Ja cię kocham…

Photo Courtesy of Recipe.com

Yesterday was the first time in my life that I have ever had a snowless snow day.  Starting at about 2am, I kept peeking out the window in hopes of seeing snow-covered streets.   Seriously, I was like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive because I kept getting up to see the snow that ended up being a no-show.   All of this excitement mixed with a tinge of anxiety caused me to be wide awake at 4:45am.  The call came at 5:30 that school was closed, and I looked out the window to find nothing.  Not an ounce of snow.  Confusion immediately set in because school was closed and there was absolutely no snow on the ground.

How did this happen you ask?   It’s simple.

The meteorologists were wrong.

Because our area has endured tremendous amounts of snow in the month of February, it’s very easy for all of us to assume the worst.  How could we not?  I mean I still have snow piles more than 2 feet high in my front yard!

I have to say the coolest snow days are the ones with no snow.  As much as it’s a hard pill to swallow that I’m exchanging this day off for June 18th when it’s warm and beautiful, at least I was able to get out and about.   I’m so used to being literally snowed in for days that this was a nice treat.

Above, you can see that we were actually snowed in.  2 more feet of snow came after this picture.

This was 6am yesterday after finding out there was no school.  You can see why I was so confused!

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Since the sidewalks were obviously clear, I went for a nice, long run.  It felt really good especially since I haven’t gone out for that long in a while.  I decided to keep up with the health mode that I was in and make a very healthy and oh-so-delicious pulled chicken sandwich.  This recipe came from my awesome sister’s food blog so I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.  I cannot believe how easy it was!  When I think of pulled chicken or pork, I think of the crockpot and the hours it takes to make it.  This sandwich was ready in 10 minutes.  Flippin’ awesome.

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Clean BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich

Source: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness and Clean Eating Club
Serves 6

Ingredients

1 TBS olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1/2 cup chopped green or red sweet pepper

3/4 cup barbecue sauce

1 package of chicken tenders

6 whole grain buns or whole wheat sandwich thins

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Directions

Fill a skillet with water and bring it to a boil, then put the chicken tenders in to poach. Poach for about 5 minutes and remove the chicken from the water. Then with a fork, ‘pull’ the chicken apart.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and cook until soft (5 minutes). Add chicken and barbecue sauce and gently mix together. Simmer until heated through. Spoon mixture onto buns and serve!

The Biggest Loser has been on for almost 10 seasons, and I have never, ever watched it until now.

I missed out because that show rocks.

Watching Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels scream in the faces of the contestants instantly reminds me of my college field hockey days.  It wasn’t a good workout unless someone was screaming at you to push harder or run faster.   I think that’s why I’m so picky about how I exercise now.  Most exercise videos just seem wimpy to me.  If I don’t feel like I’m about to drop dead of exhaustion then I need to keep going.  “Pain is fear leaving your body – keep going!!” Ha.  Thanks Coach Mike.  Point taken.  I think at this point in my life after all of the sports-related “pain” that I have endured, I must not be scared of anything.  My fear is gone.  Bring it, Bob and Jillian!

The show is truly inspiring.  If you aren’t familiar with it, you need to check it out.  People that are morbidly obese check-in to a “boot camp” of sorts led by a team of nutritional and training experts and leave 200+ pounds skinnier.   Last week, the show did a bit on healthy eating and how to eat foods that we enjoy without all of the extra fat.   Bob grabbed a pack of ground turkey, corn and black beans and made a chili.  Unfortunately they didn’t exactly disclose a recipe – it was more of a plug for Jennie-O turkey – BUT it did give me an idea for a recipe.

I went to the grocery store, picked up some ingredients, and gave it a shot.  Jay asked me what I was making and my response was, “I’m not quite sure yet, we’ll see where this food takes me.”   I’m calling it a chili because quite frankly I’m not sure how else to describe it, although the liquid content is no where near the same as an actual chili.  We put this recipe in whole wheat tortillas and I would go even as far to say I would put it on a pizza.  Yummmm….

Also check out my Turkey Pumpkin Chili that I made in the fall.  It was goooooooood.

