Sweet Potato & Apple Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Balsamic Orange Glaze

The aroma this dish gives off makes you salivate!

Ingredients
3 pounds thick bone-in pork chops (6--8 ounce chops)
1 tablespoon season salt (used: Jane’s Crazy Mixed Up Salt)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 sweet potatoes, peeled & medium dice

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled & medium dice

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, peeled, halved & sliced thin

1 tablespoon sugar

½ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
Glaze

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup orange juice

½ cup orange marmalade

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

S&P, to taste

Directions:

Start with thick bone-in pork chops. Rinse with cool water and pat dry with a clean paper towel.

Using a sharp boning knife, make a deep cut into the center of each chop, creating a pocket.

Season well, inside and out

Place in a preheated saute pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown on both sides. Repeat with all chops. Set aside on a baking sheet.

Using the same saute pan, over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and onions and saute. (If there is a lot of blackened bits left from the meat, scrape out and discard, but keep golden browned bits.)

Add 1 tablespoon sugar to the onions and continue sauteing until they reach a caramel/golden brown color.
Remove onion to a bowl and set aside. Add sweet potato to pan and saute for 2 minutes.
Add apples, thyme, and fresh cracked salt and pepper. Saute for about 1 minute.
Add orange juice to deglaze the pan. Saute for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium-high heat to reduce liquid. Stir in sauteed onions. Pour off into a bowl and allow to cool to the point where you can handle it with your fingers.
Generously stuff the chops, pressing mixture firmly into the center pocket.
Meanwhile, combine all of the glaze ingredients into a sauce pot and place over medium heat and reduce until slightly thickened, just enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.

Brush chops with glaze and place in preheated oven. Bake for a total of about 15 to 20 minutes, basting with glaze periodically.

Allow chops to cool on the pan, tented with foil for 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with remaining glaze, if desired.

This wonderful recipe and first picture came from Jane Deere

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

SO GOOD! One of my favorite recipes.

ingredients

8 oz. dried bow tie pasta
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1 c of heavy cream
3/4c of milk
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
2cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz.)
1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, chop
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup whole wheat crackers crushed
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. butter, melted

directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In medium skillet cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside.
2. In bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cream, seasoning, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion/garlic. Transfer to a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole.
3. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, crushed crackers, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden. Makes 6 to 8 servings.


I adapted this recipe from BHG and picture is from also from there.

Fire Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 onion, chopped

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove minced
2 cans of cream of corn
1 can of diced tomato
1 can of hominy
1 can of green chiles
1 can of black beans
1/4cp of cilantro
2 tbl corn meal
3cps of cubed cooked chicken
or 2cps of shredded chicken recipe here
2cps of chicken broth
Spices:
2tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2tsp cumin
Salt to taste


For Roasting:
2 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
2 garlic
Toppings:
tortilla chips
avocado
Monterrey Jack cheese
green onions
cilantro

Directions
Fire Roast:
1. Place tomatoes, whole garlic cloves and red bell over fire on a comal/griddle.
2. Flip til all sides are roasted brownish. Once it's done peel off the brownish part off.
2. Puree just until its chunky. You may need to add a little bit of water if using a blender.

Soup:
1. In a pot heat oil and add, onions, the 1 minced garlic clove until soft. Stir in spices chili powder, oregano, cumin. 
2. Add Chicken broth and can of tomatoes, cream of corn, puree, hominy, cornmeal, beans, cilantro and chicken. Simmer for 20min
3. Top each bowl with tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, cilantro and green onions.

I have seen many recipes that leave the fire roasting step out but that is where the authentic Mexican flavor comes in so if possible don't skip it.  The aroma that the simmering of vegetables in their skin brings out makes my stomach growl and it brings back memories of being in my moms kitchen. Its delicioso!

Picture from Cave Cibum.

Easy & Creamy Chicken Pot Pie

I'm glad you found us!  We have move our post over to our new website Inspired by Familia.  Feel free to hop on over and get this amazing and easy recipe Easy & Creamy Chicken Pot Pie.

Beef and Potato Empanadas with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

Making this empanada dough brought back a childhood memory: making tortillas with my mom.  We didn't make tortillas from scratch often but when we did it was a family affair. 

