Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

I did not grow up eating Brussels sprouts. In fact I don't think I had them until I was in college, but after eating them I loved them. I love them even more since I tried them roasted at The Farmhouse at Serenbe in Serenbe, Georgia outside of Atlanta. My husband took me there on a Thanksgiving trip.  I think it may be the best restaurant we have ever eaten in. They serve regional cuisine using locally grown, organic ingredients from the restaurant’s own garden as well as from Serenbe Farms and other area producers. If you are near Atlanta, I encourage you to make reservations and enjoy an amazing meal there.

Roasted Brussels sprouts are about the easiest side dish I can think of. Just slice them in half along with a bit of onion, some mushrooms and I love to add a bit of bacon  prosciutto. Mix with some olive oil and rosemary, garlic seasoning mix. Then roast at 350 for about 30 minutes. Delicious! You should try this soon.

Ingredients
1 lb Brussels sprouts, stem removed and slice in half
1 cup mushroom, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped bacon or prosciutto
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB dried rosemary and garlic seasoning mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, onions and bacon on a rimmed cookie sheet. Using your hands coat with olive oil and seasoning mix. Roast for 20 - 30 minutes until Brussels sprouts begin to brown.

Pork Chops in Spiced-Apple Pan Sauce

Last night's dinner was a version of a recipe from Rachael Ray's cookbook, 30-Minute Get Real Meals. The original recipe calls for serving with roasted broccoli spears, but I had Brussels sprouts in the fridge so I roasted those instead. With some mashed potatoes, this meal was really yummy. The spiced-apple pan sauce tastes like a savory apple pie. You should try this very soon.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

4 boneless pork loin or rib chops

2 TB butter

1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

3 TB fresh thyme leaves, stripped from 4 or 5 sprigs, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

2 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup chicken stock or broth

A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

 

Directions

Preheat a large skillet over high heat with olive oil. Liberally season pork chops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides for 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove the chops from the skillet and reserve. Add butter to the pork skillet, add the onion, thyme, sliced apple, and pie spice. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the onion and apples are tender. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a simmer. Add the pork chops back to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until the chops are cooked through. Add parsley and lemon juice to the chops and stir to distribute.

Giada's Venetian Panino

I saw this recipe on Giada De Laurentis' show and just had to try it. It's as good as it looked on TV. It's perfect with soup, which is what I served it with last night. We had Aztec Chicken Soup which I froze the last time I made it. If you have looked at the recipe for this soup, it calls for 1 chipotle chili in adobo placed at the bottom of the bowl. The last time I made it, I didn't put the whole chili in Puppy Daddy's bowl because I was afraid it would be to spicy for him. I just put in a bit of the adobo sauce. He told me that it wasn't very spicy at all and next time I should give him a whole chili. So last night I put a whole chili in his soup, but warned him that I did not actually eat the chili. It gives enough heat just sitting in the soup. Well, he decided that he really needed to eat the chili. After his first bite he said, "That's not very hot at all." Then came the second bite. "Ohhh, that had the seeds in it!" And that was the end of the chili eating for the night!

That story has nothing to do with the sandwich, but I just had to share! The spread for this sandwich is made by combining Gruyere cheese, garlic, mustard and butter. It is the glue that holds the sandwich together. Place some turkey between the bread and toast it up in a skillet with some olive oil. The recipe says to cut the crust off of the bread. I have done that in the past, but I honestly don't think it's necessary unless you are serving them at a fancy, schmancy party. I hope you'll try this soon.

Ingredients

8 ounces Gruyere, shredded

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, chopped

12 ounces sliced turkey

12 slices wheat or sourdough bread, crusts removed

6 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions

Into a food processor, add the cheese, butter, mustard, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is thick, smooth and spreadable.

Spread the cheese mixture over 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange the turkey slices over the cheese mixture on 6 of the bread slices. Top sandwiches with the remaining bread slices, cheese mixture side down, pressing gently to adhere. Cut the sandwiches in half.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Cook half of the sandwiches until golden brown and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and tent with foil to keep them warm. Repeat with remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Apricot Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is easy enough to make for a week night dinner, but impressive enough to make for guests and special occasions.

