Category: PROTEINS

Fire Day Friday: Grilled Pork Chops with Tzatziki Sauce

I know there are at least a dozen, if not more, blogs out there with recipes for Tzatziki sauce…but this was the first time I had actually made it myself, so I just had to share it with you all!

I took a few of these ideas from Chris at Nibble Me This and Andrea The Kitchen Witch, so I can’t even take real credit for this recipe.

What I did do all by myself was cut my own loin chops.  I found a very large 6 pound piece of boneless pork loin for like $4 the other day and I just couldn’t pass it up.  What it meant, though, was that I was going to have to cut my own chops.  Last time I did that, I ended up with some really extra thin and quite strangely shaped pork chops.  This time… well, it wasn’t perfect, but that’s ok, I’ll just keep practicing 🙂

The pork was cooked perfectly…if I do say so myself.  It had a wonderful mild flavor to it, but what makes this all come together, is definitely the sauce.  As most of you know by now, I do my love sauces.

My recommendation… try this one … you will not be sorry you did!  Oh, and I brined these chops for an hour and a half and then I let them sit in the marinade for another hour and a half.  You can choose to skip the brining part if you want, but, if you have the time, please don’t skip it…  You will thank me in the end, trust me! 

Grilled Pork Chops with Tzatziki Sauce
Adapted from Nibble Me This & Andrea The Kitchen Witch
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 boneless pork loin chops (thick or thin, whatever your preference though I would go for a thicker cut if you can find it)
For the brine –
3 cups water
2 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
2 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons minced or chopped garlic
1 teaspoon white or black pepper
For the marinade –
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon Greek Seasoning (optional)
For the tzatziki sauce –
6 oz Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
just over a 1/4 cup chopped English cucumber (you can always add more if you want)

Directions:
Mix the water, salt, sugar, garlic, and pepper together.  Place chops in a resealable bag and pour the brine over it.  Seal and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 1.5 hours.  Remove from brine and rinse pork thoroughly under cool running water.  Thoroughly rinse out the resealable bag also, and place the pork back inside.  Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over chops.  Seal and let marinate in the refrigerator another 1.5-2 hours. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, garlic powder, salt, and dill.  Add the red wine vinegar and oil and stir to combine.  Stir in the cucumbers.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Preheat your grill to 375 degrees F.  Place the pork directly over the fire and grill for 3-6 minutes per side, depending no how thick your chops are, or until the internal temperature registers 145 degrees F.  Remove from grill and allow pork to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving…they will continue to cook while they sit.  Serve with tzatziki sauce and enjoy!

SLOW COOKER TEXAS PULLED PORK

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork adapted from allrecipes.com
This recipe is for 8 servings but I doubled it (plus a little more) to have about 20 servings.
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (2lb) pork shoulder roast
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 extra large onion, chopped
2 large cloves, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
8 hamburger buns
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:  Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker.  Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth.  Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme.  Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork 5 to 6 hours.
Remove the roast from the slow cooker, shred the meat using two forks.  Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.
Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter.  Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown.  Spoon pork into the toasted buns.
Modifications:
-I didn’t use brown sugar.
-I didn’t toast the buns.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Chop up the onions.
Chop the garlic. 
Pour the oil into the bottom of a slow cooker and lay the pork on top.
Pour the BBQ sauce over the meat.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
I cooked it on 375 for about 4 hours and then I turned it down to 300 for another hour. 
Pull the pork from the cooker and shred it.
Put the shredded meat back into the sauce.  Turn it on low until ready to serve.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:

HAMBURGERS

Hubby’s Hamburger Recipe…
3 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
1 1/2 tube of Ritz crackers
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
garlic salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
pepper to taste

  • Mix all ingredients together by hand in large bowl
  • Form into desired size patties
  • Cook on grill to desired doneness with or without cheese
  • Enjoy with your favorite condiments
  • Happy Eating…




Fire Day Friday: Sparkling Barbecue Chicken

Last year, I won a copy of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue! and it has become one of my favorite cookbooks… or grill-books I should say 🙂  Either way you say it, I love it.


Now, I have not made as many things out of this book as I would like, but I’ll get there, I just need time and patience.

Of all the recipes I have tried, though, this one is definitely the easiest.  It was a quick way to put together a tasty meal with very little effort.  And, I thought it was an interesting little spin on the standard barbecue chicken.

So what makes it sparkling?  Lemon-lime soda, of course.  The great thing is, this barbecue sauce truly did sparkle.  And the soda brought a bit of a sweet flavor to the barbecue sauce.  It was delicious!

Sparkling Barbecue Chicken

Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (like 7up or Sprite)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (recipe for homemade bbq sauce)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix together all the ingredients except for the chicken, in a bowl until well combined.  Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the sauce.  Put chicken in a resealable bag and pour the remaining sauce of the chicken.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours (you can really get away with 2, but the longer it marinates the more flavorful it will be).

Preheat grill to 375 degrees F.  Brush oil on the grill grates.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place directly over the fire.  Grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.  You can use the reserved sauce for basting in the last 5 minutes of grill time or you can serve it along side – heck, do both, I dare you 🙂  Enjoy!

