Pork Chops Marsala

This recipe is quick enough for a weeknight meal yet it's delicious and more healthy than not. It's not like my chicken marsala, which has more of a restaurant quality and takes more time, where I pound the chicken thinly, dredge it in flour and make a very thick marsala sauce with a nice amount of butter. This is a quicker version so if you want to thicken it up a bit just add a little cornstarch/water mixture to your sauce before pouring it over your meat. I don't mind the thinness because I just look at it as a variation of the other marsala and appreciate it for that. You may also want to double up on the sauce.

4 boneless pork loin chops (I used on the bone and it was still great)
Olive oil
1 8oz pkg sliced cremini or special blend mushrooms
1 large shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup marsala wine
Whole grain brown rice

Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in skillet, add chops and cook 6 minutes, turning once. Do not overcook. Transfer to plate and keep warm. In same skillet, add a little more oil, add mushrooms, shallots and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are browned. Add broth and wine to mixture, cook for 2 minutes. Place your chops on top of rice, and top with wine sauce.

2 More Yummies for the 4th

In addition to the Pepper Rolls introduced below I will definitely be making the Hot Garlic Artichoke Dip. I urge you to try this out. It's perfect to take along to a BBQ as well because as soon as it pops out of the oven you can wrap it up. By the time you get to your destination it will be at a nice room temp to enjoy.

Also, I will be making the Black Bean Salsa, one bowl of hot and one bowl of mild. I will make this the day before so it can blend, marry and get all wet.

Whatever you make or chow down on, enjoy the time with your friends and family!

Happy 4th Ya'll

Happy Fourth of July to All.

Hug your children & loved ones. Tell them how much you love them. Why?

BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Pepper (as in Bell Pepper) Rolls

I plan to make these for July 4th which will be celebrated with a big BBQ at my parents. I made these before and received great feedback. I may even get little American flags and affix them to the toothpicks. If you don't want to roast the peppers from scratch I am sure you can buy the jarred varierty and just drain them well.
1 large red bell pepper
2 oz Cheddar, grated
1 oz Parmesan, grated
2 tblspn mayonnaise
2 tblspn finely chopped fresh parsley (these next 3 ingredients don't NEED to be fresh, just use 1/3 if using dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 drops Tabasco sauce
Salt & Pepper
10 slices fresh bread (I used white the first time but this time I will be using whole grain)
Melted butter
Paprika

Halve the red pepper, remove the seeds and membrane. Cook skin side up on a baking sheet under the broiler until the skin is black and blistered, turning once. Place in a bowl and cover with saran wrap for about 15 minutes until cool, then peel skin and discard. Finely chop the pepper and combine with cheeses, mayo, herbs, Tabasco, salt & pepper.

Cut the crusts from the bread, flatten the slices with a rolling pin and brush both sides with melted butter. Spread the pepper mixture on each slice, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Roll up & secure with toothpicks. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Cut each roll in half and secure with toothpick. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the rolls are crisp and pale golden. Sprinkle with paprika and serve warm.

IN ADVANCE: These can be prepped and refrigerated up to a day in advance and baked just before serving.

U Say Potato, I Say Potato

Potatoes. I love them. Any way I can get them. I just don't eat them too often. Just enough. After all, they are healthy & a good carb. I prepare them this way at home when I have the urge yet am still health conscious. Talk about so simple, fast and easy yet so delicious. You'd almost think you deep fried these babies. This was my own simple creation & I can't explain the flavor that comes from just putting these in a pan with very little olive oil and then letting the heat take over, turning them into a crispy dream. You don't have to stand over the stove watching them either so you can assemble the rest of your dinner easily. I usually just season them with sea salt, pepper and garlic powder. On days when I am being a little more naughty I shred some cheese over them and let it melt before sliding them on a plate. Any seasoning or cheese would do, adjust to your tastes. But you should try!!!

Potato Rounds

1 tblsp Olive oil
2 lb bag fingerling potatoes, sliced thin but not paper thin
Sea salt, pepper, garlic powder

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Place the potatoes in a single layer in pan, overlapping slightly if necessary. Let them just sit there for 10 minutes to get cooked on the bottom. Then toss around a bit. After about 20 minutes, season them with whatever your heart desires and serve. Even when pan gets dry and there's no more oil, don't worry about it. They don't stick and this is why they're healthy. Only 1 tblspn of oil between 2-3 people.

Wonderful Weekend

Downtown Winter Garden

This is our town. We LOVE our town. Only recently has Tristan decided he would share it with us and stop saying "MY town, MY clock." We take great pride in it as we have watched it grow and develop over the past 5 years. But it hasn't developed too much where it has lost it's small town feel. It's still so quaint and unpretentious with cobble stone streets, a wine & coffee bar, a bike trail running through it, and just a few high end boutique/restaurants to balance out the lawn mower place and historic museum. The clock tower has been standing for almost a century (I will have to confirm but that sounds good for now) and sits next to a fountain where a band plays every Friday and children eat their ice cream from the new French bakery. How proud I am to live in a town, where if I was visiting & drove by, I would exclaim " gosh, I wish I could live there." And to add on to my excitement, they just started a farmers market every Saturday morning.

And what a wonderful weekend! Wonderful enough to lift me away from that downward spiral. Lots of quality time, just the 3 of us.

Terry & I enjoyed a couple mojitos poolside, which I am able to whip up so quickly now and to perfection. It still feels like such an accomplishment every time I make one, since we worked so hard to make it right. We also enjoyed a quick trip to a newly discovered seafood market where Terry got a delicious shrimp salad sandwich which is served on a toasted New England style hot dog roll.



So fresh and so yummy, it makes my mouth water. Places like this are my favorite because you just don't see neighborhood seafood markets much anymore. I enjoyed a crab cake sandwich with a remoulade sauce which was 2nd to the shrimp. I also made another little discovery in a nearby town, just by going a different route to a familiar place. It's a little creamery and coffeehouse in a cute residential neighborhood. I stopped by with Tristan to sample their goods before bringing a close friend or hubby back with me. Unexpected discoveries like this put me in such a "life is good" mood.

Church on Sunday was inspirational & fun given our conversation as we walked the huge parking lot. I was explaining to Tristan why it was important for us to go.

Me: We don't expect for you to understand everything they're saying but it makes mommy & daddy feel really good, and it makes us better parents.

Tristan: It makes me tired. Daddy, how does it make you feel?

Later in church, the assistant pastor who we hardly hear from was speaking. Tristan reaches over to me and says "I think he's a new passenger Momma."

After church and for lunch, we did go to OUR town to a new Thai restaurant which opened a few weeks ago, My Thai Blossom. What a great name. We had been once before and this time was even more delicious. Just another reason to love OUR town.

Recipe Re-Visited

I wanted to post MY picture (not an online version) of the Tuxedo Sesame Chicken & Wasabi Slaw I made because it came out so good, the picture & the dish. I meant to post the pic with the recipe at the time but it just didn't happen. The white wine went especially nice not just with the chicken but the heat of the wasabi as well. If you make just one thing, try the wasabi slaw. It was more a salad than a slaw but the homemade dressing made it wet like a slaw, which was very welcoming.

A week after I initially made this, I broiled some salmon, chopped it and put it on top of this wasabi slaw. One word - DELICIOUS!