Week 12~ Pork Chop Marinade

So I am sooooooooooo excited to start trying new BBQ recipes, salads......all the yummy things that the nicer weather will bring!! Bye bye crockpot. LOL

Try this! I marinated my pork chops overnight and they were amazing!!!

4-6 boneless pork chops

1/2 cup orange juice        1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup lime juice             1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 TBS sugar                    1 TBS wine vinegar
1 Tsp sea salt                  1 clove garlic
1/2 TBS pepper              2 TBS green onion
1/2 tsp cumin                  1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp thyme                  1 dried red chile, finely chopped
1/4 c olive oil

I placed the boneless pork and all the spices in a ziplock bag, and marinated all night.

Grilled this and it was so full of flavor!!

Week 12~ Festive Chicken with Asparagus

Asparagus lovers, its in season!!! Try this recipe, you won't be disappointed. :D

4-6 boneless chicken breasts
2 TBS all purpose flour
3 TBS canola oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pound asparagus


~ coat chicken with flour. preheat oven to 37 degrees. using canola oil in a skillet, cook chicken until lightly browned.

~ in a 3 Qt casserole, mix the wine, feta cheese, undiluted cream of chicken soup, and a little pepper. arrange the chicken in the mixture, covering the chicken with some of it.

~ bake for 30 min uncovered.

~ add the cleaned asparagus to the casserole and cover tightly with foil. bake another 15-20 minutes.

This is so simple and delicious!! ENJOY !!

Week 11~Penne Pasta w/Eggplant

So I realized I have not put ANY good italian recipes on my blog!! I have been so busy trying new things, I forgot to share with you something I stumbled across last summer while reading a magazine on the beach! SIGH.

I tried this new marinara after making my sauce basically the same way for years. This is really, really good......and easy.......and healthy!

It makes a good amount, so I can always freeze some for later.

1/4 cup olive oil                                    1/4 cup fresh oregano (approx 1/8 dry)
2 lg onions, finely chopped                    2 cans crushed tomatoes
2 medium carrots, finely chopped          2 cans whole plum tomatoes
8 cloves garlic

My secret is chopping the onions and carrot in my mini food processor. Gets the pieces nice and small so you would not even know there is carrot in the sauce!!

After you finely chop your carrots and onions, add to your olive oil in a skillet. Saute this until tender, approx 15-20 minutes.
Add garlic, oregano and cook for 2 minutes.
Then add your plum tomatoes .. I actually use a potato masher to crush them :) and the other canned tomato.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least an hour.

For the eggplant variation:

Dice one medium eggplant into cubes. Saute in olive oil with pepper 12-15 minutes until golden brown and tender. Add two cups of the above marinara sauce and remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup basil.

Top with fresh mozzerella! Enjoy over penne pasta.

Week 10~ Braised Chipotle Beef

So I keep trying to move away from crockpot recipes, but it was a lousy 43 degrees yesterday. Ugh. I am soooo ready for warmer weather! This was a spicy, fragrant way to make beef in the crockpot! This one is a keeper for sure.

3 pound chuck roast, cut into 2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 large onion cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 TBS chipotle chili powder ( can substitute conventional chili powder)
1TBS paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 TBS ground cumin
3 TBS tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1~ 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1~ pat the beef dry with paper towels, and season with black pepper. Heat 2 TBS of oil over medium high heat. Cook beef in skillet and brown on all sides, transfer to crock pot.

2~ add remaining oil to skillet and saute onions, then bell pepper, and garlic, just until softened.

3~ stir in chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, tomato paste. Transfer to crock pot.

4~ stir beef broth and diced tomatoes in skillet to scrape up any bits from seasonings. Pour over beef in crockpot. Cook on low 7 hours or until the beef is tender.

Server over hot cooked rice.

I could not find chipotle powder at our local farmers market, but did find dried chipotle. (they are jalapenos)
To be sure they wouldn't be too hot, my assistant (hubby) de-seeded them first, then we chopped them up really fine. Only used one and it was plenty hot!

Week 10~ Lemon Chicken

It was so hard for me to pick a new recipe these last two weeks. Having my kids take turns being home from college, they crave their favorite meals, so I have been busy making the traditional things they love!

I have made different variations of this type of chicken, but this one was really easy and smelled fabulous! If you have time, you can marinate the chicken overnight. I soaked mine for about 6 hours.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
4-6 boneless chicken breasts

Mix these ingredients and pour over chicken. Refrigerate and cover for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to cook,  combine the following:
1/2 cup flour
1 TBS lemon zest (from the lemons you squeezed)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Lightly coat your chicken that's been soaking, in the flour mixture. Brown the chicken breasts on each side, then place in a greased baking dish.

Sprinkle1/4 cup brown sugar over the chicken.
Mix 1/2 cup chicken broth with 1/2 cup lemon juice and pour around the chicken. Top each breast with a lemon slice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Bake this dish for approx 30 minutes.

This was perfect with our favorite Basmati Rice, which was cooked in the skillet after the chicken was removed to savor the drippings. Very light and delicious!!

Week 9~ Five Alarm Lentil Soup

It's been over a week since I posted a new recipe!! I've been cooking traditional food for my oldest son who is home from college, so nothing new until today.
I decided to try something from his cookbook titled, The Sriracha Cookbook. If you have NEVER had sriracha, this recipe is SURE to make you sweat!!

2 TBS olive oil                                   3/4 cup sriracha sauce
2 red onions, chopped                        1 ( 14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
3 large carrots, chopped                     1 pound red lentels
5 cloves garlic, minced                        8 cups vegetable stock                
2 TBS paprika                                    fresh ground pepper
3 bay leaves                                        sour cream, for garnish
1 TBS tomato paste                             chopped fresh cilantro or chives, for garnish


So I will have to tell you, the recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup of sriracha, but it was EXTREMELY hot, so I am recommending to cut it back to 1/4 cup. You can always add more in your own bowl of soup!


Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions and carrots. Saute until they begin to soften.

Stir in garlic, paprika, cumin, bay leaves, tomato paste, and Sriracha, until aromatic. Add the tomatoes.

Pour the lentils into the 8 cups of vegetable stock ( in the pot you are going to simmer the soup) and add your vegetable mixture.

Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are softened.

Garnish with a dallop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro. Get ready to sweat!!