Zucchini Cakes!

I know I sound like a damn broken record.
I know this.
But, truly, this IS one of my favorite things to make and then immediately scarf down. If I were alone I might skip the formality of a fork and just use my hands for faster delivery.

I came across this recipe years ago when my CSA box was overflowing with zucchini week after week and I was running out of ideas on how to prepare it. The collective groan that came from the dinner table was becoming a bit discouraging.

This recipe has been adapted from Pastor Ryan, over on PWC.

Here is what you will need:

1 large zucchini, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup Italian herbed breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Or Romano
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil

On a clean dish towel grate the zucchini

Once grated, twist the shredded zucchini up in the towel and squeeze out the excess water.

It should be a decent amount. Discard.

Transfer the zucchini from the towel into a large bowl and add garlic, cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper.

Take your rings off and get your hands in there mixing everything together well. Taking about a tablespoon amount of zucchini, form patties between your palms.

Add olive oil to a saute pan and heat to medium.

Drop in zucchini cakes and saute each side for 3 minutes

or until golden brown.

Top with a little grated parm

and serve with marinara sauce.

Even the pickiest eaters will try it.

But best of all, they'll love it!

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Pot pie is one of my comfort foods. Whenever I am sick I send chris out to the store to get me juice and Marie Callendar's creamy mushroom and chicken pot pie. The problem with this is these pot pies are like eating a stick of butter. One serving is something like 35 grams of fat. So if you eat the whole thing, which I tend to do, well, its not good.

And so is born my homemade pot pie.



Here is what you will need:

Pie Crust, either store bought or homemade (If you dont have your own you can find my "go to- no fail" recipe here)

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and fork shredded

Use whatever vegetables you have leftover in the fridge. I always put carrot, onion, peas and corn in mine then whatever else I have on hand (mushrooms, zucchini, butternut squash, etc...)

1 cup corn (fresh if you can!)
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup peas
1 small yellow onion diced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) fat-free chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Evoo
1 can cream of potato soup (healthy options condensed)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

In a large stock pot over medium heat melt the butter and add the onion, garlic and carrot until soft.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook for just a minute. Next add the stock and remaining vegetables, simmer on medium low and allow the sauce to thicken about 20 minutes. Add the potato soup, chicken, herbs salt and pepper and simmer until chicken is heated through. Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the pie crusts.

I like for my bottom layer of crust to do its job and hold everything together so to keep it from getting soggy from the liquid filling I've got a little trick. Once you've got the bottom pie crust on your pie plate, poke the bottom with a fork, place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 450 for ten minutes or until lightly browned. You don't want it cooked all the way through, you just want to toughen it up a bit.
Allow to cool before filling.
Top with second pie crust and pinch along the edges to seal, cutting away any excess dough.
Cut a few slits in the top crust to vent.
*If you want, and I always do, you can brush the top crust with an egg wash to get that glossy golden look.

Bake at 425 for 20 to 30 minutes until top crust is golden brown.

*If it looks like the edges are getting too dark just wrap a thin piece of aluminum foil around the edge of the pie and continue baking.

Top with a dash (or two ) of Texas Pete and prepare to meet your maker. You'll keel over dead, it's that good.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.

I work in an Italian restaurant.  Its pretty amazing and I'm always proud to talk about the food we dish up there.  The ingredients are mostly local and in-season (right up my alley) which makes it serendipitous, for me anyway, that everyday before we open the cooks prepare us staff lunch.  We all sit down at the bar and fill up on whatever delicious concoction Jose has prepared for us (in case you were wondering Jose is not Italian). 
About a week or so ago I arrived for my shift a half hour early to clean and set up the bar in preparation for an impending health inspection. If you have ever worked in a restaurant for any amount of time you understand the weight of the phrase "impending health inspection".  No matter how careful and clean you are this health inspector will strike the fear of God, Himself into your heart.   She's nefariously good at what she does.  
I digress.
 So this particular day I was hunched over the soda gun with toothpicks and sanitizer when an amazing shredded pork dish comes to the bar for lunch. I still had quite a bit of work ahead of me before open so I plugged on working,  a decision that has haunted me ever since.  When 10 people dining together are completely silent, save for a few 'Mmms' and 'Yums' for the duration of a meal, you know its got to be delicious. 
That staff lunch was the inspiration for this recipe. I went straight home with the promise of shredded pork in my fridge for days to come.

