Oriental Pork Pot Stickers

Cook Time: 45 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Servings = 36

Ingredients:

1/3 cup celery
3 oz cooked lean pork, loin and shoulder blade
1 cup water
1 Tbs Sherry wine, dry
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
36 Wonton wrappers, 3 1/2" square ( can be found either in the health food section of your grocery store or in the
produce area where some soy foods are found).
1 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup fresh chopped cabbage
1/4 cup dehydrated green onion, minced
1 tsp peanut oil

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine pork, cabbage, celery and green onion; mix well and set aside.
2. Combine first amount of soy sauce and oil with the sherry; stir in cornstarch till dissolved.
3. Pour soy mixture over pork mixture; toss to coat, cover and chill 30 minutes.
4. Spoon about 2 teaspoons filling in center of one wrapper; bring up sides diagonally to form a triangle and seal edges with water.
5. Transfer to a baking sheet and cover with a dry cloth; repeat with remaining wrappers.
6. In a large skillet heat the remaining oil.
7. Carefully place half the pot stickers in skillet. not letting sides touch; cook over medium heat 1 minute or till bottoms are browned.
8. Carefully add 1/2 of the water to skillet.
9. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.
10. Uncover and cook 3 to 5 minutes or till water evaporates, add more oil, if necessary; cook uncovered 1 minutes.
11. Transfer pot stickers to a baking sheet; place in a 250 degrees F oven to keep warm.
12. Repeat procedure with remaining pot stickers, oil and water.
13. Serve with Chinese mustard and soy sauce for dipping.

Apricot-Teriyaki Pork

Recipe and picture courtesy of Family Circle



Ingredients

2/3 cup apricot preserves
3 tablespoons low-sodium teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 boneless pork chops (4 ounces each)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions

1. In a medium-size bowl, stir preserves, teriyaki sauce, mustard and ginger. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Spread 1 tablespoon of the apricot preserve mixture over each chop and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 6 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F when inserted into thickest part of meat.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add snow peas and cook for 3 minutes. Add pasta and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until just tender.
4. Drain pasta and snow peas and place in a large bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup of the apricot preserve mixture. Toss remaining mixture with the pasta. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
5. Serve pasta with pork chops, spooning reserved apricot sauce on top.

Bacon Wrapped Pork with Peppers and Potatoes

Bacon-Wrapped Pork With Peppers and Potatoes
Makes: 6 servings. Prep: 10 minutes. Roast: at 450° for 30 minutes.

Recipe and Picture Courtesy of Family Circle Magazine

Ingredients

1 package (2 pounds) diced potatoes with onions
1 package (about 8 ounces) fresh pepper strips, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pork tenderloin (1 1/4 pounds)
3 bacon slices, cut in half
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon bottled chopped garlic

Arrange oven racks on bottom two slots in oven. Heat oven to 450°. Coat 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan and small roasting pan with cooking spray.
In bowl, combine potatoes and peppers. In small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon mustard, oil, 1 tablespoon water, salt, pepper. Drizzle over potato mixture; toss. Spread in jelly-roll pan.
Spread 1 tablespoon mustard over pork. Arrange bacon over top, spacing slightly apart. Place in roasting pan.
Place pans in oven, potatoes on bottom rack, pork above. Roast in 450° oven 30 minutes. Check pork at 20 minutes; if internal temperature is 150°, remove from oven. If not, leave in oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
While pork and potatoes are roasting, prepare sauce: In small bowl, mix remaining 2 tablespoons mustard, 2 tablespoons water, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic.
Toss potato mixture. Thinly slice pork. Serve with sauce.

Nutrient Value Per Serving: 407 calories, 18 g fat (5 g saturated), 26 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 874 mg sodium, 68 mg cholesterol.

Mini Quiches

This is an old favorite. Easy to make and delicious. You will need a mini muffin pan but it's a good investment and something you will use often. I know you can buy these already made and packaged but it's cheaper and more rewarding to make your own. Plus you can make ahead and have a lot of them on hand for emergencies.

Don't forget to review the exercise at bottom of recipe.

Ingredients:

Filling- 2 and 1/2 oz can of deviled ham (this works really well with these quiches and so easy to use but you can use any kind of ham as long as chopped very small).
1 med onion, minced
1/4 to 1/3 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c milk ( at least 1 %)
dash nutmeg
dash pepper
1 recipe of cream cheese pastry (below)

Pastry
3 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 c of unsalted butter or margarine
1 to 1 1/2 cup flour
Mix and form into a ball and chill for 15 minutes to 1/2 hr.

Divide pastry into 24 balls and spread into each muffin cup.
Saute onion lightly in small amount of butter
Put small amount of ham into bottom of pasty , then add pinch of onion and pinch of cheese.
(You can cover and refrigerate these at this point to finish later if desired).
Beat eggs, milk and seasonings together. Pour over each leaving about a 1/4 in space at top.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 min then reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 10 min. Can be served hot or cold.

Exercise tip of the day

Let's target those a bunch of areas today. This one is great for the back, hamstrings, glutes and biceps. It does require a resistance band that you can pick up at any sporting goods store or WalMart, etc.

It's called the bent-leg dead-lift band curl.

Stand on a resistance band with your feet slightly apart, holding the handles with your palms facing forward. Bend your knees slightly, and keeping your back straight, lower the handles toward the floor.
Squeeze your hamstrings and glutes to pull yourself back up to start. As you rise, curl the handles to your chest. Lower your arms and repeat the sequence 12 times. Increase the reps as your tolerance improves.