Fresh Berry Fun

I'm a big salty and sweet person. Peanut butter and chocolate. Pretzels and frosting. In fact, I just found this site that gives some other unusual combos: 24 Unexpectedly Awesome Sweet and Salty Combos.

Is there some combo you can't live without? Well, in that vein. I have a lot of recipes for sauces paired with meat that involve fruit. It gives you that natural sugar taste with the savory/salt aspect of whatever spices you rub on the meat.

I believe you could use this for more than just pork chops. Perhaps chicken or beef or even a pork roast, especially since it's a sauce you put on top at the end, after your meat is cooked.

 Blackberry Sauced Pork Chops

Ingredients:
1/2 c. blackberry jam/jelly                   1 tbsp. lemon juice                     1 tbsp. soy sauce
dash cinnamon                                   4 pork chops                               2 tsp. steak seasoning
2 tsp. olive oil                                      1 c. fresh blackberries

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the jam/jelly, lemon juice, soy sauce and cinnamon.
2. Cook and stir over low heat until jam/jelly is melted.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with steak seasoning.
5. In a large skillet, cook chops in oil over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes.
6. Serve with sauce and blackberries. 

Obviously if you are using this for a roast, which will take longer to cook, I'd wait until your roast is close to coming out of the oven so that your sauce stays warm.

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Eating Healthy

Here's one more idea for tomorrow's big day. A grill recipe that packs a lot of flavor but is healthy too. Seafood lovers ... get ready for a fresh, sweet seafood recipe.

Seafood is always a great last minute meal as well as it usually is a quick defrost.  It only needs to marinate for about an hour and in the blink of an eye it cooks easily and quickly on the grill.  Pair it with a fresh fruit relish and you'll delight your mom for sure!

Brown Sugar Salmon & Strawberries

Ingredients:
1/3 c. packed brown sugar       1 tbsp. oil       1 tsp. ground mustard      1 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt                               4 salmon filets (5 oz. each)
1 tbsp. fresh mint                      1 tbsp. oil      1 tbsp. lemon juice            2 tsp. lemon peel
1/8 tsp. sugar         1 c. finely chopped strawberries            1 small cucumber, finely chopped

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients.
2. Rub over the flesh side of the salmon.
3. Refrigerate, covered, for an hour.
4. For the relish, in another bowl, mix mint, oil, lemon juice and sugar.
5. Add strawberries & cucumber. 
6. Toss to coat.
7. Place salmon on grill, skin side down.
8. Grill, covered, over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes or until flesh flakes easily with a fork.
9. Serve with the relish.

Now that you've had a week of easy recipes to guide you, go forth and celebrate your mom. And to all you moms, grandmas, aunts and surrogate moms out there - enjoy your day!

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Marinade the Easy Way or the Hard Way

Ok so tonight I'm going back to the marinade well with 2 different recipes that go excellent on chicken. For those of you who don't fancy yourselves as chefs, one will most definitely intimidate you more than the other. I say they are both easy to do .. you just need to get over your fear of strange ingredients. I highly recommend both as they have unique flavors and you'll think you just got some restaurant quality food!

Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce/Marinade

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped               2 tbsp. oil                      2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. water                                      1/4 c. peanut butter      1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. chili powder                          2 tbsp. lemon juice       2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
3. Add water, peanut butter, sugar and chili powder. 
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thick.
6. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, soy sauce and salt. 
7. Marinate your chicken in it and reserve some for dipping.

Tandoori Yogurt Marinade (get ready to check out your spice aisle!)

Ingredients:

1 tsp. chili powder            1 tsp. ground turmeric          1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garam masala        1 tsp. cinnamon                    4 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced    1 1/4 c. plain yogurt              juice of 2 lemons

5 tbsp. peanut oil             5 tbsp. tomato paste             2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. ginger                     2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix all the dry spices together.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.
3. Pour over meat and cover tightly.
4. Let marinate for up to 2 hours for fish/seafood or overnight for meat or poultry.

See....both are easy to whip up. But, I guarantee the Tandoori one has you quaking in your boots. You may just have to get adventurous in that spice aisle and/or the international aisle.  If you've ever had Indian food, you'll know this is well worth it. And, added bonus, for spending that extra money in the spice aisle, I promise you I will share my chicken tikka masala recipe so you have 2 reasons to keep garam masala and turmeric in your cabinet.

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Ribs

I confess. I'm not a big red meat eater. I like a good steak now and then but it's not the thing that I "have to have". That's always made it interesting when we go to steak houses for dinner. At the Hilltop, I always got the seafood casserole. When we went to Ruth Chris for New Year's, I had salmon. When we go to Lonestar or Texas Roadhouse, I almost always get ribs. 