Here is what you will need:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
a teeny pinch of ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

 Now, as you can see I used two small pork tenderloins instead of one large roast- because that's what I had in my freezer- so I cut the spice quantities in half.

Take all your dry ingredients and mix them together in a bowl

Coat the pork with the spice mixture

Place a few bay leaves on the bottom of your slow cooker

then place the pork on the bay leaves

measure our your stock/broth

and pour into your slow cooker, careful not to rinse the spices from the pork.

Now set it and forget it! 

(slow and low for 8 hours)

I don't have any photos of the succeeding steps because while this little beauty was cooking away I went to work and instructed Chris to do the shredding but not the photographing... Once the pork is finished remove it from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Using two forks shred the pork and return to the slow cooker so that the meat can absorb the Au jus.

From here you can do just about anything from carnitas to risotto (I did both!)  For the carnitas add fresh pico de gallo, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime. To make a full meal add a side of black beans and roasted sweet potato. Pork and sweet potatoes were meant to be together.

Save the leftover pork for tomorrow's recipe, that is, if you have any.

Enjoy!

Sunday Dinner: Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin.

Since the restaurant closed I've been able to do 'Sunday Dinners' whenever I please. Which means they've been happening less frequently on Sundays...but today I was in the cookin' mood and I had a wee little pork tenderloin in the fridge, some potatoes in the pantry and a good ol' fashioned can of peas just calling my name.

In defense of the peas, I love them canned. I do not love them frozen. And seeing as I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my first CSA box of the season, it had to be canned.

Okay, back to the tenderloin.

My favorite way to prepare pork is to pair it with a sweet(ish) glaze or sauce. Also, I have seasonal allergies (stay with me here). Like, my- head- is- going- to- explode- from- the- intolerable- pressure- and- all- I- want- to- do- is- pull- the- covers- over- my- head- and- burrow- deeper- into- my- bed- allergies. So A good friend of mine suggested I get myself some local honey to combat the allergies. Every morning while the coffee is brewing a psych myself up to take a teaspoon of honey straight up. I shudder and choke as the nasty stuff slips slowly down my throat. Kitchen immunotherapy (sort of like bathroom surgery), if you will. You see, I hate honey so I'm scheming up a way to get the stuff into my system without provoking my gag reflex. And the idea hits me to make a glaze for the pork with the local honey. Kill two birds with one stone! Only, I didn't know, in order for the honey to work as an antidote is has to be raw; uncooked. Frig.

Well at least the pork was killer.

Here is what you will need:

1 boneless pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
3/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP fresh or dried parsley
a pinch or two of dried thyme
2 TBSP freshly chopped green onion or chives
2 TBSP evoo

My tenderloin was only 10 ounces so I just eyeballed the ingredients for my sauce. Taste as you go, if you want a more subtle mustard flavor adjust the honey and vinegar amounts.


Start with the tenderloin, mine was really well trimmed but you may need to remove the silver skin (the tough membrane that covers the top of the loin) from yours.


The secret to a really good sear is pat the meat down with a paper towel to wick away the moisture, then salt and pepper and set aside while you prepare the glaze.

In a small bowl mix together the mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, parsley, thyme and green onion. Now taste it and adjust to your liking.

In an oven proof saute pan (you'll be going from stove to oven back to stove) on med-high, heat up the olive oil
When its hot, place the tenderloin in the pan

and sear each side for about 30 seconds

until its nice and golden brown on all sides.


Remove pan from heat and baste the meat with the glaze.

Make sure you use it all, brushing all sides then cook in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the tenderloin reaches and internal temperature of 145 degrees.


When the tenderloin is finished cooking remove it from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes.

While the pork is resting deglaze the pan. I don't have a photo of this step, sorry. There was a toddler having a melt down and a husband just getting home from work and, well, it slipped my mind. To deglaze take the saute pan with all the drippings and honey glaze and place it on the stove on medium heat. If you have a open bottle of nice white wine, you can use that, if not just use water. Pour the water/wine into the pan and with a wooden spatula or spoon scrape the fond (the caramelized bits of meat and sauce) from the bottom of the pan and stir adding enough water/wine to make a thin sauce to pour over your meat.