If you are looking for more motivational weight-loss stories, hop on over to Caren’s Blog, City Momma/Country Momma.  She has currently lost 87.6 pounds (and counting!).  We work together and every time I talk to her, I get so pumped to be healthy.  She has lost weight the correct way – eating healthy and exercising regularly – no fad diets, no slashing carbs or starving.  She is a wife, a proud momma of an adorable boy, swim instructor, and an elementary school teacher that has recently started a career as a nutritional expert.  She runs weekly meetings/support sessions for people trying to lose weight.  She’s certainly busy, but she makes sure to take time for herself.  Talk about inspirational!  She chronicles her weight-loss journey on her blog.  You should check it out!

The Biggest Loser-Inspired Black Bean & Corn Turkey Chili

Serves 6-8 (depending on how hungry you are!)

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 large sweet onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (don’t drain it!)
2 lbs extra lean ground turkey
2 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cocoa powder
3 tsp. water
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 -15.5oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-8.5oz can whole corn kernels, rinsed and drained
3 scallions/green onions, sliced
1/2 avocado, cubed

Directions:

In a large skillet heat olive oil to medium-high.  Add onions and cook until tender.  Then add tomatoes with liquid.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove onions, tomatoes, and liquid from skillet and place in a bowl.

(You may need to now add a little bit more olive oil to skillet since turkey is extra lean.)  Add turkey, chili, cocoa, water, salt and pepper to skillet.  With a minute or so left on the turkey throw in your garlic and cook until turkey is browned (no pink!).

Add onion/tomatoes, black beans and corn back into the large skillet with the turkey.  Stir and allow beans and corn to warm through.  Taste test it for any additional salt or pepper.  Turn off heat.  Add scallions.

Divide into separate bowls.  Top with avocado cubes….

…OR you can place this in the center of a tortilla wrap, add avocado, roll it up and enjoy….

…OR you can serve this along side tortilla chips.

The possibilities are endless!

ENJOY!

It’s a party up in here!  This time last year, I posted for the very first time and had no idea what was going to come of this blog.  Little did I know that I would have so many foodie friends (HUNDREDS of you!) and so much support!  Thank you!

And in celebration of Ja cie kocham’s birthday, I’m making chocolate covered pretzels – a boatload of them.   They are festive, easy to make, and I’m probably going to eat them all within a few days.

I’m also going to use this time to recap on some of my favorite recipes of the year:

Breakfast:

Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast – Heaven on a plate.  ‘Nuff said.

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Appetizer:

Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms – What a crowd pleaser!  Make sure to double the recipe because these will be gone in minutes!

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Pizza:

Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza – Wish I would have thought of this one sooner!  Seriously melted in my mouth.  I could have eaten the whole pizza by myself.

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Sandwich:

Grilled Vegetable, Herb, and Goat Cheese Sandwich – Perfect for a picnic and requires no refrigeration!

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Chicken Dish:

North African Grilled Chicken Paillards – Add ethnic flare to your chicken with a few pantry staples!

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Lime Chile Steaks with Pico de Gallo and Homemade Guacamole – Home run dish.  Bursting with flavor and super healthy to boot!

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Vegetarian:

Lemon Chickpea Stir-fry – AMAZING.  Nothing is more gratifying than making a very healthy meal that is so full of flavor.  I had several people ask for the recipe because they loved it so much.

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Pasta:

Linguine with Bacon, Baby Spinach, and Sage – I found this recipe on the back of the pasta box.  Always check the back of boxes for recipes.  They tend to be real winners!

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Side Dish:

Grilled Pineapple with Agave Nectar (or Honey) and Coconut – Elegant, healthy, delicious!

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Cookie:

The best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER.  They were huge, fat, chewy, and absolutely sinful!

Thank you for spending time with me in my little corner of cyberworld this year.  Here’s to many more years together!

Image Courtesy of BettyCrocker.com

Wednesday was my adorable husband’s birthday, and we always like to cook for one another for our birthdays.  Anything the birthday boy or girl wants will be made.  I’m pretty easy because I ALWAYS want fettuccine alfredo on my birthday.  It is my all-time favorite food, and I only allow myself to have it on my birthday or very special occasions to keep it from getting old or boring.  This year Jay surprised me with Maggiano’s fettuccine alfredo the day I defended my thesis and official finished graduate school.  THAT was certainly a special occasion!

Since Jay’s birthday comes almost immediately after the holiday season, he wanted something light and healthy.  I accepted the challenge of making something healthy and keeping it special.

