Pork Medallions

If anyone is there.....here is a delicious recipe someone gave me!! Apparently I like pork.


Pork Medallions

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire
6 oz pineapple juice
1 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Cut pork loin into medallions. Marinade in sauce as long as desired. Grill medallions and boil marinade to serve as gravy.

Mexicali Pork Chops

These are really easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 pork loin chops

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1/4 c. chopped onion

1 16oz. can diced tomatoes

1 8oz. can corn, drained

1 8oz. can red kidney beans, drained

1/2 c. long grain rice

1/2 c. water

1 4oz. can mild green chili peppers; rinsed, seeded and chopped

3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat from chops, in a skillet cook fat trimmings till 2 lb. accumulate. Discard trimmings. Brown chops on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and set chops aside. Reserve drippings in skillet.

2. Cook green pepper and onion in reserved drippings til tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained corn and beans, uncooked rice, water, chili peppers, and salt. Bring to a boil.

3. Turn mixture into a 12x7.5x2 baking dish. Arrange chops on top.

4. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

5. Uncover and bake 10-15 min. more until meat is tender.

6. Enjoy.

Glazed Bundt Cake

Okay, I apologize for my delinquency in posting! But... all the rest of you, where are you? I am in sore need of some delicious recipes this summer! 

But back to the recipe. I found this on another site, so it's really just a transfer. But oooh, boy, is it yummy. Here you are: 

The Cake: 

1 yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup pinapple or orange juice 

1/2 cup oil
1 cup sour cream 
4 eggs

Mix the cake mix and the vanilla pudding. Add the juice, oil, and sour cream and mix. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mixing well between each. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (don't overbake!).

When the cake is about 10 minutes from being done start the glaze.

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter (1 cube)

Bring ingredients to a boil and keep the glaze bubbling until ready to pour over the cake. Pour the glaze over the cake while it is still in the pan. Now, the next part is essential: give it a few minutes to soak in. After it's significantly cooler, turn it out onto a plate. 

Optional: dust top with powdered sugar.

Also optional: try throwing some poppyseeds in the mix! 

Apparently you can take that same basic cake recipe up there and use any type of cake mix, along with different flavors of instant pudding and mix-ins, and you will get the same super moist, delicious bundt cake in whatever flavor you want. It is seriously amazing. SO moist and yummy. The glaze is absolutely essential too. So don't even think about leaving it out. Yes, there is a stick of butter in it, but it just soaks into the cake and makes it that much more delicious. Try it, you will see what I mean! 

Yummy Blender Salsa

This is a great recipe for those who love chips and salsa-- like me-- but have a really hard time finding salsa in the store that is just right. With this recipe you can adjust the ratios to have it more tomato-y or more onion-y or more garlic-y or more cilantro-y... you get the picture. Here it is:

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (get one with peppers included if you want!)

1/3-1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 c. fresh cilantro

1 garlic clove, chopped

juice of 1 lime

salt to taste

Put all of these ingredients in the blender and mix to your heart's content. You can leave it as chunky, or make it as smooth, as you prefer. I tend to like my salsa a little less tomato-y, so I put in more cilantro and onion. The first time I made it, it turned out perfect-- and I haven't been able to get the exact same combination of ingredients again, no matter what I try! So, a word to the wise-- write down your combinations as you try them so you will have it for later.

I love this stuff!

Fried Chicken and Gravy

Ok, so maybe you are all experts at cooking chicken, but my chicken-cooking track record hasn't been that great. It always came out of the oven kind of...chickeny; a rubbery, chickeny sort of taste. Yuck. So imagine how happy I was when, after doing some internet research on the art of cooking chicken, I came across this recipe for fried chicken, tried it out, and almost fell off my chair when I took the first bite because it was delicious!! One tip (which I learned during my internet research) that seemed to work well for us was to brine the chicken breasts for just 20 minutes or so before coating them. (Brining = immersing them in a salt water solution of 1/2 cup kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt) in two quarts of water).

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup paprika (I didn't actually use this because we didn't have any)
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp pepper
1 Tbsp ground mustard
1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground ginger (didn't have this either)
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Additional Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
4-6 chicken breasts
vegetable oil

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; mix well. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

To prepare chicken: In a large skillet, heat 1/2 in. of oil over medium-high heat. (Oil should be fairly hot before you put the chicken in; this prevents the chicken soaking up oil and getting soggy.) Place about 3/4 cup of coating in a large resealable plastic bag. In a shallow dish, beat eggs and milk. Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture, then place in the bag. Seal and shake until coated. Brown chicken on all sides, cooking until done. Place chicken on a cooling rack (like for cookies) with something underneath to drip onto. (Again, this keeps the coating crispy.)

Gravy:

Whisk 1-2 Tbsp of the leftover coating mixture with milk, bring to a slow boil and allow to thicken. Delicious over the chicken and mashed potatoes!!

Sausage Mushroom Crustless Quiche

Hello food-loving friends! It's been a while, but don't worry, I have not forgotten you. I first want to give a shout-out to the recipe posted by Vinestreet for the spicy honey glazed chicken-- I tried it this week and thought it was amazing. And now, without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce you to:

Sausage Mushroom Crustless Quiche

1/2 medium onion, diced (1/2 cup)
6-oz mushrooms, sliced (1 cup)
approx 1 - 1 1/2 cups diced sausage, cooked (I used a normal 12 oz. package of low-fat sausage)
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a 9-inch pie plate).
In a medium frying pan, cook onion and mushrooms with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until onions are translucent and tender, and mushrooms are browned. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in mushroom mixture and diced, cooked sausages.
Pour quiche base into prepared pan. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes (30-35 minutes in a pie plate), or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
Let set for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Serves 4.
salt and pepper, to taste

This was so yummy! You can use any combo of meat and vegetables, but the sausage mushroom combo is a winner. I love love love that it is crustless-- way less fat, but it forms its own crust when it bakes, so it's still stable enough to be cut and served. Be warned: I sprayed the pan w/cooking spray, but that wasn't enough because it still stuck to the pie pan a little. Also, Mark seasoned the sausage with some ginger, crushed red pepper, etc. It really made it tasty. 

Enjoy! 

Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken

My new favorite cookbook is Saving Dinner, by Leanne Ely. I had to pay an overdue fine at the library because I just can't bear to return it. And I haven't had time to copy all the recipes we love from it, out onto paper. This lady is a nutritionist, so all the meals are incredibly healthy, but also incredibly tasty.

Here is one of our new favorites: Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken.

1/2 c. honey
2 TBSP. frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (take out your kids' portions before putting this in. It's not really that hot, but warmth is more than the average child probably likes)
1 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, chopped
green onions, chopped

Combine honey, OJ, and garlic in a small bowl. (If no children are eating add the red pepper flakes now as well.)

In a skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat, add chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and brown the chicken.

Add honey mixture to the skillet and cook, turning to thoroughly coat the chicken. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. (At this point you can take out childrens' portion and then sprinkle in some red pepper flakes.)

To serve, place chicken on plate, spoon sauce over the top and sprinkle with cilantro and green onions.

Serve with brown or white rice, steamed broccoli, or baked butternut squash.
Enjoy! This is honestly one of the most flavorful recipes I own now. The orange juice, honey, and garlic are a great combination.