Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage & Apple Slaw

Not much to say besides YUM! I'm not a fan of coleslaw, but this cabbage and apple slaw was good. It wasn't creamy or heavy like coleslaw, it was light and full of flavor! I got this from Health magazine.

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (1 1/4 lb total)
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
3/4 tsp black pepper, divided
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 small Napa cabbage, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1 crisp red apple cut into thin wedges
1/4 c fresh cilantro sprigs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 4oo degrees.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat. Season pork with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper; cook, turning occasionally for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned.

Put skillet in oven and roast for 12 to 14 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, honey, and remaining salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage and apples. Toss. Let slaw sit for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally. Fold in cilantro and serve with pork.

Hot Artichoke Dip

This was another of my appetizers for my Valentine's Day feast this year. Artichoke dip is one of Paul's favorite things, and this recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook, so I just knew it would be a hit. :) It's nice, simple, and flavorful.

I served it with blue tortilla chips and some tiny bread slices (I think it's called cocktail size or something...I can't remember). I preferred the bread, and Paul preferred the chips. ;)

Hot Artichoke Dip

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

2 cans (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 c. mayonnaise

2 green onions, chopped (the whole thing)

1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

dash of salt

cayenne pepper, to taste

black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place one can of artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mayonnaise, green onions, and cayenne pepper in a food processor (batches in a blender will also work). Pulse mixture 6 or 7 times until well combined but not liquefied. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Roughly chop the second can of artichokes into bite sized pieces. Stir chopped artichokes into the dip gently. Spread mixture into an oven safe dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly.

Fruit Dip

This recipe goes way back to Valentine's Day. :) I wanted to have a fruit plate with dip as one of our appetizers (for some reason I thought the two of us needed three appetizers...who knows what I was thinking!). I did a quick search on allrecipes.com, and found literally hundreds of options. I knew Paul wouldn't like anything that had marshmallow fluff in it, so that narrowed things down quite a bit.

I finally settled on this recipe. It was very easy, very quick, and very yummy! I just tried to find the original recipe on allrecipes so that I could link to it, but I couldn't find it. Sorry!

Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (smaller size, 3.4 oz)

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. whole milk

Directions:

Whip all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Chill until ready to serve.

I thought this dip was especially good with grapes and tart apples. It's not exactly good for you--ha ha--but it is definitely fun! :)

Turkey Meatloaf & Turnip-Cauliflower Mash

Delicious! The only other meatloaf that I have ever really liked was a cheeseburger meatloaf, but this was YUMMY! We also really liked the Turnip-Cauliflower Mash. I was a little worried about that because I've made cauliflower mashed "potatoes" before and they weren't very good. This mash had the same texture as potatoes and it was SO filling! We will definitely make it again!

Ingredients (for meatloaf & mash):

1 lb. ground turkey

1 c. onion, diced

3/4 c. natural oatmeal

1/2 c. carrots, grated

2 egg whites, whisked

2 tsp Italian seasoning, divided

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (I would use 1, maybe 1 1/2 next time)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp agave nectar

1 head cauliflower, leaves removed and cut into pieces

2 turnips, skin removed and cut into pieces

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried basil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a med. bowl, mix turkey, onion, oatmeal, carrots, egg whites, 1 tsp Italian seasonings and cayenne. Place mix in a 9-inch loaf pan (I just shaped in a loaf).

In another med. bowl, whisk together tomato paste, vinegar, garlic, 1 tsp Italian seasoning and agave. Spread sauce over meatloaf. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Place turnips in a pan with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes. Steam Cauliflower for 15 minutes in a steam cooker or steamer over a pot filled with 2 inches of water over med-high heat.

In a large bowl, mash together cauliflower, turnips, oil, basil, salt and pepper (I added a little bit of minced garlic to this too). We actually just stuck everything in the blender and pulsed for a bit.

This recipe came from Clean Eating Magazine, July/August 2009. Love this Mag!

Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

10 grape tomatoes, halved

1 red bell pepper, seeded & thinly sliced

1/2 c. diced green pepper

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (I used dried Italian seasonings)

Dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard (I used brown)

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Wash green beans. Drop beans into a pot of boiling water. Cook until crisp, about 4 minutes.

Drain water and let beans cool. Add tomatoes, peppers, and parsley.

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, oil, and lemon juice. Add pepper and salt. Stir well.

Pour the dressing over the salad, then toss. Cover and refrigerate for an hour until chilled.

*I didn't want to wait an hour. So we ate right after and it was yummy warm. If you wanted to, you could add shrimp. Or if you're not up for seafood, it would be good with grilled chicken as well.

