Picatta-Style Pork

So I refused to make the hubby cook every night...it defeats the purpose :D.  Tonight I decided to try my hand at Picatta-style pork (I know it's spelled wrong, but that's how it is in the book).  This is from Better Homes and Gardens: Great Cooking for Two page 28:

Ingredients:
8 oz pork tenderloin, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 Tbl water
1/4 tsp instant beef or chicken bouillon
nonstick spray coating
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 Tbl butter
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
dash pepper

Directions:
place each pork slice between 2 pieces of plastic wrap.  Working from the center to the edges, pound the pork with the flat side of a meat mallet to 1/8-inch thickness..  Remove plastic wrap.

combine water and bouillon; set aside.  Spray the unheated rack of a broiler pan generously with the cooking spray.  Arrange pork slices on broiler pan; brush generously with bouillon mixture.  Broil pork 3 to 4 inches from the heat about 2 minutes per side or until pork is slightly pink and juices run clear, brushing pork frequently with bouillon  mixture to keep moist.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan combine the lemon juice, butter, mustard and pepper.  Heat through over low heat, using a fork to mix well.

To serve, transfer pork slices to individual plates.  Spoon sauce over pork.  If desired, garnish each serving with a lemon peel strip if desired. Makes 2 serving.

Substitutions: I used 2 boneless pork chops instead of a loin.  The only other change made was I think I got dyslexic and broiled for 3-4 minutes instead of 2 on each side. It actually wasn't too tough.  Tasted delicious and fresh as well!  This was incredibly quick and easy to top it off.

****

Onion-Stuffed Sirloin with Mushroom Saute

Yet again, the hubby decided to cook dinner for us.  Hmmm...maybe he should start writing the blog :D.  Anyhoo, this recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens: Great Cooking for Two (circa 1992  ) page # 10:

Ingredients

1/2  of a small  onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1  clove  garlic, minced
1  tablespoon  margarine or butter
1/8  teaspoon  lemon-pepper seasoning or pepper
1  8-ounce  boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1-1/2 inches thick
3/4  cup  sliced fresh shiitake or other mushrooms
1  tablespoon  margarine or butter
1  teaspoon  cornstarch
1  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
1/2  teaspoon  instant beef bouillon granules
1  tablespoon  dry red or white wine
Directions
1. For stuffing, in a small saucepan cook the onion and garlic in margarine or butter until onion is tender but not brown. Remove from heat. Stir in the lemon-pepper seasoning or pepper. Set aside.

2. Make a pocket in the steak by cutting a deep horizontal slit. Spoon the stuffing into the pocket. If necessary, secure opening of the pocket with a wooden toothpick.

3. To grill, place steak on the rack of an uncovered grill. Grill directly over medium-hot coals to desired doneness, turning once. (Allow 14 to 18 minutes for rare, 18 to 22 minutes for medium, or 24 to 28 minutes for well-done).

4. Or, to broil, place steak on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat to desired doneness, turning once. (Allow 14 to 18 minutes for rare, 19 to 22 minutes for medium, or 23 to 28 minutes for well-done).

5. Meanwhile, for mushroom sauce, in a small saucepan cook the mushrooms in margarine or butter until tender. In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, and 1/2 cup water. Carefully add to the saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in wine. To serve, cut steak in half. Transfer steak halves to individual plates. Pour sauce over steak. Makes 2 servings.

Menu Suggestion: Grill new potatoes to round out the meal.

nutrition facts
Servings Per Recipe 2 servings Calories319, Total Fat (g)18, Saturated Fat (g)5, Cholesterol (mg)76, Sodium (mg)504, Carbohydrate (g)12, Protein (g)27, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

No substitutions per se, but the choices used were red wine, pepper instead of lemon pepper, and the mushrooms were morel mushrooms (my uncle grows them). Also, we used two 4 oz steaks instead of one 8 oz steak.  Wow.  My man keeps hitting it out of the park!  This honestly tasted like a restaurant meal.  This wasn't a special occasion, but you could easily use this for a romantic evening or any occasion.

*****

Chicken Livers Veronique

So for the last couple days my big brother was in town from Colorado.  We ate over at my parent's house so I wasn't doing any cooking :D.  Today of course it was back to work.    Now I will tell you I enjoy the odd chicken liver in a dish, but I have never had a meal starring this ingredient and thought this might be the meal that i wouldn't be able to eat.  We are adventurous sorts and wanted to try new things, so here we went.  Darling hubby followed the directions and made this while I was working.  Here's the recipe as it originally appeared (the serving size is actually for one so we doubled it) in Better Homes and Gardens Meals for One or Two circa 1978, page 11:

Ingredients:
1/4 lb chicken livers
1 Tbl sliced green onion
1 Tbl butter
2 Tbl dry white wine
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
dash pepper
8 seedless green grapes, halved
hot cooked rice

Preparation:
Halve chicken livers.  In a small skillet, cook livers and onion in butter for about 5 minutes or until livers are just barely pink inside.

