Banh Mi Sandwiches

Yesterday, my mom and I watched my twin 11 month old nieces.  We had a great time going for a walk to the park where we played on the playground and running all over the house chasing them around in their walkers which we call "zoomers" since they really fly in them now.  Only a short while and these two little ladies will be walking!  

I brought over all the ingredients to make Banh Mi Sandwiches.  I figured it could be a quick and easy dinner.  If you have been reading the blog, you know that I have been craving these.  I made the pork earlier in this week (used it also for the Pork Fried Rice) hoping we would have them for dinner one night.  Our schedule has been pretty crazy and I ended up freezing the meat in the marinade until yesterday.  

I made the sandwiches between chasing the girls, changing diapers and chatting with my mom...so sorry for the lack of pictures, I was a little preoccupied. : ) Overall, these were a huge hit!  Packed full of flavor, spicy, sweet, fresh.  LOVE these and I think you will too!!! 

Musical Selection: Anyone Else But You by the Moldy Peaches.  Any idea what this song is from!? 

 Start by mixing up your spicy mayo.  Sriracha, mayo and green onions/scallions.  If you mix this earlier it will allow the flavors to develop.  No worries, you can find the Sriracha sauce at your local grocery store.  It should be by the Asian foods.  

You will also want to "pickle" your onions and carrots ahead of time.  Slice your carrots and onions thinly.  Mix with white sugar and vinegar.  Red onions work very well for this!

 Thinly slice your pork and stir fry in a large pan with olive oil. 

 Cut your hoagies in 1/2 and liberally slather with the mayo...

 Slice or dice your jalapenos.  Mr. Schwartz enjoys a slice where I like a little less heat so I dice mine. 

 Once your meat looks like this...all browned up and delish...you can start assembling your sandwiches. 

 Place the pork into the hoagie, top with pickled carrots and onions, diced/sliced jalapenos and finish with a bit of cilantro.  

These little hoagies are just great.  My mom couldn't stop talking about how great they are.  Give them a shot, you won't be disappointed! 

This is how their Auntie feels today. : ) 

Banh Mi Sandwich

Marinade:

3/4 Cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hosin sauce (or stir fry sauce)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 scallions

1/4 teaspoon (or more) red pepper flakes

Juice from 1/2 a lime...a lemon would work as well

a few cracks of black pepper 

2 or 3 cut pork chops

Spicy Mayo
1 cup mayo
1-2 tablespoons Sriracha Sauce (depends on how spicy you want it)
2 green onions/scallions


Sandwiches
4 hoagies
1 medium onion--thinly sliced
1 cup carrots--thinly sliced
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vinegar 
1 jalapeno--diced or sliced
2 tablespoons or so of cilantro


Start by marinating the pork.  Thinly slice the pork and put it into the marinade.  The pork should marinate as long as possible...over night is best. 


Mix the ingredients for the mayo.  The green onions/scallions should be thinly sliced and put into the mayo. Put mayo into the refrigerator. 


Pickle the onions and carrots.  Mix 1/4 cup of sugar and vinegar.  Add thinly sliced onion and carrots.  Put into the refrigerator until the pork is finished marinating...at least 2 hours prior to making the sandwiches. 


When you are ready to eat the sandwiches, cook the pork on medium high in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil.  


Assemble the sandwiches by cutting the hoagies and slathering with the spicy mayo.  Add the pork, pickled onions/carrots, jalapenos and top with cilantro.  


The spicy mayo is a great dipping sauce for French fries as well : ) 


Enjoy!!


Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz 

Pizza Bake

As you know, Mr. Schwartz and I are trying to clean out our refrigerator and use things up in our pantry.  I have been craving a Banh Mi Sandwich like something fierce but, turns out, we don't have all the ingredients.  So, I popped our marinated pork chops back into the freezer in order to use some of the things we already have on hand.

I checked out the fridge and found: onion, peppers, pepperoni and Italian Cheese Blend.  Humm...one would think: pizza.  But, we just made stromboli's and I wasn't really feeling it.  I then made my way to the pantry and what did I find?  TONS, I mean TONS of pasta.  Then the idea struck me--Pizza Bake!!! I have never tried this before but wow, great flavor and the left overs area awwwesome.  Not to mention I used a lot of things in the fridge and pantry.


Here's the break down:


Musical Selection: Heart it Races by Dr. Dog.  Just sounded good today as I was cooking.


Start by putting a large dice on your veggies. 

Sautee them a bit in a large pan with a drizzle of olive oil.


Next add your ground beef.

Once your ground beef is all the way cooked, add the pepperoni.  I cut mine in half but do what feels right to you.  Drain the meat and veggies if needed.  I used very lean meat so there wasn't much to drain.

