Cast Iron Pork Chops

I made these pork chops a few weeks ago when my mom and sister came to visit. I served them with smashed rosemary red skin potatoes and roasted asparagus.

We will call these “Left-over Thanksgiving Ingredients” pork chops. I had lots of fresh herbs and apples left from Thanksgiving and used these along with other aromatics to create a warm, savory-sweet dish.

My mom got me a cast-iron skillet for Christmas and I’ve been addicted to using it since. To clarify, we celebrated Christmas with my parents the first weekend in December. Being able to use one skillet that has such an easy clean up makes cooking a breeze!

{LOTI Pork Chops}

[Ingredients]

• 4 pork chops
• 2 small-medium apples, diced
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 5-6 springs thyme
• 4-6 leaves sage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP butter

[Directions]

1. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Saute onion until translucent then add garlic and apple.
3. Cook apples for a 1-2 minutes then add rosemary and thyme leaves.
4. Add butter and pork chops to skillet. Top chops with apple mixture.
5. Cook on each side about 8 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145F.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….for soup!

When the weather turns cold and dreary, soup is a must! I’ve got a handful of “go-to” soup recipes that have gotten old and boring but then my Food & Nutrition Magazine arrived and provided some inspiration!

If you don’t receive this magazine (it comes complimentary with your membership to the ADA), check out their website at http://www.foodandnutrition.org/

Gluten-free/Dairy-free friends rejoice! This soup is thick and creamy and will leave you wondering how it is GF/DF.

I adapted this recipe from the one published in the Food & Nutrition Mag, the original recipe can be found on their website.

{Creamy Mushroom Soup}

[Ingredients]

• 24 ounce package of Crimini mushrooms, quartered & chopped
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 1/2 cups Vegetable stock
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats + 1 TBSP
• 3 TBSP tahini
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

[Directions]

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or soup pot. Saute onion until translucent, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, garlic, and salt. Reduce heat and cook for 5-8 minutes.
3. Add stock and oats, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add tahini, nutmeg, and black pepper to food processor, add mushroom mixture to food processor. Blend until smooth.

Cheers,

Danielle

Cauliflower Curry Soup

The snow continues to fall & the temperatures are doing the same! With winter burrowing in to stick around, I was in desperate need for some warm soup to warm up.

Pinterest has inspired me to try cooking with cauliflower in new ways. In an attempt to keep myself from going down the rabbit hole, I settled on one of the first recipes I found. Of course, I ended up tweaking it but the soup turned out beautifully.

{Cauliflower Curry Soup}

[Ingredients]

• 1 lb. cauliflower
• 1 lb. carrots
• 1 can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp  herbs de provence
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp curry
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• pepper to taste
• 2 tsp olive oil

[Directions]

1. Dice onion. Heat dutch oven over medium heat on stovetop and saute onion in olive oil until tender.
2. Add garlic and herbs de provence, reduce heat and cook for another few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, roughly chop carrots and cauliflower. Add to dutch oven along with pumpkin puree, turmeric, and curry powder.
4. Add water and vegetable broth, increase heat to bring soup to a boil.
5. Boil for 10 minutes covered then simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion hand blender or removing small batches & blending in a blender.
7. Garnish with a pinch of salt and pepper then serve.

Cheers,

Danielle

Comfort food —> Beef Stroganoff

There comes a point where there is too much of a good thing. I think I’ve hit that point with looking (aka pinning) recipes.  Take a peep at my “Delicious Dishes” board on Pinterest. With 209 pins, its not like I’m short of ideas – its deciding which of those recipes on that board I want to try.  Can’t I quit my day job to stay home to cook all day? 🙂

I’m a big believer in meal planning & knowing what staples to keep your pantry stocked with so you always have ingredients for a healthy, scrumptious meal on hand. I had Dan collaborate with me & pick out some recipes that sounded good to him.  One of those recipes was Beef Stroganoff.

Like I’ve told you all before, I tend to read through a handful of recipes for the same dish then create my own dish based off of those recipes. A lot of stroganoff recipes call for Condensed soup which I find completely disgusting. I replaced the condensed soup with cream cheese and sour cream and used fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter to create a rich & creamy dish.

{Beef Stroganoff}

[Ingredients]

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 5-7 white mushrooms, stems removed & roughly chopped
• 1/2 of a large white onion, diced
• 1/2 clove of elephant garlic, diced (or two cloves of regular garlic)
• 4 TBSP butter
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 package of egg noodles
• Montreal steak seasoning, I used about 1 tsp
• Paprika

[Directions]

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Measure cream cheese then set aside, allowing it to become room temperature.
2. Wash mushrooms under cool, running water & remove stems. Roughly chop then place in skillet.
3. Meanwhile, dice onion and garlic.
4. Add diced onion, ground beef, and steak seasoning to skillet. When meat is almost completely browned, add garlic and continue to saute until meat is finished.
5. Add cream cheese and sour cream and mix well. Sprinkle skillet with paprika and stir into beef mixture. *Note: you can drain the meat before adding cream cheese & sour cream if you prefer but I did not.*
6. Reduce heat to low on beef.  Cook noodles according to the instruction on the package.
7. Drain water from noodles once cooked then gently rinse with cool water. Stir noodles into skillet. Again, lightly sprinkle skillet with paprika then mix.
8. Plate & enjoy. I served this dished with roasted brussel sprouts and rosemary focaccia bread.

Cheers,

Danielle

Snow Day Warm Cinnamon Buns

I am in complete protest of all this snow. I mean, Mother Nature, it is not even December!

But the cold weather makes for a great excuse for ooey gooey warm treats.

I had a tube of crescents in the fridge that I bought for no real purpose. The rest of the ingredients for cinnamon buns are staples in most pantries: brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter.

A cream cheese glaze tops off these little morsels to make the most decadent treat. I didn’t have any milk so I used coffee creamer in the glaze. I had Bailey’s Mudslide in the fridge which is truly sinful.

{Snow Day Cinnamon Buns}

[Ingredients]

• 1 tube crescent rolls
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For glaze:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons milk or creamer
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

[Directions]

1. Preheat the oven to 375F or the temperature listed on the back of the tube.
2. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
3. In a food processor, pulse cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
4. Open crescents & separate into four squares (instead of 8 crescents)
5. Evenly divide butter mixture between the 4 squares of dough
6. Spread mixture over squares then roll & cut in half
7. Place the buns vertically on the jelly roll pan & bake for 11-13 minutes
8. While the buns are cooking, make glaze
9. In a food processor, combine all ingredients for the glaze. Pulse until smooth.
10. Once buns are done, spoon glaze over buns. Serve with a hot cup of coffee.

Cheers,

Danielle