I googled “birthday dinners” and this recipe completely fell into my lap.  I was sold.  Jay is obsessed with chips and salsa so anything served with salsa is a winner in his book.  I added some extra ingredients to this recipe because it seemed to be a little bland on its own.  The dish was beautifully presented with lush fruit spilling over the chicken and bright green broccoli served on the side.  Broccoli is the birthday boy’s favorite vegetable.  (He’s easy to please.)

Happy Birthday, lovey!

Cornmeal Chicken with Peach Salsa

Source: Betty Crocker

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Salsa:

3 cups frozen peaches, chopped, then thawed
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Chicken:

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs. smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil (grapeseed oil can be found at Trader Joe’s for $3)

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix all of the salsa ingredients, cover, and put in refrigerator until serving time.

In a shallow dish, mix all of the dry ingredients.  Add oil to large skillet set to medium-high heat.  Coat chicken in cornmeal mixture and place in skillet for 15-20 minutes (or when juices run clear in thickest part of the chicken), flipping only once.  Serve with salsa on top.

Serve any leftover salsa with tortilla chips!

These ribs are always a huge hit with our family and friends, and I cannot take one ounce of credit.  These are made by my grill master husband, Jay.   If something needs to be grilled, he is always ready to go, beer and cigar in hand.  It’s so funny because on our teeny, tiny patio outside we have a huge Weber grill, a charcoal grill, and a smoker.  Do we have enough??  Apparently not because we’re thinking about getting a tailgate grill for when we go to sports events, too.  Ha.  We love our food in this house.

We pretty much always get our meats from the super wholesale store, Costco.  Their meats are outta this world.  Honestly, a lot of Costco’s stuff is pretty amazing.  (Their birthday cakes are unbelievable!)  If we don’t go to Costco, then we go to our local Amish farmer’s markets for meats.  They, too, have great stuff for great prices.  And I have to just give a shout out to Trader Joe’s because it’s my favorite grocery store.  I can’t talk about good food and prices without mentioning TJ’s.

So…. the superbowl is about a month away and you need a great recipe for a party, don’t you?  I suggest you try these ribs.  They can be cooked in the oven, on a grill, or in a smoker.  Does not matter.  We’ve done it all and they are always a huge hit.  HUGE hit.

My only critique is the price of the food to make this meal, but it is important to know before you get to the grocery store.  Bobby Flay uses 2 different types of chili powder both of which are expensive (and hard to find) in addition to a whole lot of maple syrup, which is also expensive. It’s totally fine to use any chili powder and syrup you have in the house.  Yes, the specific kinds that are chosen do make these ribs particularly yummy, but using any chili powder and syrup still tastes amazing and you will still rock the house in grilling.

For New Years we served these babies with Sauerkraut with Bacon and apples (recipe follows).  Mmmmmmm…..

Spice Rubbed Smoked Ribs with Maple-Horseradish Baste

Source: Bobby Flay

Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 min

Inactive Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients:

Maple-Horseradish Glaze:

2 cups pure maple syrup
1/2 cup prepared horseradish, drained
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Ribs:

1/3 cup Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
3 tablespoons New Mexican chili powder
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 cups wood chips (hickory, mesquite, or applewood)
4 racks pork ribs (3 pounds each)

Directions:

Glaze:

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ribs:

Stir spices together in a medium bowl.

About 1/2 hour before cooking time, soak hickory chips in enough water to cover. Drain chips. In a covered grill, place slow burning charcoal in both sides of a drip pan. Sprinkle coals with wood chips.

Rub top side of each rack of ribs with about 3 tablespoons of the rub. Place ribs, bone side down, on grill. Close cover or place cover on the smoker. Grill about 1 1/2 hours, adding chips every 20 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of grilling, brush liberally with the Maple-Horseradish Glaze.

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SERVED WITH:

Image courtesy of Simply Recipes

Sauerkraut with Bacon and Apples

Source: Simply recipes

Serves 8-10

I’m almost embarrassed to say this, but this was the first ham that I have ever cooked.  And it will NOT be the last.  It was so easy.  What have I been waiting for?!  I blame it on the fact that I typically cook for 2 instead of 10 people so there is no need to make a large ham.

To this day we are still playing the “Clean out the Fridge” game.  Every meal, Jay and I peek in the fridge to see what we can concoct with our leftovers.  We are LOADED with food!  During a time when money is tight and jobs are scarce, having a fridge full of food is such a blessing.  SUCH a blessing!

