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easy dinner

Baked Southwestern Pork Cutlets

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Southwestern Pork Cutlets

Here’s another recipe from my newly found bag ‘o recipes. These Southwestern Pork Cutlets are adapted from Food Network Magazine, December 2012.

Besides a nice, crispy panko coating, there’s a drizzle of salsa verde (I bought jarred) and all of those wonderful roasted vegetables. You could easily halve this recipe and make it will make a nice dinner for two.

We don’t have pork very often – not sure why because we really enjoy it. This time I bought one pack of boneless pork loin chops and got one free, so there was incentive to dig out a recipe for pork. I particularly noticed this one because it looks easy to throw together, throw in the oven, then throw on the plate.

Southwestern Pork Cutlets

The pork is tender and flavorful and I love the roasted sweet potatoes and poblano. Chop the poblano pretty big so it’ll retain its peppery goodness. I’m glad I got the free pack of pork loin chops, because I’ll be making these again!

Tomorrow I’m gonna chop the leftover pork into bite-sized pieces, toss them in Frank’s wing sauce and stuff them into a wrap with some shredded lettuce and a little ranch dressing. Yum.

Southwestern Pork Cutlets

Southwestern Pork Cutlets

Southwestern Pork Cutlets

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Tender, slightly spicy boneless pork cutlets breaded and baked, along with roasted poblano and sweet potatoes. 

Ingredients

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" chop
  • 2 poblano peppers, top cut off and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Cooking Spray
  • 1/4 C mayonnaise
  • 1/4 C milk
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 1/4 C panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 4 boneless pork loin chops, pounded to 1/4" thick
  • Optional, but recommended:
  • Salsa verde and lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven.  Preheat to 425°.  Toss the sweet potatoes and peppers with the olive oil, 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake on the lower oven rack until tender  - 20-25 minutes.
  2. After the vegetables are in the oven, prepare the pork chops.  Line another rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack on top of the baking sheet.  Spray the rack with cooking spray.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, milk, chili powder, paprika, and garlic salt together until smooth.  Pour the panko crumbs into another medium bowl.  
  4. Dip each pork chop in the mayonnaise mixture, letting excess drip off.  Dredge each side of each pork chop in the panko crumbs.  Spray each side of the chops generously with cooking spray and set evenly spaced on the rack.  
  5. Bake the cutlets on the upper oven rack until golden brown and cooked through, 15-17 minutes.  Serve the pork with a portion of the roasted vegetables.  Drizzle with the salsa verde and serve with lime wedges (optional, but recommended).

Notes

When you put the pork in the oven, slide the vegetables out and toss so they won't burn, then return to the oven.

If you don't have panko, use regular bread crumbs. I often use leftover bread heels, processed in the blender until crumbs.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 chop and potatoes
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 528Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 752mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 30g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Adapted from Food Network Magazine Dec. 2012
Category: Pork

Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

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Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

I have so many wonderful cookbooks and one of my favorites is Southern Living’s Quick & Easy Recipes. Sometimes I just want a ‘quick and easy’ throw together dinner that’s from scratch and tastes great. This cookbook has tons of those recipes and this Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole is one of them.

Of course ‘quick’ can be purely subjective and as long as you have the ingredients chopped and ready, this casserole fits the bill.

Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

You start with a from-scratch creamy cheese sauce, then add the tender cauliflower, smoky ham, and fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle soft breadcrumbs over the top, drizzle a little butter and bake until bubbly and golden brown. The perfect casserole, right? Right. This is comfort food deluxe.

Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

Serve Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole with a little green salad and of course a few buttery Best Dinner Rolls and you’ll have a delicious, hearty dinner.

You’ll also be the envy of the office when you take leftovers for lunch the next day. Send them on over here to my website and tell them to get cooking!

Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

Down-Home Creamy Ham Casserole

Yield: 5-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Wonderful from-scratch cheese sauce enrobes tender cauliflower, fresh mushrooms and chunks of ham. 

