My Boyfriend Dated A Chef

I think I’m on a roll with choosing yummy recipes. I’ve had this spicy pork chop recipe marked for little over a month now and last night was just the time to make them. I ended up halving the pork chop part of recipe since I was only cooking two chops but made the full salsa recipe. The salsa was simply delicious with chips as an appetizer while the meal was cooking. I had to cover it at one point so as to save enough  for the meal! Oh, and the pork chops were kick @ss. Shake-n-bake is just not going to cut it anymore.

Serves 4. Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking.

INGREDIENTS:
Salsa
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and cut into small dice
2 plum tomatoes, cut into small dice
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 scallions (white and light- green parts), thinly sliced
3/4 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. Tabasco
Kosher salt
1 Tbs. peanut or canola oil

Pork Chops
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground coriander seeds
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 Tbs. black pepper
4 bone-in center-cut pork chops (1 to 1-1/2 inches thick)
2 Tbs. olive oil; more if needed

DIRECTIONS:
Salsa
In a small bowl, combine the mango, tomatoes, onion, scallions, cilantro, orange juice, lime juice, and Tabasco. Toss gently to combine. Season with salt to taste. Drizzle with the oil and gently toss again.

Pork Chops
Combine the cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and rub each side evenly with the spice mixture.

Heat the olive oil in a very large sauté pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook the chops until well browned on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until the meat is done, 5 to 6 min. (If they start to burn, turn down the heat slightly.) To check for doneness, make a small cut near the bone and look inside—the pork should have a hint of pinkness. If it’s still red, cook for another minute and check again.

Transfer the chops to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving with the salsa.

Absolutely amazing salad. So many delicious flavors and so simple to make. I even put the leftovers in a warmed tortilla for lunch the next day! I wish there was more. This will definitely be made over and over again.

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 lb green beans
1 red onion, chopped
3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
4-6 small radishes, thinly sliced
2 3/4 oz feta cheese (drained weight), crumbled
1 tsp. oregano
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:
Steam green beans for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

In a large bowl add, steamed beans,  onion, cilantro, radishes, feta cheese, and oregano.

Mix the vinegar and olive oil together in a small bowl and pour over the salad. Toss gently to mix well.

Serve on a plate, with tomato wedges. Can be served warm or chilled.

Lasagna is one of those foods I will eat if it’s put in front of me because I’m hungry not because I like it. That is until I found this recipe. Created with one skillet in less than 20 minutes this is sure to become a staple recipe. Leftovers can be stored in air-tight containers in the freezer.

Serves 6. Recipe adapted from Country Home.

INGREDIENTS:
6 dried lasagna noodles, broken into 2–3-inch pieces
1 lb turkey burger
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 medium zucchini, coarsely shredded (about 11/2 cups)
1 24–26-oz. jar mushroom pasta sauce or marinara sauce
1 cup light ricotta cheese (about 1/2 of a 15-oz. carton)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz.)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

PREPARATION:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain thoroughly.

In a 10-inch skillet cook turkey burger and onion over medium heat until burger is no longer pink, stirring to break up as it cooks. Add zucchini; cook and stir for 1 minute. Drain off fat. Remove meat mixture from skillet.

In the same skillet arrange about half of the lasagna-noodle pieces. Cover with about half of the pasta sauce. Spoon cooked meat mixture over sauce. Spoon ricotta in mounds atop meat mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining lasagna-noodle pieces atop cheese. Top with remaining pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cook, covered, over medium heat about 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Remove skillet from heat. Let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes before serving.

Well worth the time and effort, I’m loving this recipe for chicken tacos! It’s definitely not a last minute decision meal since it does require a bit of prep. In fact, it might be a good idea to get it started the day before. I marinated and cooked the chicken one day and served the tacos the next, just to break it up. So good!

Yields 12 small tacos; serves 6. Recipe from Fine Cooking.

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 to 3 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and seeded
7 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems included (about 1 cup)
2 lb. chicken legs and thighs
12 small corn or flour tortillas, warmed
fresh tomato salsa
guacamole

DIRECTIONS:
In a food processor or blender, combine 1/3 cup of the orange juice, the jalapeños, garlic, peppercorns, and salt. Purée until the peppercorns are completely crushed. Add the cilantro and remaining 1/3 cup orange juice and purée until smooth. In a ceramic or glass ovenproof dish, toss the chicken with the marinade, rubbing it on to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake the chicken in the pan it was marinated in until the meat easily pulls away from the bone, about 40 min. Set the chicken aside to cool. Pour the juices from the pan into a bowl or cup and reserve. Refrigerate the juices so that the fat rises to the top and congeals. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and shred the meat into bite-size pieces. (The chicken can be cooked and refrigerated for up to 2 days ahead.)

When ready to serve, skim off the fat that has risen to the top of the reserved cooking juices. Put the juices and the chicken in a saute pan over medium hear ant cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve with tortillas, salsa, and guacamole.

Here’s the baked sweet potato fries recipe that complimented the Steak and Fennel Sandwiches so nicely. Soft and sweet on the inside, spicy crunch on the outside!

Makes 4 servings. Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites.

INGREDIENTS:
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size. Stay small to get the best results.

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them. Use your hands to make sure each one is coated. They should all be glistening. Sprinkle remaining herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.

Place the fries on the baking sheet making sure they are not touching. Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take pan of oven and flip the fries. Be careful because at this point they’re quite soft. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

I had my heart set on making a steak sandwich oozing with cheese, peppers and onions with a pile of french fries on the side. Healthy…not at all…but I just got back from vacation and my diet still thinks I’m there. So, as I was making the grocery list and flipping through my cooking notebook I found this recipe for Steak and Fennel Sandwiches from Cooking Light and I’m so glad I did. The beef tenderloin keeps the saturated fat in check and is so delicious and tender it melts in your mouth. Combined with fennel, arugula and homemade mayonnaise, it was just perfect for satisfying the cravings! I served the sandwich with baked sweet potato fries which were equally as yummy.

Makes 2 servings. Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

INGREDIENTS:
Steak and Fennel Sandwich
1/2  teaspoon  ground fennel seeds
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
2  cups  thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 bulb) *also known as Anise
1  (8-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, (1 inch thick)
4  teaspoons  Homemade Mayonnaise
4  (1/2-ounce) slices ciabatta or vieira saloio bread, lightly toasted
1/2 cup  cup  arugula

Homemade Mayonnaise
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
1/2  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
1/8  teaspoon  salt
1  large egg
3/4  cup  canola oil

DIRECTIONS:
Homemade Mayonnaise
Begin by preparing the homemade mayonnaise. Combine first 4 mayonnaise ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. With blender on, gradually pour in oil; process until smooth and completely blended. Refrigerate while cooking the sandwich.

Steak and Fennel Sandwich
Combine ground fennel seeds, salt, ground cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon spice mixture and fennel; sauté 15 minutes or until fennel is tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Transfer to a bowl; wipe pan clean with paper towels.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan; sprinkle steaks evenly with remaining spice mixture. Add steaks to pan; cook 5-6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice steaks.

To prepare sandwiches, spread 2 teaspoons Homemade Mayonnaise onto each of 2 lightly toasted bread slices. Top each with one-fourth of beef, one-fourth of fennel, and 1/4 cup arugula. Top with remaining 2 lightly toasted bread slices.

TIPS + TRICKS:
Cleaning the Fennel Bulb