In addition to my Old-Fashioned Holiday Glazed Ham by Paula Deen, Jay’s mom made this AMAZING Bourbon-Glazed Ham for Christmas Eve.  It was smoky, tender, and unbelievable!  The entire family was picking pieces off of it before dinner, just like the dad in A Christmas Story.  (LOVE that movie, by the way…)

Tuck these recipes into your file and keep them for a family meal.  They are both incredibly easy, elegant, and unbelievably delicious.

PS – Santa brought us a Brinkmann Charcoal Smoker & Grill for Christmas.  Oh the possibilities this brings!  New Years Day is already filled with smoked Ribs.  Can’t wait to share that with you!

Paula’s Old-Fashion Holiday Glazed Ham

Source: Paula Deen

Serves: 12

1 spiral-sliced half ham (Paula prefers Smithfield)
1 20-ounce can pineapple slices, juice reserved
15 to 20 whole cloves (optional)
1 small jar maraschino cherries
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Directions:

Preheat the oven as directed on the ham package and follow the instructions for baking the ham. Remove the ham from the oven about 30 minutes before the end of the warming time.

Decoratively arrange the pineapple slices on top of the ham, securing them with whole cloves, if using, or toothpicks. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring and secure with a clove or toothpick.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and just enough of the reserved pineapple juice to make a thick glaze. Spoon the glaze over the ham and bake for the remaining 30 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and carve.

For Christmas my parents got me this awesome cookbook – Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler.  Now my Ma knows that I LOVE when my cookbooks have pictures to go with each recipe.  Lucky for me, these cookbooks tend to be less expensive than the ones without pictures.  Not sure why, but it works for me!

Perusing this book, I had no idea that it would be an inspiration for using up MORE of my leftover ham.  The recipe calls for pancetta, which is a dry cured meat that reminds me of bacon.  Instead of buying pancetta, I just used my Christmas ham.  Ham doesn’t create the same drippings in the skillet as bacon when you cook it, but a little olive oil solves that problem.  You still get the flavor, you just need a little assistance from the oil.

We had this salad right after church.  It hit the spot!  We wanted something light, but we wanted something that felt like a meal.  We served this salad with my homemade Ham and Cheddar Biscuits.  Home run, I tell you!  Never thought to warm wild mushrooms and place them on a salad.  Good call, Jennifer!

Warm Wild Mushroom Salad

Serves 4 for a meal or 6 for an appetizer

Source: Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler, pg. 128 (& pg. 106 for salad dressing)

Ingredients:

Salad:

1/4 cup Sherry Vinaigrette – *recipe follows
1/4 pound pancetta, bacon, or ham ** if using ham, add 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1/2 lb. assorted wild mushrooms (I used oyster, porcini, and shiitake), ends trimmed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 bag (8oz) Field Greens

Sherry Vinaigrette:

(I doubled this recipe for my salads)

1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbs. sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
6 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare the Sherry Vinaigrette - In a small bowl whisk together shallot, mustard, and vinegar.  Slowly add the olive oil in a stream, whisking to emulsify.  Season with salt and pepper.  (Makes about 1/4 cup)

In a medium skillet, over medium-low heat, cook the ham (with olive oil) or pancetta/bacon without oil.  Cook until outside is crisp, about 4 minutes.  Transfer ham to paper-towel lined plate to drain, reserving the drippings in the pan.

Increase the heat to medium.  Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until tender, 3-5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

Add the ham and pine nuts to the mushroom mixture and toss.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large salad bowl, toss the Field Greens with the vinaigrette to taste.  Divide the salad among individual plates. Top with mushrooms.  Serve immediately!  (Otherwise the greens will get droopy!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  Here is a quick peek at the gorgeous table scape courtesy of my beautiful mother, Patti.

Hi, Mom!

My pictures are a little fuzzy and dark because I was making sure to keep an eye on the food.  Post-picture taking, I realized that my lens was covered with steam.  So I apologize for the lack of crisp pictures.  (I am a bit of a perfectionist…)

I am so thrilled to report that dinner was a hit, and I didn’t serve cold macaroni and cheese!  My biggest fear was the timing of all of the food because I didn’t want to serve my loved ones cold ham and crusty macaroni and cheese.  With help from Ma and Papa Zigs, dinner went without a hitch!  Thank you, Ma and Paps!!