Then add the spaghetti sauce and pizza or Italian Seasoning....heat through.

Add your cooked pasta to this mixture.  Make sure to cook your pasta until its almost done...very al dente.  It will continue to cook in the oven.

Put this into a greased 9x13 pan.

Top with your cheese...mozzarella/Italian Blend works best but use what you got!

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot a bubbly.

Serve with crusty, garlicy bread.  (recipe below if you so desire : )

A tasty way to clean out what you have in your pantry and fridge! 




Pizza Bake


Ingredients
1/2 onion (any kind will do)
1/2 of a red pepper
1/2 of a green pepper
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup (or so) pepperoni slices
1 1/2 large jars spaghetti sauce
3/4 of a pound of pasta--any type will be fine
2 tablespoons pizza or Italian Seasoning


Preparation:

Start by putting a large dice on your veggies.  

Sautee them a bit in a large pan with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Next add your ground beef.  

Once your ground beef is all the way cooked, add the pepperoni.    Drain the meat (of fat) and veggies if needed. 

Then add the spaghetti sauce and pizza or Italian Seasoning....heat through.  

Add your cooked pasta to this mixture.  Make sure to cook your pasta until its almost done...very al dente. 

Put this into a greased 9x13 pan.  

Top with your cheese

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot a bubbly. 

Serve with crusty, garlicy bread.  (recipe below if you so desire : ) 

Super Easy Garlic Bread

1 toaf crusty bread 

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 tablespoons of butter (softened)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley 

Cut loaf in half lengthwise

Mix remaining ingredients and spread in the inside of the loaf

Place loafs butter side up in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes...if this doesn't brown the bread pop on the broiler for a few minutes. Pay attention, I have lost many a good loaf to the broiler.  

Pork Fried Rice

I love fried rice.  Chicken, veggie, pork, it is all good.  When there is an option to go either white or fried in a restaurant, always go fried.  More calories ya ya, I get it. But, your really not sticking to your diet with the Sweet and Sour Chicken are you?  

Moving on, Mr. Schwartz and I are currently cleaning out our pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  Going with this, I took a peek in the freezer this weekend.  And what did I see?  12 of the 16 pork chops he brought home from Costco one day.  Seriously, 16 pork chops...cut double thick so really 32.  I have been craving a Banh Mi sandwich like something fierce so I thought I would marinate the pork.  Banh Mi sandwiches taste best if marinated for a looooong time but pork for fried rice is fine either way.  So I marinated it for a short while after work and popped the remaining two pork chops back in the fridge for tonight...post and recipe to come for that...mmmm....

But, for now, here is my version of Pork Fried Rice. 

Musical Selection: Barefoot Blue Jean Night.  The epitome of summers back home after high school.  Makes me smile every time I hear it.  

Start by mixing your marinade together.  So easy and don't worry if you don't have all of the ingredients.  I used soy sauce (probably required), hosin sauce which is an Asian BBQ sauce, red pepper flakes, scalions, garlic, a few cracks of black pepper and brown sugar.  

Pur the marinade onto the pork in a freezer bag.  

Okay, so I'm guessing you are wondering what the heck this is.  Well, Mr. Schwartz told me about this steak house down town that ages and marinates meats underwater.  I guess it speeds up the process and makes them taste amazing.  I'm sure it does but, I only had about 20 minutes until he got home today before the meat had to hit the pan.  Oh well, worth a shot. I'm going to try again when I have more time.  

Start by sauteing your onions in a little bit of olive oil.  

Cut the meat in small pieces and add to the onions.  

Okay, so I might use a little help with my Fried Rice.  Try not to judge.  It really does add amazing flavor and you can get these packets on sale for less than a dollar.  They add more flavor than just adding soy sauce. 

Make about 3 cups of rice.  Any rice will do...minute, white, brown, jasmine, whatever you have.  Again with the emptying the pantry..this is just regular white rice.  No trick to cooking the rice...just as directed. I add a little oil at the end because you don't want it to stick.  You don't need to do that with Minute Rice. 

Cook the pork all the way though...make sure it gets a good brown crust.  

Cook your peas and carrots...I used frozen peas and fresh baby carrots.  Do not over cook these...they will get mushy.

Add the veggies to the pork and onions.  Yum, I love when they get a little brown on one side.  

Mix. 

Add the rice, soy sauce and seasoning packet. 

Stir and form a rice volcano....or I guess just an empty space in the middle.  

Spray the heck out of the hole in the middle.  This is where your eggs will go to cook. 

See. 

Scramble your eggs in the middle.  Little bits of the rice and veggies will go in the middle...try to keep them out but its inevitable.  Sorry for the blurry pic btw.  My bad. 

