Pork Loin and Roasted Veg

January 11, 2018 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

This is a super simple dinner, that doesn’t mess up a lot of pots. You can add whatever vegetables you like. I always cut the pork into regular portions, but you can leave the loin whole if you prefer.

Ingredients

2 lbs. pork loin, cut into chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 red potatoes, cubed
8 brussel sprouts
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups baby carrots

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grind all the herbs in a mortar.

In a large casserole dish, add all the veggies. Place the tablespoons of butter in with the veggies. Pour the chicken broth in, top with the meat, and sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce, and blended herbs. Cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes.

Dry Brine Turkey

January 5, 2018 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I just love making a turkey. When I first made a Thanksgiving turkey (back in 1994), I was super intimidated. It took me all day, and was a ton of work. Over the years I’ve pieced together several alterations of recipes (including my mom’s), to make a turkey that not only is super moist, but takes about half the time to cook. This year it only took 3 hours to cook a 15 lb. bird. We were so busy having it for dinner, that I neglected to get a good photo of the final product, sorry.

Ingredients

15 lb. fresh turkey (thawed)
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh sage (chopped)
Microplaned orange zest from one large orange, or 4 Mandarins
Fresh ground pepper

Directions

24 hours before your dinner, remove the turkey from its packaging and pat dry with paper towels. I discard the neck and the giblets, but you might save them for other uses. Place the turkey on a platter.

Combine the spices, and rub under the skin of the turkey breast and legs. Truss the turkey as you normally would. Here’s a link to a video if you’re unfamiliar with the process.

Place the turkey, uncovered on the platter, in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Place your oven rack in the bottom rung, and heat to 400°. Begin your turkey breast side down, uncovered, in a roasting pan V-Rack for 1 hour.

Using silicone oven mitts, turn the turkey over breast side up. Lower the heat to 325°, and continue cooking until a meat thermometer registers 165° in the thigh (without touching the bone), approximately 2 more hours.

I baste the turkey with melted butter (and eventually drippings) every 30 minutes until the turkey is done. Once the skin has become the shade you prefer, cover loosely with aluminium foil.

When the turkey is resting, you can make the gravy, and warm up or cook the other dishes.

Notes

Turkey is an inexpensive protein, so I like to buy 2 around Thanksgiving and freeze one.
I use a Food Saver vacuum sealer, and freeze the leftover meat in 1 lb. portions. It’s great for soups, pot pies, and casseroles for the next year.
When I first started cooking, the advice was to wash your turkey. The powers that be have since retracted that. It turns out that you are spraying your whole kitchen with nasty bugs when you do that.
Another thing I don’t do anymore, is to stuff the bird. I’ve found that I can make a flavorful and moist stuffing baked in its own casserole dish.

Beef Gyros

November 30, 2017 / Christina Moore / 1 Comment

I love beef or chicken gyros, but I’m not a fan of the traditional gyro meat. Whatever your preferred protein, these are quick to prepare and very filling.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 lbs. steak, sliced into strips
1 small red onion, diced
1 tablespoon Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning
Greek pita

Sides

Tzatziki sauce
Feta
Tomatoes, diced
Romaine lettuce, chopped
Cucumber, peeled and chopped

Directions

Wrap the pita in foil, and warm in the oven. Prepare the Tzatziki sauce.

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Once the pan is hot, add the meat and brown. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the seasoning, stir to combine.

Serve in warmed pita, and allow people to choose their toppings.

Notes

This makes a great salad, if you leave out the pita, and serve over lettuce

Peanut Curry

November 26, 2017 / Christina Moore / 3 Comments

The word “curry” just means spice. There are thousands of types of curry (and so little time to try them all!). This recipe takes me about 20 minutes to prepare, and then 45 to cook. You can start the rice after you get the curry going.

Ingredients

Either 1.5 lbs. of steak, cubed OR chicken breast, sliced into strips
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 cups red potatoes, cubed
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
13.5 oz. can Chaokoh Coconut Milk
3 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
1 tablespoon Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, brown the meat in the oil on medium high. Add the vegetables and stir occasionally until onion is translucent.

Add all the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook covered for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Serve over white rice.

Notes

This is already gluten free
If you want to make it Paleo, use sweet potatoes instead of the red potatoes, and leave out the sugar
Don’t like spicy? Leave out the crushed red pepper. The rest of the ingredients are mild

Jambalaya

November 25, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

I’ve adapted my mom’s recipe to have more spice, and chicken breast. I was lucky enough to grow up in a home that served Southern food fairly often. It’s a super easy, one pot meal that is comfort food for me. This serves a family of 4 with leftovers to spare.

Ingredients

1½ lbs. chicken breast, cubed
1 lb. ham, cubed
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons cooking oil (I use olive oil)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon Tabasco
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups uncooked rice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, brown the chicken and ham in the oil.

Remove the meat with a slotted spoon, and add the bell pepper, garlic and onion to the remaining oil. Sauté over medium high for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.

Add the meat and all remaining ingredients back to the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for 35 minutes on low, without stirring.

