Balsamic Honey Glazed Pork Chops

I was trying to figure out what to do with the huge Costco boneless pork chops that I had taken out for dinner.  I turned to foodgawker yet again.  I found this amazing recipe and followed it to a tee.  I would cut the cook time by 1 minute per side next time but other than that, this pork recipe is delish!

Ingredients (3 servings)

• 3 pork chops, 20 minutes removed from fridge
• 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• herbs de Provence
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat and season both sides of chops with herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Sear the pork on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Turn heat to medium and add vinegar. Let reduce by half and stir in honey.

Add back the pork chops, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes, flipping the pork half way through, being sure to coat the chops with the sauce.

Serve with drizzle of reducing liquid.

Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

A friend of ours brought this side dish to a group dinner and to be polite, I thought I should try it.  In my head I was thinking, "brussel sprouts????".  I am SO glad I tried them!  These have become an almost weekly side in our house.  B LOVES them!  I'm sure the kids at school don't believe that she actually eats brussel sprouts!!
I've made them with both pancetta and bacon.  Either way - they are amazing!

Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

Ingredients:
2 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 to 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
10 oz. Brussels sprouts (about 18 medium sprouts), trimmed and halved through the core
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
Kosher salt

Directions:
In a heavy 10-inch straight-sided saute pan set over medium- low heat, slowly cook the pancetta in 1 Tbs. of the oil until golden and crisp all over, 10 to 15 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the fat behind. You should have about 2 Tbs. of fat in the pan; if not, add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Have ready 1/2 cup water. Put the pan over medium-high heat and arrange the sprouts cut side down in a single layer. Cook undisturbed until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes. When the sprouts are browned, add the water to the pan, cover immediately, and simmer until the sprouts are tender when poked with a fork or skewer, about 3 minutes. (If the water evaporates before the sprouts get tender, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the sprouts to a plate.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and if any water remains, let it boil off. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few grinds of pepper. Boil the vinegar until its reduced to about 2 Tbs. and looks lightly syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the butter, and stir until melted. Return the sprouts and pancetta to the pan and swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the sprouts with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and more pepper and serve.

Baked Potato Fries

Who doesn't love french fries??  I wanted to find a way to make them that would be slightly healthier than actually "fried".  I found a recipe here that is for baking them.  I added some Old Bay (love fries with Old Bay!) and they turned out pretty good!  We've had them a couple of times.  An easy side for burgers or steak!

Ingredients:

6 Russet Potatoes cut into lengthwise quarters

6 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper
Old Bay, to taste

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add your oil to a baking sheet with sides.

Cut each potato into 8 wedges. Combine all dry ingredients into bag–either ziplock or paper,  and add a few potatoes at a time. Shake to coat well. Place the potatoes coated side down into the oil in the pan.

Continue doing this until all the potatoes have been coated and placed in the oil. Bake for about 20 minutes and then pull out and flip over on the other side. Bake for an extra 20 minutes. Pull wedges out of the oven and then sprinkle with alittle kosher salt. Serve hot.

Oven Roasted Pork Loin Roast

M doesn't love pork tenderloin (B & I do) but I was trying to have a nice dinner prepared when he came home from his shift.  So, I picked up a 2lb pork loin roast from Trader Joe's and after looking through some recipes came up with this version of my own.  I've made it a couple of times since and it's absolutely delicious!  The pork turns out very moist and tender.

Boneless Pork Loin Roast

Ingredients:
2lb boneless pork loin roast
Olive Oil
McCormick's Grill Mates Cowboy Rub

Directions- Preheat oven to 475 degrees
- Rinse and pat dry the pork roast
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the roast & rub in the McCormick's rub on each side
- Place on rack in roasting pan (I don't have a small one so I just put the roast on aluminum foil balls so it wouldn't sit directly on the bottom of the pan)
- Roast in oven for 15 minutes then turn the heat back to 400 degrees and roast for another 35 minutes
- The meat should be 155 degrees when done
- Remove from oven; tent the pork and let it rest for 10-15 minutes

Crock Pot French Dip

This recipe has proven to be a real crowd pleaser!  I have made this for friends; neighbors; relatives and everyone raves about it.  It's so easy yet tastes delish!  One warning though, if you're home while it's cooking, don't be shocked if you find yourself starving all day while you smell it!  (I made this mistake once!)  I found the recipe here.  There was one tidbit I found on a different site about searing the meat that I incorporate into this recipe too.  

Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion
3/4 cup beef broth/stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp creole mustard
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
about 3lb chuck roast
salt
pepper
6-8 sandwich rolls, split
6-8 slices of provolone or swiss cheese


Directions:
Slice the onion into 1/4-inch rounds. Keeping the rounds intact, place them in the bottom of the crockpot. Whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic to the crockpot, add to the crockpot over the onions. 



Salt & pepper both sides of the roast.  Heat a pan on the stove and sear the roast on each side (about 2 min / side).



Cook on low 6-7 hours until beef is fall-apart tender.

Once the meat is done cooking, transfer the roast to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Remove the onions and set aside. Strain the juice into a large "defatter" measuring cup and get rid of the oil that collects on top (I just used my mesh sieve).

Heat the broiler. Place the split sandwich rolls on a lined baking sheet and toast for 1 minute or just until the bread begins to brown. Remove the tops from the pan. Scoop the shredded beef onto the bottom of the rolls and top with cheese. Return to the oven just until cheese is melted. Top with sandwich halves and serves with small bowls of juice.

Nacho Pie (aka - Comfort Food)

I began this journey of finding yummy / kid friendly recipes over the winter and tripped on one for Nacho Pie.  It's pretty easy to throw together and everyone loved it!  I tried to lessen the fat content and used Low Fat crescent roll dough.  I'd make this again - but it's not something that we will do that often just because of the heaviness.

Nacho Pie
via mommyskitchen.net

Ingredients:1 lb Ground Beef, browned (you can use ground turkey to make it less fat)
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 - 8oz Can Tomato Sauce
¾ Cup Water
1 - Packet Taco Seasoning Mix
1 - Tube Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough (I used low fat)
1 1/2 Cup Crushed Corn Doritos or Any Brand Corn Tortilla Chips
1/2 cup Sour Cream (I used low fat)
1 - Cup Kraft Mexican Cheese Blend
Optional: additional sour cream for garnish, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 in large skillet brown beef and onion over medium heat till done. Drain off any grease. Stir in tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Separate Crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Place in greased 9 inch pie plate points facing towards the middle. You might have to maneuver the triangles a bit at the end and turn some of them side ways, that's OK as long as the pie plate is covered completely. Press onto bottom and up sides of plate to form crust. Seal perforations. Sprinkle 1 cup crushed Doritos over crust. Top with meat mixture. Using a spatula spread sour cream over meat. Sprinkle the Cheese and then remaining 1/2 cup crushed Doritos. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until cheese melts, pie is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting. Add a dollop of sour cream, diced tomatoes and black olives for garnish. If the crust starts to brown to quickly cover the pie plate with foil from the bottom and up around the sides to cover crust

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have been addicted to Foodgawker lately and love to try new things.  B had standardized testing last week at school and the teacher asked for "healthy" snacks to be brought in.  I heard how much sugar (among other things) was in the granola bars you buy at the store so I decided to find a better solution & make my own.  I found a recipe here and added a couple of things to them that I knew B would like.  I've been experimenting by making a half batch one way and another half a different way.  This past one, I melted the marshmallows (like you do for rice crispy treats) and added them into 1/2 of the batch.  I really liked it with the melted marshmallows - but B still likes the whole ones.  I guess I'll be making half batches (to satisfy both of us)!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (I just estimate the amount)
Couple handfuls of mini marshmallows

Directions:

1.Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir the oats and rice cereal together; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar, honey, and butter together over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  If you want to melt the marshmallows, I just had a 2nd sauce pan on the burner with them at the same time.    

3. Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour the oat mixture into the prepared pan and press down to ensure that the ingredients are tightly compacted in the pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the miniature chocolate chips and press down on the top lightly with the back of a spoon.

4. Cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Beer Can Chicken

Last night, I made Beer Can Chicken.  This is one of those meals that you can't really mess up (which is why I love it!).  It's a simple - prep it; put it on the grill and forget about it for 75 minutes!

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
McCormicks(R) Cowboy Rub
1 Whole Chicken
1 can beer (opened and half full) - I used a 16 oz can because this chicken was pretty big

Directions:
Light grill and prepare for indirect medium heat (outside burners on but not center)
Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry
Remove giblets
Rub olive oil over the entire chicken
Sprinkle the rub over the entire chicken
Place chicken on top of half full beer can
Carefully get the chicken to the grill and place in the center (over a non-lit burner)
Ensure the chicken will stand on the beer can
Cover and let it cook for 75 minutes
Take chicken off grill and let it rest for about 5 minutes

I served this with roasted sweet potatoes and a salad.