Combine wine, cornstarch, salt and pepper; add to chicken livers.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in grape halves.  Serve over rice

Makes 1 serving

Substitutions:  We didn't have any grapes so we didn't use any.  Hubby sprinkled some balsamic vinegar on top at the very end before serving.  Also, we use brown rice instead of white.

Yummy.  Seriously...this was SO good.  I am as surprised as anyone.  I figured it would be good to get my iron up (I've been anemic for years and even after the tumor was removed I'm still a little low on iron) so I would stomach it.  It was delicious!  I highly recommend this to anyone who has a kind, understanding, adventurous spouse.  Ironically enough, hubby said he loved this and would really like to have it again.  One of the pluses, is for a pound and a half of chicken livers, I only spent $2.09.  A rare thing to have a meal for so little.

****

Individual Beef Wellingtons

OMG...I mean seriously OMG!!  I know it seems odd that I am posting anything on my wedding anniversary evening, but seriously, I just had to share how incredibly AWESOME this meal is.  Hubby decided a while ago to make our anniversary meal and this is the meal he picked.  Beef Wellington with green beans andgarlic and herb mashed potatoes. This is from the Light Cooking for Two book page 85:


Ingredients
Olive oil-flavored vegetable cooking spray
1  cup  sliced fresh mushrooms, minced
1 1/2  teaspoons  minced green onions
1/8  teaspoon  salt
2  (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks
1/2  teaspoon  coarsely ground pepper
4  sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
Preparation
Coat a small nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms, green onions, and salt; saute 8 minutes. Remove mushroom mixture from skillet, and set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of each steak with pepper. Coat skillet with cooking spray; place over high heat until hot. Add steaks, and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove steaks from skillet; drain and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a damp towel (keeping remaining phyllo covered). Lightly coat phyllo with cooking spray. Top with another sheet of phyllo, and coat with cooking spray; fold in half crosswise, bringing short ends together. Place 1 steak 3 inches from one end of phyllo. Spoon half of mushroom mixture over steak. Fold short end of phyllo over mushroom mixture; fold lengthwise edges of phyllo over steak, and roll up, jellyroll fashion. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 sheets of phyllo, mushroom mixture, and steak.

Lightly coat phyllo packets with cooking spray; place, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:306 (33% from fat)
Fat:11.2g (sat 3.5g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g)
Protein:27.2g
Carbohydrate:22.4g
Fiber:0.0g
Cholesterol:70mg
Iron:0.0mg
Sodium:388mg
Calcium:0.0mg

The only substitution was instead of phyllo, he used croissant roll dough. Hubby stated he had it in the oven for only about 10 minutes because of the different dough.  So, um...maybe a bit higher on the calorie scale.  Who cares?  This was a special occasion :D.  Definitely try this one, y'all!

*****

Individual Shrimp Casseroles

We had these last night and I didn't get around to posting until this morning.  This recipe is again from the Light Cooking for Two page 111:


Ingredients
5  ounces  orzo, uncooked
1/2  pound  unpeeled medium-size fresh shrimp
Olive oil-flavored vegetable cooking spray
1/4  teaspoon  olive oil
2  teaspoons  minced garlic
3/4  cup  peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato
1  tablespoon  dry white wine
1/2  cup  shredded fresh basil
1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh oregano
Dash of freshly ground pepper
1/4  cup  crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Set aside, and keep warm.

Peel and devein shrimp; set aside.

Coat a small nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic, and saute 30 seconds. Add tomato, and saute 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add shrimp and wine; saute 2 minutes. Add basil, oregano, and pepper; saute 2 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.

Combine shrimp mixture and orzo, stirring well. Spoon mixture evenly into 2 (2-cup) casseroles coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with feta cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 500° for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Nutritional Information
Calories:394 (15% from fat)
Fat:6.4g (sat 2.6g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g)
Protein23.7g
Carbohydrate:59.5g
Fiber:0.0g
Cholesterol:99mg
Iron:0.0mg
Sodium:256mg
Calcium:0.0mg

To start with, I could not find my individual corningware so I had to use soup bowls.  No substitutions were made.  We didn't even have to use a bunch of bowls and mess up the kitchen. I thought it was incredibly yummy but the hubby thought the feta was too strong of a cheese for this recipe. It's ironic since I'm the one who an't stand feta, lol.  We both agreed that fresh parmesan or even Gruyere would have been better (milder).  I will definitely make this again!

