Category: PROTEINS

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Hello everyone. My name is Liz and I am the new host for Try A New Recipe Tuesday. I am honored to be part of such an awesome group of bloggers. I have my own blog, The Flowering Dogwood, come on over, browse and let me know you stopped by.
The holidays are over and all I want to do is to NOT make a huge fuss in the kitchen. This meal is easy , with very little effort. My kind of dinner! This is a great meal that you will definitely add to your list of favorites.It is a favorite at our house. Crock pot, few ingredients and great taste. Of course you use your favorite BBQ sauce. Everyone has one!  I serve the pork on buns with baked french fries and coleslaw.
PULLED PORK SANDWICHES
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
Directions
  • Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs. Cook on High heat for 4 hours, or until meat shreds easily. 
  • Remove meat, and shred with two forks. 
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
  • Transfer the shredded pork to a Dutch oven or iron skillet, and stir in barbecue sauce.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
  • Serve on warm, toasted buns.

PAN SEARED CHICKEN BREAST & WILTED SPINACH with PARMESAN PASTA

PAN SEARED CHICKEN BREAST & WILTED SPINACH with PARMESAN PASTA
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced*
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 ounces white wine
1 lemon, juiced
4 ounces bacon, diced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
3 cups fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
spaghetti, cooked and well drained
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 large tomato, diced
*While I prefer fresh garlic, I have found that the roasted jar garlic is a great substitute, especially in the winter.
  • Brown bacon until crisp.
  • Add onion slices and garlic, sauteing until tender.
  • Move bacon and onions to the sides and add butter.
  • When butter is melted, add chicken and brown well on both sides.
  • In the meantime, prepare the pasta per package directions.
  • Remove chicken, keeping warm.
  • Add spinach and saute’ until spinach wilts.
  • Move spinach to outer sides.
  • Toss pasta with wine and lemon juice.
  • Mound pasta in center of pan.
  • Top with Parmesan cheese.
  • Layer chicken pieces over top.
  • Serve immediately.

Fire Day Friday: Asparagus with Hollandaise and Beef

The myth that BBQ enthusiasts don’t eat vegetables is false. We just add meat to them.


The great thing about this appetizer we made tonight was that it was all leftovers. I had some extra asparagus that I hadn’t cooked, Hollandaise sauce that I had made the day before, and the thin shaved prime rib from last night’s dinner (another leftovers dinner – click here for that post).


This really isn’t much of a recipe as it is “just throw it together”.

I tossed the asparagus tips in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I roasted it for 9 minutes at 400f on the top rack of my oven.

Meanwhile I warmed up the Hollandaise sauce the same way I made it. I added a Tbsp each of water and lemon juice, then heated it in a stainless steel mixing bowl positioned over a pot of simmering water, whisking frequently.

Then I simply drizzled the Hollandaise sauce over the roasted asparagus and crowned it with some finely diced prime rib.


These might have been leftovers but you couldn’t tell from the taste! What is your favorite “leftover” dish that you have made?

BEEF & VEGETABLE POT PIE

I’ve made several chicken pot pies but this was my first beef pot pie. The recipe called for ground sirloin but I used beef stew chunks instead.
As you can see, my lattice crust wasn’t much of a lattice.  I just piled them on top of each other.  Sorry, I’m not very crafty.  🙂
I think that I upped the veggies in this quite a bit. I LOVED how it was packed with veggies.
The recipe called for 8 oz. of mushrooms as well, we’re just not mushroom fans here but I’ll bet that would be good!

The bread was quite plain.  When I make this again, I will spread just a bit of butter and garlic powder on the breadsticks to flavor them a bit.

We all found this to be delicious!
Beef & Vegetable Pot Pie Recipe

1 lb. stew meat, cut into fairly small chunks
2 cups zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrot, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 14 oz can beef broth
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
Cooking spray
1 (11 oz) can refrigerated soft bread stick dough

Heat cooking spray in pan, add beef, cook until browned.  Add  onion, carrot, basil, and thyme, saute for about 5 minutes.  Add zucchini and garlic, saute for another 2 minutes.  Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and broth.  Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Combine cornstarch and 2 tbsp. water in a small bowl, stir with a whisk.  Add cornstarch mixture to pan, cook for a minute until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. 

