This sweet and sour pork is prepared American-style with more batter and deep-fried twice for extra crispiness.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin
• 2 - 3 teaspoons soy sauce
• Pinch of cornstarch
• Sauce:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
• Batter:
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1/3 cup warm water, as needed
• Other:
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
• 3 cups oil for deep-frying, or as needed

Preparation:

Directions for sweet and sour pork
Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Marinate in the soy sauce and cornstarch for 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, dark soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.

Peel the carrot and chop on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.

Heat the oil for deep--frying to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the batter, combine the flour and cornstarch. Stir in the egg white and vegetable oil. Add as much of the warm water as is needed to form a thick batter that is neither too dry or too moist. (The batter should not be runny, but should drop off the back of a spoon).

Dip the marinated pork cubes in the batter. Deep-fry in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry the pork until it is golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

(If desired you can deep-fry the pork at second time to make it extra crispy. Make sure the oil is back up to 375 before you begin deep-frying again).

To prepare the sweet and sour sauce, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, green pepper, and pineapple. Bring to a boil again and thicken with cornstarch mixture, stirring. Check the sauce one more time and adjust seasonings, adding salt and/or vinegar if desired. Serve hot over the deep-fried pork. Serve the sweet and sour pork over rice.

Ham and Potato Casserole

This is a casserole my mother-in-law made from leftover ham and some potatoes that had to get used up.  It turned out so good - it is basically a scalloped potatoes recipe but we never had an actual 'recipe' for this.  Try sprinkling in some dried minced onion as you layer in the flour, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium-large baking potatoes, I prefer them peeled
• 2 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, longhorn cheddar, sharp cheddar, etc)
• 2 cups cut up cooked ham (leftover works great for this)
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• Seasoned salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups milk

How to Prepare:
Slice potatoes thin. I use a food processor to do this. Place potato slices in a large bowl, cover with water, to prevent potatoes from "browning up" in the air.

Assemble casserole: In a large (3-4 qt.) casserole dish, put a layer of 1/3 of the potatoes at the bottom.
Drain as much water off the potatoes as possible before transferring them to the casserole dish. Cover it with 1/2 the cheese, and 1/2 the ham. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons flour, a few dashes of seasoned salt and some pepper. Cover with another layer of 1/3 of the potato slices, drained, and then the other 1/2 cheese, and ham. Sprinkle with another 2-3 tablespoons of flour, a few dashes of seasoned salt, some pepper. Cover the top up with the last 1/3 of the potato slices, drained.

Make a small well in the corner of the casserole, and carefully pour the milk in, until the casserole is about 1/2 full with milk. (I'm guessing about 2 cups)

Bake at 350° for one hour covered, then one half hour uncovered, or until the potatoes are soft, and browned a bit on the top. Watch for milk to boil over, if there's too much milk in the dish. I place a piece of foil on the bottom rack to catch the drips.

Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Myron's Chinese Ribs

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs ribs (I use pork ribs)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade (or apricot preserves)
• 1 tablespoon catsup
• 1 (or more!) garlic clove, crushed

How to Prepare:
Combine soy sauce, marmalade, catsup, and garlic. Brush all over ribs. Place in a crockpot and pour remaining sauce over all. Cover and cook on LOW all day, at least 10 hours. (Myron cooks his for 12 hours, for "meat falling off the bones" ribs)

Pork Tenderloin Patties

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb. Pork Tenderloin
• One Large Egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• Vegetable oil for frying

How to Prepare:
Cut the tenderloin into thick slices, about 1" thick. Lay the thick slice on the cut side, and with a tenderizer mallot, pound the slices flat into thin patties. This can be done ahead of time.

In one shallow dish, mix the egg and milk. In another shallow dish, mix the bread crumbs, flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil. Heat oil in a large frying pan.

Dip each patty in the egg/milk mixture, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides of the patties. Fry in HOT oil, until patties are golden-brown on both sides. (approx. 20 minutes) Drain on absorbent paper.

Orange/Honey Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

• 1 fully-cooked ham, 4lbs or so
• 15-20 whole cloves (approx)
• 1 Orange
• 1/2 cup honey (approx)
• 1 cup brown sugar (approx)

How to Prepare:
Mix the juice and some pulp from one orange, the honey, and the brown sugar in a small bowl, adding enough brown sugar to make a paste-y, thick syrup-consistency.