On a side note, tonight is our anniversary and the hubby is making beef wellington!!  I'll post the recipe and review tonight :D.

*****

Bouchee A La Reine

Another long crappy day.  This is a pretty quick, easy goto recipe. This is my mom's recipe that serves (I think) 6.


Ingredients
 
-2 lbs of scallops (fresh fish market)
-1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms, fresh
-2 boxes (12) Pepperidge Farm Patty Shells
-Swiss Cheese ( enough to sprinkle on top)
-1 stick of butter (no margarine!)
-3 heaping Tbl flour
-half and half
-1 Tbl chopped parsley
  
Instructions

1 - Simmer the scallops cut in pieces slowly in a seasoned broth (shrimp broth). Make a Bechamel sauce; combine flour and the stick of butter in sauce pan. Add 3 - 4 Tbl of scallop broth. Add half and half stirring until sauce is smooth and thick.
2 - Cut mushrooms in small pieces and cook in some butter and a little salt. If they get too juicy, drain. Add the mushrooms and scallops to the Bechamel sauce. Add parsley.
3 - Bake the shells according to the package directions. Remove tops and a little of the dough from the inside to make room for the filling. Fill with the sauce, sprinkle with cheese and replace the tops. Return the to the oven just to melt the cheese.

 

OK, substitutions...we didn't have any pastry shells so we just used wheat toast.  Also, I didn't have enough cheese (my fault). Other than that, this is a delicious, quick meal.  As always, 5 stars
*****

Baked Tilapia

So, not to be all whiny, but I still feel absolutely wretched.  Darling hubby took pity (again) and made dinner tonight.  We were both very weak and considering take-out but two things stopped us.  One, we have $3.23 to our names and two, we really want this new diet to work.  Hubby baked a few tilapia fillets and made a side of rice-a-roni.  Delicious and lowfat, too.

2 tilapia fillets
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp parsley
4 Tbl butter

Preheat oven to 350. combine all seasonings in a small bowl.  Pat fillets dry.  Sprinkle both sides of fillets with seasoning. Place fillets on greased, shallow baking dish and place two pats of butter on each fillet.  Bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

This hit the spot!  After a very horrible day, this is just what I needed!
****

Korean-Style Beef Bowl

Yummy-yummy!  On first glance, this looks good but kind of plain.  Not at all.  The recipe listed serves 4 so you'll need to half it. This is another one from Pampered Chef's 29 Minutes to Dinner page 93:


Ingredients

STEAK AND MARINADE
2 Green onions with tops, divided
1 lb (soo g) skirt steak
2 Garlic cloves, pressed
3 tbsp (4S mL) soy sauce
1 tbsp (lS mL) sesame oil
1 tsp (SmL) coarsely ground black
Pepper
1 tbsp (lS mL) sugar
1 tsp (SmL) vegetable oil

RICE AND VEGETABLES
1 cup (2S0 mL) uncooked jasmine rice
2 Medium carrots
2 cups (soo mL) bean sprouts

Preparation

1. For steak and marinade, thinly slice green onions using Santoku Knife, reserving 1 tbsp (lS mL)
of the tops for garnish; place remaining green onions into Classic Batter Bowl.

2. Cut steak crosswise into 2-in. (s-cm) pieces. Slice each piece into thin strips, cutting against the
grain (see Chef's Corner); add to batter bowl. Press garlic over beef. Add soy sauce, sesame oil,
black pepper and sugar; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Meanwhile, for vegetables, peel carrots; discard skin. Continue peeling carrots to make long
ribbons. Place ribbons into ice water until ready to serve.

5. To finish steak, add vegetable oil to (12-in./30-cm) Skillet; heat over medium-high heat
1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add beef to Skillet in a single layer and cook undisturbed
2 minutes or until beef is brown. Stir; cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until beef is no longer
pink. Remove from heat.

6. Remove rice from microwave and fluff with a fork. To serve, divide rice among serving bowls and
serve with beef, carrots and bean sprouts. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.


Nutrition Information
Calories: 410 ; Total Fat: 20 g ; Saturated Fat: 7 g ; Carbohydrates: 29 g ; Protein: 28 g ; Sodium: 790 mg ; Fiber: 2 g

Very little on the substitution front.  I didn't have any sesame oil so I just used regular veggie oil and I used brown rice instead of jasmine.  This was SO easy and delicious!
*****

Grilled Chicken and Artichoke Soup

So today is going to be a two-fer.  I will not bore you with the details, but today has been a VERY bad day.  I am feeling worse as opposed to better and hubby  volunteered to make us soup for lunch. He said since we have the leftover chicken, he would look for a good recipe calling for some of our leftovers.  Well, he went to AllRecipes.com and put the ingredient list of :chicken, artichokes, and tomato paste.  This is the recipe that popped up (changed to servings for 2 instead of 8):


Ingredients

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), snipped into small pieces
1-1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 clove cloves garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 (13.75 ounce) can artichoke bottoms, drained and chopped
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
Directions

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 8 servings.