YUCATAN CHICKEN ~ ACHIOTE PASTE – YUCATAN STYLE SAUCE

YUCATAN CHICKEN 

1/2 cup achiote paste
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chile pepper
1 ripe banana
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 large boneless chicken breasts

  • Blend marinade ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is thick. 
  • Pour into a sealable plastic bag, add the chicken and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 
  • Barbeque with marinade on chicken, being careful not to burn the chicken as it cooks. 
  • Watch closely. The finished chicken will have nice orange red color. 

RASPBERRY GLAZED ROSEMARY CHICKEN BREASTS

Don’t you just love all the things you can do with chicken?  I love trying new toppings and glazes.  It just seems fun to be able to dress up a chicken in different ways.

The rosemary was the predominant flavor on this. If you love rosemary, you will love these. The raspberry preserves resulted in a very nice sweetness that wasn’t overpoweringly tasting like raspberry. They really were well flavored and sweetened. I would make these again for sure.Raspberry Glazed Rosemary Chicken Breasts1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (I used 3 – 6 oz. breasts)
1 tablespoon crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I left this out)

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, stir together crushed rosemary, sage and oregano. Rub each side of the breasts with herb mixture. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour broth over chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes. Place raspberry preserves in microwave and heat for 20 – 30 seconds to soften. Stir in honey mustard and fresh rosemary. Spread preserve mixture evenly over each breast. Bake about 10 minutes more or until chicken is done.

Total calories for 18 oz. of chicken = 902
3 servings = 301 calories per chicken breast

Fire Day Friday: Beef Teriyaki

I think most food bloggers fantasize about having their own cook book.  Sure, we know that it won’t likely happen but it is fun to daydream, right? 

So it was nice to see fellow food blogger Matt Armendariz of MattBites succeed in having his book On A Stick! published this year.  It is a creative concept of “80 Party-Perfect Recipes” impaled on kebabs. 

Here is an adaptation of one of the recipes from Matt’s book.

Beef Teriyaki
adapted from On A Stick!

1 flank steak
16 bbq skewers
2 tsp sesame oi
salt & pepper

Teriyaki Glaze
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

If you are using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes.

Start your grill for medium heat (300-350f).  In a small sauce pan on the grill, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, honey, mirin, garlic and ginger and simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir frequently and keep an eye on your heat.  Sugary sweet sauces like this will burn quickly if your temps get away from you.

Stir together the corn starch and water and stir into the teriyaki mixture.  Simmer another 5-7 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

Bring the grill heat up to 400f.  Slice the steak across the grain in 1/4″ strips like this.

Thread the steak onto the skewers in a weaving fashion.  Grill for 2 1/2 minutes then flip.

Grill another 2 1/2 minutes and flip again.  Brush the top with some of the teriyaki glaze and cook for 2 more minutes.

Flip, brush with glaze and cook for a final 2 minutes.

Remove, sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro. 

Remove sticks before eating…..

The salty sweet (or is that sweet salty?) taste was exactly what you want for beef teriyaki.  This dish is one that Vlad the Impaler would be proud to serve.

CHICKEN FLAUTAS

I used to have a favorite lunch haunt called simply ‘Nachos’. It started as a hole in the wall, literally!, with ‘mama’ making her own tortillas and sauces. Mama couldn’t speak a word of English, but her traditional Mexican fare spoke volumes for her. She prepared the best Mexican food! At work we used to all pool together, call in a big order, send someone to pick it up and then truly pig out when the food arrived back at work! Their Nachos were truly awe inspiring ~ crisp and gooey all at the same time.
One of my very favorite meals that she made was her Chicken Flautas! Now that we’re here in the North Woods, where honestly they wouldn’t know Mexican food if it bit them on the butt, I crave those Chicken Flautas and have been working to replicate them. I tried boiling chickens with various seasoning combinations, none of which were correct and then finally settled on this recipe. It’s actually easier and tastes perfect too.

1 lemon herb rotisserie chicken (lemon & herb works best)
1 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Juice of 1 lime
sea salt
1 bunch green onions, finely minced
1 package tortillas
sour cream
Fresh Guacamole
Garden Tomato Salsa
1 cup or so Safflower oil for frying

  • Remove chicken pieces from the bone and finely shred the meat.
  • Toss the chicken pieces with the green onions, lime juice and salt.
  • Warm tortillas so they are soft and pliable.
  • Distribute the chicken and cheese mixture evenly amongst the tortillas.
  • Sprinkle onions over top.
  • Sprinkle with sea salt and lime juice.
  • Roll each tortilla up jelly roll style.
  • This works best with deep frying, but I found a cast iron pan works well as long as the oil goes at least half way up the side.
  • Fry each Flauta until golden. (Don’t crowd them in the pan)
  • Drain on a paper towel.
  • Serve with sour cream, Fresh Guacamole & Garden Tomato Salsa for dipping.