FILLING
1 small russet potato, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

PASTRY
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 teaspoon salt
2 tspn honey
1 cup vegetable shortening, melted
1 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 large egg yolk, beaten
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Spicy Cilantro Dipping Sauce (recipe follows
Directions

FOR FILLING:
Dice potato in small cubes and cook in a large skillet w/ oil over medium-high heat. Cook until potatoes are tender. Remove potatoes.
Add to pan w/ oil beef, onions and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Add potato, bouillon, chili powder and cumin; cook for 3 minutes. Let cool.
FOR PASTRY:
COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add shortening, milk, egg, honey and egg yolk. Stir with a fork until dough forms a ball. Roll into twenty 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll each ball on floured surface to 6-inch circle. Keep dough balls covered as you work. Place balls between a plastic bag to roll out and flatten.
EGG WASH- optional step if your baking- for a shiny brown empanada you brush egg wash over the top of each empanada.
HEAT oil in large saucepan for frying or you can bake it.  I baked mine for a faster and healthier meal.

TO ASSEMBLE:
PLACE 1/4 cup filling in center of each circle. Wet edges with water and fold in half; seal edges by pinching together or crimping with fork. Fry a few empanadas at a time until golden brown or place on baking sheets and bake in preheated 400° F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with cilantro sauce.

Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce.

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients to incorporate them fully and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This recipe was adapted from an unknown source. 

Orange Chicken

This wasn't hard but it had a lot of steps.

I googled tons of recipe and picked what looked like the easiest and also this one had how to pictures I used blog chef's recipe .  I am a visual learner so pictures for lots of steps recipes is a must.



Vist the site for the great how to recipe.  It was really good.  The only thing different that I did was I chopped up celery, red bell and carrots and add it to the chicken.  I NEEDED something healthy to compensate for deep frying the chicken.  I didn't use a lot of oil maybe 4 tablespoons and I felt like it was enough.

Arroz con Pollo with Creamy Chipotle Gravy

I made this meal for our guest and as always things get crazy in the kitchen the last 15min before our guest arrive so I didn't even remember to get a picture.  So I search the web for a picture that would do justice to my recipe and this was the closest resemblance to my yummy dish.

Make your crock pot Rotisserie Chicken recipe here or you can pick up a rotisserie chicken at the deli. To serve your rice fluffy and warm make it 30min before dinner.  Make Mexican White Rice recipe below.  While the rice is cooking start the Chipotle Creamy Gravy here. 

Once all of this is cooked assemble by putting rice on plate then put chicken over rice and the GRAND FINALE party in your mouth pour Chipotle Creamy Gravy over the whole dish.

FANCY RICE presentation- spray a ramekins dish or small bowl with rice while its hot and flip over onto plate. 

Friday Link up to http://www.momtrends.com/

EASY Rotisserie Chicken

 If you have perused my blog you will notice a word that is used a lot in my recipes and that is EASY.

Here is an EASY Rotisserie Chicken recipe that a friend shared with me way back when I first started using the crock pot.

Whole chicken
Salt and Pepper
Favorite Chicken seasoning

1. Cover thawed whole chicken with salt, pepper and seasoning.
2. Stick in crock pot for 3-4 hrs on high.

VOILA! yes that is it. Expect a house smelling like you have been slaving away in the kitchen and meat coming off the bone because its so tender and juicy.

Pecan Crusted Pork Chops

Loved it, Loved it, Loved it!

I usually just dip by pork chops in an egg solution and then dip them in the breaded mix but this time I mixed it up a bit by using Honey Mustard instead of egg and marinating them in Worcestershire sauce. This made them juicy with a tinge of sweetness.

Ingredients:
3 pork chops that are not too thick
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cp of crushed pecans
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbs of Apple Juice & 3 tbs of water
1/3 cp of Honey Mustard dressing or make your own using honey and mustard.
Salt to taste

1. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce over chops and set aside in a bowl.
2. Mix pecans and spices put in a bowl wide enough for your meat.
3. In another bowl (big enough to dip your meat in) pour honey  mustard sauce.
4. Set your bowls up in a line and start the dipping with the mustard mix making sure it is evenly coated on both sides, then dip it in your pecan mix and then onto pan.
4. Heat up oil over medium-high heat and sear on one side for bout 4 minutes. Reduce temperature to medium.

