Pork Tenderloin with Honey Balsamic Sauce

This is actually a recipe I snatched when I went to visit a place called Cox Honeyland (Logan friends--go check it out), which is located on the highway that leads into my little town in Cache Valley.  I bought a HUGE-MUNGOUS container of pomegranate infused local honey (which my husband and I absolutely love to spread on toast) and it came with a free recipe...I thought I would try it.  We loved it, and I hope you all enjoy it too!

Pork Tenderloin with Honey Balsamic Sauce

2 pork tenderloins, washed and patted dry
1/4 c paprika
1/4 c salt
1/4 c black pepper (I would reduce this, its pretty strong!)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp ground chipotle pepper (I actually used about a half tsp of cayenne because I couldn't find chipotle in my grocery store, turned out fine, but chipotle has a smokier flavor.)

Sauce/Glaze
1/3 c seedless raspberry jam
1/3 c dijon mustard
1/3 c balsamic vinegar (I used the pomegranate kind)
1/3 c raspberry honey (again, I used the pomegranate because that's what I had)

Blend together spices to create a rub for the meat.   Apply half of the rub to each tenderloin, coating well.  Let rest for an hour til meat comes to room temperature.  Grill tenderloins ten minutes per side on a BBQ grill at medium high heat.  While tenderloins are cooking, combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over medium high heat until it just barely begins to simmer and ingredients are smooth and combined well.  Remove from heat.  When tenderloins are done grilling, slice into 1/4" to 1/2" slices, and fan out on plate.  Spoon glaze over top of meat.

Serve with your favorite vegetable or salad and I would recommend potatoes.   We made fries.  It was delicious!

Very peppery...be careful if you have picky eaters or those that don't like a bit of heat.  Personally, next time I think I would reduce the pepper by half.

Thai Chicken Curry Soup with Coconut Milk

Tonight as I was trying to find ideas for dinner, I was thinking of ways to use leftovers and also appease my husband's request for something spicy because he has a cold.   We had some leftover shredded chicken from something a week ago, and I wanted to do something different with it.   So I thought maybe I would get some coconut milk and make a curried chicken soup with some veggies.  Here is how it went, and it turned out really really good!  You have to be kind of adventurous with this one, but I promise it is worth it for sure!

Thai Curried Chicken Soup

2 c shredded chicken, or some cooked chicken cut into small pieces
6 c chicken broth or stock
2-13 oz cans coconut milk
3 carrots, chopped into medium pieces
2 anaheim peppers, sliced into thin strips, about 1 inch long
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp curry powder
2-3 pinches cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/4 c fish sauce (optional)
lime wedges, avocado slices, sliced scallions, and chili sauce for topping

In a wok or deep skillet, over high heat, cook carrot, onion, pepper and garlic in some olive oil, until onions and peppers are tender.  Set aside.  In a medium stock pot, place chicken, stock, and coconut milk, stir to combine over medium high heat.  When chicken begins to simmer, add veggies into pot, and stir.  Add fish sauce, and then your curry powder and cayenne (add a little cayenne, then taste, and add more if needed, it's pretty potent stuff).  Stir again, and simmer for about half an hour.

Serve with lime juice, avocado, and scallions, and hot sauce if you like.  Jeff used the Sriracha stuff, it's a Thai kind of sauce, and he said it was good, but pretty spicy.  Might want to taste it first to see if you like it.

**Note**  I don't particularly like things super spicy, so I didn't use Thai chili peppers. I thought this way I can add the cayenne slowly and get it to the right heat level without burning my taste buds too badly.  The anaheims are very mild and give the soup a nice flavor and color.  Feel free to use the Thai chilies if you like, and if your family is okay with some serious heat.   Fish sauce is optional, it's just something I see in a lot of Thai recipes and I wanted to try it out.  You can get it in the Asian foods section of your grocery store, near the soy sauce and chili sauce I mentioned.  You can hardly taste it, it just kind of adds a salty flavor rather than a fish flavor.  I recommend trying it, but if you don't want to, don't worry about it.

I now have a Facebook page!

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Happy Cooking!

Chorizo Pepper Jack Quiche

So today I was really in the mood for quiche or some kind of pie type thing.  I didn't have shrimp to make the Shrimp and Red Onion Pie, so I decided to use what I had in the fridge to create something interesting.  We had onions, garlic, chorizo, and red bell peppers, so that's what went into it.  Because I hadn't made homemade quiche before, I referred to the proportions on the shrimp kind, and kind of guessed as I went along, and it turned out really well. 