Cook the eggs all the way through in the middle of the pan. 

Then incorporate into the rice.  

End product. 

I like mine topped with Sweet and Sour Sauce.  Mm....ps. La Choy makes the best kind.  I have tried several.  Also on sale for $1 often!  I stock up...

Now we are talking....

Perfection.  And the left overs are just as great!! 

Enjoy! 

Pork Fried Rice

Marinade:

3/4 Cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hosin sauce (or stir fry sauce)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 scallions

1/4 teaspoon (or more) red pepper flakes

Juice from 1/2 a lime...a lemon would work as well

a few cracks of black pepper 

1 thick cut pork chop

Rice: 

3 cups of rice...any variety (white, minute, jasmine)

1 cup carrots

1 cup peas

1/2 onion 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 packet Fried Rice Seasoning packet

2 eggs 

Preparation: 

Combine the marinade ingredients and pour on the pork in a freezer bag.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. The longer it sits the better it will taste. 

Cook the rice as directed.  Cook the peas and carrots in the microwave for about 3 minutes until just tender. 

Saute the onion in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil.  Add the pork that has been cut into bite sized pieces.  

Add veggies, stir fry for about a minute.

Add the rice, soy sauce and seasoning packet.  

Make a hole in the middle of the rice.  Spray the hole with a lot of cooking spray.  Add two eggs. 

Scramble the eggs in the middle of the hole until fully cooked.  Don't worry about the rice getting in, it will happen.  

Sir to combine and enjoy!!! 

Recipe from: Mrs. Schwartz 

Dad's Birthday Pie

Believe it or not I have never made a pie before.  I always say I am more of a cook than I am a baker.  I don't like to measure, I like to add random things and taste them before the finished product hits the table.  You can't do those things in baking.  I am trying to push myself though so I decided to make a cherry pie for my dad's birthday.  Not just any pie my Grandma Agnes' Cherry Pie.  It is a recipe I received at one of my bridal showers from my Auntie Carol Ann.  She also was the one to give me the recipe for the Cranberry Orange Pull Apart Rolls.

My Auntie said that she typically does not make her own pie crust.  I hope I'm not outing her but, that really sealed the deal for making this pie.  Eventually, maybe just once, I will make my own crust.  But, with the whole family including my twin nieces around, time was of the essence.

Here goes my first. ever. pie.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY Dad!!!

Musical selection: Forever and Ever Amen by Randy Travis.  Since this song came out--a LONG long time ago, my dad has always sang it to me.

 Start by thawing your dough.  You will need a top and bottom crust.  I thawed two because I ended up making two pies.  One with this recipe and one with just cherry pie filling.

 Roll out your bottom pie crust dough.  Not very even...but I'm still learning.

 Place your crust in your pie pan.  Yeah I know, again not very pretty but, I'm learning.

 Next up, mix the cherries, tapioca, cinnamon, almond extract, white sugar and red food coloring together.  This will be pretty watery but don't worry it does thicken up as it cooks.

 Mix and let sit 15 minutes before putting into the crust.

 Place the cherry mixture into the pie crust.

 Next you will need to put your top crust on.  I did a basket weave.  You don't need to do this...you can just use a sheet and poke a few holes in the top.  Do what ever makes your skirt fly up.  But really, I can't tell you how I did this.  Honestly, not that its perfect or anything, but I kind of blacked out when I did it.

 Put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 then reduce to 400 for an additional 30 minutes.  If the edges start to get too brown, cover with tinfoil for the remaining time in the oven.

 mmmm....

 The basket weave is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but, I think it turned out pretty good.

 Lone slice...

 Now we're talking...whipped cream baby.

Okay, truth be told...I don't like cherry pie.  Nope, not at all. Hate cherries. So, my wonderful sister brought over this delish apple dessert that she and her grandma made.  Loved every single bite.  I'm told that I will eventually get the recipe for this.  Once I do, I will be sure to share.

Happy Father's Day to all you great dad's out there!!!!


Cherry Pie

2 frozen pie crusts (one for top one for bottom)
2 cans sour cherries packed in water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons tapioca
5 drops red food coloring

Roll out your crust and place in a pie pan.

Mix cherries, sugar, almond extract, cinnamon, tapioca and food coloring.  Let sit 15 minutes.

Place the cherry filling into the pie crust.

Place the top crust on the pie.  Basket weave or top with a sheet of pie dough.  If you use a sheet make sure to cut a few slits on the top.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce to 400 for 30 minutes.  If the edges get to brown cover them with tin foil for the remaining amount of time.

Serve with whipped cream and or ice cream.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe by: Agnes Donnay