Braised Pork Chops with Apples

A few years ago I was walking through Home Depot's garden center when I saw a tiny grafted ultra-dwarf Fuji apple twig in a pot.  "Grows to 6' tall" it said on the tag, "Can be kept smaller if in a pot."  Hmmm....  I love Fuji apples.  And I have a patio.  So I bought it.

The first year we got no fruit, which was as expected.  Last year we got 4 tiny, sour but flavorful apples.  This year, well, check out the picture.  The tree is about 5' tall and bore us 12 large, juicy, crunchy, uber-sweet apples!  We'd already eaten 1/2 of them by the time I got around to taking this photo.

They are awesome eaten freshly-picked off the tree.  But then I wondered, what else could I do with them?  Not enough for a pie.  And I have some pork chops in the fridge.  So why not braised pork chops with apples?  Genius!


Braised Pork Chops with Apples

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless pork chops, all visible fat removed
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth 
• 1 large fresh-from-the-patio-tree Fuji apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Season both sides of the pork chops with TSSS.
• In a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, sear the chops on both sides on medium-high heat.  Transfer the chops to a plate and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and deglaze the pan with the chicken broth.  Add in the apple slices and a couple shakes of TSOO.  Cover and cook for a few minutes until the apples are tender.  Add a large dollop of Dijon mustard and stir until fully incorporated.
• Move the cooked apples to the sides of the pan and return the pork chops to the pan.
• Cover and braise for 10 minutes. 
• Remove cover, flip the chops and continue braising for an additional 5-10 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

I think next time I'll use 2 apples instead of 1, they were so yummy! Also, if you like a little sweeter flavor and are not tied to South Beach, you can use apple cider or juice in place of the chicken broth.

Skillet Pasta with Chard and White Beans

Swiss chard -- I've had it in restaurants before, but I've never cooked with it and don't even know what to do with it.  But it was in the CSA sample box of goodies that my Moms Group organizer shared with me, and what a beautiful bunch with its different color stalks (yellow, orange, red and purple) against the dark leafy greens.  So I did a quick Google search for recipes and came across this.  I only modified the recipe because of what I had available in the kitchen (fusili pasta instead of gnocchi, diced onions instead of sliced, Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic instead of fresh cloves, etc.).  I also added the avocado on top b/c, well, I just love avocado.  :-)  This dish turned out pretty scrumptious.

Skillet Pasta with Chard and White Beans
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of dry whole wheat fusili (or other shaped) pasta
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 smallish-medium onion, diced
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 smallish-medium bunch of Swiss chard, washed and chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) Great Northern Beans, drained
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Prepare pasta to al dente according to package instructions.  Set aside.
• In a large skillet, sauté onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes.  Add TSGG and water and stir.  Cover and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
• Add Swiss chard and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until it starts to wilt.
• Stir in beans, tomatoes and seasoned salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in pasta and sprinkle with cheeses.  Cover and continue to simmer for a few minutes until cheese is melted.  
• Serve immediately.

Baked Onion Rings

My Moms Group is thinking about joining a local CSA.  The farm kindly sent our organizer a free sample box of produce to try out, and she, in turn, kindly shared some of it with me.  One of the items I got was a giant Maui onion.  If you've never had a Maui onion before, let me tell you this sucker is SWEET!  It's great for sauteeing to put on top of steaks, and it's great as onion rings.

But of course we all know that deep frying is not SBD-approved.  So baking it is.  This recipe yields crunchy, sweet-savory onion rings.  We ate it all straight up with dinner, no ketchup or mustard needed.  Even the toddler had seconds (and thirds).

The key is the whole wheat panko bread crumbs.  Japanese panko style crumbs make it extra crunchy. 

Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• PAM
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup EggBeaters
• 1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or your favorite fry seasoning such as Old Bay, etc.)
• A Maui onion, sliced into rings, 1/3" thick (I had a giant one, so only used 1/2 of it)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spray a baking sheet with PAM.  Set aside.
• Place the flour, EggBeaters and panko bread crumbs each in their own separate shallow bowls.  Add some seasoned salt to the panko bread crumbs and mix together.
• Dip an onion ring into the flour, then the EggBeaters, then the seasoned bread crumbs.  Place onto baking sheet in a single layer.
• Bake for 20 minutes until onion is soft and coating is golden brown and crunchy.

Meatball-Stuffed Zucchini

This is more of an assembly idea than an actual recipe.  I found these beautiful, large zucchini at my local Sprouts yesterday, perfect for stuffing.  But I was also in the mood for a meatball sandwich.  Thus the open-faced turkey meatball zucchini sandwich.  Too long for a title?  Okay, Meatball-Stuffed Zucchini it is, then.

Meatball-Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 4 large zucchini
• PAM
• a batch of turkey meatballs
• whole wheat spaghetti, cooked to al dente per box instructions
• shredded mozzarella

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Wash the zucchini and cut in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out a little of the seed innards.  You don't have to scoop out a lot, since the seeds are tender and very edible.  Just enough to make a little indentation bed for the meatballs.
• Spray a baking dish with PAM.  Place the zucchini cut-side down in the sprayed dish, in a single layer.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until zucchini are tender with just a slight bit of firmness.
• On an oven-proof serving plate, make a bed of cooked spaghetti.  Place zucchini on top and fill with meatballs and sauce.  Top with shredded mozzarella. 
• Place into oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
• Serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Tacos

Let me start off by saying I got this idea from here. It is such a brilliant idea, I only wish I'd come up with it myself. And her presentation of the dish is just gorgeous. I love her blog.

I decided to go vegetarian tonight, so I made the tacos with beans instead of meat, but you could easily use ground beef or turkey, or sliced steak, etc.  I also am not good with mixing seasonings, so I just used a packet of Lawry's taco seasoning instead of making up my own.

I decided to copy Kath in her blog and used the butternut squash "bottoms" as the "taco shells" because the presentation is so gorgeous.  I sliced up the leftover squash "tops" -- the long thin part without seeds inside -- and boxed them up to use for something else later in the week (maybe roasted?).

Butternut Squash Tacos
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 2 smallish-medium butternut squash "bottoms", washed, halved and seeded
• 1/4 onion, finely diced
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced or sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can (15 oz.) great northern beans, drained
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• cinnamon powder
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or salt & pepper) to taste
• Whatever toppings you like (today I used diced avocado and Greek yogurt)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray the bottom of a baking pan with cooking spray.  Place the butternut squash "bottoms" in the pan, cut side down.  Bake until fork-tender, usually about 30 - 40 minutes, depending on the size of your squash.
• In the meantime, sauté the onion and carrot in olive oil until onion is translucent and carrot is soft.
• Add the beans and taco seasoning and cook per instructions on the seasoning packet.
• Once the squash is soft, remove from heat and flip them over (skin side down) onto a serving plate.  Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon and Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt.
• Fill each squash half with the taco bean mixture and top with whatever you like.  
• Serve immediately while still warm.

The diced avocado and Greek yogurt I used tonight was a delicious creamy combo that was a perfect match for the beans.  You could also use guacamole, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, etc.

ETA on 10/21/11: If you're pressed for time and don't have 40 minutes to bake the squash bottoms, you can put them (already halved and seeded) in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple tablespoons of water, cover and nuke on high for 5 - 7 minutes until mostly soft.  Then place the squash onto a baking sheet misted with olive oil, and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I remember when I did my internship in Lille, France, I lived "on campus" and the cafeteria served Brussels sprouts about twice a week. But they were the gross over-cooked, mushy, tasteless boiled kind. I'm not a big fan of boiled anything (except eggs).

A few years ago when I started following the South Beach Diet, I figured I'd give Brussels sprouts a second chance. But this time they were to be oven-roasted, not boiled. Wow, what a difference a technique makes! And these are so good, even the hubs loves them!


Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. fresh Brussels sprouts, washed and drained, halved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Spread the sprouts out, single layer, onto a baking sheet.
• Roast in oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

If you like them slightly firm (like me), aim for 20 minutes.  If you like them soft, aim for 25 minutes.  Be careful not to burn them.  Burnt Brussels sprouts = burnt cabbage = le yuck.

Grilled Ginger Salmon Brochettes

I thought I'd already posted this recipe, but after looking through my archives, I see that I have not.

