Orange and Ginger Glazed Pork Chops

We made this last night and it was so good I had to pass it on. Sorry- no photos!

Serves 4

This sweet and spicy glaze is easy to prepare,so plan to have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes! If using boneless pork chops, be sure to reduce the cooking time. Serve with rice pilaf and sautéed greens.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Whole Trade™ 365 Everyday Value® Organic Orange Juice
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (1-inch thick) bone-in, center-cut pork chops

Directions

Arrange oven rack about 6 inches from heating element and preheat broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, orange juice, ginger and salt. Arrange pork chops on prepared baking sheet in a single layer, spacing them a few inches apart. Spread half of the glaze over the tops of the pork chops and broil until golden and just crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.

Carefully flip pork chops and spread remaining glaze over the tops. Return to oven and broil until just golden and crisp on the second side and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to plates and serve.

Homemade tomato sauce from scratch

I have been wanting to try my hand at making my own tomato sauce and this was my first attempt. I decided to alter the recipe a bit & added diced bell pepper and used some cherry tomatoes and little yellow tomatoes in addition to regular tomatoes.

The bunch of basil chopped down to about a half cup.

After briefly boiling the tomatoes I dunked them into an ice bath to cool them down before peeling, seeding and chopping them.

The tomatoes are ready to peel when the skins split in the boiling water.

Once the tomatoes are pureed and ready to go, I sauteed the onions and bell pepper together. Then everything went into the pot to simmer.

This is how it looked going into the pot.

After 3 hours of simmering this is the result:

All in all it turned out well. I think next time I would leave the bell pepper out and make a more basic sauce. I served it over spaghetti noodles with grilled sausage mixed in and a side of rolls. Yum!

Fresh tomato sauce

With tomato season in full swing I have been wanting to try to make my own tomato sauce from scratch. If you don't have time to make it entirely from scratch you can substitute canned diced tomatoes & tomato sauce for the fresh tomato.

Ingredients:

20 ripe tomatoes

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C. chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp. italian seasoning

1/2 C. red wine

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. The tomatoes have to be peeled, seeded and chopped. To make peeling easier the tomatoes should be put into a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes or until the skin splits. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes and place them into an ice water bath to cool.

2. Peel the tomatoes, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop tomatoes with a sharp knife or use a food processor to blend.

3. Heat oil in a pot, add onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is transluscent. Add tomatoes, basil, italian seasoning, red wine and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting seasoning as desired. (Alternatively, the sauce could be cooked in a crock pot)

5. Serve over cooked pasta. Extra sauce can be frozen in ziplock bags.

Beef Stroganoff

I am excited to try this. I have left over steak and vegetables that I am going to toss in as well. I do have to go to the market for sour cream, mushrooms and green onions, but I hope this well be an easy dinner. I am also going to buy some wide noodles although this doesn't call for it.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 ounces butter
• 4 green onions, sliced (white parts only)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup white wine
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Remove any fat and gristle from the roast and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick by 2 inches long. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the beef strips quickly, then push the beef strips off to one side. Add the onions and cook slowly for 3 to 5 minutes, then push to the side with the beef strips.
3. Stir the flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and stir in mustard. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine. Heat briefly then salt and pepper to taste.

Call for Recipes

I think I need you guys to help me think of something for dinner! I have lost some steam. What about everyone posting their favorite dinner recipe and then we can all make it!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

This recipe was fairly easy to make, although it ended up taking longer than I thought. My vegetable peeler was no good for peeling the sweet potatoes (maybe I need a new one...) so I ended up having to peel them with a knife which took a little longer. Also, for some reason the water & potatoes took forever to boil. Aside from that the process went pretty well. I doubled the recipe because I happened to have 4 sweet pototaoes. I used pre-minced ginger and cilantro to save time (the kind you buy in a tube in the refrigerator section of the produce department). I thought the cilantro was a bit strange with sweet potato, I don't know if I would add it the next time I make it. I served the mashed sweet potato as a side dish with baked chicken & sauteed squash, yum!

Sweet Potato Mash

I made this and it was amazing! No photos, but trust me- you will love this as a side dish!

 

Makes: 2 servings

Time: 10 mins 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 Sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp Fresh ginger, shredded
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Honey
As needed Milk
2 tbsp Fresh Cilantro or Basil, chopped
To taste Salt

Notes / Directions:

 

Cook sweet potatoes and ginger in saucepan of boiling water for 5-7 minutes or until tender; drain. Transfer to bowl; mash potato with butter, honey and enough milk for smooth consistency. Stir in cilantro or basil and salt to taste.

