Cranberry-Mustard Pork Chops

Always looking for a new way to whip up a pork chop! These were scrumptious!

Cranberry-Mustard Pork Chops
Adapted from this blog

Ingredients:

• 4 pork chops, about 1.5 lbs.
• Salt and pepper
• Dash of cinnamon on top of each chop
• 1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries (or 1 15 oz. can)
• 1/4 cup spicy mustard
• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries,spicy mustard, sugar with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook at a rolling boil for about 20 minutes, or until the cranberries have popped and sauce begins to thicken.
3. (If using canned cranberries, stir together the cranberries, spicy mustard and half of the sugar in a bowl, then spread over the chops.)
4. Add the pork chops to the baking dish and season with salt and pepper and a dash of cinnamon to each chop. Pour the cooked sauce over the top of the pork chops and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until pork chops are cooked through. Cooking time may vary, depending on thickness of the chop.

Mini German Pancakes

Love these German Pancakes. They came out looking more like muffins, but the tops collapsed and all was well.


Mini German Pancakes
Adapted from this blog

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk (you can use skim or low fat milk if you want)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Toppings: Powdered sugar and lemon juice, or maple syrup (or make it savory, the options are endless here).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. 
2. Spray cupcake pans with no-stick cooking spray. 
3. Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt just enough to blend. (Do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy.)
4. Pour batter in cupcake pans. Makes approx. 12-16 mini German pancakes. 
5. Bake 18-25 minutes depending on type of cupcake pan and the amount of batter in each cupcake tin. 
6. Remove from oven. Let cool for just a minute or two. 
7. Remove mini pancakes from pan. 
8. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can also serve with maple syrup if you prefer instead of using lemon juice.

Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

I threw this together at the last minute one night to add a different taste to the table, and it hit the spot. So good! Justin liked it too. 

 

Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

Adapted from this blog

 Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup minced carrots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

 

Directions: 

Pour the water into a saucepan, and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then pour in the quinoa, recover, and continue to simmer over low heat until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold. Once cold, stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red onion, curry powder, cilantro, lime juice, sliced almonds, carrots, and cranberries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill before serving.  Notes: I didn't chill it all the way before serving, and it was good a little warm. The only pepper I used was a yellow one. Again, really, really, good.

 

Sesame Noodles

Whaaaaat?!?! A new post?! I know. My life has been bouncing around this country in single parent fashion for about a year. Now I am settled, husband is home for a while, and I have normalcy. That does not mean I haven't been cooking REALLY GREAT FOOD! Get ready to be buried in delicious recipes.

This particular recipe was super fast, delicious (I ate a serving or two before it actually made it to the table. I couldn't stop!), and it tastes like you're in a good chinese restaurant. We ate it with some grilled teriyaki chicken. Justin grilled it in a foot of snow.

Sesame Noodles

adapted from this blog

• 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
• ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
• ½ teaspoons Hot Chili Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
• 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.

Notes: I used Sriracha for the hot chili sauce, I chopped instead of minced the garlic, and I wish I'd have minced it. I also did not find Thin Noodles, or "soup noodles" so I just used linguine and it did great. 

Kale Chips! (yum)

This is how most of the kale disappeared. My almost 3-yr-old said it tastes like popcorn. We went through half of the huge bag in one meal. This stuff tastes 1000x better than it looks.

Kale Chips
by Brooke

• Kale leaves (1-2 inches wide)
  
• olive oil
• salt

Preheat oven to 300-325. In a bowl, toss kale in olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet. sprinkle with salt. Bake about 15 minutes, turning it halfway. It will turn dark green and very crispy.

Note: I added paprika to one batch, but couldn't taste much difference.

Mashed Potatoes and Kale

This is how I often ate Kale on my mission. They added tons of butter.

I just steamed the kale like in my last post, added garlic as the spice, then mixed the kale into a bowl of already prepared mashed potatoes. Yummy! Easy! Something different!

Steamed Kale

I've noticed that kale is becoming a trendy food to eat nowadays, so I thought I'd bring it back into my life. I ate it all the time on my mission. Justin did the grocery run and came home with a HUGE bag of pre-washed kale, so I found a handful of ways to prepare it. I like them all. We'll be finishing the bag tonight. I'm excited to have kale back in my diet with all it's nutritional goodness.

Thanks to my ziplock steam bags, this is super fast and simple. It's another equation recipe.

