Yogurt Marinated Pork Chops

For some reason, Justin had been CRAVING yogurt marinated pork chops. Not sure where it came from, but he wanted them. So I found a quick recipe online and off I went to defrost some pork and start the marinating process. These really couldn't be easier. Marinate for 4 hours, stick in the oven. Done. We broiled some Brussels sprouts too, so the whole dinner took about 10 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to cook. Fantastic, if you ask me!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
  

Directions:

1. Rinse and clean the pork chops. Trim any attached fat.
   
2. In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, ginger, garlic, salt and chili powder. Add the chops to the marinade and mix gently till all sides are evenly coated. Refrigerate the marinated chops for 2-4 hours, turning the pieces once in between.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 350.
   
4. Lift the chops from the marinade and place on the baking tray coated with tin foil. Bake 40 minutes or until done.

Other Brother Dave's Pork Tenderloin

Since we both have brothers named Dave, I commonly refer to Justin's brother as "Other Brother Dave" to avoid confusion. This is his recipe for slow cooked pork tenderloin, and it's quite delicious. He first made it for us at Christmas, and I was shocked to find out just how easy it is to cook. Four ingredients, in the slow cooker, and 7 hours later you've got a full meal on the table. yum! I love the sweetness of the cranberries, and the tang from the mustard. It's a perfect compliment to the pork.

Ingredients

• 1 16oz can of cranberry jelly
  
• 3 T of fresh lemon or orange juice (I prefer orange)
  
• 4 T of dijon mustard
  
• 3 T of brown sugar
  
• 2 pounds pork tenderloins

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients, through brown sugar, to form a sauce. Place pork tenderloins in slow cooker and cover with sauce.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs, or high 4-5 hrs
3. Add potatoes and carrots, if desired, about 3 hours into cooking process. I also quartered an onion and threw that in the crockpot for some more flavor.

Tenderloin Steaks with Red Onion Marmalade

We still have a few steaks leftover from the fabulous Omaha Steak package Justin got for Hanukkah. We vowed to try a new recipe with each cut of beef, hoping to add some "favorites" to our on-going collection of recipes. I paired this with garlic mashed potatoes and some steamed spinach. The onions have a nice sweet, slightly acidic flavor to them, which really went well with the meat. And the potatoes. Well, who doesn't love some roasted garlic?! And a whole head of garlic in these? Yum!! They were uber-delicious. Both recipes are, of course, from Cooking Light.

Tenderloin Steaks & Marmalade
Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 large red onion, sliced and separated into rings (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (1 inch thick)

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Add vinegar, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 8 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.

3. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, thyme, and pepper evenly over beef. Place beef on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with onion mixture.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients

• 1 whole garlic head
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound peeled Yukon Gold or red potatoes, quartered
  
• 3 cups water
  
• 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
   
2. Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate cloves). Rub oil over garlic head; wrap in foil. Bake at 375° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Set aside. Discard skins.
   
3. Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Heat milk in pan over medium heat until hot (do not boil). Add potatoes, salt, and pepper, and beat at medium speed of a mixer until potato mixture is smooth (I just used a handheld potato masher, since I'm not a fan of using a hand mixer for mashed potatoes). Add garlic pulp, and stir well.

Pork Tenderloin with Mango-Soy-Ginger marinade

Mangoes were on sale this week at the grocery store, and I just couldn't resist. It's been so long since we've cooked with them, so I bought 2 and figured I'd find a way to use them later! Of course, there's a Costco pork tenderloin in the freezer, as always, so I started looking up recipes for a mango pork tenderloin. Came across this one, that looks darn tasty. I made the marinade a day in advance so the pork could sit in it overnight and soak up all those yummy flavors.

I served this with some rice, that I cooked with 2 tablespoons of the Paprika Spice Blend I made the other night for pork. It gave the rice a nice smokey, sort of spicy flavor that paired nicely with the pork.

Ingredients

• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons pure olive oil
• 3/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup mango chutney (I chopped up a fresh mango instead and it was perfect!)
  
• 1 12-16 oz. pork tenderloin

Directions

1. Heat oil until shimmering and then add onions. Turn heat to low and cook onions until very tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
2. In a medium size bowl, combine the cooked onions and the rest of the ingredients except for the pork. Stir well to combine and then pour into a Ziploc bag. Put the pork tenderloin in the bag and seal. Shake well to thoroughly coat the pork. Allow pork to marinate for at least six hours, or up to 24 hours.
3. About 45 minutes before dinnertime, start your grill. When the coals reach medium heat (when you can just stand to hold your hand over the grill for about 5 seconds), put the pork on the grill. Turn frequently, cooking until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140F, about 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, take the remaining marinade and heat it in a saucepan on the stove. Bring the sauce to a full boil until it is reduced to a nice thick sauce. Pour it into a little bowl and set aside.
5. When the pork is ready, remove from grill and let it sit. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise for the first few minutes, and then it will begin to cool and the juices will absorb back into the tissues. After about 10 minutes, when the meat has begun to cool a little, carve into 1/2 inch thick slices and fan 4-5 slices on each plate. Pour the carving juices into your bowl of sauce, swirl to combine, and spoon the sauce over the pork.

