Pork Chops with Blueberry Sauce

When I saw a picture of this on Love & Olive Oil, my mouth literally started watering. I'm not a pork chop person by any means - I've never cooked them before and they were always my least favorite meal when my mom made them. They always just seem so dry and chewy. Not my thing. But these... something about the blueberries in the sauce peaked the interest of my sweet tooth.


The original recipe called for boneless pork chops, but those weren't looking so great in the store so I went with the bone-in version. Probably not the best choice. As usual, these were very dry and I could barely eat them. Even the sauce didn't make up for it - way too buttery for me. I'm not going to blame the recipe, but rather the cook. It just looked so promising that I think I might have to try it again with a few tweaks - boneless meat and less butter for sure.

Pork Chops with Blueberry Sauce

(from Love & Olive Oil)

4 boneless pork chops

1/2c red wine

1/2c blueberries

2T butter

1 shallot, finely diced

1/4c water

1/2 of a lemon (zest and juice)

fresh parsley, chopped

(1) Preheat the oven to 425.

(2) Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper.

(3) Brown the pork chops, 1-2 minutes per side, in a skillet with about 1T olive oil.

(4) Place the pan with the pork chops in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

(5) Heat about 1T olive oil in another skillet and saute the shallots until golden brown.

(6) Add wine and water to skillet and boil down, about 2 minutes.

(7) Add the blueberries.

(8) When the blueberry skins begin to burst open, add the lemon zest and juice.

(9) Continue to boil until thick, then take off heat and stir in the butter and a pinch of salt.

(10) Serve sauce over pork chops, garnished with parsley.

BBQ Pulled Pork

For my birthday in August, my mom bought me a slow cooker. I've been wanting to use it, but wanted to wait until it got cold outside and I was craving a hearty meal. Well that time is finally here, and with long work days, it's nice to come home to a ready-made dinner.

This pulled pork recipe took me about 5 minutes to prepare the night before, and less than 5 minutes to get started in the morning. The apartment smelled SO good when I got home, I could barely wait for this to be done. Unfortunately it snowed the day I made this, so I wasn't able to get to the store to buy buns, but it was just as good on its own.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

(makes 12)

4lb pork shoulder

3T brown sugar

1 1/2T paprika

1 1/2T salt

1 1/2T pepper

1t garlic powder

1c beef broth

2 bay leaves

20oz barbeque sauce

Mix together brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Coat meat with spice mixture.

Put meat, broth, and bay leaves in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours.

Remove bay leaves and some fat. Shred pork.

Stir in barbeque sauce. Cover and cook about 2 more hours.

Serve on toasted buns.

Garlic Ginger Chicken Thighs

Lately I've been trying to cook more than bake, and to try recipes with ingredients that I would never otherwise eat. This recipe is simple enough that I wouldn't have minded spending time on it if I didn't like it, and it uses ginger, which I wouldn't normally eat. (I even had to google how to peel it.)

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Thighs

serves about 4

2lbs skinned, boneless chicken thighs

1c thinly sliced red onion

2T minced garlic

2T minced peeled ginger

1/4c soy sauce

1/4c orange juice

1t pepper

Combine chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, soy, juice and pepper in a plastic bag.

Seal and shake to coat chicken. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Oil grate (or grill pan). Grill skin side down, 5-6 minutes.

Flip and continue to cook, about 5 minutes.

I used boned chicken thighs for this (my grocery store doesn't sell boneless but skinned chicken). If you do this, add about 5-10 minutes to the cook time.

Jim's Welcome Home Party

When Jim came home after a 40 day trip to Asia I wanted to do something special for him, so I decided to throw a welcome home party. We mainly had frozen apps, but I made a few snacks as well.

One of those things was chicken fingers. I've never found a homemade chicken finger recipe that I actually like better than fast food chicken nuggets until now. The cheese added into this makes them so good. And they're really quick and easy too!

Parmesean Crusted Chicken Tenders

serves 4

1/4c all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/2c finely shredded parmesean cheese

1c coarse dry breadcrumbs

1lb chicken tenders

1T Italian seasoning

1t garlic powder

1/4t salt

1c marinara sauce, heated

Preheat oven to 450.

Place flour in one dish. Lightly beat eggs in another dish. Combine parmesean cheese and breadcrumbs in a third dish.

Toss chicken tenders with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt in a medium bowl. Coat in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumb mixture.

Place on baking sheet and coat top with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes. Turn and coat other side with cooking spray. Bake about 10 more minutes.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

And the even tastier dessert from that party is coming soon...

Chicken Burger

Chicken Burgers

1lb ground chicken

1/2 c panko crumbs

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 T plain Greek yogurt

pinch of salt

Mix together all ingredients. Shape into 4 patties and chill.

Brush patties with oil and grill 4-5 minutes per side. Serve on toasted bread or bun with sprouts and avocado.

Crab Cakes

As I was reading Food Network magazine a few weeks ago, I saw a recipe for a low-fat crab cake. I'm not the biggest fan of crab cakes because I'm never sure what else is in them besides crab, but figured I'd give this one a try since I like most of the ingredients. For one serving of these (2 crab cakes), there is only 220 calories. There's 9g of fat and 26g of protein as well. Granted, this will change based on what brands of ingredients you use, but that's not a bad range.

