honey garlic pork chops

I found this recipe via Pinterest, and while I have had some bad calls finding recipes that way, I figured this one was fool proof (who can go wrong with soy sauce, honey and garlic?).  Luckily, my instincts proved right.  The pork was delicious!  We had friends over who also have a couple of kids, and all people - little and big - were going to town on it!  Not one speck of leftovers!  It was yum.  I altered the recipe a bit and will post my altered recipe below (the original recipe is here).  I will definitely be making this again!



RECIPE: Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Ingredients:
3/4 c. honey
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 heads of garlic (or about 18 cloves), minced
6 center-cut pork chops (about 3.5lbs total)

Directions:
In a small glass mixing bowl, mix together honey, soy sauce and minced garlic.  Stir until well combined.  Divide the mixture in half, pouring each half into its own gallon-sized freezer bag.  Add 3 pork chops to each bag.  Close up the bags and massage the pork a bit, to get the marinade to 'take' well.  Lay the bags flat in the fridge.  Let the pork chops marinate for about 8 hours.

Heat your grill to about medium heat.  Remove pork chops from the marinade and place on the grill.  Grill each chop for about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  Serve warm (with Calrose rice and mixed veggies, perhaps?) and ENJOY!  Mmm.

navajo tacos

First of all, this recipe is dedicated to some framily of ours (family with whom we are also friends):  Thank you, Bart and Katie, for the FryDaddy that made this post possible.  :)


This recipe came about because we had a huge pot of beans (recipe here) that needed eaten and wanted to get creative with them.  We'd been to the Gardener's Market recently and saw some Navajo Tacos.  This led us to think that maybe Navajo Tacos would be delish.  We had initially thought we would use the "pizza/scone dough" we normally use for sopapillas, but we apparently didn't have any- so we used Rhodes Rolls dough instead.... just defrosted them, rolled them out, and fried them up!  It turned out great.  The meal was pretty easy and super yummy.  Give it a try; you'll be glad you did!



RECIPE:  Navajo Tacos


Ingredients:
Rhodes Rolls dough balls, defrosted/risen
pinto beans
onion, diced
tomato, diced
cheddar cheese, grated
lettuce, cut into teeny strips
salsa
(opt) sour cream

Directions:
Roll out the dough into pretty thin, roundish circles.  Fry in hot oil (in FryDaddy if you've got one) until golden.  Remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Top fried bread with beans, onion, tomato, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream (if you have any; we didn't).

And eat.  It's that simple. :)

crock pot pinto beans

Photo credit: http://shimandsons.typepad.com/shimandsons/2007/03/pinto_beans_din.html

I'm not sure what it is, but there's a piece of me that just loves a big ol' pot-o-beans.  It is likely that my parents are to blame.  Growing up, my mom went through a phase (a long one) where every Sunday she would make a big pot of beans and a loaf of delicious homemade bread.  Mmm.  It might seem random to you (it did to my husband) to eat beans as a meal, but we're New Mexicans; it's how we roll.  Anyway, now that I am a mommy myself, I wanted to duplicate that-- not the weekly tradition, necessarily, but just exposing my family/children to the delicious simplicity that is a pot of beans with a side of homemade bread.  And it really is simple.  And delicious.  And the best part is you can make the pot of beans and end up creating several meals out of it (more on that later).  Yum.  Frijoles.  Ole!

RECIPE: Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

4 c. dry pinto beans

1 ham hock (opt)

garlic powder

salt/pepper

Directions:

Before you do anything, sort through the beans and take out any particularly funky/damaged ones as well as any dirt or rocks you come across.  Then rinse the beans well (I put them in a large bowl, cover them with water, swish them all around a bit with my hand, drain, and repeat- a few times).  

You can soak the beans overnight at this point, but it is optional (and who thinks that far in advance, really).  

Put the rinsed and drained beans in the crock pot.  Add your ham hock.  Cover with water (a couple of inches over, probably... the ham hock can poke out a bit, but you're doing a whole pot here so don't skimp). Sprinkle around a bunch of garlic powder and pepper as well as a bit of salt (you don't need much; the ham has enough to share).  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until beans are soft and ham is fully cooked.

Serve alone or top with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, onions, any of that stuff.  That's it!  Enjoy! 

relief society soup

This recipe comes to me from my sister-in-law, Mindy, who got it from my mother-in-law, Julie.  :)  I'm not sure where Julie got it or if it is her original recipe.  Either way, it's nummy.  I had some leftover mashed potatoes that I needed to use up before they went bad and was not in the mood to eat them yet again as plain ol' mashed potatoes {apparently even mashed potatoes can get old after several days}.  So I brainstormed and remembered this soup.  This is my quasi-tweaked version, based on what I had on hand and what sounded good.  But it's still quite delicious!  A good one to remember.

