Purging the fridge is a must. Discarding left-over items and using ones that have a few days shelf life. The last few contents of the fruit and vegetable from the produce box lingered around for use. My upcoming recipes have creativity meshed with pantry/refrigerator basics (and who knows sometimes these recipes can become favorites.)
Braised pork with Chard and Zucchini
I like to have on hand various cuts of meat tucked away in my freezer awaiting use. When I picked up the large package of un-cut pork tenderloins at the store (Smart and Final), my thought was to place them in the crock pot or maybe on the barbecue grill. Instead I ran out of time (while applying extra time to my mosaic glass craft project) that I decided to make an impromptu recipe. I went to the refrigerator and grabbed the last few items from my vegetable bag. On hand I had red chard, zucchini, spring red onions, 1/2 onion, 1 baby artichoke, and 1 zucchini.
Here's my method:
I grabbed my pan with a lid which is also oven ready.
I sauteed up my two types of onions with a little olive oil.
As they were cooking, I washed my produce and chopped up the chard & zucchini. Then placed it aside.
I used meat scissors to make big chunks of meat. I quickly seasoned with salt and peppered. I placed it into the pan only to brown the sides of the meat. This only takes a few minutes on each side of the meat.
**Notice that I prepared my vegetables before the meat. I did this in order to prevent any cross contamination from the meat. Little tricks like these are good for your health.**
Then I tossed in the zucchini, chard, and sprinkled about two tablespoons of garlic over the top. A quick splash of Worcestershire sauce. Placed on the lid.
Then place it into a 300 degree oven for about 1/2 hour.
Stir about mid-way between the time. Test the meat. Then turn off the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
The surprise is the amount of liquid that developed inside the pan. It was a wonderful flavor that had soaked into the vegetables.
One thing that I did notice was when eating this dish was the lack of potatoes. I didn't miss it but in order to have some carbohydrates with the meal I suggest serve with a whole grain bread.
**Leftover use of the remaining pork tenderloins. This is a great idea to incorporate the meat into a different meal. My choice was to make pan enchiladas.**
Pan Enchiladas
This recipe is a work in progress on to be a consistent dish (from memory.) I liked how it tasted but I don't like my corn tortillas falling apart. I created this dish as an adaption of enchiladas and chilaquiles. Another thing I like about this dish is it doesn't matter if the corn tortillas become crispy from cooking because it tastes good with the enchilada sauce soaked into them.
I grabbed my leftover port tenderloin for the meat in this dish. I like to use either roasted chicken or a shreddable meat like pork tenderloins.
Grab a large pan preferable non-stick. Heat-up up on meat heat with a little oil. (I used canola.)
Saute of the chopped onions (I used my shallots.) I like to add seasonings to cook with it like: chili powder, cumin, cayenne, pepper, and some season salt.
I add in my pork shredded into edible pieces. Stir and add in some enchilada sauce (about 1/3 cup.) Let it simmer to soak up the liquid.
Next have on hand your shredded cheese. I used a Mexican blend pre-shredded.
Remove the meat from the pan. Rinse the pan with hot water. Place back on the stove top with ready for the next step. This will be used again after the enchiladas are rolled up.
I stuck my corn tortillas in the oven for a few minutes to get soft. It seems to help somewhat with the corn tortillas breaking. As a second thought, I also could have used the pan on low heat if you don't feel like heating up the oven.
The next steps are repetitive in adding meat and cheese to each corn tortillas (optional add: sliced olives) and rolling them up. To temporary hold them, place a toothpick through it.
About 3/4 of the way through, turn on your pan to medium heat. Wait and add some oil to bottom of the pan.
Once you have them rolled, place them in the pan. Let them brown up on one side and flip. When they are almost done, pour enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Pop on a lid or aluminum foil cover. Let them cook for a little while longer.
Remove and eat!
Potato, Apple, Onion Hashbrowns
If you might not know, I love breakfast foods for any meal. So I had fun in making this meal. My son made banana pancakes to go with my hashbrowns. This is a fulfilling meal and it also can be cooked in the snow covered woods when camping!
My husband developed this recipe and I have adapted a few things to it. First I figured out that all items can be cooked in one large pan. Meat can be added to this, too.
I first heat up a pan on medium heat with olive oil.
I add in 1 diced onion.
As an optional item, I decided to place my vegetarian sausage patties with the onions.
I chop up my apple and throw it into the pan.
I cubed two brown potatoes and threw them into the pan.
Sprinkle a little cinnamon.
Season with pepper and salt.
Let it cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork and have browned up nicely on all sides.
Dish out to each awaiting plate or place in a bowl ready for consumption.
Garlicky Spaghetti with Chard and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Recently, I made a recipe that appeared to look bland but really had a punch of flavor- garlic! I love to eat pasta primavera with its creamy sauce and lots of vegetables. With the season changing, recipes change accordingly with it. One thing I learned about is to make your recipes reflect the weather. People would rather not eat a steaming hot bowl of soup when its warm outside. So in changing my recipe to reflect the weather, I removed the butter and cream from my pasta recipe. Here’s how I adapted my recipe and made a delicious meal containing chicken breasts, spaghetti, and fresh vegetables.
Cook the spaghetti according to directions. Make sure to keep it a little under cook where it has a little bite to it. Rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.
Cook up the chicken with olive oil and garlic. I tend to under cook my chicken when I cook it the first time because I add it back into the dish to cook again. This prevents the chicken breasts from getting dried out. Season the chicken breasts with red pepper flakes, pepper, a hint of dill, and a splash of lemon juice.
Next step is to prepare the vegetables. I choose to use chard, zucchini, and sun-dried tomatoes.
I carefully washed my chard and removed the core vein. I heated up olive oil with a little more garlic. Next add in the chard. Let it cook a little then add in the peas. Last I added in the sun dried tomatoes.
Once the vegetables have cooked up, toss in the pasta and chicken. One more little trick is to add in a garlic paste to coat the noodles. You will be surprised by the flavor it adds to it.
I wanted just a hint of cheese flavor. I decided to add in a handful of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
On the side, I prepared steamed microwave cooked artichokes.
Other options would be to prepare a green salad with the pasta dish.
This dish can use any type of pasta instead of spaghetti. Other options would be to use a pasta brands that contain omega-3 or whole wheat pasta.
Have fun cooking!
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