Steambag + kale + spices of choice + splash of veggie stock = leafy green side dish

I zapped it in the microwave for two minutes and it came out perfect. For spices I've tried garlic and basil. Both were good.

Coconut Chicken Poppers

Inspired by this recipe. I changed the original enough that I just rewrote the recipe.

Coconut Chicken Poppers
by Brooke Cheesman Hochstein

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup panko crumbs
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, coconut milk, and salt in one medium bowl. Mix panko crumbs and coconut milk in another medium bowl. Dip chicken pieces in the egg mix, then the crumb/coconut mix, being sure to cover the chicken entirely with the mix. Lay the chicken on a baking sheet (I cover mine in foil). Bake for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the coconut is toasted.

NOTE: I served this with a sweet chili sauce I made with agave and sriracha - wonderful. I tried turning the chicken halfway through to get an even bake, but the coconut just stuck to the tin and I stopped. The chicken still tasted fine without turning it.

I also mixed the leftover egg mix with the leftover coconut/crumb mix and baked them in a muffin tin and it made a yummy coconut treat.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Justin requested this twice in one week. A tip I learned recently: to make the perfect shredded chicken, bake the chicken and then put it in the kitchen aid using the flat beater. Let the mixer work it for a few seconds, watching for your desired consistency. For these sandwiches I like it a little chunky. It only takes about two seconds to go from chunky to finely shredded so you have to watch closely! Finely shredded is not bad either, Justin actually prefers it to chunky.
I can't call this a recipe, really, more of an equation, since I just use Lefty's Spices, LLC BBQ sauce. It's our favorite here in DC.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
by Brooke Cheesman Hochstein

shredded chicken + bbq sauce + hamburger bun = happy husband.

Easy Peasy

Spicy Roast Chicken

Always looking for new things to do with a chicken breast-- Justin liked this a lot. I changed a few things from another recipe.

Spicy Roast Chicken

• 24 ounces whole cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups), stemmed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 4 bone-in chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 can of diced tomatotes
  

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, and rosemary. Add diced tomatoes.

2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken, arranging the tomatoes in a single layer on the sheet around the chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes.

3. Transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the tomatoes and juices over the chicken. Serve.

Note: I added the diced tomatoes to make it more saucy. I would like this without as well.

Sugar Cookies

A friend made these for me and Justin said they were the best cookies he's ever eaten. So I got the recipe:

Sugar Cookies
by Lethe Bradshaw

• 2- 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. They will bake on the pan when you take them out. She overcooked them by two minutes when she made them for us. :)

Smothered Chicken n Bacon

I made this tonight when I didn't think about dinner until after 6pm. I just threw this together with what I had on hand and Justin really liked it. Not the healthiest, but yummy. I used chicken that had already been grilled and then frozen tonight, but I'm writing the recipe as if I started with fresh chicken.

Smothered Chicken N Bacon
by Brooke Cheesman Hochstein

• Chicken Breast
  
• Sriracha Chili Sauce (or other favorite hot sauce)
  
• Ranch Dressing
  
• Bacon
• Cheese of choice

Preheat oven to 375. Grill chicken breast. Lay grilled chicken on pan (I cover my pans with aluminum foil to reduce cleanup.) Put small amount of hot sauce on chicken. Squirt quarter-size amount of ranch dressing on top of that. Tear one strip of bacon in half and lay the halves side-by-side over the chicken. Cover chicken with cheese. I used shredded mozzarella tonight. Cook for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bacon is cooked.
Notes: Bacon bits can be substituted for bacon for more color on top of the cheese. I added a strip of bacon on the side of the pan to help me know when the bacon was fully cooked since I couldn't see it under the cheese.

French Toast Ooh-la-la

I had this at a hotel and tried to copy it the best I could.

French Toast Ooh-la-la
by Brooke Cheesman Hochstein

• 4 slices of bread
• 2 cups corn flakes (if large flakes, crush them a little)
• 2 eggs
• 2 glubs of milk (Dad's term)
• Cinnamon
• Fresh fruit of choice

Preheat oven to 375. Break the eggs in one bowl, glub the milk in, mix it up. Add a dash of cinnamon to the mix. In another bowl or on a plate with a rim, pour the corn flakes. Dip one piece of bread, make sure it is totally covered, but do not let it get so soggy that it falls apart. Then drop the bread in the corn flakes and flip it around until it is completely covered in flakes. You should not see much bread when you are done. Place bread on a cookie sheet. Repeat for all four pieces of toast.
Bake at 375 for 5-10 minutes or until egg is cooked through.
Top with syrup and/or fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, and blueberries are my favorite).

