Pork Chops with apples and shallots

Okay so cooking meat is not my forte but i am always looking for an easy dinner for the meat eaters in my family. I have tried this recipe twice to rave reviews both times (from both Todd and Jude.) last week i made it with a side of delicious Parmesan polenta! Here is the recipe:
-preheat oven to 450
- lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and layer with sliced apples and shallots seasoned with salt and pepper
- Heat oil in a large skillet and cook seasoned pork chops in pan 2-3 minutes a side or until golden brown
- Arrange pork chops on apples and shallots and top with 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
- Place dish in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 375.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature of 160

Pumpkin Pie without the Crust

Last night I made what HungryGirl calls Pumpkin Smash. It is just the middle of the pumpkin pie in a relatively healthy way. It is delicious!! Even better today cold then it was hot last night!
I used fresh pumpkin that I had frozen from last year, I imagine it would be even better with canned pumpkin and will probably try it again with canned.
I didn't have eggbeaters so I used one whole egg and two egg whites.
I used splenda for baking but you can also use sugar.

Ingredients:

One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.

Place mixture in a baking dish (8" X 8" works well) sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. (It will remain a little soft, like pie filling.)

Store leftovers in the fridge.

Veggies

We stopped at the farmers market this morning and picked up cauliflower, Romanesco (apparently a sweet combination of broccoli and cauliflower- its green and spiky), and beets.

So I made cauliflower soup (my new favorite recipe- so easy, saute onion, garlic & cauliflower, add broth, cook down and immersion blend... so delicious!)

I roasted the beats and plan to saute the beet greens one night this week.

While I had the oven on, I roasted a zucchini and squash that were going to go bad soon.

I am excited for dinner this week.

Yum!

Calzones

http://www.pizzacrustyeast.com/

I used fleishman's pizza crust yeast to make the dough. It was pretty easy, just followed the directions on the package. I used some whole wheat flour and some regular all-purpose flour.

The whole thing, making the dough, making the calzones and baking them took less than an hour.

When we took them out they looked great but the crust didn't crisp up like we like. The crust was soft and dough-y, it wasn't bad, just not like we like it. We will have to try again to decide if it was the pizza crust yeast or something else (too short baking time, didn't slit the top, etc)

No Knead Bread

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

This is the link for the basic no knead bread recipe. I would google 'no knead bread' because there are LOTS of varieties and you can also just make it up.

The only no knead that I have tried was http://noteatingoutinny.com/2007/04/23/cinnamon-raisin-no-knead-bread-french-toast-with-yogurt-carmelized-apples/. It is great but I don't put as much, if any, sugar on top because it burns.

Zuchini Fritters

Everyday foods is my new obsession. I love the show (PBS Saturdays), Love the magazine (cute little format) and Love the blog (http://everydayfoodblog.marthastewart.com/). So when i saw this kid friendly recipe i was all in. It did require a few ingredients that i dont normally have on hand, like buttermilk, but it was worth going out for. My sous chef, Jude, enjoyed making them but did not actually like them as much as i thought she would. Her parents however were happy about that because it meant more for us. Both Todd and I could not stop eating these. Think the parmesany love child of a potato latke and a pancake. They were also very good reheated in the toaster!
Here is the recipe: http://everydayfoodblog.marthastewart.com/2010/10/kid-friendly-zucchini-fritters.html

Soup x 3

I had a few camp friends over last night and made 3 different kinds of soups that were delicious!!

Cauliflower Soup
I took onion and garlic and sauteed them in olive oil. I added the cauliflower, sauteed a little, then added the broth and cooked it until the cauliflower was really soft. Then I used the immersion blender (favorite thing ever!) to make it into soup. I added a bit more broth to thin it out a little and salt and pepper. It was delicious and very creamy, even though there wasn't any milk or cream in it. Everyone seems to really enjoy it.

Butternut Squash Soup
I roasted a butternut squash in the oven (cut in half, took the seeds out and put on a baking sheet until soft). I sauteed onion, garlic and sliced carrots in olive oil. I added the butternut squash and broth. I cooked it down for a while (til the carrots were really soft) then used the immersion blender to make it into soup. I added a but more broth to thin it out. It was super sweet, which, I think, was a combination of the carrots and butternut squash. It was delicious!

Tortilla Soup
I sauted onion, garlic, a jalapeno (seeded) and poblano peppers (light green- which are sweeter and milder than green peppers-yum). I added cumin, chili pepper, a bit of cayenne, and whatever other seasonings sounded good. I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste and cooked it together. I added broth and brought to a boil. I added chicken and boiled it until the chicken was cooked, then took out the chicken and shredded it and added it back to the pot. I had to season it a bit more and added some lime juice. I imagine you could make it with extra veggies and no chicken.

I served soup crackers, cheeses (cauliflower and tortilla), pumpkin seeds (butternut squash), avocado (tortilla), tortilla chips (tortilla) on the side.

YUM!!

I also made bread..... which if you are interested, you should try a no-knead recipe which is super easy, you just mix it together, let it sit for 18hrs and then bake it in a hot dutch oven. Let me know if you want me to add a recipe. It is surprisingly easy.

Everyday Food Blog - MarthaStewart.com - Part 7

Everyday Food Blog - MarthaStewart.com - Part 7
nights like tonight make me start thinking about chili and this recipe for vegetarian chili looks good!

Pumpkin Seeds

The real reason i carve pumpkins every year is for the seeds. I love pumpkin seeds. I rinse them, season them with a heavy hand of sea salt and fresh ground pepper and roast them in the oven until they just start to turn brown. This year we only carved two smallish pumpkins so i only made one pan and the seeds were gone before they had even fully cooled, but i have a few more pumpkins and i am considering taking the seeds out before they go bad. Anyone have any good pumpkin seed recipes?

Matzo Ball Soup

We both had a wonderful weekend full of more junk food then we would care to admit! So tonight it is easy Matzo Ball Soup from the box. I buy the box of Matzo Ball & Soup Mix ( I usually buy Manashevitz (sp?) but other brands are good too). I follow the directions on the box but add lots of veggies to the soup broth... tonight it is carrots, celery, onion and frozen peas and carrots. I also added raw chicken breast tonight. I may also add some dill. It takes about 40 min total, most of it is waiting for the broth to boil and the raw matzo balls in the fridge, then waiting for it to all cook together. It tastes yummy and is a great super easy dinner.

ps. you don't have to be Jewish to eat this!