French Onion Hot Dogs

French Onion Hot Dogs are just like your favorite French Onion Soup, but in a handy bun and extra delicious because it's a hot dog!!

How To Caramelize Onions

I think it's a pretty good idea for everyone to learn How To Caramelize Onions. Caramelized Onions make just about anything better! They are a deliciously fresh way to take an ordinary sandwich to extraordinary, and are the reason why French Onion Soup is so amazing!

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole! Need I say more?! All the goodness of a yummy Philly Cheesesteak in an easy to make casserole!  

Ribeye steaks were on sale, so I took advantage of that sale and came up with this tasty dinner that is super easy to make. You'll have this on the table in lightning speed and the fam will be beggin' for more!

Who can resist the sauteed mushrooms with onions and peppers combined with the pan-seared ribeye and cheeeeese?!! All atop a crispy french baguette with lots of creamilicious, yummy cheese. Did I mention the cheeeese?? It's irresistable! Is it good for you? Nope, it's not healthy at all, but go ahead and indulge once in a while. You only live once!! Make it tasty!

Of course, it's not an authentic Philly Cheesesteak! I know better than to make that claim! My mom is from Philly and Philadelphians have every right to be protective of their famous sandwich! Nothing can compare, but this casserole is still pretty darn tasty, so if you don't have plans to be in the City of Brotherly Love anytime soon, this will do! This just might be better than the Meatball Sub Casserole I made recently!

Cilantro and Pork Stir Fry

allrecipes.com Cilantro and Pork Stir Fry

Don, the hubs, loves rice! He would be happy if I served anything with rice every night. Sadly for him, rice is not MY favorite, but I have figured out how to make it where I can enjoy it. He is very happy to enjoy his rice meals more often now.

This month with the allrecipes Allstar Ambassador program we are tackling faceless recipes again! Newly published recipes on the site don't have reviews or pictures. They stay that way until some brave soul gives it a try.  I didn't used to enjoy trying an unproven recipe. Afterall, the reason why I love allrecipes.com so much is for the reviews! It is a handy tool for finding fantastic recipes!

Since being a brand ambassador for allrecipes.com, I have learned to enjoy the challenge of trying recipes that are not rated or photographed. I've found some real winners, too, and this Cilantro Pork Stir Fry is one of them! The first time I made this there were NO leftovers! There were only 2 of us!! I only had one small serving that I enjoyed very much, but Don just kept on going back for more haha  I couldn't believe it when I went to clean up and there was nothing left for me to photograph!! So I had to make it again so I could give it a face on allrecipes.com and for this blog post.

It's not really a surprise we enjoyed this dish - Pork is my favorite protein. I love it!! And Pork Tenderloin is my absolute favorite cut - it is the Prime Rib of Pork (imo)!  Tenderloin is an expensive cut, but I purchase it when it goes on sale for $4.99/lb or less, making it a very affordable treat. 

A couple important tips when cooking with Pork: 

• DO NOT overcook it!!  Pork should be a little pink in the center. It is okay. I promise! I know your meat thermometer might suggest otherwise, but many meat thermometers are incorrect since the USDA adjusted the safe cooking temperature for pork in 2011. Pork is safe to eat at 145 degrees internally. If you cook it to 140 degrees F. and let it rest for about 10 minutes, you'll be golden. 
• DO NOT freeze it. Buy your pork fresh and cook it up from fresh. Freezing pork changes the texture and the flavor...not in a good way.

Cilantro Pork Stir Fry

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Directions

• Whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add sliced pork and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. 
• Remove pork from marinade and discard unused marinade. 
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wok or skillet over mid-high heat. Add pork and let it sear for 2-3 minutes and then turn over and sear other side for 2-3 minutes. Pork will be slightly pink in middle. Remove from pan and cover with foil.  NOTE: You might have to sear the meat in 2 batches if you don't have enough room in the skillet to add it all in a single layer. Also, the cooking time will vary depending on how the pork was cut. Thicker cuts will take longer.
• Add 1 tablespoon lime juice to the pan to deglaze. Scrape up those yummy brown bits from the bottom of the skillet and then add the onions and peppers and cook until desired tenderness. Once the peppers and onions are to your liking, add the pork and cilantro and cook for about 1 minute - until the cilantro is wilted. Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed to your liking.

I serve this over white rice. To make the rice to my liking, I melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over mid-high heat. I add 1 cup of rice and brown it slightly. Then I add 2 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of chicken base. Bring it to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 mins. The rice should be a little moist at this point, but not standing in water. Uncover and give it a stir. Remove from heat until ready to serve. NOTE: If it is still too watery after 15 mins - recover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

Breakfast for Dinner? Yes, please!

