Roast Pork with Mustard Herb Coating

I made a boneless pork roast last night with a recipe I found on Epicurious.  I can describe it in 1 word...succulent.  It was absolutely amazing!  Everyone went back for seconds!  I served it with the mashed cheesy cauliflower.  Simply a delicious meal (and super easy to make!!)! 

I made 2 minor adjustments to the original ingredients.  I ommitted bay leaves (because I didn't have any) and I added a thin coating of Italian bread crumbs on top of the mustard coating.  I also adjusted the cooking temp / time based on other roasts I have made.  This turned out perfectly moist and delicious!

(this is before the pork went in the oven)

(this is after the pork came out of the oven and is resting)

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
2 pound boneless pork rib roast
Italian bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
Combine Dijon mustard, minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and rosemary in small bowl; whisk to blend.
Dry pork with paper towels.
Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.
Spread mustard mixture all over pork.
Sprinkle Italian bread crumbs over both sides of the pork
Place pork on rack in baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes then lower the temp to 400 degrees.  Continue baking for 35 more minutes. 
Remove from oven and let the roast stand for 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Mashed Cheesy Cauliflower

I LOVE mashed potatoes...but I realize I shouldn't be eating them in mass quantities.  So, I wanted to try mashed cauliflower.  This recipe calls for adding cheese to thicken up the consistency but eventually I'd like to see if I can cut the calories in this.  It's to die for and honestly, I crave it!!  I've made them 2x in less than a week.  (UGH...better figure out the less calorie version soon!)

I "eye-ball" the amounts of cheese, margarine and milk but I end up with a similar consistency to mashed potatoes.

(the pic doesn't do it justice!)

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets
1 can chicken stock
Margarine
Parmessan Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Milk
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Place cauliflower florets in a pan with 1 can of chicken stock and 1 soup can of water (you can add as much water as needed to cover the cauliflower)
Bring water to a boil then cover and turn back the heat to a simmer. 
Simmer for 10 minutes, then drain
Place drained cauliflower in a bowl that you can use beaters
Add margarine; milk & cheese - a little at a time to ensure you get the right consistency (I never measure this it's just eye balled).  They should look like mashed potatoes
Season with salt & pepper
Serve immediately

Creamy Chicken Pasta with Broccoli Sauce

I wanted a pasta dish but didn't want a heavy sauce.  I found a recipe here after Googling "pasta and chicken" and followed the sauce recipe (mostly).  I probably made the meal more complicated and time consuming than it needed to be because I added shrimp; mushrooms and broccoli to the pasta dish too.  It turned out delicious!  The sauce is very light and tasty!   (I think it'd be fine with just chicken though!)  

Ingredients 
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 package of Baby Bella mushrooms
12 shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 small head of broccoli
2 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp flour
1 shallot, diced
1-2 tsp chopped garlic
Olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (I used low fat)
Old Bay Seasoning
Margarine 

Directions
Cut chicken into bite size pieces
Heat olive oil in a pan and place chicken in pan, season with Salt & Pepper
Cook chicken, turning a few times.  Set aside
In a clean pan, melt 1 tbsp margarine and place shrimp in pan.  Season with Old Bay.  When shrimp start to turn pink, turn them over and season the other side.  Remove from heat after about 3 minutes or when shrimp are pink on both sides.  Set aside.
In a clean pan, melt 1 tbsp margarine and saute mushrooms until they are soft.  Set aside
Boil pot of water for pasta and cook according to package instructions & drain
Cut florets off of broccoli and reserve the stems.  Saute broccoli about 3 minutes before the rest of the meal is complete.

For the sauce:
Chop the broccoli stems into smaller pieces
Over medium heat, drizzle olive oil in pan and add shallot & garlic.  Stir frequently.
Add thyme to the mixture
Add broccoli stems to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes
Stir in white wine and simmer until it's about gone.
Add in the flour & stir
Stir in the chicken broth and milk and bring to a simmer
Simmer until the broccoli is soft
Transfer to a small blender (I used a small food processer) and puree that mixture
Return to pan to keep warm

Combine all of the ingredients and stir to mix everything all together.  

Grilled Rockfish with Herb Butter

We had extra clams from the other night and M really wanted to "save the herb butter sauce".  He picked up some rockfish at the local seafood market and decided to make it with the left over clams and sauce.  It was really amazing!!  The herb sauce can be found on this blog in the Grilled Clams recipe.  He seasoned the fish a little with olive oil and salt / pepper in addition to the butter sauce.

