Cooking Guideline (Recipe) Time!

As mentioned in my profile, I am a bit of a foodie.  Not the crazy, talks all the time about food and goes to extraordinary lengths to either source their foods or try new and different things, but the I friggin love food and trying new and different things.  I don't really go out of my way for it, but if the restaurant offers alligator tail etouffee or fried pigs ear in black bean sauce with wood ear, then yeah, I'm game for trying it.  


I also love to cook!   However, I have issues with recipes.  I like to look at them, and imagine how they would taste, but I rarely follow them 100%.  When I cook, I consider recipes to be more of a... guide line.  And often times, I prefere the meals that come about by a little fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants innovation.  Making it up as you go.   I start with an idea, like barbecue pork, and go from there.  This is what at least 80% of my daily cooking is.   Most of the time its pretty good, but some times I hit on a real winner.  And today, I would like to share one of those winners.  I'm not going to call it a recipe, but a guideline.  All measurements are approximate.

Lemon Pepper Honey Skillet BBQ
1 lb pork (or chicken, or beef if you want)
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey (I used raw local honey, lets just say I have a 12lb jar...)
2 tsp rice vinegar (I imagine apple cider would work just as well, add more if you want more tang)
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp minced garlic
Olive oil


1. Cut the pork in to 1/4 strips.
2. Heat your preferred amount of oil in a skillet on medium heat.
3. Toss in your garlic and stir till browned.
4. Add pork.  I usually wait till one side is browned before adding the other ingredients.
5. Add the worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and rice vinegar (pre mix them and add all at once if you like)
6. Add the ketchup.
7. Add the honey.  This is added last to give the other ingredients time to soak into the pork and some of the liquid to cook off.
8. Cook on medium until the liquid is a thick, saucy consistency.  When it cools to eating temperature the honey will give a nice, slightly crispy texture.
9. Add black pepper to taste.


And wha-la!  Yummy, quick bbq in about 15 minutes.

This is my hubby's plate... he's a meat and potatoes guy.

This is my plate.  I'm a bit more... out there shall we say.  I'm having mine with brown rice and kimchee!