Roasted Red Potato Wedges

Brian requested that we have potato wedges last week, so I used the opportunity to look for a good new recipe.  This recipe is not only very simple and easy, but very delicious!  I recommend serving these with steak/chicken and salad.  We just had them with salad and called it a meal.  They're crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.  I changed the recipe but here is the original.

 

Ingredients:

4 large red potatoes, cut into wedges

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

Directions:
Wash and slice potato in wedges and place in 9X13 glass dish.  Combine melted butter, garlic, salt, and pepper in bowl and pour over potatoes.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and toss to coat (I just used my hands and got the potatoes really coated...but it's messy that way).  Cook at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, turning the potatoes once halfway through cooking time.

*It actually only took about 35 minutes when I made them.  Just cook them until they're brown and crisp.

Bride's Biscuits

(Again, sorry no pictures)
From the Essential Mormon Cookbook (Stan says it should be one of our standard works- I love most all the recipes-esp. the corn bread- just typing that makes me want to eat another warm slice with butter and honey)

I like these biscuits because you can leave them in the fridge for up to one week and make them as desired. Also, they fluff up really nice and do those layers like Grand's biscuits do.

1pgk dry yeast
1/2 c warm water
5 c flour
3 TBS sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c shortening or butter (I used shortening and they turned out really well)
2 c. buttermilk (remember you can make it easy 1TBS of lemon juice per c of buttermilk in recipe and then fill cup with enough milk to equal the liquid amount. sit for 10 min. before using

dissolve yeast in warm water. let stand 10 min (if making buttermilk do so now)
sift dry ingred. tog. cut in shortening.
comb. buttermilk and yeast mixture- add to dry ingred. working only until moistened
cover and refrig. several hours or up to a week
carefully roll out onto well floured surface 1/2 in thick (I worked the dough with flour before rolling it out to get the consistency I needed)
Cut with biscuit cutter (or a glass like I do)
bake on greased sheets for 15 min at 400* F

Makes 3 dozen biscuits

Big Noodle Soup

This is a chicken noodle soup that Brian had growing up and they called it big noodle soup, referring to the homemade noodles. As you can tell from the picture, Brian likes more stuff in his soup than broth. I always have more broth.

This recipe is more for the noodles than for the actual soup. I don't have an amazing soup recipe. It always tastes good, but it's just basic. You boil a chicken breast until cooked and then shred it. Meanwhile boil some water and add the veggies/onion and how ever many bouillon cubes for the amount of water. Once you give the veggies a few minutes add the chicken and cook the noodles.

Noodles:

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Directions:
Measure flour into bowl; make a well in center and add eggs and salt. With hands, thoroughly mix egg into flour. Add water and mix. If you need more water, add it a little at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic...about 10 minutes. Roll dough paper thin (make sure to coat surface with flour). Cut noodles to desired thickness (a good way to do this is with a pizza cutter). Put into boiling soup and cook for 12-15 minutes.

*I've never made these noodles, Brian always does it. So, hopefully I got the directions right and it's not too hard.

Easy Breadsticks

We served it with breadsticks and they were delicious. You just let some rhodes rolls (one per breadstick) sit out until they are defrosted but still cold (you can microwave them a little if you're in a hurry). Then you roll them into skinny strips and line them up on a cookie sheet. Let them rise until doubled in size (just like you would with rolls). When they're ready to go in the oven you coat them with melted butter. Bake them for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until golden brown. When you pull them out put another coat of melted butter on them. There is a very similar recipe on the bag of rolls as well.

Oven Fried Vegetable Sticks

I loved this side! I've been on a side kick I guess. Eli and I were given a ton of veggies including squash from a friend's garden. I got confused and though we had zucchini, but it was an orange squash (the one that curls around). It still tasted good, but I bet it would taste better with the zucchini.

I served this with pork that I rubbed with olive oil and an herb-bell pepper rub. It's from pampered chef. Definitely a good investment. We also had regular egg noodles with a little butter, salt, and pepper. It was all yummy and way easy.

Oven Fried Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients:
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 medium zucchini
1/2 cup milk or water
1 cup spaghetti sauce or low fat ranch dressing (I didn't use this, but I bet it would be good!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place crumbs, cheese and seasoning into plastic bag; shaketo combine.

Cut zucchini into sticks. Fill shallow bowl with milk (I used the water for less calories). Dip sticks into milk and shake in crumbs to coat. Bake on sheet 10-15 minutes or until brown.

Serve with spaghetti sauce or dressing.

Steak with Crispy Potatoes

Yum! I loved these potatoes! They had just enough hint of garlic. I think this would be good on french fries too. I have a french fry cutter, but you could just slice the potatoes.

On Britta's website she uses skirt steak cooked medium rare. I like my meat a cooked medium well. I used a dry canadian steak seasoning for my marinade. I rubbed some olive oil on the meat and the rubbed on the seasoning and cooked on a skillet.

