Teriyaki Pork and Pineapple

I am always searching for new recipes to try. In our latest bundle from Soergel Orchard, we got a pineapple. While I love pineapple grilled, I wanted something different. Do off to the web I went and found Pinch of Yum’s recipe for Pineapple pork with coconut rice. Ok… I’m game!

Teriyaki Pork with Pineapple (adapted from Pinch of Yum’s recipe)

• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 pound of pork thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• salt and pepper
• ground ginger (about 1/2 tablespoon)
• 14 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups jasmine rice
• diced jalapeño
• crispy onion straws

1. The night before slice the pork thin. Season pork with salt, pepper and ginger. Pour enough teriyaki over to cover. Let marinade overnight
2. place coconut milk, water and rice into a sauce pan. bring to a boil. reduce heat and let cook for 25 min
3. heat oil in a skillet. add the pork, but not the extra marinade. let the meat brown
4. add the pineapples and about 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce, lower the heat to medium low and let it simmer away
5. serve the pork and pineapples over the rice and top with the jalapeños and onion straws.
6. enjoy

This recipe wasn’t bad, but it needs work. Everyone enjoyed the flavors, but the pork was too tough for my liking. The original recipe called for thin sliced tenderloin, but I could not get this at my store. I’m sure that is a big piece of the toughness issues.

Next time… I think I will try this concept but with chicken thighs. I would also cook the thighs in the pressure cooker to begin with and then remove them to finish cooking with the pineapple in a skillet. Then you can control the cook of the pineapple and meat separately.

The rice needed salt and pepper. The pork needed heat. I added the ginger, but it needed more. Next time, I will add additional ginger, red pepper flakes and minced garlic. This will add a deepness to the meat and teriyaki flavors.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread

I had 3 small-ish zucchinis from our last essential box from Soergel Orchard. This is a local orchard who started selling meal boxes during the pandemic. They were such a hit that they are still doing them two days a week now. Some boxes are 3 meals that they choose and some times it is three you pick yourself. On the boxes where they pick the meals, you get milk, butter, eggs, fresh apple cider, apples, desert and the items to make the meals. For the you pick meal boxes you get a bag of fruits, a bag of veggies and then the 3 meal bags.

We have done these from time to time since the beginning of the pandemic and we love them. The quality of ingredients as well as helping a local farmer, what more could we ask?

Well… back to the zucchini. None of my guys like zucchini. Typically I will cook the zucchini for myself by baking it topped with parm cheese and then have it with spaghetti sauce or blistered tomatoes. This time I did not feel like that. So, I decided to bake with it.

I found Sally’s Baking Addictions’ recipe for Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and decided to give it a try. Of course, I added a few of my own tweaks.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

• 1 and 1/2 cups (225g) shredded zucchini (shred and squeeze off some, but not all of the liquid)
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (41g) dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (135g) mini chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (60ml) canola oil
• 1/4 cup (60g) coffee Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare the loaf pan
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and mini chips.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla
4. Pour wet into dry and combine. I needed to add about 1/4 c of water to get my batter to the correct consistency.
5. fold in the zucchini
6. pour into the prepared pan
7. bake at 350 for 45-55 min (mine was ready about 43 min, you could smell it)
8. remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a baking rack
9. when cool, remove from pan before slicing
10. enjoy!

I did weigh most of the ingredient from this recipe, but I gave both the measurements from Sally’s recipe. I changed the cocoa powder type. I added cinnamon and removed instant coffee. I used coffee yogurt instead of plain. I increased the salt and vanilla. (And, added water as mentioned in the directions)

This is very tasty, but could do with a bit more sugar/sweetness. The mini chips help as there is chips in almost every bite. But, who doesn’t love healthier versions of chocolate anything? I’m looking forward to having this with a cup of coffee tomorrow morning.

How Buy Nothing helped with Grad School…

As some of you know, I have gone back to grad school. I will actually graduate in 6 months. Wow, that is crazy to think. I will be getting my second master degree. This time I am getting my MA in special education.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to be blessed with many different special need students in my classes. Each child touches my heart and challenges me as an educator, but no child does this more than the ones who need the extra support. When I was an undergrad student, the class I did part of my student teaching in was a special needs preschool. The teachers in that room told me then to go get my master degree in special education, but I didn’t. When I went back to work after having the boys, there was an opening for a K-2 varying exceptionalities teacher. The 3-5 varying exceptionalities teacher wanted me to take that position. Then working here in PA in the preK and preschool the early intervention teachers who were working with the students in my class asked me why I wasn’t a special needs teacher.

So, I guess that is my calling. Not sure what direction this will take me. I have a few thoughts, but we will see what career opportunities open up once I complete my degree.

