My ruminations on my life, my family, cooking, baking, and whatever else comes to mind
A couple months ago, Jane of Dear Jane Sample started off a neat look into advertising and brand perception with her Brand Timeline Portrait. Since then many folks have made their own timelines for their blogs, and now I’ve made one of my typical weekday. It really is an interesting perspective on my life seeing what all I use over the course of a day.
Tonight’s dinner was a “clean out the fridge” stir fry. A couple pork chops, some veggies, a quick sauce, and voila! dinner! I’m guessing at the amounts I used, as it was bits and pieces, but my SWAGs (scientific wild ass guesses) are usually pretty good 😉
Pork and Veggie Stir Fry
Serves 2 alone or 4 with rice or noodles
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 lb boneless pork chops
8 oz mushrooms
½ lb napa cabbage
8 oz snow peas
â…“ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce (Lee Kum Kee is the brand that I use)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce (Lee Kum Kee is the brand that I use)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed into 3 tbsp water
Cut the pork chops into thin bite sized pieces. Slice the mushrooms and napa cabbage into thin slices. Mix the soy sauce and remaining ingredients except for the cornstarch in a small bowl. Mix the cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
Heat the oils in a large skillet or wok. When they just start to smoke, add the pork and toss constantly for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through and nicely browned. Add the mushrooms and stir for another 1-2 minutes or until the mushrooms just start to give off a bit of water. Add the cabbage, continuing to stir, and cook for 30 seconds. Add the peas and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour the sauce on top and stir to combine. Once the sauce reaches a boil (less than a minute), add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. When the mixture returns to a boil, it will thicken. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
| Calories | 320 |
| Fat | 13.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 62 mg |
| Sodium | 1854 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 18.5 g |
| Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 30.5 g |
| Vitamin A | 63% |
| Vitamin C | 102% |
| Calcium | 12% |
| Iron | 18% |
Tonight’s dinner was a pot roast simmered all day in a crock pot. This is a really easy meal to throw together that also doesn’t heat up the house in the summer. It’s a bit heavy, but serving it with a green salad lightens things up.
Pot Roast
(for a 5-6 quart slow cooker)
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 3 lb chuck roast (more or less)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb whole carrots
1 ½ lb waxy potatoes (red potatoes, yukon gold, fingerling)
¾ cup water
1 tsp beef bouillon granules
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Slice up carrots and potatoes into big chunks and layer in the bottom of the crock pot. Brown the chuck roast in the vegetable oil over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side – just enough to get a nice color (this step can be skipped if you’re in a hurry). Slide roast in on top of veggies. Mix water and remaining ingredients together. Pour over the roast and veggies. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours.
Last night’s dinner was a grilled pork tenderloin. I rub it with a combination of herbs and spices, which you should feel free to modify to your tastes, grilled it up along with some whole small zucchini, and warmed some roasted garlic bread from the bakery to complete the meal – all on the grill. It kept the house nice and cool since we were cooking outside and gave us a great tasting meal. In the winter, I do this in the oven and often finish it off in the last five minutes of cooking with a raspberry chipotle glaze.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 large clove garlic, pressed
½ tbsp olive oil
Preheat the grill to medium heat. As the grill is preheating, mix together the rosemary, salt, black pepper, garlic, and olive oil, making a wet rub. Generously rub the mixture all over the pork loin. Grill for about 15 minutes, then turn and grill for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. Remove to a platter and allow the meat to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice into ½ inch rounds and serve.
| Calories | 153 |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 74 mg |
| Sodium | 348 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 0.5 g |
| Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Vitamin A | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 2.5% |
| Calcium | 1% |
| Iron | 8% |
Last night’s dinner was a flat iron steak marinated in chimichurri sauce and grilled. We also had some grilled zucchini and potatoes. Good stuff. Chimichurri is an Argentinian marinade and condiment. Flat iron steaks are a relatively new cut, so if you can’t find it in your store, a skirt steak or flank steak would work just as well.
Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 flat iron steak (about 1 lb)
Chimichurri ingredients:
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
8 cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
2 tsp dried oregano (or 3 tbsp of fresh)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
In a food processor, finely chop the parsley. Add the other ingredients and pulse to combine completely. Pour half of the chimichurri into a bowl for serving with the steak later, and pour the other half into a large zip top bag. Place the steak in the bag, seal, and massage the marinade into the steak. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 20-30 minutes while the grill preheats to medium.
When the grill is hot, place the steak on the grill and cook for about 6 minutes on each side for a medium steak. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice across the grain and serve with reserved chimichurri sauce on top if desired.
For the grilled vegetables, I just sliced zucchini and potatoes into rounds (fairly thick for the zucchini, very thin for the potatoes), tossed them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and placed them in a grill basket on the grill when I turned it on. The potatoes need the extra time while the grill heats up to get tender and be cooked through at the same time as the steak.
Last night I made my version of chicken piccata for dinner. It turned out quite tasty as always. Emma even got to try a noodle 🙂
Chicken Piccata
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken tenderloins or thinly sliced skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp flour
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp drained capers
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
Pat chicken with paper towels to thoroughly dry. Mix together the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly coat the chicken with flour, shaking off any excess. Putting the flour and seasonings in a large plastic bag and shaking the chicken makes this step easy and much neater.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Cook the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium low; add garlic and capers to skillet. Cook for 30 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add two tablespoons of the flour mixture and stir to coat completely with oil, making a roux. Add broth and lemon juice, increase heat to medium high, and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly, until the residual flour is completely incorporated and the sauce is starting to thicken. Stir in parsley. Return the chicken to the skillet and turn to coat completely in the sauce. Serve immediately over pasta.
| Calories | 292 |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 66 mg |
| Sodium | 1102 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 29 g |
| Vitamin A | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 15% |
| Calcium | 2% |
| Iron | 9% |
I’m part of the recipe testing for a cookbook that Jaden Hair of Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen is in the last stages of writing and publishing (through Tuttle/Periplus, which has many excellent cookbooks and other books). Last week I tried two recipes – steamed vegetable buns, and spicy garlic chicken wings. As these are not my own recipes, and they will be published in the near future, I will not be copying them here.
Steamed Vegetable Buns
I had some difficulty with the bun dough being too sticky to work with, and ended up steaming the dough separately and serving the buns alongside the filling. I prefer my own steamed bun recipe to the mix used in the recipe, as I found the mix to be too sweet, but it would be easy enough to reduce the added sugar.
Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings
These were easy to make and very tasty. They were marinated, then baked to cook them through, then briefly stir fried with aromatics to crisp up the skin and add layers of flavor.
I’m looking forward to testing more recipes and buying the cookbook when it comes out!
Even on shore duty, Shaun still sometimes has late nights or times when he’s out. This is a very quick and easy meal that probably isn’t blog-worthy, but, hey, it was tasty.
Quick Chicken and Pasta Dinner
Serves 1
4 oz small pasta (I used Barilla elbows)
½ bag of pre-cooked chicken strips (such as Tyson Grilled Chicken Strips)
½ cup frozen peas
1 tsp olive oil
a dash of black pepper
½ tsp oregano
1 small clove garlic, pressed
Boil the pasta according to the box directions (usually 7-8 minutes for smaller pasta), making sure to salt the water well. In the last minute of cooking, add the peas. Meanwhile, heat the chicken in the microwave. Drain the pasta and peas, add to the chicken, and toss with remaining ingredients to combine.
I have a warm, soft Emma-dog sleeping in my lap right now. I gave her a bath earlier today, and now her fur is especially soft.
I think she’s getting the idea of housetraining, but she just lacks the physical ability at this point. I wish I could stay home with her, but work does have to get done. It’ll just take a bit longer this way.
