Herb Roasted Pork Chops

Herb Roasted Pork Chops, Spicy Tomato Sauce, Glazed Carrots, and Garlic Parmesean Mashed Potatoes.

This is another Gordon Ramsay recipe, it was pretty good, but i still am in the hunt for a pork chop recipe that blows me away.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I placed the pork chops on EVOO, garlic, rosemary, and thyme, then sprinkled on salt and pepper on top along with more rosemary, thyme and garlic. then put in oven for about 20 minutes or until done.

Tomato Sauce: while pork roasts.....

EVOO, 1/2 onion diced, 1 red bell pepper diced, 1 red chile pepper chopped, 10-12 mushrooms sliced, saute until soft. add in 1 can diced tomatoes, sprinkle of sugar, salt and pepper. i added ina little chile paste since my pepper wasn't very hot. saute until mushrooms are cooked - about 10-15 minutes.

Glazed Carrots:

boil carrots until soft on out side but still firm (not raw) onthe inside. drain - in pan melt a tablespoon of butter and stir in a tablespoon of honey and a splash of water - return carrots and toss.

PLATE UP AND ENJOY!

Broiled Ginger Salmon

Broiled Ginger Salmon, Herb Roasted Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

Marinate salmon fillets for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days (we did a day and a half) in:

1/4 cup Soy Sauce and 1/4 cup Honey (or dark brown sugar), 1 tablespoon FRESH peeled and minced ginger root, 3 cloves crushed garlic, 3 tablespoons EVOO

put on pan and bake for about 12 minutes at 450 degrees then turn broiler on low for about 5 minutes.

Done! Can't wait to Grill this on cedar plank in the summer!

I served this with broccoli and potatoes!

Plate Up and ENJOY!

Spicy Green Beans

Last night we had bison strip steaks again - I've already posted the recipe for that. I did, however, make up a new sauteed green bean recipe - they were fabulous.

Dinner:

Bison Strip Steak, Spicy Green Beans, and Garlic Parmesean Mashed Potatoes.

Spicy Green Beans

Icleaned and cut the ends off of my green beans, peeled a few cloves of garlic, and cut up a little red bellpepper and cilantro.

I put in a little EVOO in a pan and sauteed pressed garlic for about 20 seconds then threw in the bell pepper and green beans - then i poured in about 1/2 cup of chardonnay, about 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, a teaspoon of chili paste and salt and pepper and covered until the wine reduced to almost nothing.

In hind sight - i should have blanched the green beans first - they were a bit too raw for my taste.

Shrimp Pasta

This is a perfect recipe for the 'light' eater. Shrimp sauteed in a garlic wine sauce with chili peppers, tomatoes, and basil and tossed with linguni.

Shrimp Pasta

Boil pasta. I used linguini even though the recipe calls for angel hair - it's just what i had on hand.

While the pasta is boiling:

heat a 2 inch skillet to medium high heat -start with 2 tablesppons EVOO - then add in one chopped red chili pepper, (i used one chili pepper and 1/2 a jalapeno because my red pepper wasn't very spicy.) and 2-3 large garlic cloves squeezed through a garlic press. Saute for about a minute then add in 1/2 pound of peeled deveined shrimp. saute for about a minute, toss and season with salt and pepper. then add in about 1/4- 1/2 cup of white wine, I used chardonnay. As that reduces, add in one large ripe tomato or a few roma tomatoes - diced. allow to cook for about 2 minutes then add 3 chopped scallions (i omitted the scallions) and a small handful of chopped fresh basil.

Drain pasta and drizzle with EVOO and about a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest - toss.

Add pasta to shrimp and sauce and toss.

PLATE UP and enjoy!

top the pasta with a splash of fresh lemon juice, a few diced tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Thank you Gordon Ramsay!

Roasted Leg of Lamb

Roasted Leg of Lamb, Steamed Broccoli, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

this time i didn't marinate the lamb and we enjoyed it better.

brandon and i had our butcher cut 2 pounds of boneless leg of lamb and here is our recipe.

preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I covered the lamb with a blend of lamb seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic pepper, and dried rosemary, then i cut a few small slits in the leg and poked garlic cloves and thyme into them - then I seared the meat side where the butcher cut to seal the meat. - high heat for about 1 minute.

place on rack in pan then put thermometer into the thickest part of the lamb.

put in oven roast for 20 minutes - then turn heat to 325 degrees and roast until thermometer reads 135 degrees- this will take about an hour - but check often - (the lamb will continue to rise in temp out of the oven to the perfect 140-145 degrees for meduim rare. )

let the lamb rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting twine and carving.

Plate Up and enjoy!

Lemon Herb Cornish Hen

Brandon and I bought 2 cornish hens at whole foods and this is how i prepared them.

Lemon Herb Cornish Hen

preheat oven to 425 degrees

i prepared all my seasoning so i wouldn't be touching too many things once i handled the hen

i cut up one lemon, 6 cloves garlic (left a few whole and chopped the others), separated sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregeno into 2 parts (one for each hen), spooned out some butter (Smart Balance-50cal per tbs) and mixed salt, pepper, lemon pepper, garlic pepper and poultry seasoning in a bowl.

then i went ahead and prepared my potaoes as well - i cut them into bitesize cubes and sprinkles with evoo, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. then put on one side of pan so they can roast alongside the hens.

then i rinsed my hens and patted them dry - sprikled some dry seasoning mix into each cavity and then filled them with lemon (all but 4 slices), herbs (leave a few leaves of each), 2 whole garlic cloves, and about 1 tablespoon butter.

then i seperated the skin from the breast with my finger and slid one lemon slice, herbs, chopped garlic, and a little butter under the skin of each breast. then i tied up the legs and sprinkled the remaining seasoning mix on the skin and rubbed with a little butter

put in oven - turn potatoes and baste hen with melted butter -about 25 minutes into roasting - repeat one more time about 20 minutes later - then wait until thermometer reaches 180 in the hen and bring out of oven.

while the hen rests, i cut asparagus and steamed it in water, garlic pepper, and salt.

