Fresh Pineapple Sweet and Sour Chicken

I learned to make this tasty dish when I lived in Hawaii. I make it in a wok, but it's also great cooked in an electric skillet, stove top, or on the grill outside. When I cook with my wok, I like to cook in stages, that way the wok doesn't cool down too much. When you're cooking in a wok you want to cook the food quickly at a high temperature, so cut the food into large, bit sized pieces before cooking and don't over crowd the pan.



This dish is versatile (and gluten free), so add or subtract the foods that you do or don't like. For instance, for a vegetarian meal, subtract the chicken and add extra veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, bok chow, mushrooms, snow peas, or any that you prefer.

Marinade
14 oz Chicken Tenders (breast or boneless thighs also work well)
1 T Onion - chopped
2 cloves Garlic - smashed
1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
3 T Soy Sauce
1 T EVOO
1/4 Serrano Pepper
Splash of Water

Slury
1/3 cup Pineapple Juice
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 T Soy Sauce
1/4 t Tomato Paste
1 T Cornstarch

Vegetables
5 Cloves of Garlic (split) 2 cloves sliced (optional) and 3 chopped
2 small or 1 large Carrot -sliced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper - diced
Serrano Pepper - very thinly sliced or finely chopped (optional)
1/2 Onion - diced
2 Roma Tomatoes - diced (seeds removed)
1/ fresh Pineapple - diced (skin/rind and core removed)

You'll also need cooking oil and a 1/4 cup of chicken stock or a combination of stock and sweet white wine.

Rice and Veggie Balls

I used a combination of left over rice and vegetables from the night before to make these little vegetarian rice balls for lunch. The rice was cooked in apple juice, chicken stock and thyme, but you can use any cooked white rice. You can also use any vegetables that you want, I used these because they were in the fridge.



Oil for frying
Onion
Garlic
Parsnips
Apple
Cauliflower
Carrot
Fresh Thyme
Rice - cooked
1 Egg - beaten
1/8 cup Flour
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs



Heat the oil over medium high heat.

The onion, garlic, parsnips and apple were cooked in a little olive oil just until the onion became clear. They were left over from another meal. The other veggies were used raw.

Dice all of the vegetables into very small pieces.



Stir the vegetables, herb and rice together.



Mix in one egg and just enough flour to bind the mixture.

Pinch some of the mixture out of the bowl and form it into a ball about the size of a racquetball or golf ball.



Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.

Lightly roll the rice ball in the bread crumbs. Then set it aside, on a plate.



After you have formed one ball, rolled it and set it aside, do another. Continue this until all of the mixture is rolled and breaded.

Cabbage Rolls

This is my version of my mother's version of my great grandmother's Cabbage Roll recipe. These days my mother doesn't roll her cabbage, she layers the ingredients instead. It saves some time and still taste great, but I like the little meatballs that are formed inside the cabbage. I say try it this way first and then if it's too much work for you, layer.



1 lb Ground Meat - I use turkey. You can use beef, chicken, pork or a combo.
4 cloves Garlic - pressed or finely chopped
s/p
CRP
White Pepper
Smoked Paprika
1 green Onion - finely sliced
Fresh Parsley - chopped
3/4 cup Rice*
1 can Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Sauce
Garlic Chili Sauce (optional)
Water

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

As you wait for the water to boil, mix the first nine ingredients together and set it aside. Your hands are the best tools for this job.



Remove the core form your head of cabbage.

Seafood Stuffed Salmon

I made this salmon over a year ago and I didn't write anything down. So, no recipe. Fortunately, I did take lots of pictures to document this concoction. I remember it being very tasty!

I used Tony old phone to take these pictures, so they're not the best. I still thought it was worth sharing this one. Maybe it'll give you some crazy over stuffed ideas of your own.



This is a mirepoix with garlic, shrimp and orange zest.


Cooked white rice with saffron and sweet onions.


The shrimp and rice mixed together.



I cut a pocket in the salmon, making sure not to cut all the way through the fish.



Stuffed the rice mixture into the pocket.