I'm always thinking of new ways to make pork and chicken. I decided I wanted to add new spices to pork chops and I'm glad I did. A little sweet, even more spicy and oh so tender.
Mexican Pork Chops
4 pork chops
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, chili powder and cumin. Dip pork chops in and place in heated frying pan with olive oil. Lightly brown on both sides and finish cooking in a 350° oven until the internal temperature reaches 145°.
I love my Le Creuset French Oven and it has a permanent home on my stove top. Plus it's Cassis which I also love. Today I made a new form of baked beans with real maple syrup so your house is guaranteed to smell heavenly.
Maple Baked Beans
1 lb dried beans - I used great northern
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ lb applewood smoked bacon, cooked in small pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup onions, diced
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
Rinse and pick out bad beans. Place in your french oven, add in 1/2 tsp baking soda and cover with cold water and let soak overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, cover again with water and boil until soft. Drain and save the water. In a separate pan, cook onions in 1 tbsp of olive oil, remove and add to beans and then cook the bacon. Let cooked bacon drain on paper towels before adding to beans. Add in salt, dry mustard and real maple syrup. Cook over a low heat for 8 hours. Stir occasionally and add in saved bean water if necessary.
I like trying new flavors together and for me it was blackberries and pears. I happened to have both on hand that needed to be used and what better way than making a crisp.
Blackberry & Pear Crisp
2 pears, pared and diced
1 1/2 cups blackberries
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter melted
Place pears and blackberries in a greased 9" square pan. Mix first five ingredients together and stir into peaches. Sift remaining ingredients (not the butter) together, add the beaten egg and stir until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of the fruit mixture. Drizzle melted butter over topping. Bake for 1 hour at 325°.
I decided to do my bbq as an inside treat tonight and in a light form (well it's light depending on how many you eat). You can mix it up ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator, take it out, bake for 20 minutes and you're ready to enjoy it. I also included the simple recipe for baked seasoned pita chips that I made to go along with it. But you can use your favorite kind of chips to serve with this.
BBQ Chicken Dip
14 oz chicken tenders, braised, seasoned, cooled and shredded
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup apple butter
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix together in medium bowl, shredded chicken, cream cheese, apple butter, chili sauce and bbq sauce. Place in a greased pie pan. Spread out and top with the cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°.
Baked pita chips
4 pita breads
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
Cut each pita into 6 pieces. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and spices. Place the pita chips on a large baking sheet. Brush on the olive oil mixture and bake for 20 minutes at 350°.
The temperature is supposed to be in the 90's today so it's the perfect time for ice cream treats and what could be better than adding a little adult beverage to them for summertime fun.
Frangelico Chocolate Ice Cream Bars
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup Nutella
2 tbsp Frangelico
Mix all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Pour into ice cream bar molds or leave in the bowl and cover. Freeze for 6 hours. Makes 5 - 1/3 cup ice cream bars.
The beautiful weather is continuing and I took the day off to work to concentrate on some projects, work on some recipes and enjoy the great outdoors. What better way to start off the day than with a new tasty bread with apple and cinnamon flavors.
Apple Butter Bread
1/2 cup butter softened,
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup apple butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
In a large bowl, cream together butter and dark brown sugar. Add in egg, apple butter and buttermilk. Stir in dry ingredients. Pour into a greased load pan and bake for 50 minutes at 350°.
I think it's finally feeling like summer and the rain has passed. I had some chicken breasts in the refrigerator so I decided to tweak my recipe for Parmesan pork chops a little bit for them.
Parmesan Chicken Breasts
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
10 butter crackers, crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Pound the chicken breasts with the flat side of your tenderizer until 1/4" think. Use the spiked side to embed the seasonings and crackers, flip and do the same to the 2nd side. Place in a hot skillet with extra virgin olive oil and cook until almost 165°. Divide out grated Parmesan cheese on each of the chicken breasts and place in a 350° oven until melted and golden brown - about 5 minutes. Be sure to test the temperature again to make sure it's at least 165°.