Sneaky Smoothies

My 2 year old is pretty good about eating fresh fruit, and he'll eat some veggies if they are prepared the right way, but the variety is lacking. I've been trying to figure out how to get leafy greens into his diet, and the only way I'm successful is by putting it in smoothies. This sounds so gross, but my son likes it so much, he drinks a large glass and then is upset when I tell him it's all gone.
I have a few things I always put in the smoothie, and then the rest of the ingredients depend on what I have in my kitchen.

Sneaky Smoothie
by Brooke Hochstein

Standard Ingredients:

• 1 Banana
• 1 heaping spoonful creamy peanut butter
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach (or whatever greens you want to throw in. I put unseasoned steamed asparagus and edamame in yesterday with spinach. I fill half the blender with these greens. Other ideas: Avocado, cucumber peels, peas, cooked beans, etc.)
• 2-4 c water (to meet desired consistency)

Additional Ingredients:

• Frozen fruit to make the smoothie icy (Strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc.)
• Fresh fruit (Strawberries, blueberries, apples, melon, raspberries, whatever you have in your fridge and need to get rid of soon)

Blend well!

You could also put some greek yogurt or whatever you want to make it creamy. I leave this out since I've cut dairy out of my diet. The banana makes the smoothie creamy enough for me. Sometimes I'll add two.
I'm sure there are nutritionally balance recipes out there. These are usually called "green smoothies." The color of mine tend to be a purple-orange color (is that possible?) with green specks. The appearance doesn't seem to effect the consumption rate at this point.

Pork Chop and Pineapple Pie

I love Paula Dean. Justin loves her food. He couldn't say enough about how much he loved this meal. He was disappointed when I made pork chops a few days later and didn't make this again. I didn't do it exactly her way, since we only have a gas grill and it was below freezing outside, but it sounds like a fun way to cook when you have guests over. I'll list her original recipe, and then explain how I cooked it.

Pork Chop and Pineapple Pie
by Paula Dean

• 1 boneless pork chop per person
• 1 slice red onion per person
• 1 slice green bell pepper per person
• 2 canned pineapple slices per person
• 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce per person
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter per person
• Salt and pepper

For each serving, lay a pork chop on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Top each chop with the onion, green pepper, and pineapple slices. Drizzle with the teriyaki sauce. Top with the butter and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in the foil, rolling ends to completely seal the package. Freeze or refrigerate.

When ready to eat, place packages directly in coals for 15 to 20 minutes. Check to see if the pork chop is cooked through; rewrap and cook a little longer, if necessary.

NOTES: First off, Paula loves butter, so I cut it down to about 1/4 of what she asks for. And that is still usually a bit more than I'd like. I didn't marinate this at all, since I usually don't think about dinner till 1/2 hour before I want to eat. I browned the pork chops a bit on each side first, splashed them with teriyaki sauce, then added the veggies and pineapple. I put a small square of butter in each of the pineapple holes and splashed more teriyaki sauce on it. I cooked these covered in my chicken fryer for about 15 minutes until we were ready to eat! I noticed some people mentioned they added cheese and bacon and such, but I thought it was great just the way it was listed (minus a lot of butter)! I served it with rice pilaf.

Mango Chicken Curry

Yum Yum Yum. Found this on the internet and I don't know where. The person didn't say where they got it from either. I was trying to find Tofu recipes and I found this instead. The way I made it was very different from this recipe... but still good.

Mango Caribbean Chicken Curry

• 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. lime or lemon zest
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• 12 oz. chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 tsp. cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 c. sliced red onion
• 2 cups chopped, peeled mango or papaya
• 2 cups hot cooked rice
• lime peel strips

For sauce, in a small bow stir together broth, lime juice, lime zest, brown sugar, curry powder, and cornstarch; set aside.
Rinse chicken; pat dry, cut into bite-sized pieces
In a large skillet/wok, heat oil until very hot. Stir fry garlic for 30 seconds. Add onion slices; stir fry for 3 minutes. Remove onion from wok or skillet.
Add chicken and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Push chicken into center of pan.
Stir sauce mixture. Pour sauce into center of pan; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return onion to work.
Add mango or papaya. Stir ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cook 2 minutes or more until mixture is heated trough.
Serve over rice, garnish with lime peel strips.

