Tag: dinner idea

#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.

#8/52 Homemade Hamburger Helper

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Have you heard of SuperCook? It is a website/app that gives you recipe ideas based on what ingredients you have. It has been a week and a half since I have been to the grocery store and let’s just say the pickings are slim. I headed over to the website and got the idea for a homemade hamburger helper. I then looked at several recipe ideas and decided to try out Natasha’s version from Salt & Lavender. Our family is a fan of lower meat ratios, so I opted for a half lb. of ground beef and added a half cup of chopped red pepper. It turned out delightful! Easy to make and quick to clean up. We paired it with a piece of garlic bread and some sautéed green beans.

INGREDIENTS 

  • 1 pound extra lean ground beef (we did a half lb.)
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 1 red pepper chopped (optional – we did half a red pepper with half lb)
  • 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Add the beef and onions to a soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the beef has browned (about 7-10 minutes), breaking the meat up with your spoon as you go along. If there’s a lot of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
  • Stir in the tomato paste, garlic powder, and chili powder.
  • Add in the beef broth and increase the heat to high. Once it starts boiling, add in the macaroni.
  • Reduce the heat so it’s not furiously boiling (a rapid simmer is good). I ended up cooking mine over medium heat. Let it cook uncovered until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (about 13-15 minutes). I stir it every couple of minutes.
  • While it’s cooking, grate the cheese (this saves prep time at the start of the recipe).
  • Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt & pepper as needed. I let it sit for a couple minutes prior to serving (soaks up the sauce and flavors more), but you can serve it right away.

Also I think I am going to start a “Tomato Paste Recipes” section because every recipe calls for 2 Tbsp and they do not sell it like that….WHY????

#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.

#4/52 Marry Me Chicken Tortellini

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A friend shared this recipe from Luke Brown on Facebook, who has an awesome video you can watch here.

It turned out fabulous! I always think recipes never have enough red pepper flakes and I am happy to report this recipe is perfect as is 🤩

Recipe
• 2 large chicken breasts sliced into cubes
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP of minced garlic
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp each of oregano and thyme
• 1/3 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes
•1 19 oz bag of frozen tortellini

• mix together flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika
• dredge chicken breasts into the flour/seasoning mixture(salt,pepper,paprika,garlic powder)
• in a skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium heat
• cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and it reaches 165 degrees
• take the chicken out of the skillet and put aside
• add garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and chicken broth to the skillet
• lower heat and add heavy cream and Parmesan cheese
• add the red pepper flakes, oregano, and thyme
• stir together well and let simmer
•add one bag of frozen tortellini, cover, and let cook for a few minutes
•once tortellini is tender add chicken back to the skillet and serve

Enjoy!

#2 of 52 New recipes in 2023 White Chicken Chili

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This week was packed with snowy mountain adventures that called for dinner to be finished by time we got back home. In steps this White Chicken Chili Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats. It was so easy to put together my 3-year-old did most of it (huge win). We paired it with cornbread muffins, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and fresh cilantro. This will definitely stay in the winter soup rotation at our home!

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 3 to 4)

  • 1lb chicken breasts (~2 large chicken breasts)
  • 15oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4oz can chopped green chiles
  • 1 – 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded then minced (use 1 made for a mild chili)
  • 1 shallot or 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • big pinch dried oregano
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • juice of 1/2 small lime
  • 1/4 cup milk, any kind
  • 1 Tablespoon gluten free flour (or AP flour if you don’t need to eat GF)
  • Toppings: green Tabasco sauce, verde sauce, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream

DIRECTIONS


1. Add first 12 ingredients — chicken breasts through lime juice — into a 6-quart crock pot then stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken shreds easily.
2. Remove chicken then shred and place in the refrigerator. Whisk flour and milk together in a small dish then drizzle into chili and stir to combine. Cover then cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir shredded chicken back into chili then scoop into bowls and serve with toppings.