Prior to the main meal, I made some “snicky snacks” or as my Polish Poppy used to refer to them as “hordy doors”.  Ja cie kocham, Poppy!!  Miss you.

A cookie display filled with Nigella’s Chocolate Christmas Cookies, shortbread, gingerbread, homemade chocolate covered pretzels, and caramel bites.  I added a little Chocolate Soynut Butter (sadly, I couldn’t find Nutella, but this work just as well) for the shortbread.

Tzatziki made with my Homemade Greek Yogurt served with Crudites lovingly prepared by my sister and Cleanliness is Next to Godliness Food blogger, Emmy.

We also offered piping hot coffee and warmed mulled apple wine.

Here is my hubby, Jay, partaking in the warmed beverage.  Hi, honey!

And here I am just loving life and my 14 year old doggie, Cricket.

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And now for the main course all served on my Nana’s China:

Holiday Glazed Ham prepared by me and Smoked Turkey prepared by Papa Zigs

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Pineapple Filling

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Homemade Scalloped Potatoes made by Mama Zigs

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Simply Baked Macaroni and Cheese

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Cucumber Salad (one of Poppy’s specialties)

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Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Sage of which I totally forgot to take a picture!

Photo courtesy of www.jewcy.com

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Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Ginger

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And also – plain green beans for Mom Mom.  She loves her green beans!

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To avoid complete carb-overload, Mom made me a fresh fruit salad.

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And for dessert….

… a semi-homemade ice cream cake!

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Recipes of our Christmas bounty will come in the very near future.   For now, I am going to make a delicious breakfast with the leftovers…

Until we meet again, I again wish you health, wealth, and a big belly from good food!

Hazelnut Pesto and Grilled Vegetable Pizza

I really wasn’t going to post these dishes because pizza and nachos are easy to make, and you don’t need me to tell you how to make pizza or nachos.   But I decided to pay tribute to fun, festive food consumed when I’m watching football with the hubby.

There is nothing better (well, ALMOST nothing better) than piling on the couch in sweatpants and your favorite sports team’s jersey, turning on ESPN and watching the game with real sports food – pizza, nachos, chips & dip, hoagies, etc.

Yes, I said hoagies.  I’m a Philly girl.  It’s not a sub or a hero.  It’s a hoagie.

As much as I love lazy days when I can go less than a mile down the road and order a pizza, nachos, or a hoagie, I also love the days when I can have my favorite sports meals made with a little lovin’ from my own kitchen.  And I use lotsa lovin’.

The pizza in the first picture – we’ll call it Hazelnut Pesto & Grilled Vegetable Pizza – was made using whatever I had in the fridge.  I did this before when I made my Everything But the Kitchen Sink Pizza.  I enjoy these types of recipes because I get to use up all the leftover veggies lingering in my fridge before they go funky on me.  I don’t do funky veggies.  And I get so upset when I have a few slices of bell pepper in the fridge with no purpose.  I can’t just throw it out.  I’ll just put it on my pizza…

Hazelnut Pesto & Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough
olive oil

For the pesto:
2 LARGE handful of basil leaves, stems removed
handful of hazelnuts
1 Tbs. Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup eggplant, diced
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup orange bell pepper
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
your favorite cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Put all pesto ingredients except for the olive oil into a food processor and start pulsing it.  While pulsing, add the olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Place a medium skillet on medium-high heat.  Add bacon slices.  Cook until crispy.  Set aside.  Leave drippings in pan.

Still on medium-high, add vegetable toppings (except garlic) to skillet.  Saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until softened.

Roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface and brush lightly with olive oil.  Spread pesto onto pizza surface.  Then add sauteed vegetables, garlic, and cheese.

Place in oven for about 10-15 minutes or until edges brown and cheese melts.

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Ja Cie Kocham’s Loaded Nachos

My family has a thing for nachos.  We’re known to order them as our main meal at a restaurant and eat the whole thing by ourselves.

What?  Nachos are AWESOME.  I bet you do it, too.

Nachos can be zapped in the microwave…. I have seen a few friends put tortilla chips on a plate with salsa and cheese and microwave them for 30 seconds, which is totally acceptable but I wanted some pizazz for these babies.

