Grilled Pork Chops with Tomatillo and Green Apple Sauce

Hooray for Friday! This weekend is the big move, and on Sunday I will be making this fantastic pork chop recipe in my new home:) I'm glad the move will be over and done with, I just really home that this great weather we have had for the last two days holds out until I'm done moving.

Wish me luck foodies...have a great weekend!

Ingredients
For pork chops

• 3 tablespoons ground coriander
  
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
  
• 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 4 (2-inch-thick) pork chops (each about 1 lb)

For tomatillo and green apple sauce

• 1/2 lb fresh tomatillos (about 5), husks discarded and tomatillos rinsed
  
• 2 Granny Smith apples
  
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/4 cup apple juice
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  
• 1 tablespoon mild honey
  
• 1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo

Recipe Directions
Marinate chops:
Stir together coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil and stir until combined well. Rub spice mixture all over chops. Let chops marinate while making sauce and preparing grill.
Make sauce:
Simmer tomatillos and 3 cups water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tomatillos are just soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool 15 minutes. While tomatillos are cooling, core apples and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Purée tomatillos with remaining sauce ingredients except apples in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in apples. Preheat all burners on high, covered, 10 minutes. Sear pork on lightly oiled grill rack, covered with lid, turning over once, until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes total. Turn off 1 burner (middle burner if there are 3) and put pork above shut off burner. Reduce heat on remaining burner(s) to moderate and grill pork, covered with lid, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center (avoid bone) registers 150°F, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes (temperature will rise to 155°F).
Serve pork: Cut pork away from bone, then thinly slice and serve with sauce.
Source: Apple Pork Chops

Super Easy Salmon Bake- I miss my kitchen!

I am moving this weekend, so anything I can possibly still cook at home has to be fast and easy. I can't wait to get resettled and unpacked again, I can't seem to find anything. Unavoidable I guess. Tonight I have decided I am going to cook, and I'm going to make this super easy salmon recipe. It's fresh, fast, easy and healthy. Enjoy foodies! Wish me luck with the move!


Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon fillet, halved
  
• 1 small tomato, chopped
  
• 5 green onions, chopped
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place salmon on a lightly oiled sheet pan or in a shallow baking dish, folding under thin outer edges of fillets for even cooking. Top salmon with chopped tomatoes and green onions, and season with salt and pepper. Cook salmon in the preheated oven, uncovered, for approximately 20 minutes. Fish is done when easily flaked with a fork.

Filet Mignon with Lettuce Wraps

Good Friday Morning Foodies! I'm so glad this week has come to an end! I have so much to do these days because I'm moving in about a week. My entire house is in shambles and it's really hard to find the time to cook anything fun for dinner. Tonight, I'm going over to a friend's house and we will be making this fantastic filet mignon recipe at her place. It will be heck of a lot easier to navigate her kitchen ha ha.
Well, hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Happy eating!

Ingredients

• 4 6oz filet mignon steaks

Marinade

• 1 large onion, sliced
  
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
  
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1/4 cup apple juice
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 2 teaspoons dark (toasted) sesame oil
  
• 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Scallion Salad

• 1 large bunch scallions, finely chopped
  
• 2 red chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
  
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1 teaspoons dark (toasted) sesame oil

Lettuce rolls

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
  
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
  
• 3 tablespoons soybean paste
  
• 1 1/2 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

Directions
Place steak in a 6" x 9" baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients; pour over meat. Cover with plastic; refrigerate 1/2 to 2 hours. Combine salad ingredients in a bowl; chill until ready to serve. Remove meat from marinade; pat dry. Coat grill or broiler pan with cooking spray. Heat grill on high. Grill or broil steak 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter and let rest 10 minutes. Remove onion from marinade. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook onion over medium-high heat until tender, 5 minutes. Move to a bowl. Cut meat thinly. For lettuce rolls: Layer rice, salad, soybean paste, onions and steak in the center of each lettuce leaf; roll up. Serve 4 rolls per person.
Source:Grass...it's what's for dinner

Red Beans and Rice with Bison Andouille

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! It's Mardi Gras, and out office is completely decorated with purple, green and gold streamers, balloons and beads! It's going to be a great day of food and fun here I can tell ya! Last night after dinner, I started working on the feast set for tonight...Classic Red Beans and Rice with Bison Andouille Sausage. It's going to be pretty easy to toss this together so I can focus on the Amish bread. I hope you all have a great Mardi Gras.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried red beans
  
• 3 1/2 cups water or chicken stock
  
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 1/4 cup oil
  
• 1 pound bison andouille sausage
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  
• salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
  
• 2 cups steamed rice

Recipe Directions
Wash, sort and soak beans overnight, as per package instructions. Drain beans and place in a Dutch Oven with 3 cups cold water. Add garlic, celery, onion, bay leaves and oil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, adding water as needed and stirring occasionally. Add sausage and parsley and continue cooking for about an hour. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste during the entire process. Serve over steamed rice.

The Sisterhood Award & Shrimp Etouffee'

This morning I was plesantly surprised and honored with a blog award from one of my favorite bloggers out there... NuKiwi!

