Spicy Stir Fry Pork

Rummaging in the depths of your standup freezer can be hazardous for your sanity.
For years The Nudge has asked me to label the bags that I pack to freeze, and for some unknown reason I don't so when I go down for chicken I find all these interesting looking frozen, ice covered bags with no idea what's in them.

When he's right, he's right but that doesn't mean I will be good and label.

I grabbed a bag, of what looked like chicken thighs only to find it was a bag of cuttings from a whole pork loin I butchered a few months ago.

Unfortunately I did not know that until I defrosted the whole bag. You know the rule, once you defrost something, it must be cooked. That meant some ingenuity on my part because not only was I NOT planning on this surprise, I was not leaving my AC to buy a few ingredients for one dish.

I was knee deep in recipe testing yesterday and my counter looked like my pantry had been transported, so while I was making dressings for other items I made an Asian-inspired marinade for the pork (which I ground in my processor).

I thought about meatballs, then moved on too egg rolls or dumplings but I had no wrappers in the freezer (at least I didn't see a bag that looked like frozen wrappers, because nothing's labeled....sigh) so a stir-fry would have to do.

I do have a bag of frozen spinach (but did not use), some water chestnuts, a red pepper and onions but I am cheating and using a packaged asian sauce mix to finish the dish. Sorry, I am just to uninspired to drag all those bottles back out of the pantry.

I stumbled on a blog that is no longer being maintained but she did have a recipe that fit my criteria and since I am all about the honest, I will give credit where credit is due.

Spicy Asian Pork Stir Fry
Adapted from The Whole Kitchen

* 1 lb ground pork
* 1 tsp oil
* 1 red bell pepper, sliced
* 1/2 onion, sliced
* 1 jalepeno, sliced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 T grated ginger
* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
* 1/2 cup chicken stock
* 3 T cooking sherry
* 2 T soy sauce
* grated zest of one orange
* drizzle of toasted sesame oil
* chile sauce to taste
* handful of basil, chopped
* 3 green onions, sliced

1. Combine sherry, stock and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, crumble the pork into the pan and brown, approximately 2-3 minutes. When pork is cooked through, pour it into a colander in the sink, so any fat can drain off. Set aside.
3. Wipe out pan and return to heat and add 1tsp oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the bell pepper, onion and jalapeno. Saute until veggies begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic to pan and stir. Add pork back into the pan, stir, and add the liquid. Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce reduces a bit. Add the peas, chile sauce, orange zest, sesame oil, basil and green onions, and cook for 1 more minute, until peas are heated through. Taste, and adjust seasoning.