Pork Chops with Creamy Balsamic Mushrooms and Potato Croquettes

I'm a big fan of sauteed mushrooms and onions with balsamic vinegar. For these, I added a little cream. It's a great combination, on that my boyfriend, Stephen, enthusiastically proclaimed, "I like it!" I adopted the recipe for the potato croquettes from Rachael Ray's magazine. I added cheese and green onions to my mashed potatoes. I recommend getting the mashed potatoes as cold as possible so they will be easier to handle.

Pork Chops

Thin cut, bone-in pork chops

Ground Red Pepper

Garlic Powder

Dried Thyme

Dried Rosemary

Salt and pepper

Creamy Balsamic Mushrooms

1 container mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. heavy cream

In skillet, caramelize onions. Add mushrooms until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add balsamic vinegar and let it reduce, add cream and reduce.

Potato Croquettes

Granola

My nephew and niece love when I make them granola. Wait, they love when I make them anything sweet. But at least the granola has some sort of healthful value to it. So, I made them some granola to snack on tomorrow while they are waiting for their baby sister, Claire, to be born.

Granola

4 c. old fashioned oats

1/2 c. honey, slightly warm

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1/4 c. peanuts

1/2 c. raisins

1/4 c. dried pineapple, cut in small pieces

1/4 c. dried apricots, cut in small pieces

Mix all the ingredients together. Spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let cool completely, remove gently so it stays in clusters.

Greek Seasoned Steak and Pasta

My boyfriend, Stephen, is working a 12 hour shift today. You would think that I would feel bad for him for having to be at work, on his feet for 12 hours straight... Yeah sure, I hate that for him, but the thing that bothers me is that he would be eating 2 meals from the cafeteria today. So, I took him dinner to work. Yes, he is spoiled. He may deny it, but he knows it's true and he really does appreciate it.

Greek Seasoned Steak

Chuck Steak

2 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried mint

1 t. dried thyme

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Trim steak of fat and cut in bite size pieces. Mix herbs together and season steak. Cook in skillet.

Greek Orzo

1/4 lb. Orzo pasta, cooked

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

1/4 c. feta cheese

Mix warm pasta with lemon juice and oil. Let cool slightly, mix in all other ingredients.

Caribbean Pork and Plantain Chips

This meal was such a hit with my boyfriend, Stephen, he was still talking about it the next day. He even told his mom about it and showed her the picture on my camera. The plantain chips were inspired by my favorite restaurant, Cuba Libre. I sliced them lengthwise with a mandalin and fried them. I made a honey mustard sauce to go with them, and they disappeared quickly.

Caribbean Pork

Thin cut pork chops

Caribbean Jerk seasoning

Pineapple juice, from canned pineapple chunks

1 T. red pepper jelly

Season pork with jerk seasoning. Mix together pineapple juice and red pepper jelly(you may have to put in microwave briefly to soften jelly). Marinade pork chops with mixture for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Saute in skillet 4-5 minutes per side.

Pineapple Salsa

Canned pineapple chunks, diced

Tomato, diced

Red onion, diced

Jalapeno, finely minced

Salt and Pepper

Cilantro, chopped

Mix well and let flavors come together for at least 30 minutes in fridge.

Italian Halibut with Asparagus and Sweet Potatoes

My Mother's Day present to my sister-in-law, Kris, was a special dinner. Yes, I cook for her and the fam almost every Sunday. But this meal was a little bit more fancy and expensive than usual. Kris was truly pleased, she said it was the highlight of her Mother's Day.

Italian Halibut

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried rosemary

1 t. dried marjoram

1 t. oregano

salt and pepper

2 T. fresh parsley

lemon zest

1 clove garlic, grated

1/2 shallot, minced

halibut

Put all the ingredients except halibut in large ziploc bag. Mix well, using enough oil to make a paste. Add halibut and coat well. Let marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Cook on grill pan.