Even though the recipe calls for apricot preserves or jam, you can use a variety of flavors including blackberry. In fact if you look at the picture of the ingredients I used to make this dish you will see orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves. I didn't even realize that I had picked up orange marmalade until I opened the jar and noticed it didn't smell like apricots. Now I am not an orange marmalade fan, but the dish turned out great!

The recipe also calls for Chinese 5 Spice powder. This blend include star anise, cloves, cinnamon, sichuan pepper and fennel. For many years I couldn't find 5 Spice in my grocery store so I just used cinnamon, which works just as well. Just rub the spice mixture all over the pork tenderloin.

You should try this soon!





Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
2 TB Chinese 5 Spice powder or cinnamon
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 TB butter
3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
3 green onions, chopped
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB dry sherry, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend 5 Spice powder, salt and pepper. Rub all over pork tenderloin. Bake tenderloin in oven for 30 - 45 minutes until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add jam, green onions, soy sauce, dry sherry. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand until tenderloin is ready to serve. Let tenderloin sit for 10 minutes after removing from oven. Slice and serve with apricot sauce.

Creamy Stove Top Mac & Cheese

For week two of the Wednesday Mac and Cheese Challenge I made this recipe with an unusual ingredient, Worcestershire sauce. I got the idea for this mac and cheese after reading a recipe from Cooking Light magazine. My recipe is not light, but it is delicious. It even gets the Puppy Daddy seal of approval. You should try it soon.









Ingredients
8 oz macaroni
6 oz evaporated milk
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic, crushed
salt & pepper

Directions
Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions. In a medium sauce pan heat evaporated milk over medium heat. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted. Then add cheddar cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. Next add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk until incorporated. Drain macaroni and add to cheese sauce. Toss to coat.

Easy Cheesy Ranch Rice and Beans

Yes, as you can tell if you read my posts, Puppy Daddy and I love, love, love Mexican food. Of course, some type of rice and beans are a must for sides with a Mexican meal. Last night at our house was tacos and football night. I love tacos on football night because they are quick, and easy to eat while we watch TV and cheer on our favorite team. This recipe accompanied our tacos perfectly and thankfully our FSU Seminoles won the ACC championship. This recipe is super easy and really delicious!

All you need for this recipe is a package of yellow rice mix, a can of ranch style beans and some cheddar cheese. Just make the rice according to package directions. Then drain a little of the liquid out of the beans. Mix them with the rice and cheese.  Put mixture in an oven proof dish, top with a bit more cheese and bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Garnish with green onions to make it pretty.

Ingredients
1 package yellow rice mix, prepared according to package directions
1 can ranch style beans
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare yellow rice mix according to package directions. Drain about half of the liquid from canned beans. Mix beans and 1 cup of cheese with rice. Put in oven proof dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I know that a few weeks ago I said that my stuffed shells were Puppy Daddy's favorite meal that I make. Well, when I made this casserole this week he said I might have been wrong and that Mexican Chicken might be his all time favorite. I first had this recipe when I was a teenager. My grandmother, Mimi Bates, who loved to cook, found the King Ranch Chicken recipe in Southern Living magazine. Every year she spent several months with us and cooked up a storm, preparing one delicious dish after another. This one was a big family hit! This is my own version which doesn't include canned creamed soups, though you could definitely use those instead of my mayo and sour cream combination.

This is also a great way to use up left over chicken. This week I used left over turkey breast and it was equally yummy. It's also a great way to use up corn or tortilla chips that may be getting a little stale. If you use chips larger than Fritos you should crush them a bit. I encourage you to give this a try soon!

Ingredients
2 TB butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 TB dry taco seasoning
2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded
6 oz Fritos Corn Chips
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 TB chicken bouillon powder
2 TB dry mushroom gravy mix
1 can Rotel tomatoes, choose your own spice level, drain partially
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in frying pan. Saute onions, peppers and celery until softened. Add taco seasoning and mix together. While vegetables are sauteing spread Fritos in the bottom of an 8 X 8 baking dish. Pour chicken broth or stock over chips. Spread vegetables over corn chips. Then spread chicken over the vegetables. Mix
mayonnaise, sour cream, chicken bouillon powder, dry mushroom gravy mix and partially drained Rotel tomatoes. Put this mixture over the chicken. Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.