Sunday Dinner: Roast Pork with Onion Jam and Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Like most families, we are in the 4th Quarter crazy zone!  There are 5 weeks left in the school year paired with Spring sports.  We are on the run every day except Sunday.  Our dinners are reduced to sandwiches, pizzas and the like so on on Sunday, I try to make something a little more substantial.  Today's menu was all my youngest son's favorites, pork, green beans and corn on the cob!  I haven't blogged in so long, I didn't take the usual step by step pictures, but the recipes are super simple so I don't think the pictures are necessary.  I used all reduced sodium items in the recipe to keep it from getting too salty.

Roast Pork with Onion Jam:

• 3 lb pork loin
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 medium onion cut into 8 sections
• 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350*F.  In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, ground ginger, salt, thyme, and pepper, whisking to combine. Rub seasoning all over the entire surface of pork loin.

Heat oil in a large oven proof pot over a medium-hot burner.  Add onion to hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes until they start to soften.  Place the seasoned pork int the pot and brown it on all sides. Mix the broth, lemon juice and soy sauce together and pour into the pot with the pork and onions.  Place pot in oven and cook for 3.5 hours.  Remove pot from oven and place roast on board to rest for 20 minutes under a foil tent.  Remove the onions and reduced liquid to a measuring cup and allow it to rest also.  After 10 minutes, skim the fat off the measuring cup and remove.  Place what remains in the measuring cup into a small oven proof ramiken and place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.  Remove and serve over the pork roast.  

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans:

1 pound fresh green beans

8 slices of bacon  

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Wash, dry and pinch the ends off the green beans. Bundle together 10 green beans. Wrap a slice of bacon around the center of the beans to hold it together. Lay the bundle bacon seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining beans. Heat a small saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until melted and combined.  Brush the mixture over top of each green bean bundle. Cover the bundles with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Turn up the oven heat to 400*F.  Remove the foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until bacon gets crispy.  After removing from oven, let rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Honey Sriracha BBQ Chicken

 

Hello, Everyone! Long time no posts!!  My husband thinks I have people out in the blogger world missing me 😉

We are in the home stretch of building our new house which has eaten up my time.  It is coming along and I anticipate being in my new kitchen sometime in April!!

Here is what the kitchen looks like right now!  Not ready for a meal yet, but soon!

In the meantime, I've been cooking lots of meals from http://www.blueapron.com  which I love, love, love!!  Check them out if you are interested in getting groceries delivered along with easy, yummy recipes! 

When I'm not cooking Blue Apron meals, I'm using my crockpot & that is what I did last night! This recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.  It took all of 15 minutes to prep.  I used bone-in chicken with the skin for extra flavor, but boneless, skinless would work fine too! I served the chicken on a bed of brown rice with a side of green beans, a winning combination for my 9 year old son.  Give it a try and tell me what you think!  

Crockpot Honey Sriracha BBQ Chicken

4 chicken breasts 

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup honey

3  garlic, minced

1/2 small onion, diced

3 tbsp Sriracha 

3 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar 

Place the chicken pieces in the bottom of the crockpot.  Mix all the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Enjoy!!

Creamy Baked Acorn Squash

It's my favorite time of year, squash season!!  I love the creamy warmth of slow roasted squash!  Butternut, acorn, Hubbard, you name the squash and I'm all in! I usually fix acorn squash with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.  I made Beer Can Chicken last night and was thinking mashed potatoes, but we are trying to watch the white starch so I looked for a good substitute and found this super simple Martha Stewart recipe online.  I changed out the cream in the recipe for coconut milk so it is great for people who are dairy intolerant!  

I also roasted my squash low and slow with the bird and then turned it up at the end to melt the cheese. If you are dairy intolerant, you can switch the cheese for a vegan non-dairy choice.  During the last 30 minutes, I also added some carrots that had been tossed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Yum!!

Creamy Baked Acorn Squash:

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash, split in half w/seeds removed

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

8 sprigs thyme

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250*F.  Level the bottoms of the squash halves so they sit nicely in a baking dish.  Season the squash with salt and pepper to taste.  Divide coconut milk evenly between the squash pieces.  Place 2 sprigs of thyme in each squash shell.  Bake for 2 hours uncovered.  

After 2 hours, tuen up the heat to 350*F.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the squash and bake for an additional 30 minutes uncovered.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Sunday Breakfast: Monte Cristo Bake

This morning, Sean & the boys are off to sell Scout popcorn at the local supermarket. I wanted them to have a good breakfast before standing outside for 2 hours! I didn't have bacon or sausage on hand, but I did have 8 oz of diced ham.  Instead of the usual ham and  egg casserole, I thought about Monte Cristo sandwiches.  Who doesn't like a fried sandwich?  Our doctor, that's who ;-) In all seriousness, we are on a continuous journey to improve our eating habits while still enjoying the tastes we know and love!  Soooo, I opted to bake the sandwiches in a cast iron skillet.  I also used sourdough bread which although it isn't GF, it is easier on your system because the fermentation of the yeast helps break down the gluten.  This was a super simple recipe that took less than an hour from start to finish!