So, while working on my latest class I needed to interview an educators about the MTSS/RTI process (quick explanation: the process of supporting students who are struggling with the day to day instruction. This is often seen as part of the process to determine if I student needs special needs testing, but it doesn’t always lead to this avenue. Many times I it just a student who needs reteaching or additional support to move forward with specific skills)

So, I’m not working right now… how do I interview a teacher? I reached out on my own Facebook page and didn’t get a response. So, I decided to take a different avenue. I reached out the Buy Nothing board I follow on Facebook. Buy Nothing Project is a place where individuals in a community can share resources. I have used it many times to share things the boys have outgrown, household items that I no longer use and more. But, this time I reached out for help. Within the hour I had three offers to help.

This is what social media should be about, working together, helping each other. We live in a social media world where too much is judgements and quick decisions based on misinterpretations. Let’s step back and help more and assume less!

Music

Music has always played a huge role in my life. I grew up in a house that always had the radio on. My mom had a radio in the kitchen and the music was on when she cooked and baked. My family would sing along as we drove places. As a child I had a record player and then later a stereo in my room. We went to musicals and concerts.

I also grew up singing. I was in the church choir, sang in school and even began participating in school plays and musicals. When I was going to college many people thought I would have picked a music major, but as we know I didn’t. I did choose a school where I could sing and not be a music major. The funny part of that is I joined at the beginning of my freshman year and then decided I didn’t want to participate anymore.

My sons have grown up in a house that music is always playing. We do not have the tv for background noise, we have music. Amazon music is always streaming through our tv in the living room. You can tell the mood of the person with the firestick based on the music they choose. Sometimes you will hear alternative, other times classic rock or classical. I am sitting at my computer right now with Amazon music streaming the instrumental love songs station.

Both my boys got into musical theater. Blake has since decided he does not want to participate anymore, but Colby still does. Colby sings in two choirs at the middle school and is on a travel team for his theater company. While I know this is not the direction he plans to travel for the rest of his life, I’m proud to see that the music he was exposed to has brought him joy in other ways.

Music will always play an important role in my life, and I hope my sons feel the same way, as it hopefully reminds them of home.

Orange Scones

Yesterday I decided to tackle baking scones. Why do I say tackle? Well I have successfully made scones one other time, and failed multiple times. Making scones takes a deft hand as you can NOT overwork the dough. So I looked at a few recipes and decided upon the Copycat Panera Orange Scones recipe from A Seasoned Greetings. But, I also used a few tips and tricks I read on Sally’s Baking Addiction’s master scone recipe.

1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 2 navel oranges
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter (frozen and shredded on a box grater)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg

1. grate the 1/2 cup of butter on a box grater (I used the smallest hole size) then put the butter into the freezer. (I did this about 30 min ahead of time)
2. put 1/3 cup of sugar into a bowl and stir in the zest of two oranges. This imparts the orange oils into the sugar
3. add the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda to the sugar mixture, whisk together
4. add the frozen butter in with two forks to just mix together (mixture should be crumbly) —- DO NOT overwork. you do not want to melt the butter
5. put the mixture into the freezer
6. mix together the sour cream and egg with a fork
7. mix the sour cream/egg into the flour mixture stir to combine
8. use your hands to pull the mixture together into a ball. (my mixture was wayyyy to crumbly, so I added a bit of extra sour cream to pull it together)
9. put parchment paper onto your baking sheet
10. form the dough into a flatten circle about 7″ in diamater
11. cut into 8 wedges with a bench scrape or butter knife
12. put the pan in the freezer
13. heat the oven to 400
14. when the oven heats up, cover the scones with a milk wash
15. bake 16-17 minutes
16. cool on the pan for 3-5 min and then transfer to a cooling rack
17. enjoy!

The original recipe calls for an orange glaze, but I’m not a huge fan of sweet glazes. But, the orange glaze would add in more orange flavor. I felt that this mixture was lacking a bit on the orange side. I will try it again, but add in some orange juice into the sour cream as it needed more liquid and orange flavor.

Time to bake

One thing that I really enjoy doing is baking. When I take time to bake, it is relaxing to me. I love the science behind baking. When I cook I almost never follow the recipe, I will check out a recipe and then tweak it this and that way to make it my own. I don’t typically measure and don’t care if I’m missing something as I can change it up.

Baking is the compete opposite. I recongize that when you bake it is a formula, one simple change in amount can completly alter what you made, but typically in the wrong way.

I bake a lot of cookies as they are easy to make and popular. But, I do like to try different things too. Scones have been something of a love/hate relationship with me. I really enjoy scones, but have yet to master making them. I recongize that it takes a deft hand, that I apparently do not have. When you overwork scone dough it is going to fail. I have yet to figure out how to get the dough to stick together and not overwork it. I decided to bake some today, we will see how they turn out.