This week Henry's had fresh (not frozen!) wild (not farm-raised!) king salmon fillets on sale for $6.99/lb.  Six dollars and ninety-nine cents per pound!  That's an awesome deal!  So of course I had to snatch some up.

Grilled Ginger Salmon Brochettes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh wild salmon fillet, skinned, boned and cubed
• a couple tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Soak some wooden skewers in water for a few minutes.  This will help prevent them from burning on the grill.
• Place cubed salmon fillets in a mixing bowl.  Add rest of the ingredients and toss.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Skewer the salmon onto the soaked skewers.  I like to use double skewers so they're easier to flip on the grill without having the salmon rotate and spin on the axis.
• Place onto a hot grill and cook on high for a few minutes on each side.  Serve immediately.

Eat more fish!

Parmesan Sirloin Burgers

I'm normally not a "burger-type gal," but occasionally I'll crave one.  It has to be gourmet, though, no Mickey D's or Burger King.  I do love me a good burger from Red Robin or Fatburger.  But I mostly love making them myself at home.  Burgers are SO EASY to make, and you can add just about anything to them to suit your style.  Tonight's version was a parmesan sirloin patty. YUM!
Parmesan Sirloin Burgers


Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground sirloin
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• a few generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• a few generous twists of the black pepper grinder
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt to taste
• PAM

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together and form into patties.
• Spray both sides of patties with PAM.  (Or if you prefer, spray your grill instead.)
• Place patties on grill on medium-high heat and cook to your liking.

Tonight I happened to have a sourdough baguette from Boudin, so I formed oval patties instead of round ones, and served them on baguette slices, topped with yummy California avocado.  If you want to be strictly SBD, serve on whole wheat buns.

Off Topic - Swimming Pool Cake

I just wanted to post a couple of photos of the cake I made for today's Moms Group's 2-year anniversary. The theme was supposed to be pool party, but it ended up being too chilly to swim. But that didn't stop me from making a pool-themed cake.

I've been baking and decorating cakes as a hobby since I was 10 years old. It's a royal pain in the ass (too many ingredients, too many tools, and way too much clean-up at the end), but sooooooo fun and rewarding.

This is absolutely NOT SBD legal.  The cake is a devil's food chocolate cake from this Food Network recipe.  It's absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it.  The frosting is a simple buttercream, and the "water" is Wilton's piping gel with blue food coloring added to it.  The kiddos are gingerbread cookies iced with a simple powdered-sugar-and-milk cookie icing.

Vietnamese Turkey Stuffed Tomatoes

This is based on a Vietnamese favorite of mine growing up. There are as many variations of this as there are Vietnamese moms, and even my version is not exactly like my mom's.  Traditionally this is made with ground pork, but I prefer ground turkey myself.  Serve over brown rice, or whole wheat couscous in the picture below.

Vietnamese Turkey Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• olive oil 
• 8 - 10 smallish-mediumish tomatoes (about 4" - 5" diameter)
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• fish sauce
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

• Cut a 2" hole in the top of each tomato and remove all seeds (you can leave the membranes).  Set aside.
• In a large deep skillet, the one you'll use to eventually cook the tomatoes in (you should be able to put a lid on it without squishing the tomatoes, sautee the onion and garlic in a splash of oil, until translucent and fragrant.  Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, mix ground turkey with the sauteed onion and garlic.  Add fish sauce to taste (I use approx 2 tablespoons).
• Stuff each tomato with turkey mixture.  Over-stuff a little bit to have the pretty seared meat muffin-top (okay, so maybe the words "meat" and "muffin" shouldn't be put next to each other, you get the gist).
• In the skillet you previously used to sautee the onion and garlic, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.
• Place the tomatoes meat-side-down in a single layer in the skillet and sear for a couple of minutes.
• Once the meat side is nicely seared and brown, turn down the heat to medium, add the water and a few more dashes of fish sauce.
• Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the meat is thoroughly cooked and the tomatoes are nice and soft but still keep (somewhat) their shape.  (If your tomatoes are bigger, you'll need to add more cook time.)

If you end up having extra turkey mixture after stuffing all your tomatoes, just roll them into little 1" balls and throw them into the pan next to the tomatoes.  They'll cook up nice and tender.