Ingredients:

1lb fillet of rockfish

Herb Butter (already prepared)

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 385 degrees

Season fish with olive oil, salt, pepper

Spread herb butter over top of fish

Bake for approximately 17 minutes

Serve immediately

Grilled Clams with a Herb Butter

I saw this recipe on Epicurious and thought it'd be a nice appetizer.  We made it this past week and it was a hit!  We had to grill the clams a little longer than the original recipe called for but it's easy to tell when they are done - just pull them off once they open up.  This would be a nice app for guests!
The recipe called for scallions and I don't like them.  We used a white onion but next time, I think we'll try a shallot and garlic.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp chopped scallion
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt & fresh pepper
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed

Directions
Mix first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until blended.  Season with Salt and Pepper
Heat gas grill to high (or charcoal to a medium hot fire).  Place clams on grill rack (I used a grill pan) & cover with the lid.  Grill clams until they open up.  It took mine probably 10-11 minutes.  Use tongs to transfer to platter or bowl
Dot clams with herb butter & let stand until butter melts.
Serve warm

Crusted Lamb Chops with a "Sweet Hoppy" Reduction

I found a recipe for veal chops but when I went to Costco to buy them, they didn't have any.  So, I picked up some lamb chops and decided to use the same gist of the recipe & marinade for them!  I found the original recipe here.  I saw the reduction recipe on Foodgawker but can't find the exact site again.

Ingredients:

2 lamb chops, trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sweet Hoppy Reduction1/2 c dark beer (I only had Lite beer but I think it'd be better with dark)1-2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tsp garlic1 Tbsp Corn Starch

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray (if you have a baking rack, place that on top of the baking sheet and spray that with non-stick spray, as seen above. This will allow your chops to have a nicer crust on them).

2. Combine the parsley, thyme, garlic, and salt in a pie dish.  Press each side of the chops into the mixture and set aside.  

3. In the same large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat.  Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, until a nice brown crust forms. 

4. Place the chops on your prepared baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 140 degrees F. Cover and allow the chops to rest for 5-8 minutes.  The temperature will rise about 5 degrees as the chops rest.

5. For the  reduction, whisk the beer, honey & garlic together and pour in pan that you used to sear the chops.  Slowly add corn starch and continue stirring.  Once it's thickened, remove from heat and pour over the chops.  Serve immediately.

Baked Egg Cups

I have followed a "Mom's" website since before I had B.  There's a section on it for recipe sharing.  I found this recipe on that site.  I was intrigued by this recipe for a while & I finally decided to try it.  The eggs were super easy to make and came right out of the muffin tin.  I used the paper liners (other posters haven't done that).  These would be fun for a bigger brunch crowd as something easy to make that all comes out at the same time.

Ingredients: (I only tried this with 2 eggs / ham)
12 Eggs 
12 thin slices of deli ham (round)
1/2 Cup of your favorite cheese, shredded - I used Mozzarella 
Fresh cracked Sea Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Lay a piece of ham in each hole creating a little ham cup. Crack one egg into each hole and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake the eggs for about 12 minutes…until the white is firm and the yolk is still nice and runny.
Carefully remove each egg from the muffin tin and top with grated cheese. Serve hot! Yield: 12

Chicken with Mushroom & Feta

I had some chicken and mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be used up.  I Google'd for some recipes and found a few that seemed interesting.  I ended up combining a few of them.  When I stuff my chicken, I usually roll it and secure with toothpicks.  Unbelievably, I've never tried butterflying the chicken - but I did this time.  Duh - that was way easier and took less time to cook than when you roll it!  I ended up stuffing the chicken with the mushrooms and some peppercorn feta I had in the refrigerator too.  I added McCormick's Cowboy Rub to the outside too for some flavor.  This turned out very good and will be added to the rotation!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 package of baby bella mushrooms
2-3 Tbsp feta
McCormick's Cowboy Rub
Olive Oil
Margarine
Tooth picks

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a pan, saute mushrooms in a little margarine.  I seasoned mine with a little fresh cracked pepper
Rinse chicken and lay on cutting board.  Butterfly the chicken (not all the way through - sort of like a hot dog roll)
When the mushrooms have finished cooking, combine the feta and mushrooms in a bowl.  I let my mushrooms cool a bit before combining them.
Open chicken breasts and spoon feta mushroom mixture into chicken.  Secure with toothpicks
Rub a little McCormick's Cowboy rub on each side of the chicken
Place chicken in same pan that you sauteed the mushrooms and over medium heat, sear the chicken slightly on each side
Place chicken in shallow baking dish and bake for about 10-15 minutes (or until you don't see pink any longer)

