Recipes

Pork Loin Braised in Coconut Milk

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 1⁄2 - 4 pound pork loin roast
  • 2 tablespoon cooking fat such as olive oil or coconut oil
  • 3 cups coconut milk
  • 1⁄4 cup water

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl combine garlic, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper.  Rub pork with mixture and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.  
  2. Add fat to Dutch oven (or lidded skillet) and heat over medium-high heat.  Place pork in skillet and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total.  Add 1 cup coconut milk and stir, scrapping browned bits from bottom of pan.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to low.  Add 1 cup coconut milk and cover.  
  3. Cook pork 2 hours on low, turning every 15 minutes.  After 1 hour, add remaining 1 cup coconut milk.  After 2 hours, remove pork from Dutch oven and rest on serving dish, lightly covered with foil.  
  4. Increase heat under Dutch oven to medium.  Add 1⁄4 cup water and stir, cooking until sauce reduces to desired consistency.  
  5. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce.  

Comments

I think this is the first officially Paleo recipe that I ever made.  It was super simple and very tasty!  I found it on Paleo Leap, one of the many Paleo blogs that I started following in 2014.  The coconut milk make the house smell amazing and the meat came out very tender and flavorful.  This is definitely a keeper of a recipe.

Creamy White Wine and Garlic Pasta

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bottle dry white wine
  • 1 pound linguine or fettucine, broken in half
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.  Add wine and bring to a boil.  Add pasta and salt and cook as instructed by package.  Pasta will absorb most of the wine.  
  2. Once pasta is tender, reduce heat to low.  Add cheese and cream and cook, stirring until cheese has melted.  Season with pepper and serve.  

Comments

Oh pasta.  I love you so.  This recipe is from Heather’s French Press and it was delicious.  Very simple, super flavorful.  You could easily sprinkle fresh herbs over top if you desire, pick ones that compliment whatever you’re serving this dish with.

Tuscan Baked Eggs

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1⁄2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, minced 
  • 8 eggs 
  • 4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large, broiler safe, skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion is starting to soften but not to brown.  
  2. Add garlic, cook 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and thyme.  Simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. 
  3. Heat broiler and move oven rack to 5 to 6 inches from element.  
  4. Remove 1⁄3 of tomato mixture to bowl and spread remaining tomatoes evenly over skillet.  Carefully crack 8 eggs on top of tomato mixture then spoon reserved tomato mixture around eggs, being careful not to cover egg yolks.  
  5. Cover skillet with lid and cook 3 minutes or until egg while begins to turn opaque.  Remove lid, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and transfer to broiler.  Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until eggs reach desired doneness and cheese has melted.  Serve with chives.  

Comments

This recipe is from Kalyn’s Kitchen and, for those in the know, it’s super similar to Shakshuka just with a different flavor profile.  I really enjoyed this dish and it would go great with toast or probably even in tortillas if that’s your thing.  It would probably be super over any other carb like rice, pasta, or roasted potatoes.  I love eggs!

Biscoff Buddies

Ingredients

  • 2 1⁄4 cups Chex cereal (any plain variety you like, or a mixture)
  • 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3⁄8 cup (about 6 tablespoons) Biscoff Spread
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • powdered sugar for coating (Mix it with some extra cinnamon for more cinnamony goodness.)  

Instructions

  1. Place cereal into a large bowl. 
  2. Place chocolate chips, cinnamon, biscoff spread, and butter in small microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute.  Stir well and microwave an additional 30 seconds at a time until smooth.  
  3. Spoon mixture into cereal and gently mix to combine ingredients.  
  4. Place powdered sugar (with extra cinnamon if desired) into large zip-top bag.  Add cereal mixture and shake to coat.  Spread on wax paper to cool then enjoy.  

Comments

This recipe is from Willow Bird Baking.  It calls for cinnamon chips, but I can’t find those locally and I needed to make the recipe NOW so I couldn’t wait for Amazon to deliver them to me.  I love Biscoff cookies when I fly Delta and these were scrumptious.  I believe I used a mixture of rice, corn, and wheat Chex.

