Tag: cooking dinner

#10/52 Pork Chops with a Sweet Rub

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We don’t eat pork chops very often, so I thought I would check out a new recipe. After searching for different ways to prepare your thick cut bone in chop, I settled on this yummy sweet rub from Hey Grill Hey. It’s not quite grilling temperature here, so I sear in a cast iron and pop it in the oven at 450°F.

This recipe was easy to make and gave the pork a wonderful flavor, I was a little generous with the cayenne and loved the spice it added. We paired with sautéed green beans and mashed sweet potatoes.

Do you have a favorite pork recipe you think I should try? Check this one out below

♧Ingredients♧
4 pork chops

Signature Sweet Rub
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper


♧Instructions♧
1.Make the rub. Combine all ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and set aside.
2.Preheat. Allow the grill to preheat to medium-high heat (around 400 degrees F) for two-zone cooking (one direct heat side and one indirect heat side).
3.Season. Season the pork chops with Sweet Rub on all sides and press the rub into the meat.
4. Sear. Place the chops on the hottest part of the grill and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side.
5.Finish grilling. Move the chops to the indirect heat side of the grill and continue cooking for an additional 5-6 minutes per side until the internal temperature of the pork chops reaches 145 degrees F.
6.Rest and serve. Remove the chops from the grill and allow them to rest for 5-6 minutes before slicing.

#7/52 Tuscan Chicken

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A little late posting this, but I made a damn good Tuscan Chicken last week and I’m excited to share the recipe with you!

I decided to try the Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe from downshiftology, and was so happy I did.

This recipe was very easy to prep, didn’t make a lot of dishes, and was ready to eat within 30 minutes. The flavors of sun-dried tomatoes are becoming a new favorite for me. I’m not sure why I haven’t cooked with them more to this point. We paired this delicious dish with rice and a vegetable mix of brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and broccoli.

Ingredients
● 4 (6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
● 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or a mix of individual spices such as oregano, thyme, basil, and rosemary
● 1 teaspoon kosher salt
● ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
● 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
● 4 garlic cloves minced
● ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
● ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes thinly sliced
● 2 cups baby spinach
● 1 ½ cups heavy cream
● ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

Instructions
1. Prep the chicken. Season both sides of each chicken breast in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
2. Sear the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and set aside.
3. Cook the onions. In the same skillet, add another tablespoon of oil and the onion. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion has softened.
4. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and saute another minute, until fragrant.
5. Add the spinach, and saute another minute, until just starting to wilt.
Add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stir together, and bring to a simmer.
6. Let it simmer. Place the chicken back in the skillet and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

#5/52 Butternut Squash Chicken Chili

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We tried a new soup this week, Butternut squash chicken chili, recipe from paleo running momma

The flavors were pretty great, although I’m not sure how I felt about the Butternut squash. Knowing what I am eating is fairly healthy helps me just eat it, but I think in the future I would replace the squash with white beans. Or I would make sure the squash was peeled and cut into much smaller cubes and I wouldn’t use a whole one.

After we ate dinner, I went back through the soup and picked out all the squash and added half a can of great northern beans and froze it like that. The flavors and spices were amazing, but it will not be in our soup rotation. If you try it, drop a comment on your take of the butternut squash

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded*
  • 2 Tbsp ghee or avocado oil
  • 1 medium butternut squash cut into 3/4” cubes (about 4 cups)
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh jalapeños finely chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • 3 cups chicken bone broth
  • 1 tbsp fresh minced cilantro
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • Garnish: “sour cream” coconut cream see notes** avocado slices, cilantro

Instructions

  1. If your chicken needs to be cooked and shredded, do this first* and set aside. Prepare all ingredients before beginning.
  2. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the ghee or oil. Add the butternut squash and sprinkle all over with sea salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until just beginning to brown and soften.
  3. Add in the diced onion and sauté for about a minute until translucent. Then, add in the garlic, peppers, jalapeño and spices, stir and sauté for 3 minutes, until fragrant and softened.
  4. Add in the green chilis, and broth , stir and bring to a boil. Stir in the shredded chicken, nutritional yeast cilantro and lime juice and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with coconut “sour cream” (see notes) sliced avocado, additional cilantro and sliced jalapeño if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Notes:

*if you don’t already have cooked chicken, season your chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cooked through, then shred before using. You can also use a rotisserie chicken, just check ingredients for Whole30 compliance if needed.

** To make Whole30 compliant sour cream with coconut cream, mix 1/2 cup of thick, cold coconut cream with 2 tsp lemon or lime juice and 1/8 tsp fine sea salt. I like to use the 365 brand (Whole Foods) for this as it’s very thick and creamy. Feel free to adjust the salt and lemon to taste.

52 New Recipes in 2023, #1/52 Sublime Swordfish

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2 years ago, I started a journey to lose some weight in a healthy way, my New Year’s resolution was to make one healthy snack a week. Well, this year my New Year’s resolution will be to make one new recipe every week for a year. As a domestic engineer, meal planning multiple meals a day is exhausting. I have found that I am more motivated to cook when I am trying something new! So, please leave me some comments if there is a favorite dish you love and want me to try. I am really excited to embark on this culinary adventure and grateful to have you here for the ride! If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so at the end of this blog post.

The first new recipe of the year is Swordfish. I decided to try the Best Grilled Swordfish recipe from Tasting Table, and I am so happy I did! This is definitely a recipe I will make again in the future; the taste was sublime. I decided to pair it with pesto spinach and cheese tortellini and sauteed green beans. If you try it, let me know what you think too.

Ingredients

  • 3 lemons
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry the lemons and fresh herbs.
  2. Zest and juice 1 lemon into a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Juice a second lemon into the cup, but do not zest it. Then, add the thyme to the mixture.
  3. Finely mince the garlic or paste using a garlic press
  4. Add ½ the garlic to the lemon and thyme mixture. Then, add ¼ cup of olive oil. Whisk to combine the marinade.
  5. Dry the swordfish with a paper towel.
  6. Using 1 teaspoon of salt, season both sides of the fish.
  7. Place in a zip-top bag and add the marinade.
  8. Place in a shallow dish and marinate in the fridge for up to 20 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Pick the fresh basil leaves and fresh parsley leaves from the stems, and coarsely chop. (You are looking for about ½ cup of each basil and parsley after the leaves have been chopped.)
  10. Add the leaves to a food processor. Add the juice from the remaining lemon, ½ teaspoon of salt, the rest of the garlic, ¼ cup of olive oil, and the red pepper flakes. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped (do not process until smooth), about 5 to 7 pulses.
  11. Heat the grill using high heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Clean well with a grill brush. Then, reduce the heat to medium.
  12. Remove the fish from the marinade and place it on the grill.
  13. Grill the swordfish for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until it easily releases from the grill and the inside is flaky and opaque — or a probe thermometer registers 130 F in the thickest piece of fish.
  14. If desired, cut an additional lemon in half, and grill it for 3 minutes. Serve with the fish for a final squeeze of freshness.