Tag Archives: cloves

Asian, Crock pot, Dinner, Kid Friendly, Pork

Chinese Pulled Pork (Crock Pot)

November 14, 2013 admin Leave a comment

This recipe was really interesting. Usually when you think of pulled pork, you expect a spicy Southwest flavor. But this one has an awesome Chinese sauce that is mellow and mild and is perfect with pulled pork.

8 servings
227 calories per serving

1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c hoisin sauce
3 T ketchup
3 T honey
2 t minced garlic
2 t grated fresh ginger
1 t dark sesame oil
1/2 t five-spice powder
2 lb. boneless pork roast, trimmed
1/2 c chicken broth

Mix soy, Hoisin, ketchup, honey, garlic, ginger, oil and five spice and place in a zip loc bag. Add roast and mush it around so the spice adheres to the roast. Place in refrigerator for 3 – 24 hours. When ready to cook, place in crock and cook on low 8 hours. Remove roast and cover to keep warm. Place broth in croc, re-cover and cook another 1./2 hour or until sauce thickens. Shred pork and serve with extra sauce.

If you do not have Chinese 5 spice, here’s a quick recipe so you can make it yourself:

Mix all of this in a spice grinder and then use the appropriate amount in your recipe:

1 T peppercorns
1 T cloves
1 t anise seed or 1 T star anise
1 T fennel seeds
1 T cinnamon

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Gingerbread Cupcakes

January 6, 2012 admin Leave a comment

Just the perfect little spice cake with a great ginger icing to top it all off. These are sooooo tasty !

12 servings
160 calories per serving

1 1/3 c flour
1 T ground ginger
1 t dry mustard
1 t baking soda
½ t cinnamon
¼ t salt
1/8 t ground cloves
½ c packed Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
¼ c molasses
3 T vegetable oil
2 egg whites
½ c low fat buttermilk
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (to make 2 t worth of juice)
½ c confectioner’s sugar
Pam

Preheat oven t 350 degrees. Spray a cupcake pan with Pam. On a sheet of wax paper combine flour, ginger, mustard, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Beat brown sugar and molasses and oil and once combined add the egg whites one at a time and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Alternately fold the flour mix and the buttermilk into the sugar mix beginning and ending with the flour. Spoon into the cupcake pan and bake 20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan.

Grate the ginger finely and squeeze to extract 2 t of juice. Combine juice with confectioner’s sugar and spread on the top of the cupcakes. (if too dry, add a t of more of water)

Appetizers

Pickled Eggs

September 16, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This is a more old fashioned dish – but still a fan favorite and these eggs are great cut up in salad, served as a snack, or placed on an appetizer platter.

6 servings
88 calories per serving

Liquid from 1 15 oz can beets
1 c cider vinegar
1/2 c sugar
2 t Kosher salt
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
6 large eggs

Drain beets and reserve for another use. Pour liquid in a saucepan and add vinegar, sugar, salt, bay and cloves and bring to a boil Stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, add onion rings and let sit 1 hour.

Place eggs in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil 2 minutes. Shut off heat, cover and let sit 11 minutes. Then rinse in cold water. (By the way – this is the recipe for a PERFECT hard boiled egg!!) Peel eggs and place in a deep jar and pour over the liquid and top with the onion rings. Refrigerate for 24 hours then remove onions (you can use these on burgers). I remove the eggs from the liquid at this point – you can keep them in the liquid if you wish. These will store well for 3 days.

Drinks

Sweet Chai Tea

March 11, 2011 admin Leave a comment

I find chai tea so soothing and relaxing. This is a way to prepare it with just simple ingredients you have at home rather than using a special chai mix.

1 serving
53 calories per serving

½ c hot brewed sweet orange tea (I used orange blossom white tea, so the cup of tea is very light in color)
½ c very warm skim milk
1 T Equal spoonful
¼ t vanilla
1/8 t ground cloves

Combine all in a coffee mug and stir well. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Spicy Gingerbread

December 8, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This recipe makes a nice spicy gingerbread packed with tons of classic flavor. Serve it warm or room temperature and enjoy the homey goodness.

16 servings
184 calories per serving

2 c flour
1 c light molasses
¾ c buttermilk
½ c Splenda
½ c margarine, at room temperature
¼ c Egg Beaters
2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
½ t ginger
¼ t ground cloves
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat flour, molasses, buttermilk, Splenda, margarine, eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves on low speed until moistened then beat at medium speed 3 minutes. Spread batter into a 9 inch pan sprayed with Pam and bake one hour. Cool on wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

MUFAs, Snacks

Candied Walnuts

October 8, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Think Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal – that is the flavor you get from this deliciously sweet treat. You can add or remove flavorings as you see fit – I added bunch more cardamom than the recipe calls for because I am addicted to it’s flavor 🙂 This is a perfect healthy treat with tons of MUFA for you ! The won’t last long – you might want to make 2 batches !

Makes 5 cups
2 T nuts = 129 calories

1 egg white
1 t water
5 c walnut pieces
1 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
¼ t cardamom
1/8 t ground cloves
½ t salt
Pam

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with pam. Mix egg white with water and add nuts and mix well. Combine spices and toss with nuts. Spread on pan and cook 30 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Chicken, Dinner, Kid Friendly, Summer

Caribbean Chicken

September 28, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This recipe makes a nice mellow flavored meal full of Caribbean richness and warmth. Try serving with a tossed green salad and some rice.

4 servings
187 calories per serving

¼ c minced onion
1 T sugar
1 T finely chopped jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)
2 t cider vinegar
2 t soy sauce
½ t salt
½ t ground allspice (or a mix of ground cloves and ground nutmeg)
½ t thyme
½ t pepper
¼ t red pepper flakes
1 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Pam

Combine all except chicken and Pam in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss well to coat. Heat a grill pan (or the BBQ grill in the backyard !) on medium high heat and spray with Pam. Cook 5 minutes per side or until done.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Pork, Summer

Grilled Pork Roast

August 31, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Cooking the pork in this manner turns your grill into a big oven. Be sure to sear the pork at the end of the cooking process so you get a nice browned outside. Serve with Oven Fries and a salad for a great balanced meal. Leftovers are great for making Cuban Sandwiches.

10 servings
253 calories per serving

3 pound pork top loin roast or pork loin
2 T parsley, chopped
1 t fennel seeds, crushed
1 t minced dry onion
½ t rosemary, crushed
¼ t salt
¼ t ground cloves
¼ t pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
1/8 t ground coriander

Trim fat from roast. Mix all spices together to create a rub and sprinkle it evenly over the meat and rub it in. Heat grill – lower heat to medium low – shut off one side of the grill so that you can grill with indirect heat. Place meat on a rack in a baking pan and place on the side of grill that is NOT on. Cook 1 ½ hours. Sear the meat on the side of the grill that is on for just a few moments, then remove from grill and let sit 15 minutes before slicing.

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