Chili Review

 I was impressed with this recipe. I made two batches, one with ground beef and the other without and one in the crock pot and the other on the stove. I bought multiple kinds of canned beans to add variety- black, pinto and an accidental re-fried! The crock pot needed some thickening so I added a small can of tomato paste which seemed to help. I also added some cornstarch water to thicken it up.

This was good with corn bread on the side with 

cheese and sour cream on top. Pretty easy. I would make it again.

Chili

This recipe was easy to make & very flavorful. I made the following alterations to the recipe: I used spicy italian sausage insead of kielbasa (because we already had a bunch of spicy italian sausage at home), and I used 2 cans of kidney beans + 2 cans of black beans (instead of only using black beans). It came out a little spicy, so the sour cream on top was a must for me. I served the chili over rice with cheddar cheese & sour cream on top. Very tasty! I would definitely make it again.

Chili

Ingredients

 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs kielbasa, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 onions, chopped (about two cups or so)
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
4 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
1 (14 ounce) can low sodium chicken broth
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 small bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin

 

Directions

 

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add kielbasa; sauté until beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer kielbasa to bowl. If necessary, add enough oil to pot to measure 2 tablespoons (or discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings).

Add onions, both bell peppers, and garlic. Sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add beans, broth, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, sugar, vinegar, bay leaves, oregano, and cumin.

Bring chili to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Return kielbasa to pot.

Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until chili is thick, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly; cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.).

Ladle chili into bowls. Top with sour cream and green onions if desired.

Orange Brocolli Beef with rice

This recipe took longer than I thought it would to make, it ended up taking me about an hour and a half to do all the prep, cook & serve. I used 2 small hot red peppers which gave it some kick. To save some prep time I used pre-minced ginger available from the produce section at the grocery store. I also used clementines instead of oranges. I particularly liked how the beef turned out, it was simple to coat the beef with the cornstarch & it fried up nicely.

Things I would do differently next time: I would add bell peppers to the veggie stir fry. The broccoli got too soggy the way that the recipe said to cook it, next time I would briefly steam the broccoli, set it aside & then mix it in at the very end so that it still retains some crispness. I would also make this dish when citrus fruit is more in season, the clementines were not as sweet as usual & I suspect this is because they are not in season.

Overall this recipe was very tasty. The fusion of citrus and spice worked well in this dish and added a lot of flavor. The fried orange peel provided interesting texture to the meal too. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and would make it again.

Orange Beef

This recipe was tasty! I was nervous about it being too spicy but took the chance and put as much in as they told me. I was disappointed to find that it didn't have any heat at all. would go so far as to call it mild. So if you want the heat, I might double the red pepper.

I bought pre-cut broccoli to save myself at least one step, but the chopping of the fresh garlic and ginger ate up a lot of time. I think I am going to buy the stuff that is pre-chopped to save myself 20 minutes! 

I used a wok, and I really should have used the pan they suggested because it all blobbed together and I ended up over cooking the meat.

The oranges were juicy, but we ended up supplementing with juice from the carton. If only I had bought the extra orange! (Also, I peeled the orange after getting the rind- which was a mistake and we had to squish the orange to the the juice...)

I think I will make this again, it was fairly easy and good.

Spicy Tangerine Beef

This looks really good. I think a side of rice will complete the meal.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 25 min

4 Tangerines or 3 medium navel oranges
1 Large bunch broccoli (1.5 pounds)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 boneless beef top sirloin steak (12 oz) thinly sliced crosswise
2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
3 green onions, cut on diagonal into 2" pieces
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Cut peel  and white pith from 1 tangerine. Holding tangerine over small bowl to catch juice, cut on either side of the membranes to release each section, allowing fruit and juice to drop into bowl; set aside. With vegetable peeler, remove 8 strips (3"x 3/4" each) peel from remaining tangerines. With knife, remove any remaining pith from peel. Squeeze 3/4 cup juice; set aside.

Cut broccoli into small flowerets. With vegetable peeler, peel broccoli stems, cut into 1/4" slices.

In 12 " skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until very hot. Add strips of peel and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer peel to large bowl.

On waxed paper, toss beef slices with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, coating evenly. Add half of beef to skillet to cook, stirring frequently (stir-frying), until crisp and lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes, using slotted spoon to transfer beef as it is browned to bowl with peel. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.

