For some people, the crockpot or slow cooker is a winter time cooking tool. For me, it is useful all year long. You can cook other things besides soups and stews in them, they are easy to use and they require very little energy. On Monday, we grilled pork steaks at my brother Mike's. We had a large pack and at the end was a small roast. It seemed like the butcher got tired of cutting the steaks. It wasn't a problem because I knew I'd be able to make a What's for Leftovers recipe with it. So after we were finished grilling all of the pork steaks, we threw the little roast on the bbq and let it cook while we ate. On Tuesday, when I was planning our dinner, I realized I still had a carton of white rice left from Chinese takeout over the weekend. Presto, Apple Butter Pork and Rice was born.
Apple Butter Pork and Rice
Ingredients:
1 to 2 Lbs of Cooked Pork*
1/4 Cup White Wine
4 Packs Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Apple Butter
1 Cup Apple Juice
1 TBSP Garlic
2 Packs Sweet n' Sour Sauce
1 TBSP BBQ Sauce
1 1/2 Cups White Rice, Cooked or 1 Small Take-Out Carton
*You can use any kind of pork. I used the little pork butt roast and a pork steak. Feel free to use roast, steaks, or chops; whatever you have leftover.
1. Cut pork into thin slices and place on the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. In a separate bowl combine wine, soy sauce, apple butter, apple juice, garlic, sweet n' sour sauce, and bbq sauce. Pour over pork.
3. Cook on high for 1 hour, stirring occasionaly
4. Pour rice into slow cooker, mixing into liquid. Cook on low for another 20 to 30 minutes. It's finished when your rice is completely heated.
We love to order Chinese! This Friday, Andy had a guys' night out, so my friend Leigh Anne and her daughter came over to hang with me and my kiddos. We had a smasing time catching up and our children played nicely the whole night! We ordered Chinese delivery for dinner. I have found that when I order Chinese, I am always really hungry, so I order around two times as much as we really need. This incidence was no exception. We had enough Chinese for 2 meals plus some. This is great news for What's for Leftovers readers. Leftover Chinese, warmed up is adequate at best, but leftover Chinese re-worked is like a whole new, delicious meal. My family loves it everytime! This is a loosey goosey recipe as my mother would say. Meaning, everybody's leftover Chinese will be a little bit different, as will be your quantities, but if you follow the general guidelines, it will turn out great every time!
Chinese Take-Out Fried Rice
Ingredients:
*Olive Oil
*Frozen Vegetables- Use 1/2 of a Bag to a Full Bag of Peas or Peas and Carrots
*1/2 Yellow Onion
*Meat- I had 1 and 1/2 Cups of 2 different kinds of Chicken
*Rice- I had 3 Cups of Fried. It doesn't matter if it's Fried or White
*Any juices left at the bottom of your take-out boxes
*1/2 Cup Apple Juice
*1/8 Cup BBQ Sauce
*3 Packets Soy Sauce
*3 Packets Sweet n' Sour Sauce
* 1 Jumbo Egg or 2 Medium Eggs
1. Pour a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan. Chop up Onion and Meat into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat oil. When oil is hot, put onion and frozen veggies in frying pan.
3. After 5 minutes, add meat, rice, juice left on the bottom of container and apple juice. If you do not have any juice left on the bottom of the containers, add 1 cup of apple juice instead of 1/2 cup. It's important for your rice to stay moist so it won't burn on the bottom of your frying pan.
4. Add BBQ Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Sweet n' Sour Sauce. Mix all together. Continue Cooking until everything is hot and onions are cooked. Make sure your rice stays moist. If is starts to dry out, add a little bit more apple juice or honey.
5. After everything is cooked, make a well in the middle of your pan. Crack your eggs into the well and scramble them. Cook them completely, then mix in with your rice. Enjoy, Chinese- part 2 with your family. They'll never even know it's leftover!