Spoon beef mixture into an 9 x 13 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Separate breadstick dough into strips.  Arrange strips in a lattice fashion over beef mixture.  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until browned. 

Total calories = 2326 calories
8 servings = 291 calories per serving

Beef & Vegetable Pot Pie + Salad = 411 calorie dinner

Check out more healthy recipes at Debbi Does Dinner Healthy!

ARROZ CON POLLO ala TAMY

ARROZ CON POLLO ala TAMY
4-6 portions white rice, prepared to package directions
2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into tenders
Paprika
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon saffron
1 (13 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
1 tomato, peeled and chopped

  • Sprinkle chicken with paprika, salt, and pepper. 
  • Heat oil in pressure cooker. Brown chicken a few pieces at a time; set aside. 
  • Sauté onions and garlic until tender. 
  • Return all chicken to pressure cooker; add bay leaf, red pepper, saffron, and chicken broth. 
  • Close pressure cooker cover securely. 
  • Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. 
  • Cook for 5 minutes, with regulator rocking slowly. 
  • Cool pressure cooker at once. 
  • Remove chicken and stir in rice and tomato. 
  • Return chicken to pressure cooker and heat to a simmer, uncovered.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

PAPRIKA CHICKEN

PAPRIKA CHICKEN
3-4 chicken breasts, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Hungarian-style Paprika
3 tablespoons dill weed
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup sour cream

  • Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. 
  • Heat oil in 6-quart pressure cooker. 
  • Sauté onions, red pepper, and garlic until tender; remove. 
  • Brown chicken a few pieces at a time; set aside. 
  • Add tomato sauce, paprika, dill weed, and a small amount of chicken broth to oil in pressure cooker; stir until smooth. 
  • Add remaining broth, stirring to mix. 
  • Return chicken and vegetables to pressure cooker. 
  • Close pressure cooker cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. 
  • Cook for 5 minutes, with regulator rocking slowly. 
  • Cool pressure cooker at once. 
  • Remove chicken and vegetables to a warm dish. 
  • Stir flour into sour cream; add to hot liquid. 
  • Cook and stir until mixture simmers and thickens. 
  • Pour sauce over chicken.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

POLYNESIAN CHICKEN & ITALIAN FARRO & GORGONZOLA GARLIC DIPPING SAUCE

I also love to research foods we’ve never tried before as well as try old, old recipes or just plain make things up.  I also take requests if anyone would like me to test out a recipe for them.
Today we’re making Polynesian chicken (the cheating way) and Italian Farro with Gorgonzola garlic dipping sauce.  I saw a package of Pedon Italian Farro  at the grocery store the other day and it looked interesting (reminded me of rich looking barley) – so the impulse buy won and here we are.
Here’s the history lesson first:  Grano Farro has a long and glorious history: it is the original grain from which all others derive, and fed the Mediterranean and Near Eastern populations for thousands of years; somewhat more recently it was the standard ration of the Roman Legions that expanded throughout the Western World. Ground into a paste and cooked, it was also the primary ingredient in puls, the polenta eaten for centuries by the Roman poor. Important as it was, however, it was difficult to work and produced low yields. In the centuries following the fall of the Empire, higher-yielding grains were developed and farro’s cultivation dwindled: By the turn of the century in Italy there were a few hundreds of acres of fields scattered over the regions of Lazio, Umbria, the Marches and Tuscany.

Farro would probably still be an extremely local specialty had the farmers of the French Haute Savoie not begun to supply it to elegant restaurants that used it in hearty vegetable soups and other dishes. Their success sparked renewed interest in farro among gastronomes, and now the grain is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Italy as well, especially among trendy health-conscious cooks.  