A Kiwi Kitchen is a fantastic blog filled with honesty and great taste, so to receive this from someone so dedicated to her blog and readers means a lot to me. It's great to know that my hobbies are shared and appreciated by such phenomenal people. Thanks again.
And now to pass the award along! I chose the bloggers below.
Nicole of From the Inside
Caitlyn of The Alchemist Chef
Kikki of White Plate

Thank you guys so much for creating such interesting and honest content on your blogs. Keep up the great work!

Rules of the Award

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
   
2. Nominate as many blogs as you want which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
   
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
   
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
   
5. Share the love and link to the post and the person from whom you received your award.
   

Now...on to the recipe of the day!
Fat Tuesday is almost here and I'm really excited! I'm going to be making Shrimp Etouffee' tonight for dinner tonight! With as much as this recipe yields, I'm either going to have to invite a bunch of friends over, or freeze some! I decided against making a King Cake this year, as I foolishly fell into the trap of Amish Friendship bread again! I absolutely love Amish friendship bread, but I know the sweet cinnamon-sugar path will eventually lead to a large quantity zip lock goop bags sitting on my kitchen counter, and a sneaking suspicion that I should have more friends to pawn this stuff off on before trying it again. At any rate, tomorrow is day 10, and I will be making my Amish friendship bread to enjoy after the Fat Tuesday Feast. I know it's a strange combination...but I'm kind of a strange person, so it works for me! I'll remember to record the process with my flip for everyone to see. And BTW...if anyone wants an Amish Friendship Bread Starter....I'm going to have quite a few of them in about 10 more days ;)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 6 tablespoons salted butter
  
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
  
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
  
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
  
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  
• 2 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
  
• 2 (14-ounce) cans water
  
• 3 bay leaves
  
• 1 teaspoonful dried basil
  
• 1 teaspoonful chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful dried oregano
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful black pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful Cajun Spice
  
• 3 pounds large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Recipe Directions
In a heavy Dutch oven or stockpot, add oil and butter. When the butter has melted and the mixture is hot, add flour. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to foam and turns a deep shade of golden brown. It will emit a "nutty aroma." Add onions, celery, green pepper, garlic and tomato paste and mix thoroughly; the flour mixture will be absorbed. Add broth and water and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Add bay leaves, basil, chili powder, oregano, black pepper and Cajun Spice and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the shrimp, cover and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Source:Shrimp Etoufe'

Cajun Crab Stew at the Office!

Anyone up for some Crab Stew? We just got a shipment of Dungeness Crabs in, so I'm going to make some of this outstanding stew for the office. Looks like it's going to be crab stew for lunch today! Who can complain about that?

Ingredients

• 6 Whole dungeness Crabs
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
  
• 1 cup chopped celery
  
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
  
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
  
• 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
  
• 5 drops liquid crab boil
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 2 slices of lemon
  
• salt and pepper
  
• Cooked rice

Recipe Directions
Clean the crabs using a small brush to remove any loose dirt. Clip the legs using a fish skinner. Remove lungs and intestines and retain fat and eggs if you wish. Break the crabs in half. Make a roux using about 1/4 cup of flour. Add onions and saute for about 10 minutes. Add celery, garlic and bell pepper and sauté another 15 minutes. Increase the fire and slowly add water a little at a time allowing the stew to come to a boil before adding more. You can also use shrimp stock if you have it. Continue to add water until a stew-like consistency is obtained (not too thin). Add cayenne, salt, pepper, creole seasoning, lemon, liquid crab boil and bay leaves. Add the crabs first and stir them into the stew. Cook them for 15 minutes on a medium fire stirring occasionally. Lower the fire very low, add green onions and parsley, cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Taste the stew and add salt and pepper to your liking. The longer you let it sit the more liquid and taste the crabs will absorb. Serve over cooked rice.
Source:Crab Stew

Veal Chops with Creole Mustard Crust

Good Monday foodies! I usually don't have a lot of energy on Mondays, but today is different. I hope everyone had an outstanding Valentine's Day ;)
Tonight I'm going to be preparing some veal chops Creole style. I'm also toying with the idea of making my very first King Cake soon. I have been doing some research on it, and I'm pretty confidant I won't completely mess it up! Or, it will look like crap and still taste amazing...either way it works for me. I just like eating. The pot of Jambalaya I made on Friday was AWESOME! I doubled the recipe I posted because I had quite a few friends coming over. A good time was definitely had by all. I should do that again sometime soon.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Creole mustard
  
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  
• 2 green onions, chopped, divided
  
• 2 8-ounce veal chops
• Ground allspice
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
  
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crust-less French bread

Recipe Directions
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Mix together mustard, mayonnaise, and 1/2 of green onions in small bowl. Sprinkle chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and allspice. Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add veal; saute until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer veal to small rimmed baking sheet. Add garlic to drippings in skillet; stir 15 seconds. Add breadcrumbs; saute until golden and crisp, about 1 minute. Spread half of mustard mixture thickly atop each chop. Spoon crumbs atop mustard mixture. Bake until thermometer inserted horizontally into chops registers 135°F for medium-rare, about 7 minutes. Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.
Source:Creole Style Veal Chops