Are leftovers the bane of your world? The key is to reimagine them. Just because you served Smoked Pork Butt sliced when you had that company over the weekend, doesn’t mean you need to eat it that way again. We love to create Paired Meals around here. One meal can become two amazing meals and your family doesn’t even have to know that they are one in the same. That’s where Smoked Pork Fried Rice comes in.

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Reimagined Smoked Pork Shoulder

We love to smoke pork shoulder (sometimes called pork butt) as a roast to be sliced. But even when we have a crowd, we have lots of leftovers. There are only so many times you can reheat it or turn it into a sandwich. So our solution is the Smoked Pork Fried Rice. There is kind of a lot of prep to make this, but as long as you can toss food together and stir, this is a meal for you.

One of the great things about this recipe is you can SOOOO make it your own. As long as you have the pork, an onion and the ingredients for the sauce, you are good to go. We put shrimp in ours, but if you don’t like shrimp, leave it out. We put mushrooms in ours, but only when we have them. Sometimes we add canned water chestnuts, but not always.

And if you have picky eaters, you can keep the rice separate and serve the meat over it with or without the sauce. We have one kid who loves rice, but hates sauce and one kid who doesn’t like rice, but likes the sauce. (Who doesn’t like rice by the way?) We just save out some meat before we add the sauce which is one of the last steps anyway. Then everyone can have it their way.

Jump to Recipe

Preparing Smoked Pork Fried Rice

The cooking process actually goes pretty quickly, so it is best to have everything prepared before you start cooking. So get all of those vegetables diced, the meat cubed, and prepare the sauce.

Prepare the Sauce

Measure the soy sauce (use coconut aminos to make this Whole30) in a glass measuring cup. Then add the water, apple cider vinegar, minced ginger and fish sauce. Set aside.

Prepare the Rice

We have experimented with different kinds of rice and have determined that medium grain rice works best for this recipe. Of course, if you are doing Whole30, you can use cauliflower rice.

We like to use our pressure cooker to make the rice. Medium grain rice is 1:1 rice and water. Add both water and rice to the pressure cooker, stir to insure that all the rice is covered but the water. Three minutes on high pressure. Allow the steam to release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release. It takes about 15 minutes, so it’s not really a time saver, but it comes out perfect every time.

I usually make 2 cups of raw rice which ends up being 6 cups cooked. And yes, that’s more than the recipe calls for. We find it handy to have a little extra rice around sometimes.

Smoked Pork Stir Fry

In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil. Then add the veggies (except the frozen peas). Stir them around a few times as they cook. This step takes 5-7 minutes for the onions to soften and the mushrooms and carrots to cook down. The carrots will remain al dente even at the end, so don’t worry about them getting soft.

The next step is to add the pork and frozen peas. Both of these just need to heat until warm. Stir them into the veggie mixture.

While the pork and peas are cooking, in a separate frying pan, heat a little more oil. Beat two eggs and cook them to soft scramble. Be sure to kind of break them up as they cook. Once they are fully scrambled, you can add them to the wok.

Add the sauce and rice (if desired) to the wok. Mix and let the mixture cook a minute or two more so the flavors can combine. The last step is to add the shrimp. Since the shrimp is already cooked, it only needs to get warm. The important thing is not to over cook it. You really can add it just as you are ready to take it the table. They are little, so they will pick up the heat from the rest of the mixture even after it is off the stove.

Making the Best of Leftovers

No one wants to eat the same thing day after day (except Drumstick Chicken Soup–that I could, and do, eat everyday). That’s why we are always looking for ways to Reimagine our Leftovers. If you are looking for other ways to make use of those leftovers, check out our breakfast specialties: Whatcha’ Got Omelet and Clean Out the Fridge Breakfast Hash. And we have an index page dedicated to Rethinking Leftovers.

Oh, and if you don’t add the rice, this pork mixture is a perfect candidate for some Clean Out the Fridge Breakfast Hash.

We have been baking a lot recently. It comes from being home all the time. So, on a recent Saturday, we had a friendly family competition: The loser would have to make dessert. Mom lost. And, you win because here is a new sweet tart dessert of Cherry Almond Apple Crisp.

Please note:  This post contains affiliate links, many of which are to Amazon.  We are an Amazon Affiliate.  If you click through to Amazon or another affiliate and make a purchase, we make the tiniest little commission which does not affect your purchase price.

Cherry Almond Apple Crisp

This is a super easy dessert made mostly from pantry staples. (Well, at least in our house, dried fruit and especially dried cherries are a staple as are sliced almonds. They are both key ingredients in my Paleo Apple Cherry Ungranola.)

Apple crisp is probably one of the first desserts I learned to make. We have a family recipes (maybe I will share at some point) that dates back to my great-grandmother. She passed away when my mother was six, so that one is 6+ decades old. But I digress.

I have played with that recipe before. My Rhubarb Crisp is pretty nearly that recipe with a fruit substitution. This one goes a little father in changing up the original recipe.

I got the idea to swap in some almonds for the oats from my Ungranola recipe. It worked great. It makes a lovely crispy topping with a hint of added flavor. And the cherries add an amazing, just right level of tartness and they plump up with the juice of the apples.

Prep

Start by peeling (if you want) and slicing the apples. Toss the apple slices with the dried cherries and layer them in the bottom of a baking dish.

I tend to vary the dish I use when baking a crisp dessert. My favorite is my 2 quart oval dish, but an 8 x 8 dish or a deep dish pie plate also work well.

Step one done. The next step is to make the topping.

Using room temperature butter, cut in flour and brown sugar until the butter is crumbly and pea sized. I love to use a pastry cutter for this task. But if you don’t have one, you can use two butter knives or a butter knife and a fork.

Add the oats and sliced almonds. Toss until they are mixed in. Pour the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 30-40 minutes until the apples are bubbling and the top is a lovely golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Or serve it cold. Either way it’s delicious.

Apple Crisp for Breakfast?

Okay, I admit it, I may have even eaten it the next morning for breakfast. I mean come on, it has fruit and nuts and oats. Those are all breakfast foods right? So if you are looking for an easy prep dessert with ingredients you might have on hand, check out our Cherry Almond Apple Crisp.

And if you are looking for other dessert recipes, you can head on over to our Dessert Index Page.