You lose some, you win some...

A few of you have noticed my picture and winning recipe in April's Better Homes and Gardens. Thank you so much for your kind comments. The honest to goodness truth is that I lose far more recipe contests than I win. I'm always very honored to be a finalist, a runner up, a red ribbon girl, an also ran. There's some stiff and impressive competition out there. But once in a while, I take home the prize. And that makes me smile and blush for a minute or two. I think you'll really love this recipe. It's cheap and easy, and it's just about time to fire up your grills, anyway. If you're looking for something a little non-traditional for Easter, this would be grand, although I'd leave out the grilled peaches until they're in season.

I also did a little Q and A about cooking with Better Homes and Gardens. If you're interested, follow this link.
Vanilla Peach Pork Chops with Green Onion Slaw
Estimated Cost: $10.00 for four servings
4 nonenhanced boneless pork loin chops, cut 3/4 to 1 inch thick (about 1 lb.)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Green Onion Slaw
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 cup thin, bite-size strips green onion
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
1/4 cup lime juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 large peaches or nectarines, halved and pitted
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. peach preserves
1 Tbsp. horseradish mustard
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Directions
1. Place pork chops in large plastic bag set in deep bowl. For bring, in small bowl combine water, salt, sugar, and 2 tsp. vanilla. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add to chops in bag. Seal bag; turn to coat. Refrigerated 6 to 24 hours.
2. In large bowl combine cabbage, green onion, raisins, snipped cilantro, and jalapeño pepper. In small bowl whisk together lime juice, 3 Tbsp. olive oil, and the honey. Add to cabbage mixture; toss to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes before serving.
3. Pat brown sugar onto cut sides of peach halves. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. In small bowl combine preserves, mustard, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Drain chops, discarding brine. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Spread preserves mixture on both sides of chops.
4. For charcoal grill, grill peaches and chops on rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill peaches 4 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned and just tender, turning once halfway through grilling. Grill chops 7 to 9 minutes or until slightly pink in the center (160 degrees F), turning once halfway through grilling. (For gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Add peach halves and chops to grill rack over heat. Cover; grill as above.)
5. Serve chops with slaw and sliced peaches. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Makes 4 servings.
6. *Hot chile peppers contain volatile oils. Avoid direct contact and wear plastic or rubber gloves. If bare skin touches the chile peppers, wash well with soap and water.

And if you haven't had enough, here's a quick new video from the French's Cook-off last month.

UP NEXT: I finally perfected my pound cake, after dozens of attempts. It is soooo unbelievably yummy. I'm waiting till I have 400 followers to post. (A little incentive to sign up today!) In the meantime, I'm hoping to post some chocolate covered fudge Easter Eggs. I'm so busy I could skip a night's sleep and still be buried, so wish me luck!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

A very Happy Birthday to the Quiet Man today. This is a big one, folks. The big 4-0. I've been telling him for the last decade that he was almost forty, just to ruffle his feathers, so now what will I say to tease him? He's almost fifty? And to top it off.....My little boy West was coloring a birthday card and approached me with two crayons in his hand asking, "What color is Daddy's hair?" I wasn't sure how to answer. I think he already knew the answer anyway. One of the crayons in his little fist was brown, and the other was gray. I told West that in the interest of historical accuracy he'd better use both crayons. Since his Dad is just a mere decade away from 50, he'd better get used to the idea. (Besides, he really does look rather dashing with gray hair.)

And now, on to the food. You're really going to heart this one. It's a big sloppy pulled pork sandwich, dripping with savory and sweet juices, with a nice crisp and creamy slaw on a homemade wheat roll. If you're busy, skip the rolls and serve them on bakery buns. I've been using pork chops in various forms quite a bit lately, especially since Albertson's keeps having 2 for 1 sales. They're cheap, fast, convenient, healthy, and can be made into all kinds of delicious concotions. Like this sandwich. Have a great weekend everybody! See you Tuesday with a scrumptious treat for TWD.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Estimated Cost: $4.00

1 lb. pork chops

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons mustard

1 teaspoon or more tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Shred meat.

Cole Slaw

Estimated Cost: $2.50

3 cups finely chopped cabbage

1 carrot, grated

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup mayonnaise or whole milk yogurt

4 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in medium sized bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I don't bother to mix the dressing separately.)

Homemade Wheat Rolls

Estimated Cost: $2.50

3 tablespoons warm water

2 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 cup warm milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

milk to brush on top

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine water and yeast. (Make sure the water is baby bottle warm.) Let sit for five minutes. The yeast should be dissolved and starting to puff up. To the same bowl add milk, butter, sugar, egg and salt. Beat for one minute. Add wheat flour, then white flour about 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for about ten minutes. Shape into a ball. Coat the outside of ball with a thin layer of butter and return to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled, about one hour. Grease a cookie sheet. Shape dough into 12 equal size balls. Place on cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Brush rolls with milk. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until nicely browned.

PS These rolls are insanely good plain with just a slick of butter.

