Saturday Stirrings - Crock Pot Pork Loin With Apples April 6, 2008

This is cooking away in my crockpot as we speak.  It’s smelling really delicious, so I’m anticipating it will taste wonderful when it’s done.  It’s my first time making this dish, but the prep was so simple and quick. 

***** UPDATE*****

I just took this out of the crockpot, and oh my word is it tender and tasty!  T tasted it and tried to walk off with the entire dish and a fork.  It is more than we can eat in a meal or two, but will freeze easily and will lend itself to adding of BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches.  Yummy!

Crock Pot Pork Loin with Apples

1 pork loin/roast

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 medium apples

juice from one lemon or 3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Brown the pork loin in a pan on the stove.  Cut the apples into 8ths and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples.  Nestle the pork loin on top of the apples.  Pour the chicken broth over the apples and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Cook on low 6 - 7 hours. 

To serve, remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on platter tented with foil.  Let rest for 15 minutes.  Carve and serve with apples.

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Saturday Stirrings - Shrimp Alfredo March 29, 2008

I just dumped all this in a pot one day and it tasted pretty good.  It’s easy and basically fool-proof, but people will think you spent a lot more time on it than you did.  It’s also a good dish for adding to or adjusting based on your own personal preferences.   

Shrimp Alfredo

1 pound, peeled and de-veined shrimp

1 jar prepared alfredo sauce of your choice

 about 12 - 16 ounces of whole wheat linguine noodles

about 6 seeded and diced roma tomatoes

8-10 ounces of sliced mushrooms

olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

parmesan cheese

Put the pasta on to boil per package directions.  Saute the mushrooms in olive oil until browned and set aside.  Saute the shrimp and garlic in the olive oil.  Add in the alfredo sauce and mushrooms; stir until heated throughly.   Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes.  Toss with the cooked, drained pasta.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and serve.

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Saturday Stirrings - Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin March 22, 2008

I cooked a pork tenderloin for the first time a few weeks ago using this recipe.  We’ll definitely be having this again, and I may be using the herb rub on a chicken in the crockpot at some point.

Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin

1 whole pork tenderloin (1 pound)

1 tbsp. grainy dijon mustard

1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp. dried sage

1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees and prepare a shallow roasting pan with non-stick spray.  Brush the tenderloin with the mustard.  Combine the herbs: pat them evenly onto the tenderloin and sprinkle with pepper.  Place the pork in the roasting pan, set it in the oven, and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the tenderloin reads about 145 degrees (about 25 minutes depending on the size of the tenderloin.)  Remove the pork from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.  Carve into 1/2 inch slices and serve with the pan juices.

This recipe came from The New Family Cookbook For People With Diabetes.

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Saturday Stirrings - London Broil Teriyaki March 15, 2008

I got this recipe from one of those teaser Time Life recipe card mailings where they send you a few recipe cards in the hopes that you subscribe to their recipe card program.  I never subscribe, but I sure do keep the recipes I like from their little sample pack. 

This one sounded so delicious that I made it within a few days of it’s arrival in the mail, and can I just say, “YUM!” 

London Broil Teriyaki

1 - 1 1/4 pound bonless top round, about 1 inch thick

1 cup soy sauce (I use the low-sodium version.)

1/3 cup sugar (I use splenda.)

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 3 cloves….We like garlic at our house.)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp finely chopped ginger or 1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

Preheat broiler to high.  In small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar/splenda, ginger, and garlic, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Remove 1/2 cup of mixture for basting.  Place steak on the rack of a broiler pan; brush generously with basting sauce.  Broil 4 inches from heat for 10 minutes.  Turn and brush with remaining reserved sauce.  Broil an additional 5 - 6 minutes or until desired doneness.  While steak is broiling, mix cornstarch with water and add to mixture in the saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 8 - 10 minutes.  Stir scallions into the sauce after thickened.  Let steak rest for 2 minutes after broiled.  Slice as desired and serve with sauce. 

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Saturday Stirrings - West Coast Chicken March 8, 2008

 

West Coast Chicken

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, well drained

1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 slice of whole wheat bread, crumbled to make soft crumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare a shallow baking dish with olive oil-flavored nonstick pan spray.  Pound the chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.  Combine the tomatoes, basil, and garlic in a small bowl.  Spread the tomato mizture evenly over the chicken breasts; froll up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish.  Combine the oil, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl; brush evenly over the chicken rolls.  Sprinkle with the bread crumbs.  Press the crumbs onto the chicken rolls so they adhere.  Bake 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the crumbs browned. 

This recipe is from The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes. 

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Saturday Stirrings - Chicken Quesadillas March 1, 2008

 

Okay, I know there are a MILLION versions of chicken quesadilla recipes out there.  This is just what I usually do when I make them at home.  It is quick, easy, and delicious!

Chicken Quesadillas

10 flour tortillas (I get the fresh tortillas from the local HEB Market.  They are fabulous!)

Chicken fajita-style meat

Mexican-blend Shredded Cheese

Mushrooms, sliced (about 8 ounces)

Tomatoes, seeded and diced

Olive oil

A few cloved of garlic, minced

Saute mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil until mushrooms are browned.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Place tortilla in skillet, layer in some cheese, meat, tomatoes, mushrooms, a little more cheese, and top with another tortilla.  Heat on medium heat until the tortilla starts to brown and is a little crisp.  Flip and do the same on the other side.  Repeat until you’re out of ingredients.  Serve and eat while warm.

I usually get the frozen, pre-cooked and seasoned fajita meat that I can just heat up in the microwave.  You can cook your chicken from scratch if you want but cutting it into strips and sauteing in olive oil with some onions and peppers if you want.  I’ve just never been that industrious and am quite happy with my pre-packaged fajita chicken. 

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Saturday Stirrings - Sweet And Tangy Sloppy Joes February 23, 2008

 

This recipe was SO delicous!  I just wish I dould remember where I found it so I could credit the source.  The next time I do it, I’ll be tripling the recipe so I can throw some in the freezer to pull out for quick meals.

 Sweet and Tangy Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey.)

1 small, white onion, chopped (I pureed mine.)

1 (8 ounce can) tomato sauce

1/4 cup of ketchup

1 tbsp. brown sugar (I used the brown sugar splenda.)

2 tbsp. soy sauce (I used the low-sodium version.)

Juice of 1 orange (about 1/4 cup)

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/8 tsp. cayenne (I used chili powder because I didn’t have any cayenne on hand.)

Brown the meat with the onions.  Drain.  Stir in remaining ingredients until well blended.  Cover and simmer over low for 20 minutes.  (I simmered it longer to reduce it down a little more.)  Serve on buns or bread of your choice.

YUMMY!

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