5. Turn over and sear other side for about a minute, put apple juice & water mix into pan and cook for another 4 - 5 minutes or until done.


 

Gorgonzola, Pear, Chicken & Caramelized Walnut Salad

I had this salad at one of those cute little cafe shops in a small town in the Georgian Mountains.  It was absolutely delish!

So of course the first thing that comes to my mind while eating this is how can I remake it at home.
Gorgonzola, Pear, Chicken and Walnut Salad
2 Bags Baby Mixed Greens
Chicken Breasts, Chopped Into Pieces
2 Cups Candied Walnuts (See Recipe Below)
2 Large Ripe Pears or you can caramelize them see recipe below
4 Ounces Gorgonzola Cheese
3 tbsp chopped red onions
1/3 cp chopped carrots
1/3 cp chopped tomatoes

1. Mix all the veggies in a bowl.
2. Top with chicken and then Walnuts and Pears and sprinkle with cheese.

Caramelized Walnuts
2 Cups Whole Walnuts
1/2 Cup Sugar
Place walnut and sugar in skillet and until sugar dissolves and coats all of the walnuts.  Remove from heat and pour on a plate to cool.
Dressing:  I used my Ranch dressing recipe Here but here is a simple not so strong dressing
1/4 Cup White Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
3/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix all together and stir until it's thoroughly mixed.

 I am also going to toss cranberries in my salad next time with the fresh pears. I saw one recipe that caramelize the pears which I think I am going to try that next time and leave out the cranberries.  Oh so many options of deliciousness.
Caramelized Pears
1 tbspn of butter
2 Pears wedged

Put butter and pears in a skillet and cook for about 8 minutes until they are golden brown and caramelized.

Picture from Italian Forever

Stuffed Chicken with Gouda, Sun dried tomatoes and Spinach

I recently decided to expand my cheese palate. So I randomly picked one with out doing any research so I picked Gouda.  I came home and did a search for recipes that used gouda and stumbled across this one from Food.com. 

I tweaked it a bit. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, washed and stems removed
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
salt
pepper
1/2-3/4 cup shredded gouda cheese
3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

My TWEAKING:  I always add wheat germ to my bread crumbs to make it a bit more healthy.  I was in a hurry so I just used garlic paste instead of minced garlic.  I used 1 cp of Gouda cheese and I added the oil of the sun-dried tomoatoes.
1.Preheat oven to 375°F
2 Place spinach leaves in a bowl with a few tablespoons of water. Cook in microwave for 20 seconds or until leaves are limp. Drain water and set aside.

3 Place a chicken breast between plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. Repeat with remaining breasts. Sprinkle both sides of each breast generously with salt and pepper.

4 Mix the spinach, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Place 1/3 of this mixture on each breast and roll up. Secure with toothpicks.

5 Mix the breadcrumbs with the dried basil and garlic salt.

6 Dredge breasts in flour, then roll in beaten egg and roll in the bread crumbs making sure to get the ends of the rolls coated as well.

7 Place in a buttered 9X9 square pan and bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove toothpicks and serve.

I served it over spaghetti w/ olive oil but next time I think I am going to serve it over spaghetti and tomato sauce. 

Picture and recipe from here

Jerk Fish on Coconut Rice and Mango Avocado Salsa

I saw this recipe over at Closet Cooking and I had to try it.  My mouth was watering as I took in the wonderful citrusy and spicy aroma causing my stomach grumble.  My tummy couldn't wait to be appeased with some of this deliciousness. 

I am also glad that my 7 and 4 year old loved it!  I did leave out the spicy ingredients for their sake though I prefer it to be spicy.
Closet Cooking used pineapple banana salsa but I went with Mango Avocado Salsa.

Ingredients
1 pound white fish fillets   I used Tilapia
1 batch jerk marinade recipe below
1 cup jasmine rice
1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened
1 cup water
1 batch mango avocado salsa here

Directions
1.Marinate the fish fillets for at least two hours in a ziplock bag in the fridge.  I didn't have 2 hours so I just marinated it for 30min.
2.Bring the rice, coconut milk and water to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium low, cover and let simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
3.Meanwhile, place the fish in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 350F oven until cooked, about 15-20 minutes.
4.Serve the jerk fish on the coconut rice and top with the mango avocado salsa.

Jerk Marinade  also from Closet Cooking
Ingredients:
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper or 3 jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 green onions (chopped)
1 tablespoon thyme (chopped)
1 tablespoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 orange (juice and zest)
1 lime (juice and zest)
Directions:

1. Puree everything.
I didn't have the rum so I left this out and I used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar. I left out the peppers. I know I was sad to leave this out but when your cooking with kids you tweak things.  I did sprinkle crushed red pepper on my plate but its not the same.

Fish Tacos Mexican Style

You know how you peruse a magazine or a blog and you come across an ad or recipe that is mouth watering.  From that point on your hooked you have to try it. Well, I saw a Fish tacos recipe on someones blog and since then I have wanted to try some.  So last night I satisfied my craving.  Apparently, you can buy them in Hawaii, Mexico, Ecuador, San Diego and I am sure in many more coastal areas according to my friends who have been in those areas. 

Fish Tacos Mexican Style

6-8 white fish meat I used a bag of frozenTilapia
1/4 cp of oil
1 pk of Taco seasoning Chipotle flavor I used Taco Bell brand
2 tbsn of garlic paste
1 tspn of salt
2 limes
12 Flour or Corn tortillas

1. Mix all the fish taco ingredients (minus fish) and juice the limes. Mix well. This will be your marinade.
2. Cover the tilapia in marinade and let sit for 10min.

3. Pour marinade and Tilapia into a hot pan.
4. cook until fish is done about 5-8 min.

5. I like my tortillas heated on a comal (griddle). So if you have one use it but make sure they don't get brown otherwise you may end up with crunchy tortillas that you can't bend. As you can see in the picture above this happened to me. I just cut them up and put them in a baggie to enjoy with dip later. Or you can make fish tostadas instead of tacos. Tostadas are pretty much hard shell tortillas where tacos are soft shell tortillas. That was some free tortilla facts for ya!

6. Put fish inside a tortilla and top it with the avocado sauce and pico de gallo.
Pico de Gallo
1/2 onion diced
1/4 cp of cilantro diced
1 tomato diced
1 lime
1 jalapeno diced (optional)
salt

Mix all the ingredients above and juice the lime.  Top off your tacos with pico de gallo!

Avocado Sauce
1/2 cp of sour cream
1 whole ripe avocado
2 tbspns of taco seasoning
hot sauce (optional)
salt

1. Take your soft avocado and slice a wedge into it so you can gut it with a spoon.  This should be pretty simple if your avocado is soft enough.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Put over tacos and then add pico de gallo.

We had this with Strawberry Lemonade Daquiri and Mexican rice!  ENJOY!!

Morrocan Style Chicken-Crescent Casserole

Middle Eastern cuisine does me good especially when its easy to make! I came across this recipe and had to try it.  I adapted this recipe from Betty Crockers website.  I had a whole chicken that I needed to use up so I used shredded chicken instead.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lb), cut into bite-size pieces or shredded chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can of drained chick peas/garbanzo beans
1/2 cup sliced carrot
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted or regular tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (8 rolls) They don't sell this here so I used pie crust
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/3 cp of raisins

1 Heat oven to 375°F. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion and carrot; cook and stir about 7 minutes or until chicken is browned and no longer pink in center. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, cilantro, paprika, salt, cumin, raisins, cinnamon and red pepper. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated
 
2 Into ungreased 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish or 9 1/2- or 10-inch deep-dish pie plate, pour hot chicken mixture. Immediately unroll dough over chicken mixture; pinch edges and perforations to seal. Brush dough with beaten egg; sprinkle with almonds.


3 Bake 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown. If desired, garnish with fresh cilantro.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

If you like Artichoke dip you will love this as a meal. This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens http://www.bhg.com/ and its fabulous!