Grill Roasted Sirloin Tip Roast

Ingredients

  • Sirloin tip roast
  • Spice rub of choice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Aluminum pan
  • 1 cup beef broth, plus extra for gravy
  • 1⁄3 cup red wine
  • Butter, as needed
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. One day before cooking, rub meat all over with spice rub.  Refrigerate overnight.  
  2. Remove roast from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and bring to room temperature on kitchen counter. 
  3. Prepare smoker or grill, without any wood chips, for 325-350*F.  
  4. Heat oil in large skillet and sear meat on all sides.  
  5. Place aluminum pan under grate and add beef broth.  Place meat on grate over aluminum pan.  Add water, if necessary, during cooking.  This pan will catch the drippings so that you can make gravy.  
  6. Cover grill or smoker and cook until a meat thermometer registers 130*F.  Remove meat from grill and place on plate.  Cover loosely with foil and rest meat for 30 minutes.  
  7. While meat is resting, prepare gravy.  Transfer drippings to measuring cup and add enough beef broth to equal 1 cup.  Pour into saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Add wine and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until sauce reduces slightly.  Transfer liquid to fat separator and let sit 5 minutes to allow fat to rise.  Return 1⁄4 cup of fat to saucepan (adding butter to make up the difference if necessary) and heat over medium-high heat.  Discard any extra fat.  
  8. Add flour and stir to combine.  Cook, stirring continuously, until mixture thickens and becomes smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Gradually add liquid to saucepan, stirring, until desire consistency has been reached.  Gravy should be slightly thin as it will thicken once served.  Season with salt, pepper, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of spice rub.  

Comments

This recipe is from Grilling Companion and the gravy is from Alton Brown.  Sirloin tip roasts are just a challenging cut of meat to work with and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten in quite right.  But this was probably my favorite of my attempts!  

(I made the gravy as written in the link for Thanksgiving 2013.  It was the first time I had ever tried making gravy and it was a HUGE hit.  Everyone loved it and it will be a regular on Thanksgiving menus of the future.  I have no idea why I thought gravy was really hard to make and that the stuff from the jar was better!  This was super easy and so flavorful.)

Creamy Chicken with Fire Roasted Corn

Ingredients

  • 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 5 large carrots, or a few handfuls of baby carrots, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1 large russet potato, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon parsley
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt of choice
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 32 ounces chicken broth
  • 1 pound frozen cauliflower
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 1⁄2 cup frozen fire roasted corn

Instructions

  1. Place chicken, carrots, onion, tomato, potato, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and chicken broth into Dutch oven.  Bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are tender.  
  2. Remove chicken from pot.  Add cauliflower to pot and blend vegetables with immersion blender. (Or remove vegetables from pot and carefully blend, in batches, in blender or food processor.)  Once vegetables are smooth, shred chicken and return to pot.  
  3. Add cayenne and corn.  Continue cooking, over low heat, until corn is thawed.  Serve with rice.  

Comments

This recipe is from Courtney’s Sweets.  I don’t remember making it at all, so that makes me wonder if it wasn’t super awesome.  But who knows.  Maybe some day I’ll be looking through my recipes and decide to make this again.  If that happens, I’ll of course update the comment.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll Ups

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 9 slices deli ham
  • 9 small slices deli swiss cheese, or 4 1⁄2 larger slices, cut in half
  • 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1⁄2 cup chicken broth
  • 1⁄2 cup milk
  • 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat broiler.  
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken, turning as needed, until browned on the outside and cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness.  An instant read thermometer should read 165*F when inserted into the thickest breast.  Slice chicken breasts into three pieces lengthwise.  
  3. Working one at a time, place 1 piece of ham on cutting board.  Top with 1 piece of cheese and 1 piece of chicken.  Roll up and transfer to shallow baking dish.  Repeat for remaining 8 rolls.  
  4. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet and sauté mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until liquid has been released and mushrooms are browned.  Add thyme, butter, and flour.  Stir and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and water and stir until bubbling and thickened.  
  5. Pour sauce over roll ups and top with parmesan cheese.  Broil until golden and bubbling, about 5 minutes.  