POLYNESIAN CHICKEN
4 Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts
1 stick butter, divided in half
1 cup Frank’s Sweet Chili hot sauce
1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
1/4 cup flour
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Using a small food processor,  grind the Knorr soup mix into a fine dust.
  • Add the vegetable soup dust to the flour in a large plastic bag and mix well.
  • Dredge chicken breasts in soup and flour mixture.
  • In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt one half of the butter.
  • While that is melting, melt the remaining butter in a 2 cup measuring cup in the microwave.
  • Add the hot sauce to the measuring cup and heat an additional 20 seconds. Mix well. Set aside to cool.
  • In the skillet brown the chicken breasts on both sides until almost done. 
  • Spray a small cookie sheet with PURE.
  • Coat each piece of chicken with hot sauce mixture and lay on cookie sheet.
ITALIAN FARRO

small bag PEDON farro

2 tablespoons Frank’s Sweet Chili hot sauce
  • Bring a 2 quart pan of water to a boil.
  • Add the Farro and simmer, 10-12 minutes.
  • Drain thoroughly.
  • Add hot sauce and toss to coat.
  • Serve immediately.

GORGONZOLA GARLIC DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 cup gorgonzola crumbles
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons buttermilk
salt and pepper to taste
  • In a small food processor, process the crumbles until finely ground.
  • Add garlic, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.  Mix until well blended.
  • Add buttermilk.  Add a bit more if you would like a thinner sauce.

CHICKEN with VERDE SAUCE

  • Spray casserole dish with PURE
  • Lay chicken pieces in bottom.
  • Generously salt and pepper chicken.
  • Cover with Fire Roasted Salsa Verde
  • Place a generous dollop of sour cream on top of each chciken piece.
  • Cover with grated Monterey Jack cheese.
  • Sprinkle with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
  • Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Fire Roasted Salsa Verde 

My Source for awesome homemade verde sauce =  Chris the wonderful cook, griller, photographer and Big Green Egg enthusiast. Check out his blog at www.nibblemethis.com 
His Source = Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue! 

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
1 Serrano pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 large onion, peeled and sliced into thirds
3 cloves garlic, peeled and skewered together with a toothpick
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon bacon fat
3 ounces chicken stock
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

  • Get your grill cooking at about 450f. 
  • Place the peppers and tomatillos on and sear them until all sides are blackened. 
  • This should take a few minutes per side. Remove and place them into a plastic bag for 5 minutes. 
  • Meanwhile, grill the onion and garlic until browned (about 4 minutes a side for the onion, 1-2 for the garlic) and remove from heat. 
  • Skin, seed, and dice the peppers. 
  • Skin and quarter the tomatillos. Don’t be super picky about getting all the charred skin off, you want a little in there for flavor. 
  • Quarter the grilled onions. 
  • Place them all in a food processor and pulse them until you get a salsa like texture. 
  • Heat the bacon fat over medium high heat and then add the tomatillo mixture for 3-5 minutes. You’ll get some thick “pops” as the thick liquid heats but keep stirring. 
  • Mix in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, letting the flavors get happy together. 
  • Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Note: Chris is a wonderful cook, griller, photographer and Big Green Egg enthusiast. Check out his blog at www.nibblemethis.com

FRENCH ONION CHICKEN

These were serious Dolly Parton chicken breasts that I found on sale.  I just didn’t realize HOW big they were until I opened the package today.  I made these tonight with bone in breasts, but next time will use boneless to make the meal easier for everyone.

