Spiced Pork Chops with Apple Chutney

This recipe is FANTASTIC...I mean really, really GOOD!  The flavors just say Fall and of course the apples and cranberries go so good with the pork.  Try it!

Ingredients:

Chutney:

• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 5 cups (1/4-inch) cubed peeled apple (about 3 apples - I like Granny Smith)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries 
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice  

Pork:

• 3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops
• Cooking spray $\

Directions:

• To prepare chutney, melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add cranberries and the next 6 ingredients (through allspice); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until apples are tender; stir occasionally.
• 2. To prepare pork, while chutney simmers, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Combine chipotle and next 4 ingredients (through black pepper); sprinkle over pork. Coat grill pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with chutney.

This is restaurant quality...I mean NICE restaurant quality!  Hope you like it! 

Serving at the Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House is dear to my heart.  They provide a 'home away from home' for families who have children that are either in the hospital or visiting the hospital for an appointment.  They provide all this for a nominal fee (just a few dollars) to the families.  You have no idea how comforting it is for families who have sick children to know they can depend on the comfort and security of a Ronald McDonald House.  Our family has stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Montreal, Quebec - Canada and at the Ronald McDonald House at Loyola in Chicago, Illinois.  We have spent only dollars to stay at these wonderful houses and better yet most of the time we have been there meals have been provided to our families (and other families staying there) by volunteers!  So it just made sense when I was looking for a volunteer opportunity for Emma and her friends I chose our local Ronald McDonald House that serves Central Kentucky.  We planned a menu and asked some friends to come with us...we had a great time and I hope the guests there had a good meal too!

Our menu included:  

Chicken Pot Pie
Fabulous Green Beans tossed with Italian breadcrumbs
Rolls
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Mini Derby Pies
Lemonade

Here are some photos (none of which include my daughter because she didn't want her photo taken - ah...teenagers!)

 

I want to thank our wonderful friends for coming out to help us do such a nice thing.

Please consider serving at your local Ronald McDonald House - you never know when someone you love may need this wonderful charity too!

Baked Egg Rolls

I was in the mood to make Asian food one night recently.  I have made egg rolls before and this recipe is especially YUMMY! I found it on this blog called For the Love of Cooking.  You should try these but allow yourself a little bit of time...there's some prep work involved - but they are perfect to make on the weekend and the recipe makes quite a few so they are great for a dinner party or leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground turkey cooked 
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups of savoy cabbage, chopped
• 2 cups of shredded carrots
• 2 cups of bean sprouts
• 1 can of water chestnuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp green onions, sliced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup water
• 14 - 18 egg roll wraps
• Sweet chili dipping sauce or sweet and sour sauce (for dipping) 

Directions: 

Cook the ground turkey over medium heat until cooked thoroughly and chopped fine; remove from pan.  Now heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once hot add the cabbage, sprouts, carrots, chestnuts and ginger to the pan and cook, stirring frequently for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables just begin to wilt but still remain a little bit crisp. Mix the corn starch with the water and mix thoroughly. Add the corn starch mixture and soy sauce to the pan along with the green onions. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool.

Now place about 2 tablespoons of the cooled mixture on the center of the egg roll wrapper. Fold the bottom up over the filling. Next, fold the two sides over, making it look like an envelope, then roll it up.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the rolled up egg rolls on a baking sheet. Once you have rolled them all, spray the top of each egg roll with cooking spray. Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes then turn them over. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Serve with sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy.

These are really wonderful and you can omit the turkey to make them vegetarian or get creative and add other ingredients...possibilities are endless with this recipe! 

Chicken Tamale Casserole

This recipe I have been making for a few years now and it is a family favorite.  Better yet, it's really easy and inexpensive too.  I found this recipe on Cooking Light's website - which is one of my favorite places to visit for new meal ideas.  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican blend cheese or cheddar. - divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free milk 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray 
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce 
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast 
• Sour Cream for serving. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine corn bread mix, milk, 1/2 cup cheese, egg, cream corn, chilies, cumin and red pepper until well combined.  Pour into 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and bake until set, about 15 minutes.  

Remove cornbread from oven and poke holes all over using a fork.  Now open the can of enchilada sauce and pour all over the cornbread. 

Now spread your cooked, shredded chicken on top.  Then layer with remaining cheese and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese melts. 

 Here is the finished product - SO EASY!

Serve with sour cream on the side - DELICIOUS!

Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts

I LOVE Barefoot Contessa - I think she is the best chef that I have ever seen on Food Network...or at least she's my favorite - I have made a lot of her dishes and they are all superb!  This week bone in, skin on chicken breasts were on sale at Kroger - originally I planned on grilling them (which is always good) but decided to make this recipe instead since I had all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
9 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1 T grated lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 t. fresh minced thyme
salt and pepper
4-6 bone in chicken breast with skin
1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 X 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

I decided to serve this chicken with my favorite green vegetable:  Roasted Asparagus

This is a great Sunday dinner!

Copyright, 2010 Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That?

Apple Fritter Muffins

Today I noticed I had some gala apples that were getting a bit soft...instead of throwing them away I started searching for a recipe.  I found this recipe for Apple Fritter Muffins when looking around on Pinterest.  They turned out quite well.

Ingredients:
For the Apples:
2 large apples, 1/4 inch dice (I used 4 small gala apples)
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

1/3 cup flour

For the Muffins:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Glaze:
2 tbsp butter melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Line 14 muffin cups with muffin liners  and lightly spray the liners with cooking spray.
3. In a saucepan add apple ingredients except flour and cook over medium heat until apples are tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Stir in flour to coat apples (this prevents apples from sinking to bottom of muffins)
4. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
5. In a large bowl beat together applesauce, oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly  
6. Stir the flour into the applesauce mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. Gently stir in apples until just combined.
7. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups almost full. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.
8. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing. 
9. To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth. 
10. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin top into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. 

ENJOY!

Homemade Meatballs stuffed with Fresh Mozzarella

I enjoy looking online, specifically on other blogs, for meal inspiration.  I recently found a recipe for Homemade Meatballs stuffed with fresh mozzarella on the Picky Palate .  It was fabulous and everyone really enjoyed them.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 pound lean ground beef
1 large eggs
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 -3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 container of mini Mozzarella balls (bite size)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Combine beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, Parmesan, milk, garlic, Worcestershire, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper and garlic salt into a large mixing bowl and mix until combined.

Take 1/4 cup meat mixture and form into a ball and make an indention in the middle where the 

cheese ball will go.

Place a little cheese ball in the center.

Now mold the meat around the little ball of cheese and place in the baking dish.

Bake about 35 minutes, pour off excess beef juices as necessary until the meatballs are done.

Serve anyway you enjoy meatballs...we had Spaghetti and Meatballs - it was GREAT!