3 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp splenda or sugar
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c shortening
3/4 c water
2 egg yolks

10 oz chorizo
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 c shredded pepper jack cheese
5 eggs, plus 2 egg whites
1 c milk

Create dough by combining dry ingredients, and then cutting in shortening and butter til well combined.  Whisk together egg yolks and water, and then add to shortening and flour mixture.   Knead for about 5 minutes until soft dough forms and stays together.  You might need more water, about a tablespoon.  Roll out dough and place in a greased or sprayed pie dish.  Vent dough by pricking with a fork all over the bottom of the pan.  Bake at 450 degrees for ten minutes.  Remove from oven.  (This recipe makes enough for 2-3 pans worth of dough--you can use it all, or refrigerate the rest)

Meanwhile, while crust is baking, cook chorizo in a skillet, and then add onions and garlic.  Cook til chorizo is completely cooked through, and then add bell pepper.  Continue to cook another minute, then remove from heat.

Whisk eggs and milk together, and add a dash each of salt and cayenne pepper.  In bottom of the pan, place pepper jack cheese, and then layer on top the chorizo mixture.  Pour eggs over top, and use a fork to ooze the eggs into everything.  Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees, and bake Quiche for 35-40 minutes, or until egg is set up in middle of pan.

Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  My husband loved it!

Chilean Empanadas

Okay, so if you have seen my status recently on Facebook, you know that I have been raving about a place called "Yah Poh!" in our little Logan town.  It's this awesome Chilean restaurant we tried out about a week ago, and we have been there twice (almost 3 times actually) since we tried it.  Jeff and I wanted to try making their fabulous empanadas because they were so dang tasty!  Seeing as how we won't be living in this little town for much longer (thanks to graduation, finally!), we needed to learn how to make it ourselves.  I include a recipe that comes from 3 different ones I found online that seemed to work right.  Check out the notes section at the end though, we have some things we will try differently next time.

Chilean Beef Empanadas

Dough:

4 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c shortening or lard (12 tbsp)
3/4 c water
2 egg yolks

Combine dry ingredients lightly with fork.  Add shortening and butter, and cut in with pastry blender.  Add egg yolks to water and beat lightly.   Pour egg/water mixture over the dry ingredients.   Knead well til it forms a soft dough.  Roll out dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness.  Use a bowl (I used a cereal bowl) to cut out round pieces of dough, and fill with filling (recipe below).

Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sea salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 c beef stock
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c sliced olives

In a skillet, brown the ground beef with the olive oil.  Add onion and saute with beef.  Once completely cooked, add the spices and the stock.  Simmer til all of the broth/stock is absorbed and evaporated.  Add raisins and olives and stir.  Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stuff rounds of dough with filling, and then pinch together the edges with your fingers, and place on a baking sheet.  Bake stuffed empanadas for 30 minutes, or until golden.  Serve with hot sauce, sour cream, salsa, or whatever you like.

**Note**  This recipe for the dough is made for baking them.  We wanted to fry them like they do at Yah Poh, so we did, but the dough didnt quite work for that.  Next time we will try using a lighter dough, probably a yeast dough.   The filling is really good though and we recommend it for sure.

Crispy Chicken ala Miri!

So my fabulous friend Miri, who has been featured before, for her super delicious mushroom risotto, posted this recipe for crispy chicken the other day and it looked so good I had to ask if I could post it.   I love it when my friends share!  I would make it myself one of these days but I currently have no chicken in the freezer (I know, weird, but we ran out!).  I will have to try it soon after getting some chicken, and when I do, I will get some pictures posted.

Crispy Chicken

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and sliced into strips
1/2 c flour
1 egg
1 tbsp mustard (I would use honey mustard, but that's just me)
1 1/2 c panko breadcrumb
pinch each of paprika, cayenne, and dry mustard powder

Toast Panko with a tablespoon of oil or melted butter, in a pan over low heat on the stove.  Toss panko with spices. Beat egg with a bit of water and the mustard.  Pat chicken dry, and then dip in flour, then egg mixture, then panko spice mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip to other side, then bake another 15 minutes.

French Onion Soup

So I mentioned earlier this week that we had a potluck at church on Sunday.  The theme was soup, and I already posted the Corn Chowder recipe.  Today is another soup, and it's from one of my fabulous friends, Sarah!  I have been wanting to try making French Onion Soup, and I haven't found a recipe to try til now.  Sarah says its really easy, and I found it super tasty!  So I hope you enjoy!  Thanks Sarah!

French Onion Soup

6 cups thinly sliced onions
1 TB sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6 cups beef broth or stock
8 slices French bread (3/4 inch thick), toasted
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Swiss cheese

Cook the onions, sugar, and pepper in oil over medium-low heat for 20 ...minutes or until onions are caramelized, stirring frequently. Add the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls. Top each with a slice of French bread; sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4-6 inches from heat until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts)