What to do with leftover Pork Loin? Part 2

Aaahhh, for the first time in a very long time, we have a calm, uneventful weekend planned.  I am so excited!  I can't wait for Andy, Celia, Charlie and I to hang out and do laundry.  You know you're getting older when doing laundry excites you more than going out on a weekend!  We started our weekend off with a family dinner of pork loin leftovers.  I am happy to say that after making my Pecan Pork Cakes and adding some pork to our baked beans, we are finished with the leftover pork and will be on to new leftover recipes.  But first, the recipe for Pecan Pork Cakes.  They are delicious!  These are very similar to Crab Cakes, but with a sweeter taste and a smoother texture.  I topped them with a tangy sauce; the recipe for it will follow the Pecan Pork Cakes' recipe.  Hopefully your weekend will be as relaxing and productive as I'm planning on ours being!

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Pecan Pork Cakes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Chopped Pork
1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Pecan Meal*
1/8 Cup Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Ground Mustard
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1 Pinch of Sugar

Grind chopped pork loin and cream cheese in food processor until smooth.  Pour into a separate bowl.  Add pecan meal, bread crumbs, and eggs.  Mix thoroughly.  Add spices and mix again.  Heat oil in a frying pan.  Form pork into 2" to 2 1/2" patties.  Drop patties into oil and fry until golden brown.  Flip and fry the other side until both sides are golden brown.  Place on a plate with a paper towel, so the oil can drain off.  This recipe makes roughly 7 cakes.

*If you do not have pecan meal, simply grind pecans up in your food processor until finely chopped.

Dipping Sauce
Ingedients:
1/8 Cup BBQ Sauce
1/8 Cups Sweet n' Sour Sauce
2 Packs of Soy Sauce (the kind you get with Chinese take-out)
1/2 TBSP Honey

Whisk all ingredients together.  Serve with your Pecan Pork Cakes.

What to do with a leftover cucumber and green pepper?

We are blessed with wonderful neighbors.  We live in a quiet, little neighborhood and we have become good friends with the neighbors on all our sides and across the street.  So, the other day on our snow day, our neighbor Marty brought us a bag of groceries because they were going out of town.  I love when people give us food.  It's always different from what I would buy and gives me new ideas for recipes.  In the bag was half a cucumber.  Normally I would just cut it up because Celia loves to eat cucumber slices, but instead I made a sweet bean salad with it.  The good thing about this salad is that it tastes better the second day after marinating in the fridge overnight.


Sweet Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 Large Green Pepper Chopped
1 Large Cucumber Chopped
15 Baby Carrots Chopped
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Onion Chopped (add more, if you like onions a lot)
1 Can of Beans (I used small white ones)
2 TBSP Sugar
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 TBSP Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

In a large bowl, mix together green peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions and beans.  In a separate bowl make dressing.   Whisk together sugar, olive oil, and vinegar.  Pour over veggie mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I was very generous with both. 

What to do with leftover Brandy and Wine?

Okay, I know people don't actually have leftover brandy, but you might have some leftover wine!  I love mixed drinks; the fruity and fru fruer, the better.  My favorite fru fru fruity drink is Sangria.  The first time I ever had Sangria was on our honeymoon.  We went to dinner at an excellent Cuban restaurant in Miami and ordered a pitcher of Sangria.  It was delicious!  Since then I've tried Sangria at several different restaurants, but it never is as good as it was at that Cuban restaurant.  Because of that, I decided I was going to figure out how to make it myself.  Since then it's been my signature drink.  I make it for parties and get-togethers all of the time.  Tonight I made it for our church progressive dinner for Valentine's Day.  It's so easy to make and it costs less to make a pitcher at home than it does for two glasses at a restaurant.  The good thing about this recipe is that it's flexible.  You can use any kind of wine, no matter the cost, and any type of frozen fruit.  It always tastes good.  My favorite combination is a white wine and a bag of tropical fruit.  Mmmm, instant vacation.

Sangria
Ingredients:
1 Bottle of Wine (or the equivalent- I often use two half bottles if I have some open.  One time I even used champagne)
1 Cup of Sugar
3 Shots of Brandy
A little more than 1/2 of a 32 oz Bag of Frozen Fruit
2 Cans Sprite or 7-Up

Pour wine, sugar, brandy and frozen fruit into a large pitcher.  Put in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours.  Before serving, pour soda into the pitcher and stir. 

Another what to do with leftover birthday cake...

I promise this is my last birthday cake recipe for a while, at least until April when Celia turns 4.  I successfully used up all of our leftover birthday cake with this recipe.  Now, in general, I am not a baker.  I have every intention of baking cookies or cakes and breads, but it never happens.  I don't like to follow recipes and if I make cookies  my second batch always burns because I forget about them in the oven.  Well tonight I baked!  I made up my own recipe and since it was a cheese/custard cake, there wasn't a second batch to burn.  The pie turned out absolutely fabulous and it was really easy and fast to make.  I hope you enjoy making it and serving it as much as I did.


Birthday Cake Pie


Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 1/2 Cups Cake (mashed)
1 Stick Butter or Margarine


For the filling:
1- 8oz box Neufchatel or Cream Cheese (room temperature)
2/3 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Sour Cream
3 Eggs
1/3 Cup Mayo
1/2 tsp Vanilla


Smash up birthday cake with icing until crumbly.  You need to have 2 1/2 cups after you finish mashing it up, not before.  If your icing is pink and blue, your crust will have a bit of a grey tint- don't worry, it will still taste delicious!  Melt margarine in the microwave completely, then mix in with cake.  Spray a 9 and 1/2 inch glass pie pan (or a larger one) with PAM.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Smash cake mixture into bottom of pie pan, spreading it out all over the bottom of the pan.  Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  The crust will puff up and start to turn light brown.  Take it out at this point.


While the crust is baking, make the filling.  Pour all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Beat with your mixer until it is a creamy, airy mixture.  It is okay if there are a couple of lumps from the cream cheese left.  Pour the mixture into your pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for around 35 minutes.  It is finished when the center no longer jiggles and the edges and bottom have turned light brown.  Take out of the oven and let cool.