Fresh Green Beans with A Twist

To make your Thanksgiving green beans extra special add some store bought (or homemade if you have the time) pesto. 

You will need:

2 lbs fresh green beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons pesto

Heat pan over medium high on cook top.  Trim steam off of both ends of the beans.  Saute beans in pan with oil and water.  Watch the beans as they can over cook in a hurry.  Once the beans are cooked (about 5 to 7 minutes) take off heat, add pesto serve at once.

Time to eat

Sorry, I know it has been hit and miss with my blog and the posting of recipes.  Since we are coming up on the biggest eating holiday of the year I though what better time to get back into my blog. I will try my best to post a holiday tip or recipe for the rest of the year, or at least through Thanksgiving.

Tonights menu - Maple-Mustard Pork Chops

Here is my final dish for tonight.  It's a great fall dish.  I serve it with oven roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes.

You will need:

4 (6 oz) bone in center cut pork chops
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup fat free less sodium chicken stock (I use store bought)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/4 teaspoons salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. The recipe calls for you to coat pan with cooking spray, but I used olive oil.  Add pork to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, but with a slight blush in the center.  Remove the pork from the pan and keep warm.  Return pan to medium high heat.  Add butter to pan, swirling pan to coat.  Add shallots and sauté 3 minutes or until tender and translucent.  Add broth and bring to boil and cook 1 minute.  Stir in mustard, syrup, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook 1 minute or until slightly thick.

Now you can return the pork to pan.  Cook pork 1 minute on each side or until thoroughly heated (be careful not to overcook pork).  Serve pork with sauce. Garnish each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoon parsley.

We have this once or twice a month and in addition to squash or sweet potatoes we like to eat it with apple sauce and sometimes a waldorf salad.

Enjoy.

Tonights menu - Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

I said I had 3 recipes for you.  Well, here is number 2.

For the next recipe you will need:

2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
cooking spray
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat broiler.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.  Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.  Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.  While chicken is broiling combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.  After 10 minutes remove chicken from oven and brush 1/4 cup honey mixture over chicken and then return to broiler for 1 minute.  Remove chicken, flip it and brush with remaining homey mixture.  Broil an additional minute or until chicken is done.
This one is really good and you don't miss the skin or fat on the chicken thighs. 

Tonights menu - Almost Famous Chimichangas

This is the recipe that I mentioned earlier.  I think it would work well with ground turkey or chicken, however I made it with ground beef.

You will need:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons veggie oil
1 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds for less heat) Use fresh, can have to much oil.
1 1/2 chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Kosher salt
1 small tomato chopped, plus more for topping
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 lb. ground beef, chicken or turkey (if using chicken or turkey you may want to add a bit more spice)
1/4 sour cream
1 15 oz can refried beans
4 10 inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded jack cheese, plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 450.  Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons oil in skillet, transfer to a bowl.  Heat the remaining oil in skillet.  Add the onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook until soft about 3 minutes.  Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and 1 tsp. salt, toast 30 seconds.  Add the tomato and cilantro and cook until slightly dry, about 2 minutes.  Stir in meat and sour cream and warm through.  Remove from heat. 

Brush a rimmed baking sheet with some of the butter-oil mixture. Spread 2 tablespoons refried beans down the center of each tortilla leaving a 2 inch boarder on each end.  Top with 1 cup meat mixture and 1/4 cup cheese.  Fold in the ends and roll up.  Put the chimichangas seam side down on the baking sheet brush with oil/butter mixture.  Bake for 8 to 10 minute per side, brush again after you flip.  Top with store bought salsa, cheese lettuce, tomato and sour cream.  My husband liked sour cream and extra hot salsa on top, I like ranch dressing and pico de gallo.

Enjoy.

Sorry, I missed you all

I have not been very good at posting my new recipes.  I do have three new ones for you tonight.  I try to use a variety of main ingredients.  On one of my recipes it calls for rotisserie chicken purchased at the deli counter of your local store.  I switched it to ground beef.  After tasting it I think to make it even more healthy you could use ground turkey or ground chicken.  Hope you like my latest recipe finds.

Tonights menu - Fish Tacos

You will need:

1 1/2 pounds white fish (such as Cod) fillets
1/2 cup store bought fish coating mix
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cayenne powder
Pinch of black pepper
Whole wheat soft taco shells

Slaw

Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon mined peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 chopped green onions
2 cups packed coleslaw mix.

Wash and pat fish dry.  Mix chili powder, black pepper and cayenne powder and coating mix together.  Dredge fish in coating mixture.  Fry fish in 10 inch sauté pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil.  In separate bowl mix all slaw ingredients and let sit 7 to 10 minutes.  Heat taco shells at 200 in oven for about 10 minutes.  When shells warm layer with fish and slaw mix.  We also served with a Spanish rice mix. 

Serves 3 

A few weeks ago a friend gave us some flash frozen cod fillets.  I am not a big fan of frozen fish, but hey - it was free.  So I was racking my brain to think of a great way to fix frozen fish so it would not taste fishy or frozen.  Dave, came up with a great reciepe for the cod - Fish Tacos.  I have made fish tacos in the past and was not found of them. This time they were different and very good.