Score the top of the ham in a criss-cross pattern, and stud with whole cloves. Cover with some of the glaze, and bake ham according to it's directions, in a shallow roasting pan. Baste 2 or 3 times more during baking with fresh glaze.

Sweet Molasses Ham

Ingredients:

• 5 to 7 pound bone in ham
• 2 tablespoons whole cloves
• 1 cup dark molasses
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

How to Prepare:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Trim the skin of the ham with a sharp knife. Score the ham by making long vertical and horizontal cuts. Stud the ham with the cloves. Place the ham on a rack, in a shallow roasting pan. Cover the ham loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. In a mixing bowl, whisk 1 cup of molasses, mustard, and allspice together. Remove the ham from the oven and brush the entire ham with the glaze. Place the ham back in the oven and continue baking for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 15 minutes.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Packet Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 sheets (12x18-inches each) Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 4 boneless pork chops, about 1/2-inch thick
• Salt and pepper
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• Hot cooked rice

How to Prepare:
PREHEAT oven to 450°F or grill to medium-high.

CENTER onion slices on each sheet of foil. Top with pork chops; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine cream of mushroom soup and soy sauce; spoon over pork chops. Top with green pepper slices.

BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make four packets.

BAKE 16 to 18 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven OR GRILL 10 to 12 minutes in covered grill. Serve over rice.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutrition Information:
(Per Serving)
calories 528
grams fat 19
milligrams cholesterol 74
milligrams sodium 1479
grams carbohydrates 55
grams protein 31

Ham and Sweet Potato Skillet

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup Log Cabin syrup
• 1/4 tsp. dried mustard
• 1 tsp. whole cloves
• 1 ham steak
• 2 medium apples, thinly sliced
• 2 cans (16-17oz. each) sweet potatoes, drained

How to Prepare:
Melt margarine in large skillet on medium heat. Stir in syrup and mustard. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Insert cloves into one side of the ham steak. Place in skillet, clove-side down.

Cook ham steak 3 minutes; turn over. Add apples and sweet potatoes. Cover partially with lid. Cook 5 minutes or until apples are tender, basting sweet potatoes and apples occasionally with syrup mixture.

Hawaiian-Style Braised Pork with Stir-Fried Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork spareribs, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 14-ounce can low-salt chicken broth
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Stir-fried Cabbage

How to Prepare:
Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of pork to pot and sauté until brown, about 6 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining pork. Add garlic, green onions, and ginger to pot; sauté 1 minute. Return pork and any juices to pot. Add 1 1/2 cups broth, soy sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper, and five-spice powder; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until pork is very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir remaining broth and cornstarch in cup to dissolve; mix into pork. Simmer until gravy thickens, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly and chill. Rewarm over low heat.) Serve pork with cabbage.

Char Siu

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds pork butt, cut into 5-by-3-by-2 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt (I use 2T garlic salt with parsley)

Marinade:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon whiskey
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder

How to Prepare:
Rub pork with Hawaiian salt (or garlic salt) and refrigerate 1 hour. Combine marinade ingredients. Soak pork in marinade in refrigerator 24 hours. Place meat on a rack over 1/4 inch of water in a shallow roasting pan. Roast 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.

Favorite Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 2 c. soy sauce
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 T. molasses
• 6 bone-in pork loin chops (1 1/2 inches thick)

Sauce:

• 3/4 c. ketchup
• 2/3 c. chili sauce
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 T. water
• 1 1/2 t. ground mustard

How to Prepare:
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring soy sauce, water, brown sugar and molasses to a boil. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag; add pork chops. Seal bag and refrigerate for 3-6 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Place pork chops in a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over chops. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear.

San Francisco Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 pork chops, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Sauce:

• 2 teaspoons of oil
• 4 tablespoons of dry sherry or broth
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons of water

How to Prepare:
Trim the pork chops of fat. Heat oil in a skillet. Brown the chops on both sides. Remove and add a little more oil if needed. Saute the garlic for a minute, being careful not to burn. Combine the oil, sherry or broth, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper. Place the chops in skillet. Pour sauce over them. Cover tightly. Simmer over low heat until chops are tender and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Add a little water, 1 to 2 tablespoons if needed to keep the sauce from cooking down too much. Turn once. Remove the chops to platter. Stir in cornstarch dissolved in water. Cook until thickened. Pour over chops and serve. Makes 4 servings