The pork looks pink, and raw towards the top right of the picture, but it's actually just from the smoker we used to cook it. We've found when we smoke meats, especially the pork tenderloin, they end up with a bright pink color. It's fully cooked though, don't worry!!

Thai Coconut Curry Tilapia

By now, you've probably figured out that we are huge fans of Asian style cuisine, and I have a new recent obsession with Cooking Light! This recipe is from Cooking Light.com and was rated one of the top fish recipes. So of course I had to try it. It is SO good. Just a bit spicy, but not so spicy that it burns your mouth. This sauce is definitely going in my "staple book" to use on chicken, fish, tofu, veggies, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons red curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups hot cooked basmati rice
• 4 lime wedges

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add pepper and onions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.
3. Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce, rice, and lime wedges.

Chocolate Banana Chip Cookies

Everyone knows when your bananas start turning black, it's time to make banana bread! This time though, it was time to make banana chocolate chip cookies. These little babies are SO delicious and versatile! You could add chocolate chips, toasted walnuts, dried banana chips, etc. The original recipe is from the Golden Book of Chocolate. The only change I made was to omit the chopped dried banana chips, and use banana extract instead of vanilla extract, just to punch it up a bit.

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown, as it's all I had)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp banana extract)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large banana, peeled and mashed
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried banana chips (I omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I recommend convention, instead of convection. For some reason, these just don't bake as well in convection.). Butter 3 baking sheets, or line with parchment.
2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
3. With mixer on low speed, beat in the banana and mixed dry ingredients, followed by the chocolate and banana chips. Drop teaspoons of the dough 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. (You can use a cookie scoop for standard size cookies, or an ice cream for Bickford sized cookies!! We like our cookies jumbo sized...)
   
4. Bake until just golden, 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheets until the cookies firm slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

Root Beer Float Ice Cream

We made a cake at work that only required egg whites, so I was able to bring home a plethora of yolks. And what do you make with egg yolks? Ice cream! Last night we made Ina Garten's Espresso ice cream, which is delicious. And tonight we made Root Beer Float ice cream. I brought home some root beer concentrate (also from work, of course!) and we just added it to Alton Brown's basic ice cream base recipe. So creamy and good. It tastes just like a float -- creamy and frothy, and just enough root beer. I also didn't have enough 1/2 and 1/2 for the recipe, so I ended up using 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 and 3 cups heavy cream. It's luxurious!

**Quick Update** I don't recommend using this much cream! It's tasty, but the fat content is just a tad bit too high. I'd suggest using the original recipe of 3 cups 1/2 and 1/2 and 1 cup heavy cream.

Ingredients

• 9 ounces sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 3 cups 1/2 & 1/2
• 1 Tbsp root beer concentrate
  
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Over medium heat, bring the cream and 1/2 & 1/2 just barely to a simmer.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks until they're light and creamy. Slowly whisk in the sugar until light and THICK. You want the mixture to fall from the whisk slowly and sort of clump when it reaches the bowl. If it's runny, keep whisking. It takes a while to get it to the right consistency.

3. Slowly add 1/3 of the cream into the eggs while whisking constantly. Once that's mixed and the eggs are tempered, slowly add the remaining cream into the eggs and whisk to combine. Add in the root beer concentrate and stir until thoroughly mixed.

4. Return cream/egg mixture to the heat, and stir on medium low until it reaches 170 degrees. Move mixture to a metal bowl and cool in sink filled with cold water. Once mixture reaches room temperature, refrigerate to 40 degrees.

5. Add mixture to ice cream machine and follow manufacturer's directions.

Fresh Linguine with Spicy Red Clam Sauce

This weekend we found an incredible deal on a pasta roller/cutter, so we decided it was about time we ventured into making fresh pasta. Linguine was the first thing we made, and what better sauce to pair it with than spicy red clam sauce! Yum. The clam sauce is from Cooking Light, and the fresh pasta recipe is from AllRecipes.

Fresh Pasta
Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thinness. Use machine or knife to cut into strips of desired width. I kneaded the dough in a KA stand mixer. Had to add about 1/4 cup of water though, in order to bring the dough together.

Spicy Red Clam Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 (9-ounce) package fresh linguine (or make your own, like we did!)
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (6.5-ounce) cans minced clams, undrained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. (For our fresh pasta, we let it dry for about 5 hours, then boiled it for 4 minutes to al dente.)
   
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes; cook 4 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in clams; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, basil, and oregano. Serve with pasta.

Ina Garten's Espresso Ice Cream

We were making a cake at work last week that called for about 40 whites. With nothing to do with the yolks, I decided to bring them home and make ice cream! First on the list was Ina Garten's Espresso Ice Cream. We're huge fans of Alton Brown's ice cream, but this recipe is slightly different. Next time, I'd definitely double it, since the recipe doesn't make very much (about 1 quart). It's quite espresso-y though and delicious. Creamy, velvety, and packed full of flavor.

