Yes, you read that right! Now before you discount this recipe for sounding too strange, realize that it is the perfect blend of sweet and salty creating the perfect accent to pork.
Prep time is less than 10 minutes and cook time is 10 minutes so you can easily whip this family favorite meal out with a batch of rice and steamed broccoli for a perfect weeknight meal in less than 30 minutes!
4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops (or a pork tenderloin sliced into 3/4 inch thickness)
1 teaspoon olive or grapeseed oil
salt and pepper to taste
8 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2teaspoon nutmeg
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tart green apples such as Granny Smith variety, peeled, cored and sliced
Optional: 3-6 tablespoons chopped pecans
Instructions:
1. Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Brush chops lightly with oil, season with salt and pepper or special seasoning blend (I like using a lemon and pepper or lemon and rosemary blend) and place into hot pan. Cook 5-6 minutes turning until evenly browned.
2. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and pepper.
3. Melt butter and add the above spice mixture. Add the apples. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes until the apples are tender. Remove apples and place over chops. Keep warm. Continue cooking sauce in skillet uncovered until sauce thickens.
4. Plate the pork and cover with apples, sauce and a sprinkle of chopped pecans. Enjoy.
Julie's Turkey Italian Sausage and Tortellini Salad
Thirteen years ago, just after Bella's birth (celebrated last weekend), my dear friend Julie brought my family this delicious meal as a Sunshine Meal. Sunshine Meals were a great service for new moms to receive a week's worth of meals after returning from the hospital via our wonderful Mom's Club.
I fell in love with the flavor combination and the fact that this recipe could be served either hot or cold and still taste incredible. It's easily portable and could also make for a perfect picnic or tailgating meal.
Julie's Turkey Italian Sausage and Tortellini Salad
5 tablespoons oil, divided (I use grapeseed or olive oil)
1 package fresh turkey sweet Italian sausage links
1 package tortellini (the original recipe called for cheese tortellini but Julie and I prefer portabella mushroom tortellini)
1 jar (6-1/2 ounce) marinated artichoke hearts, drained (reserve marinade)
1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives (or ripe black olives)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions
6 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and cut into strips (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, (or 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh basil added in is amazing)
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 cup torn fresh spinach leaves
Instructions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add turkey sasusage and brown 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and continue cooking 8-10 minutes more, turning once. When cool, cut sausage into 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large saucepan according to package directions. Drain, rinse and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil.
3. Combine tortellini, sausage, artichoke hearts, olives, feta, green onion and tomatoes in large bowl.
4. In small bowl whisk together the reserved marinade (1/4 cup), the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, vinegar, garlic, basil and dill weed. Pour dressing over sausage tortellini mixture.
5. Refrigerate for several hours. To serve, stir in spinach and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Makes 6 (1-1/3 cup) servings.
Appreciating my friendship with Julie spanning the past 14 years.
My first birthday flanked by both sets of grandparents.
I'm feeling a little nostalgic. Losing my grandparents was the first time death left a huge hole in my life. I've lost many other special people since losing my first grandparent but nothing really ever prepares you for that "missing piece" with the loss of a loved one, family member or friend.
When my grandparents passed away, I longed to see pieces of
them that they had left behind. Being the "sentimental" family member, I poured over old photos, scrapbooks and searched for pieces of them in various forms. What a
treasure trove to have both my grandmother’s recipe boxes shared with me after their passing!
My grandma's recipes...
I loved seeing their elegant handwriting (or
chicken scratch if they had hurried), their notes of how they adapted the
recipes and even the splotches of cake or cookie batter, dried on the index
cards. I imagined at what point in their life that this recipe became a favorite - when they were young newlyweds, new moms, empty nesters or when they were "my grandmas". I love recipes that tell a little back story about how the recipe was acquired or how a family came to make it a favorite and I hoped I could find those stories while thumbing through their carefully organized recipes.
I think I have mentioned it before but both of these lovely grandmothers were wonderful cooks. I am lucky to have recipes for their Clubhouse Salad, Top-Secret Apple Cake, Holiday Potato Rolls, Thanksgiving Stuffing and many others.
Through recipes, the passage of history and culture of what makes a family is shared amongst generations. A culinary history lives inside those recipe boxes depicting life when veal and lamb graced holiday tables and jello emerged as the hip fruit salad transformer paired with everything from nuts, cottage cheese, mayo (ick) and celery. A snippet of history is captured in their blue ink cursive and their words live on.
It's so strange that having shared countless meals with both sets of grandparents that the stand-out memory that comes to mind when I envision both of my grandmas cooking in the kitchen is them making me toast. Grandma Nadean made amazing toast and so did Grandma Rose.
Grandma Rose used her oven to toast the San Francisco sourdough slices just to perfection, ready to be topped with a slab of prosciutto and paired with fresh cherries and a glass of Welch's grape juice - all my absolute favorites.
Grandma Dean used the toaster and slathered the toast with Saffola margarine making sure that every single corner was covered. I spent many a day after school at her house and toast was often accompanied by a piano tune being played in the background by my beloved grandpa, Pop. Grandma Dean could make the best cinnamon toast! She often sprinkled a dill weed and parmesan cheese concoction that transformed the toast into a lovely savory treat that she would slice into strips, perfect for dipping into her Ham and Split Pea Soup (that I have yet to be able to recreate)!