Place the dried mushrooms into the boiling water and set aside until softened, about 20 minutes. Once softened, squeeze excess water from mushrooms and finely chop. Reserve the mushroom-flavored water.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes per side. Once cooked, set aside.

Pour chicken broth into a large pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and reserved mushroom liquid. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped mushrooms, artichokes, pepper, parsley, lemon juice, and white wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes; add to the simmering chicken broth.

Slice the grilled chicken breasts into strips and stir into the simmering soup. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 254 | Total Fat: 11.1g | Cholesterol: 37mg

Several changes were made for convenience sake.  He used the extra chicken breast from last night.  The only sun-dried tomatoes we had were jarred in oil (used those).  Instead of chicken broth, he used beef broth and no lemon juice. We didn't have any porcini mushrooms, so he used regular, white mushrooms. I don't know if its just because I feel lousy, but this hit the spot and was very yummy!.  It made exactly 2 servings which was just perfect.  He was able to use the extra artichokes and chicken from last night as well as some leftover tomato paste. (Nice clean refrigerator now :D )

*****

Artichoke Chicken with Roasted Potatoes

OK, so this was my first day back at work since I came down with pneumonia. The part that really sucks is I still have it. It made for a long day and I was having difficulty talking towards the end of the day.  I was worried there was no way I was going to be able to make dinner tonight.  The hubby was busy all day and also was trying to clear our storage out this afternoon so there was no way I was going to ask him to do dinner as well.  I found this recipe in a Pampered Chef cookbook 29 Minutes to Dinner on page 15.  Here's the recipe as written:

POTATOES AND CHICKEN

3 small red potatoes
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) water
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz/125-175 g each)
2 tsp (10 mL) Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix, divided
2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil, divided

ARTICHOKE TOPPING

1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped artichoke hearts (about 2 hearts)
2 tsp (10 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1 oz (30 g) Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tsp (10 mL) mayonnaise

1. Preheat broiler on HIGH. Meanwhile, cut potatoes into quarters. Place potatoes, water and salt into Small Micro-Cooker; microwave on HIGH 6-8 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, for artichoke topping, chop artichokes and parsley using Santoku Knife; place into Small Batter Bowl. Grate cheese using Microplane Adjustable Grater. Set aside 2 tbsp (30 mL) for later use; add remaining cheese and mayonnaise to artichoke mixture and mix well.

3. Flatten chicken to 1/2 in. (1 cm) thickness using flat side of Meat Tenderizer. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with 1 tsp (5 mL) of the seasoning mix.

4. Add 1 tsp (5 mL) of the oil to Stainless (10-in./25-cm) Skillet (do not use nonstick cookware); heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Meanwhile, add remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) of the oil and remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) of the seasoning mix to potatoes; stir to coat.

5. Place chicken and potatoes, cut side down, into Skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes or until chicken is golden brown. Turn chicken and potatoes over; cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and centers are no longer pink.

6. Remove potatoes from Skillet; set aside and keep warm. To finish chicken, spread artichoke topping evenly over chicken; sprinkle with reserved cheese. Place Skillet as close as possible to heating element (2 in./5 cm); broil 4-6 minutes or until topping is deep golden brown and internal temperature of chicken registers 170 F (77 C). (Watch closely. If topping starts to brown unevenly, adjust accordingly.) Carefully remove Skillet from broiler. Serve chicken with potatoes.

Yield: 2 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 320, Total Fat 14 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 80 mg, Carbohydrate 21 g, Protein 34 g, Sodium 1280 mg, Fiber 3 g

So here were my changes: I omitted the potatoes outright and served with pasta salad instead. I do not have their rosemary herb seasoning so I used a sprinkle of rosemary, salt and pepper. I did not used fresh parmesan...I used shaky cheese :D.  OMG, this was SO YUMMY!!  I am definitely going to make this again! It was easy, delicious and most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.  Speaking of which, I still haven't mastered the buying for two so I have a half can of artichoke hearts and one extra chicken breast that I cubed and cooked up for something later. I'll see if there's a recipe out there that I can try in the next few days with some of that.  Anyway, this was a winner and my only complaint was the broiler heated up the house too much...this is Florida and it was a bit too warm in the kitchen. My last suggestion is to use fresh chicken.  I have been using giant bags of frozen chicken breasts for years and was so used to it tasting like sheets of cardboard, I forgot what real chicken tastes like.  A big bonus of cooking for two is I don't NEED to buy the big bag...I can just buy what I need.


*****