I love ribs and rubs and sauces. When they are done right, the meat just about falls off the bone! I'm also a sweet and savory kind of gal too, so my bbq sauce tends to run in the honey bbq family. Tonight's entry combines these two of my favorite things and adds a whopper of a hot kick with the chipolte!

Honey Chipolte Ribs

Ingredients:
6 lbs. pork baby back ribs   3 c. ketchup       2 bottles Guinness beer   2 c. bbq sauce
1 small onion, chopped      2/3 c. honey       1/4 c. Worcestershire       2 tbsp. dijon mustard  
2 tbsp. chopped chipolte peppers in adobo  4 tsp. ground chipolte pepper
1 tsp. salt                           1 tsp. garlic powder      1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1.  .Wrap ribs in large pieces of heavy duty foil.
2. Seal edges and grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 1-1 1/2 hrs.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until thick stirring occasionally.
5. Carefully remove ribs from foil and place over direct heat.
6. Baste with some of the sauce.
7. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes or until browned, turning once and basting occasionally with additional sauce.
8. Serve with remaining sauce.

There's not much else to say except...YUM!

As always, have fun!                  

Mom's Favorites: Eat Your Veggies

Who among us got sick of hearing dear old Mom say "you have to eat all your vegetables." With my intense dislike of most all cooked vegetables growing up, this got to be an interesting adventure pretty quick.  I stuck with carrot and celery sticks and all things salad related. It was much safer.

In the meantime, sometime in my teens I discovered eggplant courtesy of the Chateau restaurant. Oh what I wouldn't give for some Chateau bread right now, but that's a whole different blog post! I ate eggplant parmesan by the truckload.  I had a friend tell me once while we were having a birthday lunch that I didn't have to eat it just because it was cheap. I laughed....I would take eggplant parm over chicken parm any day of the week!

So, here's a different spin on eggplant, still in the Italian family.

Eggplant Calabrese

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 in. pieces        1/2 tsp. salt                      1/3 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter          1 small onion, chopped        2 garlic cloves, minced    1 pkg mushrooms 
35 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil              1 lb. bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
1 c. shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Place eggplant in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, stir to coat.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and saute until lightly browned.
4. Add eggplant, mushrooms, salt and pepper.
5. Cook for 25 minutes, until tender.
6. Add crushed tomatoes - stir to combine and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Pour eggplant mixture over pasta.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top.

A tasty treat with no meat! As always, have fun!   

Mom's Favorites: Cinco de Mayo

Ok, so you are thinking ... what if Mom is crazy and doesn't actually want something cooked on the grill. Perish the thought I know! Well, here's another neat trick - use her own recipe on her. If it's a family favorite, then certainly it's one of her favorites or why would she cook it so much? 

So, in honor of my mom and Cinco de Mayo...you get one of her recipes. I don't know where she got, if she made it up or what but it's really easy and really good!

Taco Pie

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground meat             1/2 c. chopped onion            1 envelope taco mix
4 oz. green chilis              1 1/4 c. milk                           3/4 c. bisquick
3 eggs                               2 tomatoes, sliced                1 c. shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Grease a pie plate.
2. Cook beef & onion until brown and drain.
3. Add taco mix.
4. Spread in pie plate.
5. Top with chilis.
6. Beat milk, bisquick and eggs until smooth.
7. Pour into pie plate.
8. Cook at 400 for 25 minutes.
9. Add the cheese and tomato with 10 minutes left.

See...it's so easy you could call it easy bake pie...well I bet it tastes better than what came out of an easy bake oven. Just sayin!

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Jalapeno Popper Burgers

So, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. How about some jalapeno in your dinner? Tonight and tomorrow are Mexican inspired dishes that Mom will be sure to love! And, of course, burgers on the grill are another Mom favorite so you really can't go wrong. 

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

Ingredients:
3 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded       1 tsp. olive oil      3 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled           1 tsp. salt             2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning                     1/2 tsp. pepper    1/4 tsp. paprika
2 lbs. ground beef or turkey                           8 buns, slices of jack cheese and lettuce leaves
1 large tomato, sliced                                    3/4 c. guacamole

Note: I changed this to reflect 8 burgers instead of 4. I found 4 1/2 lb burgers to be unwieldy. Let me know which way you do it.

Directions:

1. Brush jalapenos with oil. 
2. Grill, over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally.
3. When cool enough, finely chop.
4. In a small bowl, combine bacon, cream cheese, and jalapeno until blended.
5. In a large bowl, combine garlic, salt, lemon pepper, pepper and paprika.
6. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.
7. Shape into 16 thin patties.
8. Spoon bacon mixture on to half of the patties.
9. Top with the remaining patties and press edges firmly to seal.
10. Grill the burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 inn. from heat for 6-7 minutes on each side.
11. Top with cheese and cover and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
12. Grill buns, cut side down, until toasted.
13. Serve burgers on buns with lettuce, tomato and guacamole.