Comments

This recipe is from The World According to Eggface and it was very tasty.  All the great flavors of chicken cordon bleu but in a much easier form.  Plus mushrooms!

Roasted Shoulder/Arm of Lamb

Ingredients

For the lamb

  • 1 (2.2-pound) shoulder/arm of lamb
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large bunch fresh rosemary
  • 1 bulb garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves

For the sauce

  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons capers, soaked, drained and chopped
  • 1 large bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 500*F.  
  2. Slash fat side of lamb with sharp knife.  Place half of rosemary and half of garlic in Dutch oven.  Rub lamb with olive oil then place on top of rosemary and garlic.  Top with remaining rosemary and garlic then cover with lid or foil.  Place in oven, reduce heat to 325*F, and cook 4 hours.  Remove lamb from pan and wrap in foil.  
  3. Remove all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven and remove any bits of rosemary.  Put pan on stovetop over medium heat.  Add flour and stir well to combine with fat.  Add chicken broth and cook, stirring and scraping, until all brown bits have released.  Add capers, reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes.  Add mint and vinegar then transfer to serving dish.  
  4. Shred lamb with 2 forks before serving with sauce.  

Comments

This recipe is from Food Network and Jamie Oliver.  Lamb arm roasts are a harder cut of meat to deal with, but I thought this recipe turned out pretty well.  The sauce was flavorful and the meat was super tender.

Korean Beef

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
  • 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch green onions, diced

Instructions

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add sesame oil, ground beef, and garlic.  Cook until well browned then drain fat, if necessary.  
  2. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Simmer 2 minutes.  Top with green onions and serve.  

Comments

This recipe is from Lizzy Writes.  It was super easy and fairly tasty, although I found it entirely too salty.  The guys both like it, but they also ate it with rice which probably made a difference since the saltiness was spread out more.

Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak with Green Onions, Ginger, and Teriyaki Glaze

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup mirin
  • 1⁄2 cup sake

For the steak

  • 1⁄4 cup coconut oil, or other vegetable oil
  • 2 cups green onions, thinly sliced (about 24)
  • 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or grated
  • 1 (2 to 2 1⁄2 pounds) flank steak, trimmed of excess fat
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. To prepare the sauce, mix soy sauce, sugar, miring, and sake together in small saucepan.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat cool before using.  
  2. Heat oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, combine green onions and ginger in medium bowl and season with salt.  When oil is hot, pour over green onions and ginger. Stir well to combine and cool before using.  
  3. Place steak on cutting board with grain running parallel to edge of counter.  Carefully butterfly the steak, leaving the long back edge attached by 1⁄2 to 1⁄4-inch of meat.  Open steak and flatten seam with hands to form rough rectangle.  
  4. Season exposed side of steak with salt and pepper, then spread with green onion-ginger mixture, leaving 1-inch border on the long top and bottom.  
  5. Carefully roll steak away from you, into a cylinder.  Place with seam side down.  
  6. Tie steak tightly with twine, spacing ties every 1 1⁄2 inches.  Slice into pinwheels using sharp knife, then insert a skewer into each pinwheel.  (Depending on your skewers, you can put multiple wheels on each.)  
  7. Prepare grill for two stage grilling.  Cook pinwheels on hot side of grill until well charred on each side, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer wheels to cooler side of grill, brush with 1 to 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce, cover, and cook until instant read thermometer reads 120*F for medium-rare or 130*F for medium.  Flip halfway through cooking and brush with more sauce.  Make sure to temp the center of the wheels, not just the outer edge.  
  8. Transfer pinwheels to serving platter, let rest 5 minutes, brush with additional sauce and serve.  

Comments

This is one of the recipes I’ve been most excited about recently, and it did not disappoint!  It’s from Serious Eats, which is a super reliable source of new recipes.  The assembly was a bit finicky, but I blame my butterflying skills.  I’ve never butterflied a flank steak before and it was a bit of a challenge!  I served this with rice.