Ingredients

  • 3 heaping C. cauliflower florets (about 1 smallish cauliflower)
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/3 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 C 2% milk
  • 1 C shredded Cheddar or Colby-Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • 2 C cooked ham, cubed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 oz. fresh mushrooms
  • 1 C soft breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly spray 2 quart casserole dish.
  2. Fill a large pot with about 3-inches of water, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower and cook for 12-13 minutes until crisp-tender.  Drain and set aside.
  3. While cauliflower is cooking, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft and have lost most of their liquid (4-5 minutes).  Set aside.
  4. In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Whisk in 1/3 cup flour for about 30-45 seconds until smooth.  Gradually add 1 cup of milk, whisking constantly, until it just begins to thicken.  Add shredded cheese and sour cream, stirring constantly until cheese melts (about 30-45 seconds).  Do not boil.  The mixture will be fairly thick and sticky, but still stirrable.
  5. Stir the cauliflower, cubed ham, and mushrooms into the cheese sauce until evenly combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.  Pour the melted butter evenly over the tops of the crumbs.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, turning once during baking, until golden brown and bubbly.  Serve immediately.  

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The original recipe calls for a 3 ounce can of canned sliced mushrooms, drained.  I prefer to use the fresh.

For the breadcrumbs, I had some extra heels from a loaf of bread, so I finely chopped 2 of them up.  They worked great.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 538Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 981mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 27g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Southern Living Quick & Easy
Category: Casseroles

Tortilla Chicken with Lime Crema

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We’ve been evaluating home delivery meals (comparisons will be posted at a later date) and have been impressed with the quality ingredients and inventive recipes they send. I like them because we can try recipes I probably wouldn’t have tried for various reasons; for example, only uses a teaspoon of an expensive ingredient I may never use again or maybe unusual meals that we’d like to try just to see if we’d like them.

This Tortilla Chicken was one meal that I thought would be simple and maybe OK, but I was amazed at the flavor they got out of the few everyday ingredients. On top of the great taste, it comes out to around 450 calories per serving!

I saved the bottom-of-the-bag tortilla chip crumbs for this specifically. The only ingredient I had to buy was the fresh jalapeno – we had the chicken, sour cream, lime, and cheese. It’s so easy to throw together and is so delicious!

You pretty much mix the cheese, jalapeno, and tortilla chips together, saute the chicken to sear, throw the cheese mixture on top of the chicken and bake for a few minutes until done. The cheese melts, the chip stay crunchy, and the jalapeno give it a spicy kick. Yum.

We’ll make this Tortilla Chicken often and I’ll use the leftover chip crumbs as an excuse to do so!

Tortilla Chicken with Lime Crema

Tortilla Chicken with Crunchy Topping

Yield: 2

Simple, crunchy, cheesy, lightly spicy chicken breast drizzled with a lime sour cream crema.  Light and delicious. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 fresh jalapeno
  • 1/2 C crushed tortilla chips
  • 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • 1 fresh lime
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°.  Place a small glass casserole in the oven while the oven preheats.
  2. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil into a medium nonstick pan and heat on medium heat until oil shimmers.  Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and salt and pepper each side.  Add the chicken to the heated oil and cook, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes per side until lightly browned (it will finish cooking in the oven).  
  3. While chicken cooks, halve the jalapeno and scrape out the seeds and ribs.  Thinly slice the jalapeno and place into a small bowl.  Add the tortilla chips, cheese, and 1 teaspoon of of olive oil.  Lightly stir to mix and set aside.
  4. Carefully remove the heated casserole dish from the oven and place the chicken breasts into it.  Divide the cheese mixture and evenly cover each chicken breast with it.  Put the dish back in the oven and roast until internal chicken temperature is 165°, 7-8 minutes.
  5. While the chicken is roasting, cut the lime in half and cut other half into quarters.  Juice the half lime into a small bowl and stir in the sour cream.  Add salt to taste (about 2 good pinches) and a pinch of pepper.  Stir and let sit until chicken is ready.
  6. Divide the finished chicken onto plates and drizzle with lime crema.  Serve with remaining limes and a salad or side of Mexican rice if desired.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Cilantro would be great to sprinkle over the chicken.  Use it if you've got it!

My chicken took 8 minutes in the oven, but check it at 7 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is - mine was pretty thick.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 507Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 465mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 46g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Chicken/Poultry

Chicken in Lemon Marinade

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Since citrus season is still going strong, I’m looking for an entree that uses flavorful, fresh lemon juice.  This Chicken in Lemon Marinade is in the All-Time Favorites Southern Living Cookbook (2009) and I knew it would showcase the lemons.  