This isn't just for dinner, of course, but it does work in a pinch! One day last week, I had not been to the grocery so the cupboards were bare!  After having a very busy day, all I really wanted to do was relax. I certainly didn't want to leave the house and go to a restaurant for dinner! So, what to do?  Make breakfast, of course!  

Don LOVES a good breakfast with eggs, potatoes, bacon, and toast, so I knew he wouldn't be disappointed!  I always start the potatoes first, as they take a little time to get soft the way the hubs likes 'em.  I gathered what I needed...

Eggs, potatoes, onions, garlic, bacon, cream cheese, salt, and pepper

and got to work!  I always like to have everything right on hand - especially when making something like this that moves along quickly.  First I cubed the potatoes. I used Yukon Gold potatoes - they are my absolute favorite potato! ...and what I happened to have on hand. I recommend cubing 1.5 to 2 potatoes per person.  For some reason I used 3 here - I guess I thought the hubs was going to be extra hungry!

Then I diced up 1/2 of an onion - that looked good for the amount of potatoes I was making. I also minced up 2 garlic cloves - I LOVE garlic! I heated a skillet on medium-high heat and placed a thick slice of bacon in the pan to render the fat.  

Once my bacon was cooked on both sides, and I had a good amount of fat in the pan, I added the potatoes. It is critical you DON'T move the potatoes for 3 minutes!

  If you move them around right away you are going to leave a lot of potato in the pan, and they won't have that nice crispy stuff on the outside.. I learned that the hard way!  So leave them alone for 3 full minutes!  To busy your hands you can sit on them, or make them useful and pull that bacon out of the pan and chop it up.  You can also crack the eggs into the non-stick pan you will use to cook them so they will be ready to go - do something! Just don't touch those potatoes!  Did I get my point across? Great!  Now that 3 minutes is almost up, go ahead and salt and pepper them to your liking. I used about 1/2 teaspoon salt for this amount of potatoes.  I normally would used fresh cracked pepper, but I was fresh out (GASP!), so I used ground pepper - it worked!

Now that the 3 minutes is up you get to stir those potatoes!  I know it's been driving you crazy to just let them sit in the pan without stirring them, so go ahead and knock yourself out. Stir those beautiful potatoes and see how wonderfully crispy they are!  HINT - if you go to stir them and they are sticking to the pan - your heat is too low! Turn it up and let them sit another minute or so. They will release when they are ready to be stirred!  How's that for smart food - it tells you when it's ready (sort of).

Now you get to add the chopped bacon, onions and the garlic. Stir them for about a minute or two.  Then turn the heat down to mid-low and let those potatoes cook until they are as soft as you like 'em.  You'll be busy making the eggs, but you'll want to stir the potatoes occasionally during this time.

Now that the potatoes are going nicely, you can start on your scrambled eggs.  For the eggs I start with a cold, dry sauce pan. I use a non-stick pan for scrambled eggs to make clean-up a snap. Eggs really like to stick to my stainless steel pans, and I really DON'T like cleaning them up, so I purchased a chemically safe, non-stick pan just for making scrambled eggs!  Go ahead and crack your eggs in the cold, dry pan. I also add a tablespoon of butter for every 3 eggs I use. I made 6 eggs this night, so I used 2 tablespoons of butter. DO NOT ADD SALT YET!!  Eggs are one of the few things you want to salt AFTER they are cooked

Now that you have your eggs and butter in the pan, go ahead and turn on the heat to mid-high.  Start whisking your eggs - every once in a while check on your potatoes and give them a stir.  

Keep whisking your eggs... and stirring your potatoes

When your eggs start to thicken, you want to take them off the heat for 20-30 seconds and keep whisking while utilizing the heat in the pan.  Then go ahead and put them back on the heat - all the while keep whisking.  You will move them on and off the heat until they are fully cooked. Removing them from the heat every so often will help keep you from overcooking the eggs - no one likes to eat rubbery eggs - yuck!  Once your eggs are sufficiently cooked...

Pop your toast in the toaster, and remove the eggs from the heat. Add in 1 ounce of cream cheese. Stir that around to incorporate and then salt and pepper your eggs to your liking.  I sometimes like to add fresh chopped basil too, but on this night I made a Chimichurri Sauce (see recipe below - you can make up ahead of time)  Go ahead and plate up the eggs and potatoes with the toast and add some chimichurri sauce either on the side or, go ahead and be bold, and put it right on the eggs! Yummmmmm

I opted to eat just eggs and toast with the chimichurri sauce, so here is a pic of my plate

Chimichurri Sauce

1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Puree all ingredients in a blender or a food processor. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature until ready to use. You can make this up a couple hours before if you like.