Notes

My mom’s recipe called for whole chicken pieces. I just didn’t like to bother with the bones and skin.
If you remove the Tabasco, this dish isn’t spicy at all.
It’s already gluten free, as long as your chicken broth is gluten free.

Satay Chicken

November 21, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

Another super quick and easy dinner when you’re in a hurry. Pretty much no effort or cleanup at all. Not so much cooking, as assembling already prepared ingredients.

Ingredients

1 lb package of pre-cooked chicken kabobs
7 oz Satay Peanut Sauce
Rice

Directions

Line a 13 x 9″ baking dish with foil. Spray with oil/cooking spray. Place the kabobs in the dish, and pour the sauce over the top.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Simple Spaghetti

November 21, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

This might be the first dinner recipe I ever learned to make. My version has evolved over the years to include sherry and Italian Seasoning. You can use any kind of pasta you like. In the photos you can see that I used linguine and fettuccine, because I was out of spaghetti noodles.

Ingredients

1 lb Jimmy Dean Natural Pork Sausage
16 oz spaghetti (or your favorite pasta variety)
26 oz Blue Parrot Spaghetti Sauce (or your favorite variety)
1/3 cup Sherry
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salt

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and olive oil. Add the pasta and cook to your preference; I prefer al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander.

Brown the sausage in a large saucepan. Add the sherry and reduce. Add the spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning. Cover and simmer over low for at least 5 minutes, or as long as you like.

Serve sauce over the pasta.

Notes

Serve with: garlic bread, Parmesan and a salad
Gluten free: just change the noodles

Beans and Kielbasa

November 21, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / Leave a comment

Another super simple weeknight dinner my mom used to make. It’s especially yummy when camping. No talent or ability needed for this one!

Ingredients

1 lb Smoked Kielbasa Sausage
28 oz can B&M Baked Beans

Directions

Chop Kielbasa into ½” coins. Combine the beans and the Kielbasa in a pot and warm over medium heat, about 15 minutes.

Notes

Side suggestions: cornbread, corn on the cob, salad

Cran-Apple Pork

November 14, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / 3 Comments

This dish is all about the sauce. You can either use half of it as a glaze, while roasting your pork tenderloin, or serve it on top of your grilled pork chops. I’ve included both methods in the instructions below.

Ingredients

1 lb. pork tenderloin, OR 4 thick pork chops
1 cup cranberries
1 cup apple, pealed and chopped
¼ cup onion, minced
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup water
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tablespoon coconut oil melted

Directions for Pork Loin Version

Preheat oven to 350°. In a sauce pot, combine cranberries, apple, sugar, water, onion, ginger, curry and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, trim the fat off of the pork loin and rub with the steak seasoning. Place the pork into an oiled 13 x 9″ pan. Uncover and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes more, or until thickened.

Cool 10 minutes, place in a blender, and blend until smooth. Divide the sauce in half. Brush the pork with half. Bake for 30 minutes, or until desired doneness (using a meat thermometer).

Serve pork with remaining sauce.

Directions for Pork Chops Version

In a sauce pot, combine cranberries, apple, sugar, water, onion, ginger, curry and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, heat a large frying pan with the coconut oil. Sprinkle the chops with the steak seasoning. Fry the chops until desired doneness.

Uncover and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes more, or until thickened. Spoon the sauce over the chops and serve.

Notes

Side dish suggestions: Roasted potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, stuffing, steamed green beans, corn on the cob
If you don’t have steak seasoning on hand, use whatever your favorite pork chop seasoning is. Salt and pepper work just fine too.
Don’t like spicy? Remove the red chili flakes, and cut the curry in half.
I like to keep the sauce chunky when I’m making it for pork chops, but it is just the same when blended.
Want to make it Paleo? Don’t add sugar. Easy peasy.

Spicy Steak Stir Fry

November 5, 2017November 25, 2017 / Christina Moore / 1 Comment

This is a version of Szechuan Beef, which was one of my most favorite dishes that mom used to make. Her recipe had bamboo shoots, and fewer peppers. Stir fry is such an adaptable dish. Just add whatever veggies or meat you like the best, and you’ve got an easy weeknight dish.

Ingredients

2 lbs. sirloin steak, sliced into thin strips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 cups slivered carrots
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 head broccoli cut into bite-sized florets
16 dried red hot chili peppers
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sherry
1 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Heat the oil and cook the chilies on medium-high until they begin to char. Remove them from the oil, and set aside in a medium bowl.

Brown the steak in the oil. Remove from oil and add to the bowl with the chilies. Add the vegetables to the oil and stir fry until tender for about 5 minutes.

Stir together the soy sauce, sherry, sugar and cornstarch. Return meat and chilies to the wok. Top with the sauce. Stir until boiling and thickened. Serve over rice.

Notes

To make this gluten free, use Tamari instead of soy sauce.
To make this paleo, ditch the sugar, use coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce, arrowroot powder instead of corn starch, and serve over cauliflower rice.