Crab Cakes

1 T + 2tsp olive oil

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 c finely chopped red bell pepper

1 c panko bread crumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 T nonfat milk

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

dash of hot sauce

1 lb lump crab or crab claw meat

salt and pepper

cooking spray

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions and bell pepper and cook until they begin to soften.

Mix 1/2 c panko crumbs, egg and milk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk Worcestershire sauce, mustard, lemon juice, Old Bay, and hot sauce. Fold in the crab meat, panko mixture, scallion-pepper mixture, 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper. Shape into 8 patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Coat crab cakes with remaining 1/2 c panko. Heat remaining 1 T olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Mist crab cakes with cooking spray and cook, sprayed-side down for 3-4 minutes. Spray the tops and flip, cooking 3-4 more minutes. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Growing up, I always loved when my mom made chicken tetrazzini - something about the crispy melted cheese on top... yum! I never realized how easy and quick it is to make, and it makes enough for dinner for multiple people (and lunch the next day too)!

Chicken Tetrazzini

1/4 c butter

1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 t pepper

1 c chicken broth

1 c whipping cream

2 T sherry or wine

1 package spaghetti (or any long stringy pasta)

2 c chicken (or more, depending on taste)

bag of grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350. Boil pot of water (for pasta). Begin cooking chicken, cut into cubed pieces. Cook pasta.

For sauce (takes approximately 10 mins), melt butter over low heat. Blend in flour and seasonings. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in broth and cream. Return to heat and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir sauce, pasta, and chicken together. Pour into a greased casserole dish (13x9). Sprinkle top with cheese.

Bake uncovered, approximately 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and top is golden.

Mini-Dinner Party

This weekend I was lucky enough to have a few of my friends from school visit. As soon as they told me about this a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to try out some new recipes and put my new cooking abilities to the test. For dinner we had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans, with lemon bars and a low fat cheesecake for dessert. Check out the recipes and pictures below (special thanks to Shari for taking them).

Roasted Chicken

From March 2010 Food Network Magazine

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless, skinned chicken breasts

2 heads garlic

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 425. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cook skin-side down in the skillet for about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken, add the garlic (separate into cloves but do not peel) and rosemary to the skillet and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

From Mixingbowl.com magazine

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2c light whipping cream

1/3c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan, covered, for 15-20 minutes (until tender). Drain and mash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon potatoes into four individual (10oz) baking dishes. In a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Stir in cheese and spoon over potatoes. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Green Beans with Lemon Herb Butter

Courtesy of Loveandoliveoil.com

5tbsp butter, softened

3tbsp parsley

2tsp fresh thyme

1.5tsp lemon zest

1tbsp fresh lemon juice

2lb green beans

Stir together all ingredients except butter in a small bowl until combined, along with 3/4tsp salt and 1/4tsp pepper. Cook beans in skillet until warm and crisp, then add butter until melted.

Unfortunately, I was a little behind on timing and had to put the girls to work when they came, not to mention the chicken was a little slow to cook. We ended up digging into the potatoes and green beans while we waited.

 

After dinner we were all so full that it was hard to think about eating more, but dessert looked too tempting... we didn't even get the cheesecake cut before we started eating it. Earlier in the week, it had been a coworker's birthday so I made lemon bars (always a good excuse to bake) for that so we tried some of those leftovers too!

Lemon Bars

From March 2010 Food Network Magazine

1.5 sticks butter, diced

2 1/3c all-purpose flour

1/4c light brown sugar

1/4c confectioners sugar

1/4tsp salt

4 whole large eggs + 2 egg yolks

2c sugar

1tsp lemon zest

1c fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil and grease with oil or cooking spray. Pulse butter, 2c flour, light brown and confectioners sugars and salt in a food processor or with a mixer until it sticks together. Press into the bottom of the pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake about 25 minutes, until golden. In another bowl, mix the eggs (and yolks), sugar, and remaining flour until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Remove the crust from the oven and pour the filling over it. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 and make 30-35 minutes. Let the bars cool until room temperature, and then refrigerate until firm. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

 

Low-Fat Cheesecake

From March 2010 Food Network Magazine

9 low-fat cinnamon graham crackers

2tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2.5 8oz packages Neufchatel cheese, softened

12oz fat-free cream cheese

1.5c sugar

1c fat-free sour cream

2 large eggs + 3 egg whites

2tbsp flour

1tsp vanilla extract

1tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor (or with a mixer) until crumbled. Add 2tbsp water and the butter and pulse until mixed. Wrap the outside of a springform pan with foil (to prevent leaks). Coat the inside of the pan with cooking spray. Press crust mixture onto bottom of pan and bake about 8 minutes, until browned. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes. Beat both cheeses and the sugar until smooth, then beat in sour cream on low speed. Lightly whisk the 3 egg whites then add to the cheese mixture. Also add whole eggs, flour, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat until fluffy. Pour over the crust. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, then chill until firm.

(the cheesecake after we devoured it)

Needless to say, we were all completely stuffed by the end of the night... (and they're probably going to hate me for making this picture public)

 

And completely unrelated to this dinner party but equally as awesome... for all you bakers out there, check out loveandoliveoil.com -  they're having an great giveaway right now for some amazing baking supplies!