Crispy Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound red new potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Finely chop garlic, and sprinkle with salt. Using a chef's knife, press flat side of blade back and forth across garlic to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl; add thyme and oil and stir to combine.

On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with garlic mixture; bake until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pisto Manchego with Eggs

So, this week's dinners have gotten all switched around. I'm no longer even paying attention to what day I had planned on making something. I'm still on track for cooking them all, though! Last night I took a deep breath and decided to give this recipe a whirl. My vegetarian friend, Lisa (how do you like that title, Lisa? ;) ), linked to this recipe in a comment on my last menu when I asked for vegetarian suggestions. It's a recipe from the NY Times, and it can be found here.

I'm going to post it here as well with my own words tossed in for clarification and insights into my experience last night.

Pisto Manchego with Eggs
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds zucchini, or a combination of green and yellow summer squash, diced
2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can, drained and chopped (see note below)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste (a generous amount, at least 1 teaspoon)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs

Note: When you seed the tomatoes, set a strainer over a bowl. Squeeze the seeds into the strainer, then press the pulp and juice through the strainer into the bowl. Discard the seeds and use the juice as described below.

Jennie's additional Note: This whole tomato process seemed too complicated for me, so I just bought a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes and drained the juice. ;)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet over medium heat, then add the onion. Stir often, until just about tender — about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute or two until fragrant. Stir in the squash and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and toss together for five minutes, until the squash is coated with oil and beginning to soften.

Add the tomatoes and sugar, then salt to taste (3/4 to 1 teaspoon) and turn the heat to medium-high. Stir often for five to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have slightly cooked down.

Add the juice from the tomatoes plus 1/4 cup water, stir together, and turn the heat back down to medium-low. Cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and easy to mash. Stir often, and add water as necessary, every 10 minutes or so, until the mixture cooks down and begins to stick to the pan. (Note from Jennie: I didn't add water the entire time other than the first 1/4 cup. I think canned tomatoes have plenty of liquid. It probably would have even been fine without that first 1/4 cup as mine ended up a tad runny.) From time to time, press on the squash with the back of your spoon so that it breaks down. (My squash did break down a bit, but I think it would have been better if I had been patient and chopped my squash into smaller pieces.) Taste, adjust the salt, and add lots of pepper.

Using the back of your spoon, make six wells in the vegetable mixture and break an egg into each well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the pan, and cook until the eggs have set, about six to eight minutes (the whites should be set, but the yolks should still be runny). Serve, using a spatula to dish out portions of pisto topped with an egg (we ate ours in bowls).

Ok, my experience with the eggs was a little different. My vegetable mixture wasn't thick enough to form wells and have them stay that way. Instead, I made a well with my spoon and had Paul crack an egg into it, one at a time. Also, I was paranoid about the eggs being cooked all the way, so my yolks ended up being cooked through. I let it cook for the whole eight minutes and I had the heat between medium and medium-low. I think they would have been perfect after six minutes.

Despite not being much to look at, this dinner was very flavorful and delicious! I enjoyed it a lot. I must admit that I didn't expect to like it as much as I did (I usually don't like squash that much). I highly recommend it, and it's not as hard as it looks.

*I'm giving this one a medium difficulty level. However, if you ask me, it would move into the hard category if you seeded and juiced your own tomatoes. But maybe that's just me. ;)

**Also, the website says you can use this recipe as a side dish without the eggs. I don't know if I'd want to put that much effort into a side dish, but if I got it to the simmering point and then cooked a main dish, it might work out just fine.

Crispy Breaded Pork and Creamy Corn

I got this recipe straight from Chef Britta (thanks for introducing us to her website, Mandy!).


Crispy Breaded Pork

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs that can be found in the international foods isle)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless pork loin chops
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss panko with oil. Bake, tossing once or twice, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, place chops between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound to make 1/4-inch-thick cutlets. Dividing evenly, coat pork with mustard; season with salt and pepper. One at a time, dip cutlets into panko, pressing firmly to adhere. Place a rack on a rimmed baking sheet; place pork on rack, and bake, without turning, until opaque throughout, 15 minutes.

Creamy Corn

Ingredients:
16 ounces frozen corn kernels
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
3 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
salt and pepper

Directions:
While pork is in the oven, place corn and milk in a medium saucepan, simmer over medium heat until corn is tender, 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

Here's the link directly to this recipe on Chef Britta's site: link

I really love her website and the way she writes recipes. They are very clear and easy to understand. I especially like that she takes pictures of the steps along the way.

