PAD SEE EW

I miss eating out. I've been on maternity leave for over a year now, and I really miss going out for lunch. I work near a mall, therefore, near a food court. And no matter how many options I have, I mainly gravitate towards thai or japanese. I really miss thai food.

Although my oldest daughter used to eat pretty much anything, she's gotten really picky. And my husband, although not picky, prefers comfort food to pretty much anything else. But once in a while, when there are enough leftovers in the fridge so that the rest of my family can still have something they like, I make something that *I* want to eat.

We had a leftover pork tenderloin, broccoli and some greens in the fridge that needed to be eaten up. That, plus a couple of bottles of sauce and some rice noodles spelled out Pad See Ew for me! I had been using this recipe for a while, but I thought I could try a new one, see if it comes closer to the food court version that I love so much! And it was great! Saucy and salty, just spicy enough, could have been a touch sweeter, but still delish! And way less greasy than the take out version. If it wasn't for the crazy sodium content, it could almost pass as a healthy meal!

Pad See Ew

recipe adapted from Dorsey Kitchen

1/2 package wide rice noodles

some kind of leftover meat (I used leftover pork tenderloin)
some green veggies (I used broccoli and arugula)

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons black soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or thick soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
1-2 tablespoons sugar, to taste (I used 1 heaping tbsp)

2 tsp sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large eggs at room temperature

Soak or cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

Chop your meat and vegetables. In a small bowl, combine the two soy sauces, the white pepper, red pepper flakes and sugar.

In a wok or a big frying pan, heat the 2 tsp sesame oil and drop in the minced garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add your veggies and your meat, cooking until the veggies are to your liking. Add the cooked noodles to the pan. Pour some of the sauce over the noodles and stir until they are nicely coated. You may not need to use all of the sauce. Taste as you go. Push the noodles to one side of the pan so you have room to scramble your eggs. Crack your eggs into the pan, and stir them around until they are cooked. Stir everything together, serve, and eat!

I got 3 big servings out of that recipe. And for the record, by husband had some and said it was almost delicious. Good enough for me!

APRICOT GLAZED BBQ PORK TENDERLOIN

Although I never make them, I love recipes for ribs and wings. I find the ribs too fatty, and wings not worth the trouble. But usually, the rubs, marinades and sauces that flavor and glaze the meat can be used for other cuts of meat, such as chicken thighs, and  in this case, pork tenderloin.

This is my go to recipe for pork tenderloin, cut out from a Rachael Ray magazine years and years ago. Months later I bought her magazine again because of delicious looking ribs on the cover, and surprise surprise, it was the same recipe I had cut out months back. I hate when they do that! When I buy a magazine, I expect fresh content! In any case, this pork tenderloin recipe, adapted from a baby back ribs recipe is an amazingly easy recipe that yields super tender, flavorful

Apricot Glazed  BBQ Pork Tenderloin

recipe adapted from Adam Perry Lang via Rachael Ray

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp peach-flavor gelatin
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp mustard

2 pork tenderloins

1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
2 tbsp apricot preserves

Preheat the grill until it's nice and hot. Mix all the rub ingredients together. Trim the tenderloins and coat with the rub. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the apricot glaze. Remove half of the glaze to a small bowl to serve with the pork.

Grill the pork until an instant thermometer reaches 145-150 degrees. In the last few minutes of cooking, brush the meat with the half the glaze. Remove pork from grill, and let it rest, covered with foil, for 5 minutes. Slice pork and serve with reserved apricot glaze.