PS.  If you're curious where the name came from, the Relief Society is a women's organization that is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  As part of the society, women serve one another in various ways- among them bringing dinner to others {ie. after a baby is born, or after a loved one dies, or when someone is sick... basically whenever making dinner one's self would be difficult}.  I imagine this was at one time a go-to dinner to whip up for such an occasion.  There's something that says "comfort food" about this, so it'd be appropriate. :)

PS#2.  I used 3 Tbs of bullion and was afraid it would be way too salty.  But I think it must have been a magic touch, because both of my kids loved the soup!  Jolie even had seconds!  Now, my kids are pretty fickle about their food often adore something one day and hate it the next.  But with all things considered, I'm counting this one as a success!



RECIPE: Relief Society Soup

Yield: about 10 (really full) adult servings

Calories: 221

Ingredients:
1 bag (1 lb) frozen cauliflower
1 bag (1 lb) frozen broccoli (chopped is easiest)
2 Tbs chicken bullion granules
1 Tbs Lowry's seasoning
1 stick butter
2 c. potato pearls (I used 2 c. leftover mashed potatoes and 1 c. pearls)
1 c. milk

Directions:
Chop your veggies if necessary.  Add veggies to large soup pot.  Cover with water (about 10 cups).  Add butter, bullion and Lowry's.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer (on med-ish heat) for about 25 minutes, or until veggies are soft.  Smash a bit with a potato masher.  Add potatoes, stir well, and bring to a boil again.  Reduce again, and simmer until potatoes are well-incorporated.  Remove from heat.  Add milk and give a stir.  Then serve!

salsa chicken

photo source: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2011/03/salsa-chicken-slow-cooker.html

I found this recipe via Pinterest and was instantly intrigued.  First, it looked super yummy.  Second, it looked super easy, using ingredients I have already on hand.  And third, it was a crock pot meal.  Love.  The recipe is not at all mine.  I got it from a blog called Chef Mommy.  But I wanted to post it so that I would remember to make it again.  I altered the ingredients a teensy bit to cater to my exact items on hand as well as my general laziness, but that's it.  Mmm.  Yummy.  Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

RECIPE: Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

1.3 lb chicken breast

1 c. salsa

1 c. sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can black beans, drained and rinced

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crockpot.  Stir/whisk sauce together to incorporate {I did this in the crock pot cause I'm just too lazy to dirty another bowl}.  Cover and turn the crock pot on.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6.  Serve over rice, and enjoy!

freezer salsa

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Ashley.  Her recipe called for four times this much, making a HUGE batch.  I did the math and made it a smaller batch.  It still makes a ton.  PLENTY for our little freezer!  We made this last summer and still have a stash of salsa to enjoy.  Mmm.  PS.  This salsa tastes mild when you first make it and more like mild-medium once it's been frozen and thawed.  Pretty tasty!  Enjoy.




RECIPE: Freezer Salsa

Ingredients:
2.5 gal tomatoes
5 jalapeños, seeds removed from all but one
1.5 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs pepper
1/4 c. white vinegar

1 1/4 c. chopped onions
1 1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
2 Tbs (rounded) chopped garlic
6 oz tomato paste
3/4 bunch fresh cilantro, cut up

Directions: 
Add first batch of ingredients to a large pot over high heat.  Once it boils, reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 1-2 hours, stirring often so it won't burn.  Then add the second batch of ingredients, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool a bit.  Then pour into freezer-proof storage containers.  Freeze.  When ready to eat, thaw and enjoy! Yum!

carne asada tacos

Derek and I took our kiddos to run errands (together- weird) on Saturday. Whilst on said errands, we got hungry. So we hit up our local taqueria. Dos tacos, por favor. And mmmm, they were yummy. There's just something to be said for authentic Mexican food. Since we were going shopping right after anyway, we decided to buy some stuff to try our hand at our own Carne Asada Tacos. We did a quick recipe search on Allrecipes.com (I have an app for that) and found this one. I pretty much followed it exclusively (well, I halved it - we didn't need 16 tacos), and it turned out fabulously! We only did the marinade for an hour (the smallest time frame allotted), but we stabbed the steak a ton with a fork pre-marinade, and I think that must have helped- cause it was YUM! Pretty easy and pretty spectacular. My kind of recipe.

RECIPE: Carne Asada Tacos

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb flank steak

2 Tbs + 2 tsp white vinegar

1/4 c soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

juice from 1 lime

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

juice from 1/2 lime

10 white corn tortillas

(opt) avocado, sliced

(opt) jalapeno slices (Mezzetta has tame ones, mmm)

Directions:

1. Lay the flank steak in a large glass baking dish. Stab relentlessly with a fork. In a medium bowl, whisk together the other ingredients (stop at paprika). Then pour the marinade mixture over the steak in the dish. Turn over once to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade (in the fridge) for 1-8 hours.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the white onion, cilantro and lime juice. Set aside to use as a relish for the tacos.

