Monthly Archives: June 2011

Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Maple-Glazed Pork Chops

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients

·         4 teaspoons ancho chili powder

·         1 teaspoon kosher salt

·         6 (10-ounce) center cut bone-in pork chops, about 1-inch thick

·         2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

·         3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

·         1/2 cup butter maple syrup

·         1/2 cup chicken stock

·         Pecans, toasted and chopped, optional garnish

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder and salt and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the pork chops.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until desired doneness, about for 4 to 6 minutes.

In a small skillet, over medium-high heat, add the balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced by half. Stir in the maple syrup and chicken stock. Cook over medium heat until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter and serve with the maple syrup. Garnish with toasted pecans, if desired.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/maple-glazed-pork-chops-recipe/index.html

These pork chops are to die for! Super delicious and goes with almost anything as sides. A great note about this dish is that if you cannot eat regular maple syrup you can use sugar free maple syrup instead. If you do, be sure to keep an eye on the sauce because it will burn much faster than regular maple syrup. I did not use the garnish but I am sure it would be good if you like nuts. For sides with these pork chops I made roasted asparagus and roasted potatoes.

Roasted Potatoes

Ingrediants:

3 small red potatoes per person

salt and pepper

olive oil

parsley

basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut potatoes in halves or quarters. Toss all ingredients together. Lay out on baking sheet and roast in oven for about 30 minutes or until browned.

Tagged , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Oven Roasted Red Snapper with Tomatoes and Black Olives

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients:

Red Snapper Fillets

Can of Crushed Tomatoes

Can of Black Olives

Any seasoning you like such as Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and Dried Thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place Red Snapper in a glass baking dish. Season fish, pour can of tomatoes over fish, and add more seasoning. Spread olives over top. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until fish is cooked through.

This is a great fish dish. Very flavorful, and you can season it as much as you want. Serve with rice pilaf and a fresh vegetable for a nice meal. This recipe is very simple and most people will like it because it does not have a strong fishy flavor.

Tagged , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Sweet-n-Sour Pork Chops

Ingredients

·         1 tablespoon sesame oil

·         Salt  and ground  black pepper

·         4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops

·         1 cup apricot preserves

·         2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

·         1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork chops all over with salt and black pepper and add to hot pan. Cook chops 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Add apricot preserves, soy sauce and ginger and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer 5 minutes, until pork is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in scallions.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/sweet-n-sour-pork-chops-recipe/index.html

Sautéed Bok Choy

1 head of bok choy (baby is better if you can find it)

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Directions

Add a tablespoon or so of oil in a heated skillet. Place bok choy in pan let cook. Add some soy sauce for flavor, and let bok choy brown a little.

The original pork chop recipe called for ginger but I do not like ginger so I left it out. These pork chops are phenomenal! Sweet, juicy, and tender. Depending on how thick the chops are, they will most likely require a longer cooking time than mentioned above. Be careful not to add the apricot preserves too early because it will burn if you let it cook too long. As a side dish I made sautéed bok choy which is really delicious and goes along with the Asian theme. If you want a starch to go along with these meal, some sort of Asian noodles would be a wonderful addition!

Tagged , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Meatballs

MEATBALLS

Ground meat

Parsley

Oregano

Garlic powder

Basil

Pepper

Italian bread crumbs

Mix together with hands and shape into balls. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

This recipe is simple and delicious! For tender, juicy meatballs, place meatballs in a saucepan with the tomato sauce and let simmer before serving. The meatballs will absorb some of the sauce flavor. This dish is a crowd pleaser!

Tagged , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

LATKES!!!

Yummy, who doesn’t love a Hannukah treat? This is my own recipe for latkes which is very much a guesstimation. You can easily play with this recipe to make it your own!

1 large onion

8 large russet potatoes

1 or 2 beaten eggs

salt and pepper

vegetable oil

Wash and peel all the potatoes. In a large bowl, grate the potatoes. Peel onion and grate into same large bowl. Add 1 or 2 beaten eggs to help hold together the latkes. Add salt and pepper to taste (don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of salt because you usually can’t taste it very much). Mix it up and taste the mixture, it should taste as it will once fried (so you can adjust the seasoning). In a large skillet, heat up some vegetable oil. Using your hands, take the mixture and make patties about the size of your palm. If you want them crispier, make them thinner. If you want them moister in the middle, make them plumper. Place patties in skillet and fry until golden brown. The longer you leave the the latke in the pan, the crisper it will be. Serve with apple sauce and enjoy!