I halved the ingredients to use only 2 chicken breasts and slightly modified the marinade to use what I have in the spice cabinet.

This chicken is as good as it looks! It’s tender and moist (sorry “moist” haters) and delicious. The marinade is just perfect on these chicken breasts.


 
I used Cholula hot sauce which is a little milder and more flavorful than Tabasco.

Serve this Chicken in Lemon Marinade with a side of steamed broccoli and your favorite glass of white wine then congratulate yourself on eating something healthy!  

Since I always have fresh lemons on hand, we’ll make this again on a regular basis.

Chicken in Lemon Marinade

Chicken In Lemonade Marinade

Yield: 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes

Tasty broiled chicken breast with a wonderful lemon marinade.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 C canola oil
  • 1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/8 tsp hot sauce, (I used Cholula)
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 boneless, , skinless chicken breasts

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the first eight ingredients.  Set aside 1/4 cup for basting.  
  2. Place chicken in a zip-lock freezer bag and pour the remaining lemon mixture over it.  Seal the bag and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning chicken occasionally.
  3. Turn oven to Broil.  Remove chicken from the bag, discarding marinade.  
  4. Place the chicken onto a lightly greased rack over a broiler pan. Broil about 7 inches from heat 8-10 minutes on each side or until tender, basting frequently with the reserved 1/4 cup of lemon juice mixture.

Notes

Since my broiler is under the oven, my chicken was a little less than 7 inches from the fire and 9 minutes on each side was perfect.  

Don't forget to baste.  

Take the chicken out a minute before you think it's done.  Put it under tented aluminum and let sit for 3-4 minutes and it will finish cooking and be very moist.  

You can easily double the recipe for up to 6 chicken breasts.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 chicken breast
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 531Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 36gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 728mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 38g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Lighter Recipes

Beef Potato Bake

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Bret made a wonderful brisket in December and I froze half of it since we can’t eat that much meat before it goes south.  

This Beef Potato Bake originally called for ground beef, but I really wanted to use that tasty brisket.  It has the basics – beef, onion, potatoes, cheese, so I knew it would make a quick, hearty lunch.

I haven’t cooked with canned cream of mushroom soup in a long time.  It seems like everything from my early cooking years had some sort of cream soup in it – mainly because it made a good gravy.  

After looking at the ingredients in the soup (wow – that sodium!), I put it aside for years and make most everything from scratch.  This recipe, though, blends the soup nicely with the other ingredients and makes a nice creamy binder for the meat and potatoes.

Bret and I both had two helpings, so I guess it’s a successful new recipe!  

Besides slicing the potatoes, Beef Potato Bake is a fairly quick throw-together dish.  Since it uses on-hand ingredients, I’ll keep this recipe handy to make with ground beef or leftover brisket.

Beef Potato Bake

Beef Potato Bake

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours

Very good, hearty dish for a quick meal. Add peas, or celery, or whatever you like.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1/2 onion, , chopped
  • 1/2 lb cooked brisket, , chopped
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 C chicken broth
  • 1/4 C milk
  • 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp regular or smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 3 C thinly sliced potatoes, (2 to 3 large baking potatoes)
  • 1 C shredded cheddar/Monterrey Jack blend cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small pan, saute the onions in the oil til almost tender. Add the brisket and stir till warm. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the soup, broth, milk, mozzarella cheese, garlic salt, paprika and pepper until well blended.
  3. Lightly spray a casserole dish and place an overlapping layer of potatoes on the bottom of it (half of the potatoes). Pour half of the soup mixture over the potatoes, then half of the brisket/onion mixture over the soup layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese over that layer.
  4. Repeat with the rest of the potato, soup, brisket, cheese. Cover the dish with lightly sprayed aluminum foil (so the cheese won't stick to it) and cook for 1 hour.
  5. Remove the aluminum foil and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
  6. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving - it will firm up some.

Notes

Tips and Stuff :  You could use ground beef instead of cooked brisket.  Just brown the beef with the onions (without adding the oil) and drain the grease.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 390Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 818mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 23g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Casseroles