Cranberry Pork Chops

Ah, pork. You are NOT my favorite food. But you are the other white meat, and so you must be included in a balanced diet I suppose. Or at least you must be included occasionally on this blog.

In honor of Thanksgiving approaching this month, I bring you a recipe that uses cranberry sauce. You know, that stuff from the can that sits on the table and is woefully neglected during Thanksgiving dinner because it looks entirely too healthy?

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick and 4 oz each)
2 TBS olive oil
1 can (16 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 TBS balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt, seasoned salt and pepper. Add pork chops, one at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, cook pork in oil over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. In a small bowl, combine cranberry sauce and vinegar; pour over chops. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add rice and cranberries. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Serve pork chops with sauce and rice.

VERDICT:

It's not too bad. I think I overcooked the pork (but it's hard to tell when it's done with all that cranberry covering it!) and it probably would have been better if it weren't so chewy. I have yet to discover the secret to non-chewy pork chops, and I'm beginning to think it's just part of pork's charm.

The cranberry taste was great, definitely a recipe to use again... next November.

And just because I can, here's a picture of what Jacob was doing while I was cooking. He swiped the bag of corn (yes, I cheat and just heat up frozen corn from a box!) off the counter and fed his monkey dinner.

Fettuccine with Creamy Seafood Sauce

Seafood, pasta, a thick creamy sauce. What could be better this time of year? And with this recipe, what could be easier?

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 TBS snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash ground black pepper
1 cup evaporated skim milk
3 TBS flour
8 oz. shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
4 oz. cooked crab or lobster meat (I used the fake stuff. It's probably just as good. Kind of.)
1 cup snow peas

8 oz. fettuccine, cookedDirections:

Coat a 2-quart saucepan with non-stick spray. Add the broth, scallions, basil, garlic and pepper. Bring to a boil.

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and flour. Stir the milk mixture into the broth mixture. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Stir in the shrimp, crab or lobster, and peas. Cook, stirring, until the seafood is heated through and the peas are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Serve over hot fettuccine.

Verdict:

Mmmm... Even Mark liked this, and he's not often fond of my pasta dishes. The sugar snap peas probably should have been cut in half, they were a bit big to eat. And I'm sure the recipe would have been even better with real lobster, but that was overly expensive and I didn't think it would matter that much. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Buffalo-Style Chicken Fingers

Mmm... football season munchies! I love the flavor of wings, but hate picking around the bones. I thought this recipe would be the perfect compromise.

Ingredients
· 1 cup crushed corn flakes
· 1 tablespoon finely snipped parsley
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
· 1/3 cup bottled blue cheese salad dressing
· 2 teaspoons water
· 1 to 2 teaspoons bottled hot pepper sauce
· Celery sticks
· Bottled blue cheese salad dressing

Directions

1. Combine crushed corn flakes, parsley, and salt in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Cut chicken breasts into strips about 3/4 inch wide and 3 inches long. Combine the 1/3 cup dressing, water, and hot pepper sauce in a large mixing bowl. NOTE: A SEPARATE MIXING BOWL. I PUT IT ALL TOGETHER. THIS DOESN'T WORK. BUT I'LL GET TO THAT LATER...

Add chicken; stir to coat. Roll chicken pieces individually in crumb mixture to coat. Place strips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

2. To serve, heat oven to 425 degree F. Place frozen chicken strips in a single layer in a lightly greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink in center and crumbs are golden. Serve warm with celery sticks and additional blue cheese dressing for dipping. Makes 12 servings.

Verdict:

I think that had I actually followed the directions correctly, these would have been awesome. But I mixed the dry ingredients and the wet ones, and well, it wasn't supposed to go that way. The batter looked really good when coating the chicken pieces, but completely melted off in the oven. The taste was still good, but next time I'll be sure to make them correctly.

Since I'm a total failure at making these look good, this is what they should look like:

Spinach Cheese Rolls

Yup, it's the first new recipe in over 3 months. So much for one recipe a week, huh? I thought at one point that I might be able to catch up and do several new recipes a week and make it to 52 by the end of the year... but I'm just going to be honest and say that's not going to happen.

Anyways, here is your first new recipe in months! A new appetizer I tested out at our housewarming party last week.
Ingredients:

1/2 pkg. Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg 1 tbsp. water
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese OR Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg. (about 10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Directions

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix egg and water. Set aside. Mix Muenster cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion and garlic powder.

UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Brush with egg mixture. Top with cheese mixture and spinach. Starting at short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 20 (1/2") slices. Place on baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture.

BAKE 15 min. or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 20 appetizers.

The hot sauce is my husband's addition- what's a recipe without hot sauce?

Verdict:

Super easy to make. I would recommend putting the "roll" once it's assembled back into the fridge if you've got time. That hardens up the dough and makes it easier to cut into slices.