Seared Pork Chops with Mushroom-Beer Sauce

Okie dokie!! Nothing fancy today, had to really watch the grocery budget this week. Things are TIGHT!!! So, I had some pork chops in the freezer. And I made my meal around what I already had, and then just picked up odds and ends. It's a great way to save money. Especially if you can buy meat in larger packs, and separate them at home and freeze!! Great money saver!! In fact the only thing I spent money on for this meal was the fresh mushrooms, I had everything else on hand.. Which is good for the wallet, and tummy!! Oh, and this meal is actually really healthy!! Imagine that?!? LOL!

Seared Pork Chops with Mushroom-Beer Sauce:

4 Boneless pork loin chops
2TB flour
1TB butter
1TB olive oil
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 sm onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can or bottle of beer
1tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper both sides of your pork chops. In a plate mix the flour and some salt, pepper, and thyme. Lightly bread the pork chops in the flour mixture. Melt the butter and oil, in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork chops on both sides until golden brown. Remove. Add in the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and thyme. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the pork chops back in, with the beer. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Simmer for at least 12-15 minutes.(until tender) Remove chops, season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. If sauce is not thick enough, in a small bowl mix 1TB cornstarch with 1/4c cold water. mix well. Stir into the sauce, and simmer until thickened. I served this on a bed of spinach, or you could also serve with mashed potatoes, or noodles.

Cubano Mac & Cheese

Happy Tuesday everyone! Decided to make Rachael Ray's Cubano Mac & Cheese today. It's really good. It's based on a Cuban sandwich. Ham, pickles, mustard, Swiss cheese, and in this case hot sauce.. YUM!!! It's a wonderful combination of flavors. Don't be scared! I know it sounds like an odd combo, but it's delicious!! Trust me my picky husband even likes it! ;) Here's the link.

Cubano Mac & Cheese:

here

Outside In Blue Cheese and Cayenne Bacon Burgers

Have y'all just ever had one of those days?? Ya know, the kind where nothing goes right and you just want to crawl in a hole and hide and come out the next day?? Yeah, today was one of those days. But you know what makes me happy? BACON!!! And burgers, and cheese.. They are just those kind of comforting decadent foods that make your soul smile! So I've been experimenting with these "Jucy Lucy" burgers, ever since I saw them on Man VS. Food, and Food Wars. Molten cheese inside of a burger.. Get out!!! Yummy!! How could you go wrong? So here's today's experiment, which was supremely delicious. Hope y'all are having a better day than me. Much love to ya!!

Outside In Blue Cheese and Cayenne Bacon Burgers:
Serves 4

2 lbs ground chuck
8 slices of bacon(cooked) 4 crumbled, and four in half(for the top)seasoned with cayenne pepper.
4oz blue cheese (crumbled)
2oz Swiss cheese (optional)
4 hamburger buns
Grill seasoning (or salt and pepper)
cayenne pepper ( optional)

Separate the beef into 8 equal sections, flatten into a thin patty about 1/4" thick. Put the 1/4 the amt of bacon, blue cheese and Swiss in the middle (in a mound). Put a second patty on top. Seal well!!! Season both sides with grill seasoning. Put on a plate and repeat with the remaining 3. Put in the refrigerator for about 10 min. Start grill, for gas heat to 400°. Put burgers over direct flame. Close lid. Cook for 8 minutes, flip and poke a hole or two with a toothpick to release steam. Continue to cook on 2nd side for 7 minutes. Remove and set on a plate. Place buns on grill briefly to get a little char, remove. Assemble your burger and add the other strip of bacon. Can add pickles, lettuce, tomato or grilled onions. Whatever floats your boat.

Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

Ok, here is a super fast yummy dinner. This would be great when you just get home from work, or just don't feel like standing in the kitchen very long. It's garlicky, buttery, lemony ( is that even a word?). LOL!!! It's good I promise! You can play with the amounts of the garlic. I guess you could leave out the lemon and hot pepper flakes completely if you wanted to. That is the joy of cooking!! NO RULES!! I like that! I'm a little rebellious I guess! So here ya go!

Shrimp Scampi with Orzo:
Serves 4

3/4c orzo (rice shaped pasta)
1lb uncooked shrimp ( peeled and deveined)Dust with a little flour
4TB butter (divided)
2TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
4 green onions sliced thinly
1/2c dry white wine
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

Cook orzo in boiling heavily salted water in a large sauce pan. Cook until al dente. about 8 minutes. ( drain)
Melt 2TB butter, and the oil in a heavy skillet over med-high heat. Add in garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for about 20 seconds. Add in the shrimp and saute about 2 minutes. Add in the green onion and lemon zest, toss for about 1 minute until shrimp are opaque in the center. Add the wine and lemon juice cook until wine boils (about 1 minute). Stir in remaining butter, and season with salt and pepper. Put pasta in a large bowl and top with shrimp and garlic sauce. Garnish with extra green onions and parmesan cheese.