Plate Up and enjoy!

I will be using the leftover hen and spanish rice for my homemade chicken rice soup later this week YUM!

Swordfish Lettuce Wraps with Mango Salsa

Last night we had Swordfish Tacos with Spanish Rice and Mango Salsa (and Fat Free Spicy Sour Cream) - a standard in the casa de tait. and again i saved on calories and used lettuce instead of tortillas - that way i could enjoy some fat free sour cream
i believe i already posted this recipe so here are a couple of pictures
and here is the Chile Paste I use for the spicy sour cream -- we call it Cock Sauce

yesterday- b-fast- i had The Usual. (oatmeal, tea, vitamin, water)
lunch - some pretzels and a banana
dinner- swordfish lettuce wraps

Poached Egg on Whole Grain Flat Bun

Weigh in: 133.4 :( only a .2 loss - i guess i need to step it up a little.

the weekend did however prove to be difficult - i had too much cheese with Carson on our girl's night, one mixed cocktail (CALORIES!!!) and wine and crackers, and soup.

I did however have a good breakfast both morning, about a 200 calorie intake - one poached egg on top of a whole grain flat bun bread and a little hot rotel and sour cream.

then i had spicy tomato soup and a 2%grilled cheese (on flat bun-no butter) and i had chicken noodle soup for dinner.

sunday was the bad day - carson made lunch her famous "pigs in a blanket" hot dog and cheese baked in a piece of bread. and i had 3 stuffed shells for dinner - 2%ricotta and mozzarrella stuffed jumbo shells covered in a meat sauce. and i had 3 beers for superbowl.

no wonder i only lost .2lbs.

Pot Luck Salad

b-fast fruit from brandon, water, tea, vitamin
lunch my chicken rice soup and a salad
snack Greek yogurt and cheese stick (not at the same time)

Dinner: a HUGE salad of field greens and spinach with 3oz roasted chicken, mushrooms, and tomatoes - with a little salsa and red pepper added in my dressing for kick - and a couple of pickles on the side that carter munched on mostly. and btw my family had chicken pot pie...it was very hard passing that up! but this salad was delicious.

Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken

usually Sunday's are fried Chicken Days here in the south, but well - I have to stay away from "fried' anything - so i made....


Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken


I cleaned a whole chicken and stuffed it with poulty seasoning, lemon pepper, salt and pepper, fresh garlic, rosemary, basil, 1/4 orange, 1/2 lemon and some butter (my smart start or smart choice kind) 50 calories a tblsp.
then under the skin of each breast i slipped in a slice of lemon, leaf of basil, a few rosemary leaves, chopped garlic, and a pat of butter
then i sprinked more of the seasoning on top, drizzled with basil Evoo and roasted at 425 until internal temp was 180.


we had this with linguini and marinara


Plate Up and ENJOY!

Broiled Cajun Grouper

saturday night dinner

Grouper

I broiled a red grouper fillet in a cajun seasoning with paprika and red pepper flake with a little cumin.

served with sauteed asparagus and wild rice

Plate It! Yum!

Homemade Chicken Rice Soup

Snowed in Saturday Soup! SO Deliciously Perfect!
Homemade Chicken Rice Soup

I was in snow day soup mood - so i hunted the fridge for extra veggies and what not to make soup - i found 1 frozen chicken breast, 1/2 onion, fresh green beans, bell peppers, a carrot, asparagus ends, red potatoes, and fresh herbs, left over rice. - PERFECT!

I thawed the chicken breast, then boiled it in water with fresh basil, rosemary, salt pepper, 1/4 onion, and 2 garlic cloves.

when the smell became too much like rosemary i pulled it the stem out and trashed it. i pulled out the chicken when it was cooked through - SAVE THE BROTH!

in another pot, i sauteed carrots, onion, and bellpepper with garlic, then added in asparagus and green beans for a few minutes.

I took out the pieces of basil, garlic and onion from my broth and chopped it up and threw them in- then i poured in my homemade broth- and because i love broth, i added some already made chicken broth, and some broth leftover from boiling potatoes the night before - then i added some italian seasoning, papper, red pepper flake, and a dash of hot sauce and chopped chicken- i let it simmer for about an hour, then added uncooked chopped red potato, and let simmer for a couple of hours (while we went hiking in the snow)

right before i served it, i added in my leftover cooked rice until it was warm.

Cup Up and Enjoy! :)

here is Brandon enjoying my soup while we sat by the campfire he made and enjoyed the Blizzard of 2010

DELISH!!!

Marinated Leg of Lamb

breakfast - cheese, grapefruit, strawberries, tea, vitamin, water
i left work at 11 because of weather
(brandon and i were out running some errands so we stopped to take lunch home before the snow hit)
lunch - Snow Day Mamosas!
1 chicken soft taco (from la loma) a few chips and salsa
dinner - LEG OF LAMB

We bought 2 pounds of boneless leg of lamb.
I seasoned the leg of lamb with chopped garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, rosemary, and oregeno and red wine, olive oil, and lemon juice - i let this marinate for 5 hours. then took it out patted it dry. because it was as cut piece and not whole, i seared the meat side to seal it and then roasted it (on a rack in a pan) 425 degrees for 20 minutes then turned heat to 325 for about 1 hour - (25 minutes per pound) when internal temp hits 125 it's medium rare. but ours was a little more medium because our twine didn't stay on to keep it held tight together.
I served with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Plate Up and Enjoy!