As for this recipe, it was pretty good! The pork turned out great. It was nice and moist and very flavorful. The dijon mustard flavor came out a bit too strong for my taste, but Paul loved it. The corn was delicious, but very intensely creamy. I couldn't handle too much of it at once. We'll probably make the pork chops again. I even wonder if it would work with other sauces instead of dijon mustard? I might try sweet and sour sauce.

Crockpot Lasagna & CHEESE BREAD

Yum-O! Eli and I loved this lasagna. Thanks for posting that recipe Amanda. I thought I'd do it justice and post a picture of it too. It was so stinkin' easy to make. I decided that I needed some cheese bread to go along with it, so I did a search on cooks.com and found a good one. I think next time I'll make these in a muffin pan. The bread is really good with ranch or some oil w/ parmesan cheese. Thanks for all the AMAZING ideas ladies!

Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

2 c flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c butter, melted

1 c milk

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in Cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Mix together eggs, butter and milk. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir only until moistened. Batter will be somewhat lumpy. Do not over mix.

Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan. Smooth down the center with a wet spatula to flatten top. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.

Bake about 40 minutes.

Serve warm, or sprinkled with cheese and toasted the next day.

Ground Turkey Patties & Twice Baked Potato Bites

This dinner turned out a lot better than I expected. Eli really enjoyed it! The original recipe calls for ground pork, but I like turkey a lot more. It's a little more lean than pork. I would definitely take any extra sauce and slather the patties with it, but that's just me. I really liked it. Also, start the potatoes first. While the potatoes are cooking prepare everything else, but don't start cooking the patties until you bake the potatoes the second time. Enjoy!

Ground Turkey Patties

Ingredients:
12 oz. lean ground turkey
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 tsp seasoned salt (LAWRY'S)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c apple juice
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dried sage, crushed
3 c shredded lettuce (garnish & salad)
roma tomatoes

Directions:
In a bowl combine turkey, green onions, seasoned salt, and apper. Shape meat mixture into four 1/2 inch patties. In a large skillet cook patties over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 5 minutes more. Pour off any drippings.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan combine apple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, and sage. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Turn patties again; brush with some of the sauce. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes more or until done.

To seve, divide shredded lettuce among plates. Add a patty to each plate. Top each with more sauce. Garnish with tomato slices.

Twice Baked Potato Bites (Chef Britta)

Ingredients:
10-14 red new potatoes (small), halved
1 TBSP olive oil
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 c snipped fresh chives, plus more for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each potato half so they rest flat.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss with olive oil; season with salt and pepper, and arrange bottom side down.

Bake until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on sheet.

When cool enough, using a melon baller, scoop out about a teaspoon from the center of each potato and place in a bowl.Add sour cream and chives to the bowl with potato centers and mash; season with salt and pepper.Stuff potatoes with filling.

Bake potatoes at 450 until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Rice & Beans

(ignore the date; it's wrong)

I tried out Paula's chicken chalupas, the casserole version, and it was delicious! Since she's already posted that recipe (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), I figured I could post the recipe for my rice and Eli's beans. Be cautious with this! I've never had a recipe for the rice (neither has my mom) and Eli hasn't had a recipe for his beans , so we've tried our best!

Rice

Ingredients:
2 TBSP oil (about)
1/2 onion, diced
1 good-sized garlic clove
2 c. long-grain, enriched, extra fancy white rice
8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 c. water
1 TBSP chicken bouillon powder
season w/ salt (cup your hand and fill the bottom of your palm)

Directions:
Heat oil in pan. Add diced onion and garlic clove. Sautee until onion is clear and garlic is fragrant. Add rice. Sautee, but do not burn! Add tomato sauce. Stir until mixed well with rice. Add water. Bring everything to a boil while adding chicken bouillon and salt. When it comes to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Cook about 20 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. There should be holes in the rice. Makes about 4-6 servings.

Eli's Refried Beans

Ingredients:
3 cans pinto beans with bacon, partially drained
about 1/2 stick of butter, softened
about 1/3 c. milk
season salt (we like Lawry's big red bottle)
pepper

Directions:
Open cans of beans. Drain part of the juice from each can. Add beans to a pot on stove over med-hi heat. Add butter and milk. Everything should look kind of soupy. Be generous with the season salt and pepper. After everything has heated up a bit, taste it to see if there's enough salt and pepper. Heat through (about 5-10 min)

Take soupy, bean mess and add to a blender. Blend. Or you can use a bean masher (aka a potato smasher) and mash the beans by hand. If your beans are a little too liquidy, let it sit on the stove for a few minutes. It should thicken up. Serve with rice!

3 cans makes enough for about 6 people.

If you make too much of either, they make really great leftovers. You can make quick nachos with them or a bean and rice burrito. They're really good with sunny-side up eggs and a slice of avocado for breakfast. The beans are a little healthier because we actually don't re-fry them in oil. I hope everything turns out well for you!