Rouladen, Rot Kraut & Spaetzle

I love German food. It is so simple, yet so flavorful, and hearty!! I've got three recipes for you. The Rouladen recipe is one I got from a friend that is from Heidelberg, Germany. It is a beef roll with mustard, bacon and pickle. That is the way they "roll", haha!! They add sour kraut to the traditional Rouladen. If you don't like sour kraut you could always leave it out.

Rouladen:
4 Beef steaks (look for Milanese cut) 3"wide about 1/4" thick
4 Dill Pickle Quarters
8 slices of regular bacon ( not thick cut)
mustard
salt & pepper
sour kraut
3TB oil
1 box beef stock
1 small onion diced
2TB Cornstarch mixed into 1/4c cold water

Salt and pepper one side of the beef, spread a thin layer of mustard on. Place 2 strips of bacon on the meat. Put a little layer of sour kraut over the beef, and then put a pickle spear at one end of the beef. Roll tightly into a roll, and secure with kitchen string or a toothpick. Repeat with remaining 3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Sear the rolls on each side till brown. Add in the diced onion and the beef broth. Cover and simmer for 45 min. to an hour. Take out the Rouladen and let rest, covered. To make the gravy add in the cornstarch slurry to the beef broth. Bring to a boil, whisking and reduce heat to simmer to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spaetzle: (Dumplings)

3c flour
2 eggs (beaten)
1c water
1tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
4TB butter

Mix flour,salt and nutmeg in a bowl, make a well add in eggs and water, and stir till combined. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the dough, in batches into a zip top back greased with cooking spray, cut off the corner of the bag. Squeeze the dough and use kitchen shears to cut into small pieces into water. Cook until they float. Pull out and drain on a plate, repeat until done. Put the butter in a small skillet and warm over medium heat until browned. Toss with Spaetzle.

Rot Kraut: (Red Cabbage)

1 small red cabbage(shredded)
2 green apples (peeled and grated)
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2c red wine vinegar
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1c water
1TB Oil
salt and pepper

Put cabbage, apples, bay leaf, cloves, salt and vinegar in a zip top bag. Mix well. Put in fridge, let marinate at least 4 hours best if overnight. Heat oil in large pot, add the cabbage mixture the water and sugar and simmer till tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve Rouladen and Spaetzle topped with gravy with the Rot kraut on the side.

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas w/Salsa Verde & Habanero Pickled Red Onions

MMMMMMM!!! I likey the spicy!! I adapted this recipe from Bon Appétit. I have been wanting to make this for almost three years now, I just never got around to it, so I decided let's do it!! This was such an amazing flavorful, spicy (but not too spicy dish. You could take a lot of short cuts with this one if needed, you could buy a rotisserie chicken. ( 2c of shredded chicken is about 1/2 the chicken). You could shred and freeze the other for later. You could also use a jarred salsa verde to save some time as well. The pickled onions, were nice!! If you don't like things as spicy you could substitute the habanero for a serrano or even jalapeno. The only adjustments I made were: on the salsa I added an extra jalapeno, and a little extra cumin and I added the juice of one lime. I also made it the day before so the flavors could marry. On the enchiladas, I just added an extra roasted poblano. What?? I can't help it!!! I like hot peppers!! LOL! :) I hope y'all enjoy!!

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas:
Here

Salsa Verde:
Here

Pickled Red Onions:
1lbs red onions peeled, halved and sliced into 1/8" slices
1 1/2tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
1c lime juice
1/2c white vinegar
1 small habanero pepper ( slice small slit in the bottom)

Mix all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, mix well. Squeeze out extra air, put in a bowl, and weigh down with a small plate. Put in the fridge, and marinate at least 24 hours. ( Can be made a week in advance)

The Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ever since I saw this recipe in Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cookbook and made it, I cannot make myself go back and make meatballs any other way!!! They are moist and tender, robust, flavorful and just all around amazing.. I am going to post the link to the meatball recipe and his pomodoro sauce recipe.. You can always use your favorite jarred sauce, but I prefer to make my own ( I've even changed up his recipe a little, shhhhh!!) LOL! These meatballs are seriously as big as my fists!! They are massive! When I make this I make sure to get as many of the ingredients as possible organic, and for the meatballs I just use ground beef(grass fed, organic) I don't use the pork. Whatever you do just make sure your meat is no leaner than 80/20. (Otherwise they will be dry.) That's pretty much the only thing I change on the meatballs. On the sauce.. I double the garlic, and I use all the juice from both cans of San Marzano tomatoes. I also add in red pepper flakes, and dry wine(about 1/4-1/2c). Trust me this recipe is worth every penny and every ounce of time.. You will love them!!!

Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs with homemade Pomodoro Sauce:
here