Yellow Split Pea Curry

Back when my husband was working on his Master's Degree and we were living in a cute little one-bedroom apartment, I became the Queen of Dry Beans. Not a very attractive title, I know, but it did fit. Our budget was very tight, so I cut most meat out of our menu and replaced it with beans to save money at the grocery store. If my friends had extra dry beans, they kindly gave them to me, and we used them! We went through about 6 lbs. of dry beans a month. While we don't eat dry beans that often anymore, I still keep them in the menu at least once a week. They're healthy and budget-friendly and we still love them!

I didn't come up with this recipe during that time, but that is when I became really good at cooking dry beans. Believe me, they're not as hard as they might seem at first sight. Haha!

Yellow Split Pea Curry

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cook Time: 30 min.

Yield 8 Servings

1 lb. Beef steak or your preferred meat (optional), sliced into bite-sized pieces 

1 C. Yellow Split Peas

4 C. Beef Broth

1/2 Head Cauliflower, Chopped

1 Yellow Onion, Chopped

1 Bell Pepper, any color, Sliced

1/2 Package White Button Mushrooms, Sliced

1/2 Package Sugar Snap Peas

1 Can Bamboo Shoots

1 Bottle Thai Yellow Curry
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and sort yellow split peas. Put split peas and broth in a small pot and boil for 30 min., or until split peas are tender. Meanwhile, saute beef in a deep saute pan over medium heat, salt and pepper to taste. Once browned, remove beef  from pan and set aside, leaving drippings. Return pan to heat and add in cauliflower, onion, and bell pepper. Remove split peas from heat and drain off broth. Once vegetables are softened, add the meat, split peas, and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and allow to simmer about 5 minutes or until reaches desired thickness. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

Sarah's Sweet Pork Recipe

No matter what stage of life one is in, the majority of people don't want to spend hours preparing dinner every night. Of course there are going to be exceptions, sometimes I get excited about making something really special so I spend more time preparing then I normally do. However, for the most part I like to keep a number of simple dinner recipes on hand for day-to-day use.

Now when I say recipes, I may be using that word a little loosely. I'm known for cooking without referencing any recipes. There is no doubt in my mind that I acquired this habit from my Grandma Fisher, who is always whipping up cakes, rolls, casseroles, and endless yummies without so much as a glance at a recipe book. My grandma is a phenomenal cook so I am really crossing my fingers that my skills will eventually come close to the level that hers have reached.

This habit to "wing" things works out for me most of the time, but of course I have some blunders. After my victories I get more creative and continue to make up my own creations and after my failures I fall back  to using recipes for a little while. Well about two weeks ago I happened onto a fabulous creation and I am excited to share my new recipe with you.

I was making dinner for six adults and two children. I had a 2lb pork roast I wanted to use up that I knew would easily feed everyone so I popped it into the crock pot in the morning. I put a little water in the bottom of the crock pot as well, but other then that, I added nothing.

About two hours before dinner time I decided to figure out some sort of sweet pork concoction. I am not a huge fan of the sweet pork recipes that use Colas as sweeteners, so I went to the food pantry and selected a jar of apricot preserves, tomato sauce, and diced chilies. Then I picked my enchilada seasoning from the spice cupboard.

I drained the water off of the roast and shredded it with a couple of forks. I then added all of the ingredients I had selected from the pantry along with about 3 tablespoons of enchilada seasoning. I let the shredded meat simmer in the sauce for about 2 hours.

When it came time to serve the sweet pork I set out tortillas, tortilla chips, lettuce, chopped onions and tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, ranch, and shredded cheese.

In our family, like many other families, there are various food allergies that exist among us. This meal allows everyone to choose a sweet pork salad, burrito, taco, or nachos. Individuals can select the toppings that they want and are able to eat. I creeped on a few family members' plates so that you could get a look at what they created.

As you can see, everyone made different entrees from the meat and personalized the meal to their preference. The cutie in the last picture is my sister, and she is lovin' her sweet pork salad!

Sarah's Sweet Pork

Ingredients: 

-2lb Pork Roast

-1 Can Green Chilies

-1 Can Tomato Sauce

-1 Jar Apricot Preserve

-3 T. Enchilada Seasoning

-Desired Toppings

Instructions:

Cook the pork on low for 6 hours in the crock pot with about 2 cups of water. Drain the water from the roast and shred the meat. Add all ingredients and mix well. Let cook on low for about 2 more hours. Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips, lettuce, chopped onions and tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, ranch, shredded cheese, or any other desired toppings. 

Enjoy!