Add broccoli and water  to skillet. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook 2 minutes. Increase heat to high. Remove cover and add green onions and red pepper; cook, stir-frying, 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute.

Meanwhile, in cup, combine tangerine juice, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch. Stir until blended. Stir cornstarch mixture into skillet. Stir-fry until sauce has thickened and boils.

Return beef to skillet. Add citrus sections and juice in bowl; toss to combine. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Another meat version of the roasted vegetables

My husband is also a meat lover so I decided to add some beef stripes to the veggies. I also use non skinned cherry tomatoes. It was already a lot of cutting so not to have to peel the tomatoes was a big plus.


Instead of adding the cilantro & parsley to the couscous I added it directly to the vegetables. It would have been too green for my hubby and so it mixed with all the other colors.

I loved all the spices. My kitchen smelled so good. Especially I really enjoyed the saffron. To bad that this spice is so expensive, I really like the taste.

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous & a twist

This recipe required an impressive pile of veggies. I decided to mix it up a bit and substituted one of the zucchinis for a yellow squash and added a red bell pepper to the veggie mix. I also decided to leave the skins on the cherry tomatoes -- I like that subtle smoky flavor of a roasted tomato. I couldn't get cardamom or saffron, so the saffron got left out & I substituted 1/2tsp clove + 1/2tsp nutmeg for the cardamom.

All in all this recipe took about an hour, I chopped the root vegetables first & got them sauteeing while I finished chopping up everything else that came later in the recipe. I didn't have a roasting pan, so I did the sauteeing in a large pan on the stove & then tranferred to a baking dish to go in the oven.

I thought it was strange that the recipe said to sautee the cilantro & parsley in butter -- I did as the recipe said but in hindsight I think it would have been better to just mix it in fresh with the couscous. I also added some lemon juice to the couscous to give it some extra flavor.

It was beautiful going into the oven. I went ahead and added 1/2C water before going in the oven so that it wouldn't get too dry.

It worked well to make the couscous & chop the cilantro and parsley while it was baking.

As my husband is an avid meat-eater I made some spicy Italian sausage to go with the dish too.

All in all it turned out well & was quite tasty. I was a little disappointed in the blandness of the couscous but having such flavorful veggies helped balance the meal.

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous: Review

Wow, this was worth the work.

It took about 40 minutes to get everything chopped by myself. For the first step it says to use the roasting pan to brown the vegetables, but I think it would be easier to use a large saute pan and then transfer to the roasting pan.

Also, instead of a hot red pepper I used a jalapeño (without the seeds) and that seemed to work well- although not hot at all.

I enjoyed the flavors of this dish, the aromas filled the house. The cinnamon and cardamom flavors were surprisingly present.

Realized as I was writing this that I forgot the balsamic vinegar. Oops. It was really good without it, but will try to remember it next time. 

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

4 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Onion, cut into wedges
3 Carrots, Cut into chunks
2 Parsnips, cut into chunks
2 Shallots, peeled
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 Red Chile (hot), seeded and finely sliced
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds, crushed
4 pods Cardamom, crushed
1 pound Plum Tomatoes, peeled
2 Zucchini, thickly sliced
Saffron, large pinch
To Taste Sea Salt
To Taste Freshly Ground Pepper
14 oz Couscous
Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Bunch Cilantro, chopped
Dash Balsamic Vinegar

Notes / Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan directly over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, parsnips, and shallots and cook for about 10 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, chile, paprika, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and cardamom and stir well, coating the vegetables with all the spices. Cook for a further 4 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes, zucchini, saffron, salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven to roast for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, adding a little water if needed.

Place the couscous in a large bowl and cover with boiling water to a level of 1 inch above the grains. Mix well and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped parsley and cilantro, and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the couscous, mix well and season it.

Take the vegetables out of the oven, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and serve them on top of the couscous.

Invitation

I want to find inspiration to cook. I propose that once a week there is a recipe that we all make and then everybody can post a short review with images of what you made - showing everyone how tasty it was! Feel free to change the recipe to suit your needs. Additions, substitutions or any alterations should be mentioned so that if we want to make it again there are thoughts on what that looks and tastes like.

I want this to be fun and without pressure.

I will start by posting a recipe a week. If any of you out there have a recipe you want to share, email me and I will work it into the rotation. I look forward to seeing the creations and variations on the same recipe.

Happy Cooking!