Makes 4 servings.

NOTES: Okay, the way I made this was way different due to circumstance, but I wanted to have the original in my records to try another time. Today, I wanted to slow cook this. I did not have a lime, so I just used lemon juice. I only had bottled Mango, not fresh. I also wanted to try to use some Tofu (my first time!). I added a whole block of tofu and three chicken breasts and increased the ingredients a bit. I just browned the chicken, dried the tofu, dumped all the ingredients together in a crockpot and cooked it on high for three hours. I took out some of the juices and added cornstarch to make a gravy in a pan, but this time my gravy was runny. How do you master that?! I think I've only made gravy well one time! EVER! We have this divine mango coconut chili sauce that we drizzled on top for fun after a few bites. I didn't tell Justin there was tofu in it till the end, and he hadn't even noticed!

Layered Enchilada Pie

There were ooh's and aah's during the whole dinner from both me and Justin while we ate this yummy meal.

Layered Enchilada Pie
by Sherry Newell, from Family Favorites Cook Book, p. 23

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 minced clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder (or more)
• 1 (4 1/2 oz.) can chopped ripe olives
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 6 tortillas, lightly buttered
• 2 c. shredded cheese
• 2/3 c. water

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in butter. Add seasonings, olives and tomato sauce. In a round casserole pan, alternate layers of buttered tortillas, meat sauce, and 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of tortilla. Pour water at edge into bottom of casserole. Cover. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from pan to serving plate. Cut in wedges.

Caramelized Banana French Toast

I changed this recipe from the one in Cook this! Not that!, p. 45.
It is very very yummy. I served it for a breakfast-for-dinner night.

Caramelized Banana French Toast

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. crushed walnuts
• 2 bananas (mine had yellow spots, but not over-ripe)
• 1 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 8 slices of bread (homemade is the best!)

Heat butter in a medium pan with medium heat, add 2 Tbsp. orange juice and all of the brown sugar. Stir until dissolved. Cook until bubble (1-2 minutes). Add walnuts, cook for 2 minutes. Add bananas and heat through. Stir in 1/4 c. milk. Set aside and keep warm.
Whisk together the remaining 3/4 c. milk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with Pam. Dip the bread for 30 seconds on each side.
Place the bread on the skillet and cook about 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with banana topping.

Chicken Parmesan

Also from Cook This, Not That!, Justin loved this one. It was fast and easy, also.

Chicken Parmesan

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 c bread crumbs (I used Panko. Awesome)
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
• 1/2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 c. tomato sauce
• 4 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella (I just used pepperjack. It changed the flavor, but oh well)
• fresh basil leaves (optional)

Pound chicken until it is uniformly 1/4" thick.
Season with salt and pepper
Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning on a large plate.
Dip each breast into the egg whites to coat both sides and then into the crumb mixture, patting the crumbs so they fully cover the chicken.
-Option 1: Fry in skillet --
Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on the first side before turning. (The crust should be deeply browned and crunchy.) Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then transfer the chicken to a baking sheet.
-Option 2: Bake in oven (what I did)
Bake chicken breasts in a 400 degree F oven until the crust is golden and the meat is firm, about 15 minutes.
-With both options:
Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken pieces, then top with the cheese and place underneath the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted an bubbling. Serve garnished with basil (if using).

I served this over spaghetti with some of the tomato sauce mixed in. The book suggests garlicky sauteed spinach. Probably not going to do that yet.

Pretend Chicken Marsala

I don't usually keep marsala wine on hand, so I just substituted white grape juice instead. I love this new book...

Pretend Chicken Marsala
from Cook This, Not That! 2010, p. 272

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to uniform 1/4" thickness
• 1 cup flour
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 oz prosciutto, sliced into thin strips (I used bacon. They look the same)
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced. (don't know which I used)
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine (white grape juice)
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 chopped fresh parsley

Season the chicken with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and add the chicken; coat evenly, shaking off any excess flour.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken (don't overcrowd the pan; cook in two batches if need be) 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown on the outside and cooked all the way through. Transfer to a serving platter and keep warm.
Add additional oil to the pan if needed, then saute the prosciutto for 1-2 minutes, until it starts to crisp up. Add the mushrooms and continue sauteing until well browned. Stir in the Marsala/juice and broth, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. cook until the liquid has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Season with salt and pepper, add the parsley, and pour over the chicken.
Makes 4 servings.