I wanted the works – the salsa, the fresh tomatoes, the scallions, the avocado, the refried beans, the bacon, the beef, and most importantly THE CHEESE.  I seriously made enough for 8 people for Jay and I, and we almost polished off the entire thing on our own.  I couldn’t breathe when I was done and I was even full the next morning… now that’s what I call loaded nachos!

Ja Cie Kocham’s Loaded Nachos

Ingredients:

1 bag of corn tortilla chips
4 slices of bacon
1 – 1.5 lbs. hamburger
1 15 oz. can refried beans
1 jar chipotle salsa
your favorite shredded cheese
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium skillet placed on medium-high heat, cook your bacon.  Once bacon is crispy, remove it and keep the drippings in the pan.  Add the hamburger.  Cook until brown.

On a large cookie sheet covered in nonstick spray, spread out the nachos.  Add the hamburger, refried beans, salsa and cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes or until refried beans and salsa are hot and cheese is melted.

Crumble up bacon that you have set aside.

Take out of oven and add the remainder of the ingredients, including the bacon that you have reserved.  Serve immediately.

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Other fun recipes for sports watching at home:

Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms

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Hot Bean and Cheese Dip

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Petite Pineapple and Prosciutto Pizzas

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White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

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Enjoy yourself and give your sports food a little lovin’ from your kitchen…

Remember I told you that we need to move on from my crappy pictures?  Apply that thought right now.  It was dark, I was hungry, and I just took a quick pic of a fabulous dish.  Please don’t let the picture fool you!!  This portion of my pre-Thanksgiving meal along with my Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Apples with Ginger and another side dish a dessert soon to be revealed were awesome!

Again, the stuffing came from my Clean Eating Magazine.  The pork was a recipe that I created on the fly.  It is all healthy, simple, inexpensive, and has explosive flavor.  Sweet deal.   Trust me, you can’t go wrong with these recipes.  I wish that I had these ideas sooner!

Sweet Apple Cider Pork

Serves 4

4 4oz. pieces of pork tenderloin, 1 1/2 inch-thick (preferably)
2 1/2 cups apple cider for marinade + 1 cup for cooking
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

In a large ziplock bag, add pork, cider for marinade, cloves, ginger, and salt.  Let marinate for 30 minutes.

Once the pork is done marinating, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and butter and distribute throughout the skillet.  Add pork and brown each side (about 2 minutes each side).  Add the remaining apple cider, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer.  Cover with lid and cook for about 8 minutes more.  Be sure to keep a close eye on it to make sure the cider doesn’t completely evaporate.

Then add the cornstarch and stir until the cider thickens.

Place pork on a serving plate and drizzle sauce over top.
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Mushroom and Leek Stuffing

Source: Clean Eating Magazine, Nov/Dec 2009

Serves a huge crowd (enough to stuff a turkey if desired)

Ingredients:

1 680g whole-wheat sourdough bread or regular whole wheat bread
1 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 lb. portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 large leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise and chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Directions: You can do this one of two ways –

1 – The oven-baked traditional method – Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Decrust and cube bread into 3/4-inch cubes.  Spread bread cubes out in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Transfer to a very large bowl.

Heat 1/2 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and cooking, stirring until tender and lightly browned (8-10 minutes).  Add mushrooms to bowl with bread.  Wipe out skillet with paper towel and heat remaining oil on medium-high.  Add carrots, celery, and leeks and cook until tender and lightly browned (again, 8-10 minutes).  Add to bread bowl.

Add remaining ingredients to bowl and stir gently.  Bread should be moist, but not soggy.  Allow to cool.

Coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and add stuffing.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Them remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

OR

2 – The weeknight, I don’t have time to do all that work method – Tear bread into bite-sized chunks.  In a large skillet heated to medium, add 1/2 tsp. oil (I cheated and added a little tab of butter, too) and mushrooms, cook until tender and lightly brown (8-10 minutes).  Remove from skillet.  Wipe down skillet with paper towel.

Add remaining oil, carrots, celery, and leeks to skillet heated to medium-high and cook until tender and lightly brown (8-10 minutes).  Add mushrooms back into skillet along with the remaining ingredients.  Stir until bread is completely moist, but not soggy.  Once bread is completely moist, crank up the heat to high and stir stuffing for a minute or two until the bread begins to toast.  Serve immediately.