Monte Cristo Bake:

Serves 6

6 eggs

1/3 cup cream

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

8 oz diced ham

2/3 cup sour cream

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 slices cheese (I used white American)

12 slices sourdough bread

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Lay 6 slices of bread in the bottom of an oven proof skillet. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt & pepper.  In a separate bowl mix the sour cream and Dijon mustard together and then toss in the diced ham.  Pour half the egg mixture over the bread in the skillet,

Then layer the ham mixture over the egg soaked slices. Place half a cheese slice over each sandwhich and top with another piece of bread. Finally, pour the remaining egg mixture over all.

Pop into the oven to bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack.  For the last 5 minutes, move the skillet to the top rack to get a nice golden brown toast on the bread.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 3-5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Lastly, remember to buy some Scout popcorn!

Quick Weeknight Dinner: Shrimp Noodle Bowl

Tonight, I made another recipe from Pinterest.  I love all the great ideas that I find on that site!  The original recipe came from BevCooks.  I changed it a bit, more shrimp and noodles. I added less ginger too.  Lastly, I omitted both the garlic and lime from the original recipe.  The noodles are GF and easy on the tummy!  Everybody loved it especially my husband (aka my clean up crew) since I only messed up one skillet! :o)

Shrimp Noodle Bowls:  

Serves 8

Ingredients:

  4 tbsp olive oil, divided

 4 tsp sesame oil, divided
 2 (10oz) bags large shrimp; thawed, peeled and deveined
1/2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 (14 oz) box stir fry noodles
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp sriracha sauce
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1 bunch green onion, diced

Directions:

Heat the 2 tbsp of each oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the shrimp, cook for about 5 minutes.  Shrimp cook quickly so don't leave them unattended! Remove from pan and set aside.

Drain any liquid from the pan and add the remaining oils.  Add the ginger and bell pepper. Sauté for one minute, then add the coconut milk, stock, noodles, fish sauce, sriracha sauce, cilantro and green onion.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until noodles cook through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir shrimp back into the skillet before serving.

Sloppy Fries

Almosr everyone has heard of chili cheese fries.  I decided to put a little spin on that idea and made Sloppy Fries!  I've posted a crock pot version of my sloppy joes once before.  This is a quick stove top version.  The French fries are a double fry recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  I didn't take pictures during the process tonight because I was in a rush, but trust me, it was super simple and quick!  This meal is a kid favorite and husband approved!

Sloppy Fries:

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable oil or shortening 

6 russet potatoes peeled and sliced 

1.5 lb ground beef

1 med onion, diced

11/2 cups ketchup

2 tbsp chili sauce

2 tbsp prepared mustard

2 tbsp Worstershire sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp Sriracha (optional)

Salt for seasoning fries

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Directions:

Brown the beef and onion over med-high  heat.  Drain the meat and turn heat down to low.  In a separate bowl, mix together all the other ingredients.  Pour the sauce over the meat mixture and cook on low for an hour.

Soak potatoes slices in cold water for an hour. Change the water after 30 minutes to remove the starch. Heat oil/shortening to 275*. Fry potatoes in batches for 3-4 minutes removing with a slotted spoon. Place the soft fries on a paper towel lined tray. After cooking all the fries, heat the oil/shortening  up to 375*. Fry the potatoes a second time for 4-5 minutes. Drain on clean paper towels and sprinkle with salt to taste.

GF Cherry Almond Cupcakes

Several months ago, I pinned a recipe from BHG for Minature Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes.   They looked so good!    I had been looking for a reason to make them so I decided to give them a try as the dessert for our Labor Day party.  I opted to make a dozen regular cupcakes instead of 24 minis.  I also used GF flour instead of regular flour.  When I use GF flour which is much finer, I increase the amount that a recipe calls for. In this case, I added 1/4 cup extra.  Below are the ingredients. 

Cream the butter and sugar together along with the vanilla and almond extracts.  Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork then mix the wet ingredients together.  

Alternate the addition of the cherry mixture and the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl until you get a smooth batter.

Fill the desired cupcake wells 3/4 full with batter.  Push half a maraschino cherry into each well and then smooth the batter to cover it.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 350*F oven.  You always need to bake GF items a few minutes longer than when you use regular flour.  

Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.  I actually made these the day before serving and stored in an airtight container.  I decorated the cupcakes a few hours before the party.  The frosting consisted of just 5 ingredients and came together in about 2 minutes!

Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes!  I hope you will try them too!