**Quick Update** After eating a few bowls of the ice cream, it still tastes delicious, but the consistency is a bit icy. I think I'll go back to my tried and true Alton Brown recipe, as it's got a much creamier texture. Nice try Ina, but Alton's got you beat!

Ingredients

• 3 cups half-and-half
• 6 extra-large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee beans, decaffeinated or regular
• 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chocolate-covered espresso beans, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the half-and-half until it forms bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam starts to rise. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half until combined. Wipe out the pan and pour the mixture back into the clean pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (until it reaches 170 degrees), for 5 to 10 minutes, until it's thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon.
2. Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans, coffee liqueur, and vanilla and refrigerate until completely chilled.
3. Pour the espresso cream into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Mix in the chopped espresso beans, spoon into a container, and allow to freeze for a few hours. Soften slightly before serving.

Pork Tenderloin & Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes

Yet another 2 recipes from Cooking Light -- November 2008 edition. Costco has such a wonderful deal on pork tenderloins, we always have at least 1 in the freezer. So I'm always on the lookout for new recipes that use pork tenderloin, which is one of our favorite cuts of meat. This recipe is so quick and easy, it's a great recipe for weeknights when you're short on time. Full of flavor, easy to cook, and goes well with just about any side dish you might have on hand. I chose to pair it with the Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes, which is also a quick and simple dish.

Paprika Spice Rub

• 1/4 cup paprika
• 2 T salt
• 2 T ground cumin
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 T chili powder
• 2 T ground black pepper
• 1 T garlic powder

Combine all ingredients; store in airtight container.

Pork Tenderloin with Paprika Spice Rub

• 1 tablespoon Paprika Spice Blend
  
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Rub Paprika Spice Blend over pork. Place pork in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 500 degrees for 20 minutes until it reaches 155 degrees.

Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes

• 3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 T butter
• 3/4 cup goat cheese
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 3 T chopped fresh chives (I used green onions instead and thinly sliced them)
  

Directions

1. Place potatoes in saucepan and cover with cold water to 2 inches above. Add 1/4 tsp salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 min or until tender; drain. Return the potatoes to pan over low heat; add remaining 1 tsp salt and butter to pan. Mash potatoes until desired consistency.
2. Add cheese and pepper to potato mixture; stir until cheese melts. Stir in milk; cook 1 min until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in chives.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

With the recent ice and snow hitting the DC area, I decided it was time to start making some warm, hearty soups for dinner. Something about snow and wind makes me crave hot soup and bread, so I turned to Cooking Light (Dec 2008) and found a delicious recipe for Coconut Curry soup. It's definitely filling, with the chicken, spinach and pasta.

This definitely has a long list of ingredients, but it makes about 8 servings, so it'll last a while.

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 5.75oz package pad thai noodles
• 1 T canola oil
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 tsp red curry paste
• 1 1/2 curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• 2.5 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped
• 7 lime wedges

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and peas to pan, cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables and place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.
2. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro and chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

Chicken Fricassee & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

We've recently found a love for Brussels Sprouts, despite the negative connotation the public seems to give them. These little gems are really quite delicious when seasoned properly, and I highly recommend you try them, even if you've had negative past experiences. The chicken is SO easy to cook -- marinate it overnight and it's ready to go whenever you are. Both recipes are from Cooking Light -- Chicken is from Jan/Feb 2009 edition, Brussels sprouts from Dec 2008.

Chicken Fricassee Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 T chopped fresh thyme
• 3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1 large onion)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

Directions

1. Combine mustard, 1 Tablespoon parsley, 1.5 tsp thyme and chicken in a large plastic bag. Toss well to coat -- chill 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Remove chicken from bag, discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan, cook 5 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from pan.
3. Add chopped onion to pan, and saute 5 min or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic to pan, and saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine and chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 1 Tablespoon parsley and remaining 1.5 teaspoons thyme. Return chicken to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 min until chicken is done. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, and keep warm.
4. Cook sauce, uncovered, over medium heat 4 min or until slightly thick. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tablespoons parsley.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Chestnuts
Ingredients

• 4 cups trimmed and quartered Brussels sprouts
• 1 1/4 cups halved chestnuts (I roasted fresh ones)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• dash of ground red pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine sprouts and chestnuts in a large bowl. Add oil, salt and peppers; toss well to coat. Spread in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until sprouts are tender, stirring after 15 min. Remove from oven. Add butter to sprout mixture, tossing until butter melts.

Garlic Gnocchi & Spinach

This is originally a Cooking Light recipe that I altered just a bit. It's quick, easy, and full of flavor. Pair it with a nice salad to round out the meal. I used store-bought gnocchi, packaged spinach, and pre-shredded Parmesan. Could it be any easier?!

Ingredients

• 16 oz pre-packaged gnocchi
• 1 Tablespoon butter
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh spinach
• Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat non-stick skillet on medium-high. Add butter. Fry gnocchi for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until light golden brown.
   
2. Add garlic to pan and heat for 1 minute. Add half of the spinach to the pan and stir. When spinach begins to wilt, add remaining spinach. Cook additional 3-4 minutes until spinach is completely wilted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in Parmesan cheese.