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Aunt Sandra’s Stuffing

My Aunt Sandra’s Stuffing

5 lbs onions

6 or more cloves of garlic

1 lbs white button mushrooms

1 box sourdough bread stuffing mix

1 bunch fresh dill

2 eggs

Chicken stock

Basil

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Cut onions into small pieces and saute with a drop of olive oil. Cook for until transluscent and add chopped garlic and salt and pepper. Saute for another 5 minutes then set mixture aside.

Cut mushrooms into quarters. Either reusing the same pan or in a new pan add more olive oil and saute with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms get juicy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the box of stuffing mix, mushrooms, and onion mixture. Add 2 eggs, chopped dill, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together using hands. Add a splash of chicken stock to keep the mixture moist. Taste the mixture- it should taste how it will be once cooked. Adjust seasoning as needed.

In a large baking dish, sprinkle some olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Spread the Stuffing mixture in the pan. In a 350 degree oven, let the mixture bake for anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. The longer you let it bake, the crunchier the top will become.

 

 

This stuffing recipe is extremely delicious. My Aunt Sandra has been making it for as long as I can remember. It easily feeds 30 people. It is moist and full of flavor and very savory. Goes well with anything served at Thanksgiving dinner!

Tagged , , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Roasted Root Vegetables

Happy Thanksgiving!

Above is a photo of part of my family’s Thanksgiving dinner spread. Directly to the right of the turkey is the roasted root vegetables I made. It is super easy to make and is great for feeding many people. Another great thing is that you can easily pick and choose what you put into the dish.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Baby carrots

Parsnips

Small red potatoes

Whole garlic cloves

Rutabaga

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Parsley for garnish

Use as much of each vegetable as you desire

Cut all bigger vegetables into 1 inch chunks. Spread throughout a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss vegetables. Roast in oven at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until tender. Garnish with parsley.

Tagged , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Greek Shrimp & Couscous

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients

·         1 (10-ounce) package couscous

·         2 teaspoons olive oil

·         1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed, peeled and de-veined

·         1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes  with green pepper and onion, drained

·         1/2 cup Greek black olives, pitted and chopped

·         1 tablespoon dried mint leaves

·         1 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         Salt  and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook couscous according to package directions. In a separate pan, add olive oil and shrimp. Add tomatoes, olives, mint, garlic and herb seasoning, and oregano. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes to cook shrimp and heat through. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour over couscous and serve.

Recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/greek-shrimp-and-couscous-recipe/index.html

This was very delicious and simple. I made this dinner with my roomate and we both enjoyed it. We used a can of diced tomatoes but not with peppers and onion. As a side dish we had roasted broccoli which is very simple.

Broccoli:

Cut broccoli into small pieces and spread out on a baking sheet. Drizzle EVOO and sea salt or kosher salt over broccoli and put in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until done to your liking (personally, I think it is best when it is slightly burned).

Tagged , , , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Easy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

·         1 pound dried penne

·         2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         3 cloves garlic, sliced

·         1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

·         2 lemons, juiced

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together.

Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.

Found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/easy-lemon-pasta-with-chicken-recipe/index.html

By far this recipe is one of the easiest I have ever made. I did a few things differently than the recipe calls for. First off, I sliced the chicken before cooking it so each individual piece would cook a bit faster. I also used a few tablespoons of EVOO to cook the chicken. I did not have any garlic cloves so I used some garlic powder, which worked fine. On the same note I did not have any fresh parsley so I used dry parsley. Using dry seasonings makes this an easy dish to pull together without having to go to the grocery store. A nice way to make this dish a little healthier is to use whole wheat penne which also adds a nice flavor. Lastly, I added a package of frozen spinach to add some green to the dish. Microwave a package of frozen spinach, wring out any water, and add to the olive oil mixture before adding the pasta. Overall this was a super delicious and easy dish to make!

Tagged , , ,
Jun 26 2011
Leave a comment
Old Blog, Recipes

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Very rich and delicious, baked shrimp scampi is a treat. This recipe has a lot of butter in it, so if you prefer you can substitute half of the butter with olive oil (which is what I did). Also, save yourself the trouble of peeling the shrimp and buy already peeled and de-veined shrimp. This dish was very delicious and can be served with pasta or rice.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
  • 1/4 cup minced shallots
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

I found this recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/baked-shrimp-scampi-recipe/index.html

Tagged , , , , ,
← Older posts