Roast Asparagus and Onions

fresh asparagus

onion, thinly sliced

extra virgin olive oil

garlic, minced

salt and pepper

Mix asparagus and onion, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken and Pasta

I was making dinner for my boyfriend, Stephen, last night. I didn't feel like making a trip to the grocery store, so I came up with this dinner from the items I had on-hand. I would have added some mushrooms too, but I didn't have any at home.

Chicken and Pasta

Chicken breast, cut up and cooked

Penne Rigate pasta

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

sundried tomatoes, sliced

ground red pepper

parsley

1/2 c. white wine

Cook pasta. In skillet, saute onion 2-3 minutes. Add sundried tomatoes, chicken and ground red pepper and mix well. Add wine and let reduce. Add about a 1/2 c. pasta water before drainng pasta. Add drained pasta to chicken. Mix well, top with parsley.

Chicken Stir-Fry

I'm a firm believer that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. My best friend, Kelly, does not exactly share my love for cooking or my views of cooking for her husband. I occassionally take it upon myself to cook for them so he can come home to a hot meal.


Chicken Stir-Fry

3 chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1/2 onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 c. matchstick carrots

1 head broccoli, cut up

1 c. snow peas

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 t. cornstarch

2 t. honey

1 t. sesame oil

2 T. hoisin sauce

brown rice

In large skillet, saute onion for 2-3 minutes. Add red pepper, carrots and broccoli, saute for another 2-3 minutes. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, cornstarch and honey. Add cooked chicken to skillet, add soy sauce mixture and hoisin sauce, mix well. Let flavors blend, 4-5 minutes. Add sesame oil and snow peas. Remove from heat and mix well.

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Verde Sauce

If I'm eating by myself, I can have a sandwich everyday. But, when I'm cooking for my family or my boyfriend, Stephen, I rarely repeat the same meal. I just feel that there are so many recipes and meal ideas out there. Repeating a meal is just kind of boring. I have made this for Stephen before, but he really liked it and in honor of Cinco de Mayo, it was an easy go-to. Maybe the margaritas make the repeat less boring...

To the rice, I added lime zest, chopped jalapenos, fresh cilantro and black beans.

Chipotle Marinade

1/4 c red wine vinegar

2 chipotle chili's

cumin

salt and pepper

chili powder

1/2 c olive oil

Mix well in food processor. Marinade chicken for at least 10 minutes

Creamy Verde Sauce

1 c. sour cream

1 jar Verde salsa

Yep, that's all. Put small amount in bottom of small casserole dish and on top of enchiladas.

Pork Fried Rice

I've been sitting in front of my computer for the last 15 minutes trying to think of a some cute and/or funny story to go with this meal... I got nothing. I wanted something easy, different and yummy for dinner. I know there are tons of ways to jazz up fried rice, but I was feeling traditional. And it was good!

Pork Fried Rice

Boneless Pork Chops

2 T oil

4 c. cooked rice, preferably day old

Carrots, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

Frozen peas

Thinly slice pork, saute until cooked through. Remove from skillet, set aside. Put oil in skillet, add carrots and onions. Saute until tender. Add rice and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Make a well in the middle of the skillet, add eggs and stir until scrambled up in small pieces, mix into rice. Add pork back into the skillet, stir in peas.

Italian Beef

This meal takes me back to Sundays as a kid. Sundays, helping Grandma clean up and watching football with Grandpa. The family members have changed and it was playoff basketball today instead of football, but the feeling was still the same. I made this old school Sunday dinner a little bit healthier with brown rice and fresh green beans instead of the cooked-to-death canned beans.


Italian Beef
Boneless Chuck Pot Roast
1 envelope Italian Seasoning
1 can beef broth
water
pepperocinis

Trim fat from roast. Put roast, seasoning, broth and enough water to cover roast in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or until tender. Slice pepperocinis and add to beef.

Balsamic Green Beans
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fresh green beans, trimmed
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
balsamic vinegar

Boil green beans for 2-3 minutes. Saute onion and mushrooms until tender and browned. Add balsamic vinegar, mix. Top green beans with mushrooms and onions.