Next Up: Split Level Puddings

Closing Exercise Dinner: Peanut Ginger Slaw and Spicy Asian Style Pasta Salad

It's hard to swallow the idea that the Olympics will be over on Sunday. What did I do with myself before they began? I know I wasn't twiddling my thumbs, so what was it? What inspired me to exercise? How can I possibly stay motivated to get rid of my love handles without seeing Michael Phelps in his Speedo, or the women volleyball players in their itty bitty bathing suits or Nastia Lukin in her sassy pink leotard? The only possible advantage to the ending of the summer games is the return to my normal sleep pattern.

I've created an Olympic "closing exercise" dinner, loosely Asian themed, with lots of bold flavors and fresh vegetables. There's a noodle salad (one of my recipes that was published in Bon Appetit), with crisp fresh veggies flavored with sesame and honey and a peanut ginger slaw with a zingy peanut butter dressing. I suggest that you also make my soy and lime tri tip. I'm convinced that tri tip is the frugal fillet mignon. It has a little more bite, but the flavor and juiciness belie its reasonable price. For dessert, ginger cookies (try this recipe from the fabulous Del sisters) and sorbet would hit the spot.

Money Saving Tips: Use vegetables and herbs that you can find for a reasonable price. You can swap cilantro for mint or basil in either of these dishes with excellent results. Sesame oil is pricey, so if you don't have some on hand, you can use vegetable oil. Chop your own cabbage if the bagged mixes are overpriced. Don't pay extra for special Asian noodles; plain dried pasta works well here. The pasta salad is delicious cold, warm, or room temp, so plan on packing leftovers in your lunch this week.

Spicy Asian-Style Pasta Salad
Estimated Cost: $5.00
Notes: My original calls for honey roasted peanuts to be scattered on top. I swapped them for sesame seeds, since it would be nutty overkill with the slaw. You can easily make this a main dish by adding cooked shrimp, chicken, or beef.
1/2 lb. linguini or other pasta,
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 and 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 and 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
generous pinch of cayenne
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup edamame, or snow peas (frozen and thawed is fine here)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro
1 tablespoons sesame seeds

Cook pasta according to package directions. (Don't wash the pot yet.) Drain and toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Meanwhile, combine 1 tablespoon sesame oil, honey, vinegar, soy and cayenne in a small bowl. Add remaining sesame oil (about 2 teaspoons) to pasta pot and heat over medium heat. Add pepper, carrot, onion, and edamame and cook for one minute. Mix with pasta and dressing. Toss with basil or cilantro and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.

Peanut Ginger Slaw
Estimated Cost: $5.00
Notes: This slaw is best about 10 minutes after you mix the ingredients together. Only make as much as you will eat in one sitting.
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, very finely chopped (Use 1/2 teaspoon dried, in a pinch)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (10 ounce) bag angel hair cabbage (you could also buy cole slaw bag)
1 cucumber, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, sugar, ginger, garlic, and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste the dressing. You may need to adjust the sugar a bit, depending on the peanut butter you use. You want the dressing a little on the sweet side. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, cucumber, cilantro,scallions, and peanuts. Serve within 10-30 minutes.
Coming this weekend:
Blueberry-Buttermilk-Cornmeal Pancakes

Grilled Flank Steak Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

The main event. Juicy, meaty, charred and spicy flank steak tacos, held together by the grilled corn tortillas, crunchy and cool from the cilantro slaw. Slather it with salsa, gorge it with guacamole, soak it with sour cream. While you're at it, sneak some of your rice and beans in there, too. I love a very fat and greedy taco. The bigger, the better, unless....

Once, my little sister Mary Kate and I had a taco eating contest. I was 22 years old at the time, she was only 13. Anyone who knows Mary Kate knows that this pint sized little scrap can pack in grub like Nacho Libre. She deserves to be roly-poly, double chinned and plumpy-gordita; instead she wrangles all that food into her size 2 jeans and begs for dessert. To challenge her to an eat-a-thon was folly on my part, but I'd been out of the country for a year and she's so skinny that I must have forgotten. It was all I could do to keep up, so I made my tacos smaller and smaller. At the end of the night, the tally was seven and 1/2 tacos each. At least that's how it's remembered in the annals of family history. I was too full to do el math-o.

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Enjoy all of your food, especially the tacos. Make them as big and full as you want. No one is counting.

Coming Tomorrow: Dessert

Grilled Flank Steak Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

Estimated Cost: $$10.00

1 -1 and 1/2 lb. flank steak

2 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup salsa

1 tablespoon oil

3 teaspoons chili powder
8-16 corn tortillas

1 (10 ounce) bag angel hair cole slaw mix

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

juice of one lime

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle steak on both sides with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place steak in zip top bag. Add garlic, lime juice, salsa, oil, and chili powder. Zip up bag and massage mixture (from the outside of the bag) into meat. Let marinate for at least one hour and up to overnight. Grill steak, for about four minutes per side for medium. Let rest for five minutes. Slice on the bias. Meanwhile, grill tortillas and wrap in slightly moist dishcloth until serving time. For slaw: In a large bowl, combine slaw mix, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, divide meat slices and slaw between tortillas. (To be authentic, use two tortillas together.) Add cheese, sour cream, salsa, and guacamole as desired.