Just like so...


Pair it with a yummy green salad...

...mashed potatoes and peas and viola! Sunday dinner.

In theory now I would sit down with my husband and son and we would talk about how Chris's games went and the art project we worked on while daddy was working. Liam would eat his mashed potatoes and peas and push the pork around his plate after at least, giving it a try and then deciding he didn't care for it...

In practice, everything is on the table and were just sitting down to eat when I realize there are no serving spoons so I jump up to grab them, then Liam is spitting out his mashed potatoes into his hands and wringing his hands together then shaking them over the table spraying mashed potato bit and repeating the "S" word over and over because he doesn't like the texture. I jam a forkful of food into my face and chomp as I wipe his hands clean of potato. He refuses to try anything else on his plate and proceeds to cry when Chris and I make him sit with us at the table because DAMNIT this is SUNDAY DINNER! I munch a bit of salad and jump up from the table to microwave some leftover noodles and corn for Liam. By the time I get back to the table my plate is cold but at least Liam is eating something. Finally after a few fork fulls of noodles and corn we are defeated and let him down to go watch Thomas the train while we eat our thoughtfully prepared, yet cold dinners.

Just a day in the life.

Enjoy the pork Y'all.

Comfort Quinoa with chicken & spinach

I was first introduced to this itty bitty faux grain (its actually a seed but widely considered a super grain) back when I was making Liam's homemade baby food. He, of course, didn't care for it, then or now, but that doesn't stop me from serving it to him. I try and keep it stocked in the pantry because its super versatile.
This recipe is my favorite use of quinoa for a couple of reasons. First, it makes awesome leftovers. I'm always looking for new 'one dish' recipes that I can make an obscene amount of. Having something easy to just heat up when I'm hungry keeps me from surviving solely on crackers and peanut butter. Secondly, its flavoring is so similar to chicken noodle soup, its instantly comforting. An' who don't like that?

Here is what you will need:

½ whole Onion, Diced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1.5 cup Quinoa
2.5 cups Organic Low-sodium Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme
2 whole Medium-sized Carrots, Chopped
1 cup Fresh Baby Spinach
Shredded Chicken Breast

Serves 4. Or two generously with leftovers!

(Does anyone else find it odd that Rachel Ray puts her mug on her stock boxes? I mean, it shouldn't annoy me, Paul Newman has his face all over his products and I never gave him a second thought.)

To start toss your chicken in the oven and bake at 375 for 2o minutes. Next rinse the quinoa. The seeds are coated with saponins, naturally-occurring plant chemicals that can be bitter. They keep insects from eating the plant but if you don't rinse the seeds properly you wont want to eat it either! While most quinoa is rinsed prior to packaging, I always rinse it again to be sure. Simply put it in a bowl and swirl it around in water, drain in a very fine mesh strainer, and repeat until the water is clear. Now, while the chicken is cooking prepare the main part of the dish.



Dice the carrot and onion and mince the garlic.
Spray a large saute pan with nonstick cooking spray or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil if you don’t need to keep the recipe low-fat. I like a combo of both. Heat pan over medium heat and cook onion, garlic carrot and quinoa for about five minutes.

This picture is blurry. I'm sorry. I never took a photography class in school and am just now learning about F-stop/aperture values, shutter speed and depth of field. As you can see even armed with this info I still have no idea how to take a decent picture. ANYWAY. You want the onions to become translucent and tender and the quinoa to slightly toast.

Add the chicken broth...


...and spices, bring mixture to a boil. I only had a pinch of thyme left so I tossed in some rubbed sage as well.
Cover skillet and turn heat to low. Let everything simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed- about 10 minutes.


While the quinoa is simmering, using two forks if the chicken is still hot, shred the chicken breast.


Add the shredded chicken to the quinoa
and mix together allowing to simmer until all of the stock has absorbed.


Finally, turn the heat off and mix in the spinach


It will wilt as you blend it with the other hot ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste!

Warm and nutty comfort quinoa!

Garnished with some sliced green onion and Parmesan cheese (there was also some Texas Pete nearby).


Delicious!