Grilled Meatloaf

As is the case in many parts of the country, it was insanely hot here this week.  I wanted to grill something for dinner so I wouldn't have to turn on the stove!  I looked at several recipes for grilled meatloaf to determine the best method.  I ended up buying aluminum (throw away) loaf pans and that worked out great!  Other methods called for shaping the meat into a loaf and grilling on planks.  I wasn't sure I'd like the "smokey" flavor of meatloaf on a cedar plank.  Anyway, it was very easy and a bit faster than cooking in the oven.  I forgot to add the ketchup topping but will try that next time about 10 minutes before it's done.  I served mine with grilled yukon potatoes (recipe is already on the blog) and steamed broccoli.  Delish!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
1 egg
8-10 saltine crackers, crushed up
Several dashes of worcestershire sauce
A few dashes of montreal steak spice

Directions:
Heat grill to medium, indirect heat (my gas grill was at about 350 degrees with the center burner off)
Combine ingredients in a large bowl and combine well
Place in aluminum loaf pan and cover with foil
Place loaf pan in the center of grill, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes

Easy Chicken & Pasta

I sort of feel bad putting this one on the blog simply because it was an EASY throw together dinner.  But, I figured some people might just need ideas on what to do on a Monday night when you really just don't feel like cooking!  This is the meal for you!!  It's tossing a few items together - and has potential to be better if you add some veggies (I meant to but was too tired and forgot!).

Ingredients:
Pasta (I used fettuccine)
4-5 Chicken tenders
Jarred pasta sauce (I used Vodka sauce)
1 egg
1/3 cup corn starch
Salt / pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Directions
Place egg in one shallow bowl (beaten) and corn starch in another shallow bowl with some Salt & Pepper mixed in
Rinse chicken tenders in cold water and pat dry
Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat
Dip chicken in egg then in corn starch
Place chicken in pan and heat through, turning a few times
After removing from heat, cut chicken into bite sized pieces
Put chicken on plate with paper towel and set aside
Meanwhile, boil water and cook pasta according to package
In a separate small pot, add sauce and cook on low until heated through
Combine all ingredients and toss

Baked Potato Wedges (Fries)

I have tried to make baked potato wedges (aka - fries) a couple of times and haven't "loved" the outcome.  Last night, I tried yet again and think I've found my new favorite recipe!  I found it here and when I saw that it called for corn starch, I was pretty sure that was going to be the trick that makes them crispy.  They turned out delicious & they are easy to throw together.  I'd like to try grilling them next time but I didn't have room on the grill last night.  I omitted one ingredient from the original recipe (mainly because I'm really not even sure what it is!).  The recipe below is what I used to make the fries.  The measurements are from the original recipe but I probably doubled the batch so use your judgement when making these.

Here are the potatoes in the mixture before baking:

Here they are when they came out of the oven - so crispy!

Here's our meal - cheeseburgers; grilled zucchini and fries

Ingredients:
4-5 medium potatoes (I used Golden potatoes)
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1-2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1-1/2 tsp garlic, chopped (I used the jarred kind)
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
Salt, to taste, I used Kosher Salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Cut potatoes into 1/2" wedges and place in cold water
In a bowl with everything except the potatoes, combine the other ingredients and blend well
Drain the potatoes and mix with the other ingredients, stir to coat
Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie tray (sprayed with Pam)
Cook for 15-18 minutes then flip the potatoes
Cook for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown
Serve immediately

Potato Salad

It's an insanely hot day here so I wanted to get the cooking out of the way early & use the grill for dinner for everything else.  I love potato salad and thought it'd go nicely with the dinner I'm preparing.  I found the recipe here but made a couple of changes.  The recipe as noted below includes my updates.  I just had a quick taste and I think it's pretty tasty.  I'm sure it'll be great after it's chilled for a little bit!

Here are some of the ingredients all chopped and ready to be mixed in:

Here's the final product:

Ingredients:

4-5 medium golden potatoes, washed and chopped

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped

2 eggs

2 stalks of celery

Onion Powder (I used a few shakes of the powder)

Mayo - I used about 2-3 heaping tbsp (but added a little at a time to ensure it wasn't too much)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions

Place potatoes in pot of cold water and boil for about 12-15 minutes

While the potatoes cook, place 2 eggs in a pot of cold water.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute.  Turn off the stove, cover the pot and let stand for 12 minutes

Chop celery and set aside

When potatoes are done, drain and put in refrigerator to cool a bit

When eggs are done cooking, place gently in a pot of cold water.  Let them stand for about 5-10 minutes (making sure the water is cold and replace if needed).  Peel the eggs and chop.  

Pull potatoes out and combine all the ingredients.  Place in bowl and refrigerate.