night a week and do nothing but read. No TV, no movies, no video games, no nothing! (Unless one of my favorite teams has a game...) I think this may be one of the easiest of my resolutions to accomplish. The only difficult part of it, will be the planning of time to commit to reading.
4. Work Out More Regularly - I want to get into better shape, and who doesn't? I like to work out, so you would think that this is a pretty easy one for me. The fact of the matter is that time doesn't always agree with that notion. I do have a busy schedule, and I hate using that an excuse to not be healthy. But unfortunately, it has always been easy to pass over things that require a lot of effort or time when you have little time, and that leaves you so tired that you don't want to put in the effort. But as we all know, you get out of things what you put into them. And I want to get healthier, so it's now my turn to do the work. I'm planning on working out 4 days a week. That's four of the five days that I don't currently play hockey. All things being equal, in conjunction a couple of my remaining resolutions, I think I could easily have myself heading in the right direction pretty quickly.
5. No More Pop - This is a fairly easy one. I don't drink much pop, to begin with. And for the most part, there aren't many sodas that i really care for. Every now and then I will have a craving for a Pepsi. And my daughter likes to have Sprite or Sierra Mist when she is over. But I think i can manage those two things pretty handily. I'm really only putting this one in here so that i remember that I need to do it.
6. No More Fast Food - Pretty Self-Explanatory. It's not healthy. It's expensive. It's something that I no longer want to be a part of...
7. Smaller Portions - I sometimes struggle with this one, mostly because I'm such a good cook, and love food. My biggest issue with food isn't so much that I eat poorly. Rather, it's more that I don't eat the proper amounts of things. I tend to have seconds of whatever I make for dinner, and I'm rarely that hungry. But I'm certain that if I can control this, most of all, that it will give me the best shot at losing the fat that i need to get rid of to achieve the condition that I'm looking for.
8. No More Beer (So to speak...) - Not looking to quit drinking or anything, here. Everybody Relax! And I'm not really even talking about not drinking beer anymore. I just need to need drink so much of it. It's a lot of dead calories that I could do without. A beer here and there, or maybe a couple for special occasions will probably remain. However, the Thursday nights with the guys (which I previously mentioned were out of my schedule from now on) will really be done for me. Maybe the occasional one to have a drink... I just don't see the point of always drinking beer. There are so many good tasting drinks out there. Plus the obvious health benefits that would come from cutting back.
note: I may later blog about beer and/or beer making. That is something that I'm planning on starting this summer. Don't call me a hypocrite.
9. Save more money - Who wouldn't want to save more money? There are so many things that I would like to start doing, and amazingly, they all cost money. I do some pretty pointless stuff with my money. And even though, I'm not one of those people that buy random unnecessary gadgets and whatnot, I definitely do spend my money a little too frivolously.
10. Get rid of harmful people in my life - I obviously am not talking about physically harmful people... But some people just don't serve a purpose. You know the person that makes you do things you don't want to... Makes you think things that are childish, are still fun... Wants to do things that you would've done in High School... That's the person I'm talking about. And truth be told, there are more than a couple of those people in my life. I think with my 30th Birthday on the horizon, it may be time to outgrow "That Guy." Hopefully, I'm not that guy...
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