TRY A NEW RECIPE: Caribbean Crab and Rice

This is a truly Caribbean recipe. A one pot meal, using what’s readily available: Seafood! It’s rather easy and fun to eat!

I usually use mangrove crab like this guy
but didn’t have any and it wasn’t really crab ‘season’ so i opted for Alaskan king crab which you will have easier access to anyhow. However they were cooked. I usually make this recipe with raw crab.
Although they were clean I still washed them with water and lemon.

Here is the recipe. It makes 2 servings only. It’s my recipe and I usually cook for one.

-4 crab quarters
-2 cups brown rice
-2 cups fresh spinach
-1 small onion, chopped
-1 celery stalk, chopped
-1 tbsp parsley, chopped
-1 tbsp chives, chopped
-1/3 white wine
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-2 tbsp curry powder
-1 tbsp oil or butter
-1/2 habinero pepper
-1 tbsp Caribbean green seasoning
-Salt & Pepper to taste
-1 1/2 to 2 cups water

First I seasoned the crab with the Caribbean Green Seasoning
Then added the onion, celery, parsley, chives and habinero

Heat oil or butter
Add crab and chopped veggies. (when using raw crab I sautee the crab first then add the veggies later). The veggies i had (except the onion) were bought fresh then frozen.Stir. The veggies will give off some liquid, time to add the white wine
Add spinach and cover
Once the spinach is cooked, time to add water, soy sauce and curry
and rice
Stir in rice and cover
cook rice as directed
and voila! Caribbean Crab and Rice. The fun part besides the taste is getting the crab out of the shells

Bon Appetit


Fire Day Friday: Grilled Chicken with Oregano, Lemon, and Feta Cheese

If you follow my blog (Jenn’s Food Journey), then you may have heard me mention that I used to be a personal chef.  Well, I tried to be a personal chef.  It didn’t work out the way I had hoped, but that’s ok.  At the time, it worked out for the best.  I just wasn’t truly ready for that task and I was trying to work a full time job on top of it.  What I did learn was that although I love to cook, I did not love to cook for 8 hours straight…two or more days a row.  It just wasn’t for me.  I started to really dislike cooking and I knew that was not what I wanted.  So, I packed up my short lived career and was completely ok with it.  What’s nice, is I have learned so much since then and, well, I can always go back to it if I ever choose to 🙂

I tell this story because this recipe was actually a recipe that one of my clients requested as one of their “fresh” meals…. i.e… not a meal that I would freeze for him.  It, of course, was called for baking the chicken and it’s good that way.  But, if you know me at all, you know I would rather grill than bake any day… but especially when it’s over 100 degrees!!
This is a perfect recipe to make on a busy week night when you have little time to actually spend in the kitchen (or by the grill) yet want a delicious and almost elegant meal.  Ok, it’s at least delicious!

Grilled Chicken with Oregano, Lemon, and Feta Cheese
Adapted from Cooking.com
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (I only used about 1/4 cup cause the chicken breasts were on the smaller side)

Directions:
Mix together the mayo, lemon juice, oregano, and garlic clove.  Rinse of the chicken and pat dray.  Slather the mayo mixture on both sides of each piece of chicken and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat your grill to 370 degrees.  Oil the grill grates.  Place the chicken directly over the fire and grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through.  In the last 2 minutes, top with feta cheese, close the lid, and allow the cheese to melt or soften just a bit.  Remove from grill and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting into it.  Enjoy!

PAN SEARED CHICKEN with BROWNED PARSLEY BUTTER

PAN SEARED CHICKEN with BROWNED PARSLEY BUTTER
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
flour for dredging
4 tablespoons butter
1 large green onion, sliced thin
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime

  • Place chicken between the folds of a clean cheesecloth towel.  
  • Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thick.
  • Cut each breast in half.
  • Generously season both sides of chicken breasts.
  • Dredge chicken in flour.
  • In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat.
  • When butter is sizzling, but not browning, add onions and chicken pieces.
  • Generously season AGAIN!
  • Cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side.
  • Plate chicken and keep warm.
  • Add parsley, lemon and lime juices, cooking until browned. 
  • Pour over chicken pieces.
  • Garnish with parsely.

CHICKEN POT PIE, the HEALTHY WAY

When I was growing up, we ate a few too many Swanson frozen chicken pot pies.  For years and years, I wouldn’t eat the stuff.  No way, no how.  But, not too long ago, I asked a co-worker what she was eating, and she gave me a taste, and it was delicious!  It was nothing like that frozen stuff I had growing up.  So, I got to thinking how I could make it taste good and healthy at the same time.  The solution was simple!

CHICKEN POT PIE
2 12-oz cans of white meat chicken (this is the only thing I will eat with canned chicken)
1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 bag (10-12 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
salt and pepper to taste

Mix chicken, soups, and vegetables in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour in a baking dish.  Unroll the crescent dough.  Place on top of the chicken mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until center is no longer doughy.
This is such an easy recipe.  It served my family of 5 with a serving left over.  Dividing this recipe by 6 servings, each serving has 12 grams of fat and 340 calories.  Enjoy!