It dawned on me that I need to work on my toast making skills as my kids don't seem to have an affinity for toast in any of it's forms. I know that my toast will never be as good as my grandmas prepared, but I sure better at least try. If only I had their techniques written down in a recipe!
Today, I challenge you to handwrite one of your
favorite recipes or one of your family members’ favorite recipes and send it
off to a family member or a favorite cook. If the recipient is anything like me, I promise that it will be a shared piece of you, treasured for years to come.
Origninating in Argentina, this easy sauce can be whipped together in minutes and can truly take a plain steak or chicken breast to a whole new level of wonderful! Easy, quick, delicious - those qualities should be enough to lure a cook like me in - but the flavor combination just can't be described to do it justice! Grilled meats are rarely served without a side of chimichurri in Argentina and many compare this to a salsa, pesto or curry. It has a flavor combination unlike anything I had ever tasted prior and I am left craving this anytime I plan to grill steaks now.
Chimichurri served over flat iron steak with Wildtree's Rancher's Rub seasonings and zucchini cooked with garam marsala.
About five years ago, the Hubs and his parents, who were visiting, constructed an herb garden for me for Mother's Day and I tell you, it has been one of those gifts that keeps on giving!
What started with a few plants and one rosemary sprig has morphed into an overflowing garden with this towering rosemary bush
The bush attracts honey bees,which I love, and serves as a handy source of fresh herbs year-round, which in our neck of the woods is a special treat.
The herbs that dominate in my herb garden.
The hardy herbs with the wood-like stems seem to survive the seasonal climate changes but my dear basil, cilantro and parsley don't always weather the storms as well. Each spring I plant a cilantro, basil and parsley plant to ensure I have the trappings for ingredients found in recipes like this one.
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (now if you prefer spicier, feel free to add more of this to taste to give it more of a spicy kick)
Instructions:
1. Put your parsley, cilantro, oregano, and garlic into a food processor and process for several pulses unitl finely chopped. (You could also put this into your blender or even finely chop by hand.)
2. Add in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Adjust your seasonings to taste.
3. Let flavors marry for at least 10 minutes prior to serving. If you are not serving immediately, refrigerate but if chilled, let it return to room temperature prior to serving. This will save for at least two days.
Serve over steak, chicken, fish, steamed vegetables - I even have been known to dip crusty bread into this delicious flavor combination.
When the search for a Fish Taco recipe that called for ingredients that I had on hand, came up empty, I created my own version of a healthy, low-fat but flavorful fish taco recipe that I will coin Chipotle Lime Fish Tacos with Cranberry Spiced Slaw.
The Hubs described this as stumbling upon a masterpiece. The kids clamored for the seasoned fish and I could hardly keep from sampling the Chipotle Lime seasoned tortillas as I heated them frantically over the stove.
Most fish taco recipes call for breading the fish and then deep-frying but I wanted something lighter and less time-consuming so I sprinkled mine with seasonings and just a light sprinkling of flour to provide a slight bit of a crust for those seeking authenticity.
Chipotle Lime Fish Tacos with Cranberry Raspberry Spiced Slaw
Most slaw recipes call for mayonaise, but those who know me know that I don't use/buy/consume/eat mayo. This version of slaw took on a mildly spicy yet sweet flavor accented with a complex spiced cranberry sauce, raspberry balsamic vinegar, cilantro, jalapeno and cabbage.
Chipotle Lime Fish Tacos with Cranberry Raspberry Spiced Slaw
2 1/2 pounds of white fish (tilapia, cod, flounder)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Chipotle Lime Rub spice
a dusting of flour to lightly cover fish
Cranberry Raspberry Spiced Slaw
4 cups purple cabbage, finely sliced
3/4 cup carrots, shredded (I use either a food processor or a cheese grater)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar, or sugar substitute
3 tablespoons cranberry jam or cranberry sauce with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Smoky Bacon Chipotle Lime Spiced Corn Tortillas
Brush 12 6-inch corn tortillas with oil and sprinkle with Chipotle Lime Rub and a little kosher salt, if you'd like. Heat a stir-fry pan or griddle and heat tortillas over medium-high heat for a minute on either side to lock in flavor and bring to a warm temperature.
Instructions:
1. Toss cabbage, carrots, and cilantro in a large bowl. Combine all other slaw ingredients in a small bowl to create dressing. Pour over vegetable mixture and mix for one minute and allow flavors to marry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, lightly brush both sides of fish fillets with oil. Sprinkle fish filets with Chipotle Lime Rub. Preheat grill or saute pan to high heat and lightly oil. Grill or cook fish on one side for 3-4 minutes depending upon thickness, then flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes with a fork.
3. Serve with warmed tortillas and Cranberry Raspberry Spiced Slaw.
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A girl in love with the seasons who wants to cram as much as she can into the 365 days of the year to live a life of bliss. Welcome to What Matters Most Now! I hope you will find inspiration and recipes you love.
