Cheap Bastids Green Chili Pork Chop Taco

So it’s been a while since Cheap Bastid posted a recipe. Mainly because life has been frantic and goofy and Cheap Bastid hasn’t had a whole lot of inspiration. I’ve been cooking a lot but not working much on new recipes.

But, Sunday came and it’s been really busy. I spent most of the day doing yardwork at my Mama Stella’s house. Mrs. CB has only been home 2 or 3 nights the last couple of weeks. She’s been staying a lot at Mama Stella’s who was recently diagnosed with a serious, systemic cancer.

Anyway, I was home alone and hungry. And I wanted something easy. I took out a pork chop with the intent of making sweet and sour pork. Then I thought to myself, “Self, let’s do up some tacos with the pork chop.” So I did. What I wanted was something with some crispiness to it and with some flavor. And I managed to get it.



Now I didn’t take any pictures last night. I was tired and hungry and not thinking of a Cheap Bastid post. But, I managed to click a few tonight when I made leftovers. And tonight I used some left over flatbread rather than tortillas (especially since the tortillas I used last night had been frozen so long that they were kind of tough and crumbly). So here’s what I did:

Cheap Bastid’s Green Chili Pork Chop Taco
• ½ lb pork chop (I used a boneless sirloin chop)
• 1 cup Lettuce
• 1 tomato diced
• ½ cup diced onion
• Tortillas or flat bread
• Juice from 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Chipotle or cayenne
• Chili powder
• Salt
• Salsa Verde or Chili Verde (I used canned because it’s what I had)



Tenderize the porkchop in a plastic bag (whomp on it with a sauce pan or meat tenderizer until it’s about ½ inch thick). Cut the pork chop into ½ inch cubes. Put the cubes of meat in a bowl and add the lime juice, chipotle/cayenne, chili powder and salt along with a good squirt of vegetable oil (a tablespoon or 2). Stir to coat and then add the cornstarch and stir it up again. Let this sit for a bit.

Next cut up your veggies. Dice the tomato and onion and cut or tear the lettuce into strips.



Put a sauté pan on the stove over medium high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil and let the pan get hot. Then add the meat. Stir it so that the individual cubes separate. You want a bit of heat so that the cornstarch helps the meat to get nice and crispy. This will take 5-7 minutes to cook. When done, remove the pan from the stove and you’re ready to build your tacos.


Heat the tortillas or flatbread in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds on high to get them warm and pliable. The lay down some meat, lettuce, tomato, and onion. On top of this, add some salsa verde or chili verde. Now if you want a bit more heat, go ahead and add some hot sauce or more cayenne or whatever floats your boat. These were good with a hint of heat and a hint of acid from the lime. You can even add shredded cheese if you want.

This was just something I made up and threw together. It was actually really, really tasty. And really, really cheap. This made a half dozen tacos—enough for a dinner for 2 (actually for dinner last night and a good mini-meal when I got home from work Monday night.



The Cheap Bastid Test: Well, the chop was a half pound and I bought it for about $2.50 a pound, so it cost $1.25. The can of salsa verde was $.89, the tomato cost about $.35 and the onion was about $.20. And let’s just say that the tortillas cost about $.75. So what was the total? If my arithmetic is correct, it was $3.49. Not bad. These would have cost about 2 bucks each at our favorite taco joint or $8. And I definitely liked the way the lime and seasonings and salsa verde played with each other and the meat to create a terrific taste.

That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good, Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!

Cheap Bastid's Foodie Tuesday: Middle Eastern Flatbread Pizza

Money’s been tight at Cheap Bastid’s place. So, occasionally I’ve been making homemade pizza. The hardest part of that is making the crust. It takes some practice to start getting the crust to come out edible. But it’s an inexpensive way to make pizza at about $1.00 for the crust (compared to about $3.50 for a Boboli).

I prefer my pizza crust thin and crispy rather than a “New York” style. But that’s a matter of taste. Recently though we came up with a really inexpensive and delicious way to get an almost perfect thin pizza crust really cheap (and of course I like the cheap part).

We’ve been enjoying Middle Eastern flat bread lately. I can pick up a bag of 8 pieces for 99 cents (at the 99 cent store, of course). The other night I decided to use pieces of it as a pizza crust. And it worked great!

Here’s how I did it:

Crust:
Use 4 pieces of Middle Eastern flat bread for plenty of pizza for 2.
Pre-heat oven to 400
Put the pieces of bread on a cookie sheet and brush a very thin coat of oil. Then pop that in the oven for about 2 minutes.

Toppings:
I use a small can (about 5-6 oz.) of tomato sauce and then add spices to it. Garlic powder, cumin & oregano. Then spread a couple of tablespoons on each crust.
Top with a small handful of shredded mozzarella or jack cheese (your preference).
Top with whatever else you want—pepperoni, ground beef, ground sausage, and other veggies.

Bake in oven at 400 for 8-10 minutes until done (I like to use the broiler the last 2 minutes to brown the cheese a bit).
Top with parmesan and red chili flakes if desired.

It’s just that simple. One of things I noticed though is that pepperoni runs about $7 a pound so it’s kind of pricey. I can do Italian sausage for about $2.25 a pound or hamburger for about $1.75 a pound. That way the cheese is the most expensive part. And by the way, the tomato sauce in the small can runs about 50 cents—lots cheaper than jarred pizza sauce or jarred spaghetti sauce.

So, for pizza for 2 the total price (if you use Italian sausage) will be about $3.75. And that’s generously topped and enough pizza to get stuffed. It's not fancy. It's not gourmet. And perhaps not even original. But it's inexpensive and it's good.

Now, here’s a bonus—Cheap Bastid’s All Time Favorite Pizza:
Pepperoni, sliced tomatoes, jalapenos and feta cheese! (No sauce!) It’s an incredible combination and because there’s no sauce, it’s pretty nutritious.

Enjoy!