I also do not bake pies. I like pie from time to time, but have yet to master crust making. So… I opt to not bake pies. And shock… I do not really like cake. Wait for it… neither does my husband or youngest son. My oldest son is only a fan of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So, I don’t usually make cakes either.

So, when I get in a… I want to bake! mood… I struggle with what to try next.

What is your favorite baked good? Do you have something that most people like that you don’t like? What should I bake next?

Menu Planning

I often hear people complain that they don’t know what to make for dinner tonight. We typically don’t have that issue, I won’t say we never have it, but not typically. Why? We menu plan. The four of us have a conversation the night before grocery shopping. We figure out who will be home for dinners, what we have already and what we need. All four of us have a say in planning the menu.

Now, I’ll be honest and say that Richard and I do the majority of the planning. The boys will pipe in from time to time adding something that they want to have, but not often. I am usually the one who is going off searching for something new to try.

Once we know what we are having during the week, we create the grocery list from there. We have a running list on the fridge for things that get used up during the week, and then add in the basics and items for meals.

I then write the menu on the chalkboard we have hanging and everyone can see what is planned. Things get shifted between the days, but we know what we are having and that we have the items to make it. This typically means there is no…. oh wait I don’t have ____ to make this meal. Or, I really want ____ but I need to go buy x,y,z first. We try to limit shopping to a weekly grocery run and a monthly trip to Costco.

Do you menu plan? If so, what is on your menu this week? If not, how to you know you have everything to make the meals you want to make?

Salsa Chicken over couscous

I decided to share a toss it together recipe with you today. This is one of those go to recipes of mine that I morphed over time. It began as a recipe that I cooked in a skillet, and now I just pop everything, well almost everything, into my electric pressure cooker and come back 30 minutes later and it is ready to serve!

• chicken thighs (I use about 2lb)
• salsa (I use about 3/4 a cup… enough to cover the chicken)
• diced onion
• seasonings: chili powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle powder, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander, salt and pepper (sorry I don’t measure this combo… it just is)
• 1.5 cup couscous
• cheddar cheese (optional)
• lettuce (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

1. put the diced onion in the bottom of your electric pressure cooker, season with salt
2. put the chicken in add the seasoning mix (or as I do, just “measure” the seasonings right on top of the chicken)
3. pour the salsa over the chicken
4. mix everything together to combine and coat the chicken
5. put the pressure cooker on the chicken setting, I typically increase the cook time to 30 minutes, but follow your pressure cookers directions
6. cook the couscous according to the package (I start this when the cook time is done so it is ready about the same time the pressure is down)
7. when the pressure is down and you can open the pressure cooker shred the chicken with forks or tongs
8. plate the couscous, top with chicken, serve your preferred toppings.

This is also how I make chicken for chicken nachos or chicken anything Tex-Mex. So tasty and just the right texture. I have added diced peppers, jalapeños, or even a can of Rotel.

Simple, easy to make and tasty… what more could you need?

I’m Back!

While it has been forever since I posted on my blog, or looked at any blogs, I’m back. I began working in a child care center as a preschool teacher in August. While this was a good opportunity for me at the time, it was not the right place or space for me. So, I quit. I walked away from this teaching position for many reasons.

One piece that I missed a lot while working was cooking. I worked 7-5 M, W, Th, and F, and many weeks I also worked 7-3 on Tue. This meant I was the first person out of the house in the morning and the last one home at night. We did a lot of quick cooking meals, or Richard did the cooking. That is why I let this blog slide. (I can’t tell you the last time I baked… eek)

But, now I’m back in the kitchen. I will be back cooking, baking and loving my time in the kitchen with my guys. So, I will be back posting on instagram and here on the blog.

I think this blog will take on a new identity again, but the concept is how I go through life putting my own spin on things. I hope you join me in this journey.

Apple Coffee Cake

It’s apple season! We recently went apple picking so that means I have LOTS of apples. The other day my husband said… We haven’t had coffee cake in a while. So for me that means lets make apple coffee cake!

Apple Coffee Cake (inspired by Food network)

• 1 stick of butter softened
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp apple pie spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3+ cups of apples (peeled, cored and diced)

for topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 Tbsp of softened butter

1. preheat oven to 350
2. prep two 9″ round cake pans
3. cream together butter and brown sugar scrapping down the bowl
4. sift together flour, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt
5. alternate flour mixture with sour cream and vanilla
6. fold in apples
7. separate into the two prepared pans (I used a large disher to divide evenly)
8. combine topping ingredients and place over mixture
9. bake for 25-35 min (mine took about 30 min to bake)