grilled pork chops with pears & blue cheese.

Another fav from Whole Foods.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1/4 cup Dijon mustard, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (2 1/4-ounce each) thin-cut boneless pork loin chops
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ripe but firm Bartlett pears, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

Method

In a one-gallon storage bag, combine water, 3 tablespoons mustard, 1 tablespoon salt and pork chops. Shake well and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours; drain well, discarding brine. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon mustard and oil in a small bowl and brush all over pears and pork chops. Grill, flipping halfway through, until pork is golden brown and just cooked through, and pears are barely charred and still juicy, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to plates, garnish with blue cheese and serve.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 11oz/308g-wt.): 430 calories (190 from fat), 21g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 95mg cholesterol, sodium is difficult to determine due to brining, 30g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 17g sugar), 30g protein

xoxo

Mel

grilled steak with thai summer salad.

This recipe is from the Whole Foods website.  I am a huge fan of Whole Foods.  A lot of times I find the Whole Foods 365 brand is less expensive than items I can find at Safeway.  I am also a huge fan of their website, I get a ton of ideas from their recipe section.

A simple mixture of lime juice, fish sauce and soy sauce doubles as a marinade and salad dressing in this brightly flavored dish.

Ingredients

1/3 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 or 2 Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
2 pounds skirt steak or sirloin flap, cut in 2 pieces
4 cups thinly sliced baby bok choy
6 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
2 small cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, sliced
1/2 cup lightly packed mint leaves, sliced
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, sliced

Method

Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, shallot and chiles. Place half of mixture (about 6 tablespoons) in a wide shallow dish and add steak. Cover and marinate, turning occasionally, at least 30 minutes. Chill remaining lime juice mixture separately to dress the salad.

Prepare a grill for high-heat cooking or preheat broiler. Remove steak from marinade; place on grill or broiler pan and cook until desired doneness, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Rest steak 10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine bok choy, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, basil, mint and cilantro. Toss with reserved lime juice mixture. Spread salad over a large platter and arrange steak over salad.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 11oz/302g-wt.): 280 calories (110 from fat), 13g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 60mg cholesterol, 700mg sodium, 12g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 29g protein

xoxo

Mel

lamb meatballs.

Another fav from Real Simple.

Serves 4
Hands-on Time: 25m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb or beef
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup couscous
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 ounces Feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Heat broiler. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, apricots, coriander, chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

2. Form the meat into 1 ½-inch balls (about 20) and place them on a broilerproof baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the couscous in a bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

5. Serve the couscous with the meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber, Feta, and sliced onion. Drizzle with the dressing.

xoxo

Mel

coconut curry shrimp.

I love Real Simple Magazine, in the October Issue they had a 4 week Meal Planner with 5 meals for each week.  I loved it, I tried out a lot of the recipes so the next few posts will be about these.  The best part of this weekly planner is that it planned it out in a way that you would use the bulk of the perishable produce earlier in the week.  It also had the shopping lists for each week.

Coconut Curry Shrimp with Snow Peas

Serves 4
Hands-on Time: 20m
Total Time: 20m

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 3/4 cup snow peas, sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 1/2 pounds frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp, thawed

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss the snow peas, sprouts, basil, oil, 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. In a large saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

4. Add the shrimp and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they are opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of lime juice.

5. Top the rice with the shrimp and curry sauce, then the snow pea mixture. Serve with the lime wedges, if desired.

xoxo
Mel

empanadas.

Hello!  For our pumpkin carving party this year, I wanted to keep the meal relatively simple, casual & easy to snack while watching the Giants & carving pumpkins.  So I had everyone bring their favorite autumnal dish.  I decided to try out empanadas.  I made 4 types...about 75-100 of these little guys.  All while Nick was bottling his first beer...let me tell you how hectic that was.  The hit was the prosciutto & gruyere cheese, but I also made goat cheese & peppers, potatoes & chorizo and a spicy harissa beef.  See below for links to recipes and photos of the process. 

Use this Recipe for the Dough

Use this Recipe for the filling for the Potato & Chorizo

sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the finished product.  after filling & crimping, you brush with an egg wash and bake.  you can also deep fry but that is messy.

xoxo
mel

Thanksgiving Tablescapes

Sandra Lee from the Food Network loves her "tablescapes" and while I don't want to go completely overboard like she does, does anyone have any good ideas for table decorations for Thanksgiving? I have an itch to do a craft project this weekend. I was thinking about spray painting mini pumpkins gold, but not sure if that's too tacky...

Thanks ladies!!

Love--Korenna

It's gettin kinda CHILI

It's officially November so you would think the weather would merit a good Chili Recipe, but out here in AZ it's still 90 degrees.  I will share it anyway for those who are looking to keep warm.

I love this recipe because it's easy, tasty, nutritious & it's great for family gatherings.  Whenever I have to make something for my whole family I think of this since there's always plenty to go around & you can easily make two pans of it if needed.

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced (I use extra garlic instead since I don't like onions)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey (I use Jennie O extra lean)
• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I use 28 oz of tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

(I also add a little cumin & a can of corn)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add turkey and cook, stirring, until meat is brown. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, basil and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 60 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.

I like to add shredded smoked cheese that I purchase at Trader Joes and some saltines to mine.  Dave adds a little extra spice with red pepper flakes.   

 ~Kara