All posts filed under: Quick & Easy

Thin Pork Chops with Buttermilk Gravy

Thin Pork Chops with Old Fashioned Buttermilk Gravy

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We all remember eating tough pork chops as a kid since Moms would deliberately overcook them to ensure nobody got sick from undercooked meat.  Consequently the chops would be bone dry, impossible to cut even if using a steak knife, and when it came to chewing, well imagine a tiny Chihuahua trying to eat peanut butter and you get the picture.  Don’t get me wrong, my Mom was a great cook, but pork chops were every Mom’s nemesis in those days.  Thankfully times have changed and you can buy thinly sliced pork chops that turn out tender, juicy, and full of flavor if prepared the right way.  What once took 90 minutes to prep and cook, now can be done in under 20 minutes.  The perfect recipe for dinner when you don’t have tons of prep time but still want a full-flavored home cooked meal! Ingredients: 4 thin pork chops Olive Oil 2 cloves garlic 1 cup low sodium chicken broth 2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup flour 1/2 tsp Onion Powder 1/2 tsp paprika Kosher …

Steak and Pappardelle Ribbon Skillet Pie

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Sundays and Comfort Food frequently go hand-in-hand, at least in my kitchen.  This skillet pie is relatively easy and only takes about 20 minutes prep time, with another 10 minutes in a hot oven so all the flavors meld together.  I prefer my steak to be medium rare, so the steak is quickly browned on the stove before adding to the pie, and then finished off in the oven.  Don’t overbake or the steak will be tough. Ingredients: Olive oil 1 lemon 6 large mushrooms, sliced 1/2 yellow onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, diced 1 cup grape tomatoes 2 cups sour cream 3 sprigs of Thyme 1 tsp Kosher salt 3 Tbl cognac 4 thin NY steaks 1 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese 1 can whole water chestnuts, cut into 1/4 Method: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water and cook noodles per package directions in salted water.  I prefer to use Pappardelle noodles, which are flat ribbons of pasta you buy either fresh or dried (I used dried).  While the noodles cook for 10 minutes, add a small …

Roasted Acorn Squash with Cognac Glaze

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I found a new cooking pal this week Tiffani Thiessen, on the Cooking Channel’s “Dinner at Tiffani’s”, her new show. You probably remember her from the 90’s sitcom, Saved by the Bell.  Well she is all grown up, married with a 5-year-old daughter and another one on the way.  And she is gorgeous, as is her husband Brady Smith.  She invites celebrity friends over for dinner and they catch up in the kitchen as friends do while cooking.  Most of the cooking is done by Tiffani, but then it’s her show and she is the chef.  And a pretty good chef at that.  I did a little half-day “marathon” and watched all five episodes so far and cooked at least one recipe from each show, which is something I have not done before. But, you kinda feel you have to when you see her recipes and realize you can cook something great in a short period of time.  Her food looks amazing and when she and her friends sit down to eat, you really, really, really wish you were there …

Deconstructed: Beef Wellington Bites

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I love Beef Wellington, but let’s face it, it can be complicated (getting the puff pastry wrapped around the tenderloin can be equal to the first time you tried to diaper a squirming baby).  It also takes a boatload of time to prepare, so I usually make it only on a holiday or special occasion. How sad – that’s like only using your “good” china and glassware at Thanksgiving, and we ALL know that has become a “No, No” since you never know if you will still be here for that next special occasion. I decided to deconstruct the traditional recipe and make it a new and easier way without compromising the flavors.  This recipe still has the same flavor profile (beef, pâté, mushrooms, onion, sherry) but now I can make and serve it in around 30 minutes instead of 2.5 hours.  When I prepared the steak I used Hawaiian salt to season it.  Until about a month ago I had never used the stuff (even though I had a package of it in my …

Sweet Lemon Loaf

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On the way home from work on Friday I was listening on the radio to Jeanne Robertson, a really wonderful and funny humorist and motivational speaker. She was relaying a story about her 7Up Pound Cake, which she makes and delivers to family and friends when someone has “passed”.  Now you might not think death is a funny topic, but in fact her story is amusing as she talks about her husband Left Brain, and his adventure at the grocery store while picking up ingredients for her. See the clip below, as Jeanne tells it far better than I could explain here (that’s why she is paid for her humor, and I am not). As Jeanne was approaching the end of her routine, I was approaching my neighborhood Whole Foods, where I made an immediate right turn into the parking lot so I could get ingredients to make my Lemon Loaf.  Right now you can find really bright and juicy lemons – I used Meyer Lemons for this dessert as they are sweeter than regular lemons. …

How Simple Is This? Quick Holiday Canape

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A few ingredients can go a long way, when they are packed with flavor.  Keep these items on hand and you will have a spot-on tasty treat to give your drop-in guests, or when you have limited time in prepping for your holiday party fare. This canape has a sweet savory flavor highlighting the sweetness of the cranberry with the sharpness of the gherkin.  A pleasant surprise when you take that first bite. Quick, easy, flavorful – how simple is this?

Homemade Turkey Soup

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There must be hundreds of turkey soup recipes floating out there to help use up your leftovers from Thanksgiving. This is the first time I ever made by own turkey stock, as I usually just use a carton of chicken broth.  I was amazed at how prominent the turkey flavor was by making it from scratch.  It has to cook for about 4 hours, so it takes time, but the prep work itself,

Green Vegetable Medley

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  Fresh zucchini and snap peas become a quick vegetable medley when added with a dozen grape tomatoes.  I had leftover uncooked vegetables, that each alone would not be enough as a side dish for 4 people, but when combined it was just right.   The flavor combo worked well too – it had a slight Italian flair by adding the basil while cooking, and then removing from the dish – it was similar to adding basil oil, only subtler.  This is a great dish to serve during the week as it takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish.

Grilled stone peaches over mache greens with creamy lime dressing

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I moved from Northern California to the Northwest about 25 years ago, and took with me an established peach tree that had sentimental value.  My gardener dug up the tree for me, but said it wouldn’t live by the time the movers set it on their truck……but it did.  The movers swore up and down that it would not survive the long cold trip to Seattle in late October……but it did.  The tree had to be planted at our rental house and then dug up again the following July and replanted by the landscaper at our new home who said the tree had suffered enough and it was practically dead – and why couldn’t we see that?  I asked him to humor me and plant it anyways, which he did all the while grumbling under his breath “this won’t survive” ……but it did.   That little peach tree did nothing the first two years – not a single peach (barely had leaves much less fruit.)   But in the spring of the third year, it blossomed.  And in the fourth year it actually produced a few …

Low Carb Parmesan Chicken

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  This is an adaption of Best Foods “Parmesan Crusted Chicken” .  I deleted the bread crumbs because I want this recipe to be low carb, and added chives and roasted garlic to kick up the flavor a notch. I roasted the garlic in olive oil on Sunday, so I can use in multiple recipes this week – roasted garlic seems milder to me yet far more flavorful.  This recipe took 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.  Dinner in 30 minutes and I caught up on my emails while it baked – nice!