3. Heat a (preferably cast-iron... seriously, there's nothing better) skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and put it in the hot pan. Let it brown a bit on one side then flip it over. Then reduce heat a bit and continue to cook through. Remove from heat and cover in tin foil. Set aside.

4. Wash the previously used skillet and then warm it again- on medium-high heat. Warm the tortillas for about a minute on each side. (This can also be done in the microwave but is nowhere near as yummy.)

5. Prepare your tacos- combining meat, onion/cilantro relish, and any other toppings of choice (avocado and jalapenos are yummy options). Serve warm and enjoy!

sausage, lentil, and escarole stew

I found this in a book I got from the library, "Atkins for Life: Low-Carb Cookbook." It was really tasty and fairly easy to prepare. The kids thought it was gross. But that's nothing new, as they will scream about mac-n-cheese as of late. We served it with some nummy artisan bread (so much for the low-carb... sorry Atkins). It was yum. We definitely will make this again!

Note: I did change the recipe a tad... adding more water/broth and subtracting the fresh parsley as a garnish (I thought it was a weird tasting addition, liked it better without). Besides that, the recipe is really not mine. So thanks, Atkins, for a delicious new soup to add to our repertoire!

RECIPE: Sausage, Lentil, and Escarole Stew

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 small red onion, diced (about 1/2 c)

4 1/2 c chicken broth

1 c dried lentils, rinsed and picked over

1/2 tsp pepper

1 head escarole, rinsed well and chopped

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add kielbasa and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic, caraway, and fennel to saucepan. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, lentils, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lentils are tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

Add escarole, stirring until it wilts. Serve warm.

egg burrito

This is a super simple recipe. So much that it hardly feels like a recipe at all. But I'm posting it so that I remember that simple meals can sometimes be the best ones, and because it's a low-calorie meal that is filling and delicious.

RECIPE: Egg Burrito

Ingredients:

Pam cooking spray (opt)

2 eggs

1 flour tortilla

1 tsp. mayo

Directions:

Place a small, non-stick frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Once hot, spray it with a bit of Pam. Quickly after that, crack your two eggs into the pan. They'll start to cook immediately. With a rubber scraper, mix the eggs around- popping the yolks and mixing them up. You're going for scrambled. Cook the eggs until they are done to your liking (no longer slimy but still moist), flipping and breaking them up when needed, and remove from heat.

Warm up your tortilla in the microwave, for only about 10 seconds. You want it pliable. Spread mayo down the center of the tortilla. Add your scrambled eggs. Roll the tortilla up into a burrito, and VOILA! An egg burrito.

Serve warm. Eat up. And enjoy!

Serves: 1

Calories: 251

tom ka gai (coconut lemongrass chicken soup)

I had this soup recently and for my first time at our local Thai restaurant, and I loved it! It was such a pleasant and unexpected combination of flavors, and it was beautiful. Mmm... I thought maybe I could duplicate it {I mean, how hard could it be? I'm cocky.} and decided to give it a try. I had planned on following a recipe but was unable to find some of the ingredients, so I tried another recipe... and again, couldn't find some of the ingredients. So I combined a few ideas and made my own {dangerous when attempting a meal you hardly know}. Luckily, it turned out super duper delicious!! I was so happy with it, and I fully intend to make it again. With that being said, here it is. So I remember.

If you try it as well, let me know how it went! Enjoy.

RECIPE: Tom Ka Gai

Ingredients:

1 deli-roasted (rotisserie) chicken, de-boned, skin removed and shredded {we only used about 3/4 of it... or about 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken}

2 c. water

3 med carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal

1 package Shiitake mushrooms {I would probably do regular button mushrooms next time; I didn't love the texture of these}, halved

juice from 2 limes (about 1/4 c.)

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp dried lemongrass

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1-2 in. fresh ginger-root, grated/minced

2 cans (15 oz.-ish) unsweetened coconut milk

2 stalks green onion, sliced thinly

cilantro (opt)

Directions:

Put the (already-cooked) chicken in a hot pot and let it sizzle for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients (all but the coconut milk, green onions, and cilantro) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until carrots are crisp-tender and all is heated through. Add the coconut milk, stir well. At this point, do NOT boil; just warm. Toss in the green onion pieces. Stir. Heat on low heat until ready to serve. Top with cilantro if desired, and serve warm.

Serves: 8

Calories: 203