FRENCH ONION CHICKEN
4 chicken breasts
4 tablespoons butter
4 slices bacon, diced and browned
1 package Laura Scudder’s French onion dip mix
2 tablespoons dehydrated red pepper
1/3 cup flour
1 large bunch green onions, sliced
2 cups homemade chicken broth
PURE
1 cup sour cream

  • Rehydrate the dehydrated red pepper in chicken broth for an hour before beginning to cook.
  • In a large skillet melt butter.
  • Sift together the flour and Laura Scudder’s green onion dip mix into a large plastic bag.
  • One at a time dredge chicken in flour mixture coating well.
  • Brown chicken on both sides until crisp.
  • Using an electric skillet, spray with PURE.
  • Add browned chicken breasts.
  • Gently pour the broth mixture around the edges of the chicken. 
  • Top chicken pieces with green onions.
  • Set on 200 degrees and simmer for an hour.
  • Brown bacon and drain oil.
  • Remove chicken and keep warm.
  • Sprinkle the bacon over the chicken pieces.
  • Bring drippings to a boil and reduce to 1 cup.
  • Remove from heat and quickly whisk in sour cream for gravy.
  • Serve with mashed potatoes.

Fire Day Friday: Beefy Bite Appetizers

It is the holiday season, which unleashes a torrent of parties and get togethers.

That means it is advantageous to have an extra appetizer, hors d’oeuvres, or dessert snack trick up your sleeve. So tonight I played around with an idea I had for an appetizer. This is work in progress kind of thing.

Steak Wrapped Tater Tots

I know. That’s twisted. But sometimes you just have to cut loose and do something different.

For the first round, I cooked tater tots (well, actually Ore Ida Crispy Crowns) according to directions. I placed each one on a 1″ strip of milanesa style sliced beef (thin sliced sirloin) and topped with a variety of ingredients like pickled sweet jalapeno (we used Hobo Howey’s Jalapeno Treats), cheddar cheese, and steak sauce.

I rolled them up and secured with a toothpick and seasoned with a little bit of steak rub (I used Dizzy Pig Cow Lick).

I tried cooking them on the griddle plate of my grill cooking at 450f. It only took 1-2 minutes per side.

While it gave good sear marks, the sides didn’t get much radiant heat so they weren’t as evenly cooked as I would have liked.

It was 35f outside while I was cooking these, but I could not resist making a second attempt. This time I did the same thing but went with direct heat.

That cooked through much better.

And despite my fears the cheese would melt out during the cook, it finished just right.

Lessons learned:

  1. Instead of using a griddle pan, go for direct heat like grilling or broiling.
  2. If using cheese, start with your tater tot facing the hot side (below for grilling, above for broiling) for the first minute.
  3. Serve these quickly after cooking. These are not a “cook and leave on the table” kind of thing if you want to impress.
  4. Idea for the world’s most awesome slider – A juicy lucy style slider with a crispy crown and cheddar inside. Gonna work on that one.
  5. After testing the varieties twice tonight, I think our favorite is a combo of the sweet pickled jalapeno and cheddar. The sweet and heat combine perfectly.

Tell me: When the pressure is on during the holidays, what is your “go to” appetizer/snack?

Balsamic Sauteed Chicken Breasts

I needed something in a hurry. 

I had this awesome Butternut Squash Bake that I was making but needed something to go along with it. 

With nothing thawed.

My brother saved the day by bringing home a whole bunch of fresh boneless chicken breasts from Sam’s Club.  So chicken it was!
These were very simple but incredibly delicious.  Great for dinner when you’re in a hurry!  Very healthy and low calorie too! We ate these with a delicious Butternut Squash Bake!
Balsamic Sauteed Chicken Breast Recipe
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. sugar
5 (6 oz) boneless chicken breasts (not too thick)
Salt and pepper
2 green onions, chopped
  • Combine broth, vinegar, honey and sugar. 
  • Spray non stick pan with cooking spray.  
  • Salt and pepper chicken breasts and brown in pan.
  • Cook 4 – 5 minutes on each side until there is a nice brown.  
  • Add balsamic mixture, scraping to loosen bits on the bottom.  
  • Add green onion.  
  • Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup.  About 4 – 5 minutes.  If chicken isn’t quite done, cover and cook before sauce reduces. 
  • Serve sauce over the chicken. 
Check out more great recipes at Debbi Does Dinner Healthy!