Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce

After a crazy weekend with lots of driving (Nashville for Melissa Howell's bachelorette party, then on to Birmingham for Caroline's baby shower), it would be an understatement to say I was "tired" this past Sunday night when I arrived at my parents house. The last thing on my mind was cooking or even thinking about what to eat for dinner. Lucky for me - my mother took very good care of me. She and my dad saw the following recipe being created by Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network Channel. After the inspiration - my mom logged into http://www.foodnetwork.com  and downloaded the recipe.


It was phenomenal! I could have eaten the sauce alone. Fresh, healthy and delish. You could substitute chicken or even fish with this sauce - make it your own, but make it often. Highly recommend! I served alongside thin french beans and homemade pinto beans. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 boneless (2-inch-thick) pork chops (about 2 pounds total)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning meat
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning meat
• 2 fennel bulbs with fronds, thinly sliced (about 8 ounces or 2 cups)
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/3 cup
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons capers

Directions

In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the pan and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.

Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the pork back into the pan, nestling the chops between the fennel and tomatoes so they are mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Place the pork on a serving dish. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, remaining 1/3 cup parsley,capers, and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon over the pork chops and serve immediately.

TIPS - Add chicken stock to create more "broth."

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Shelly's Mexican Chicken Soup

RECIPE

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced and de-seeded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste (6 oz)
1-2 tbsp Mexican chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can original Rotel
1 box chicken broth/stock
Cooked Chicken, shredded or diced (3 breasts or the meat from one small rotisserie)
1-2 cups cooked rice (Spanish)



Directions
Over medium heat, saute onion and peppers in olive oil for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.
Add garlic, saute 1 minute.
Add tomato paste and mix into vegetables.
Add spices, continuing to mix for 5 minutes on low-medium heat.
Add Rotel and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and add cooked chicken & rice. Let cook for 30 minutes.

Serve hot topped with diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, etc. Enjoy :)

TIPS - I've also used one can of chicken stock and 1 beer in place of the whole box of chicken stock. If you want more heat - leave the jalapeno seeds (just be careful)! Also, if you cook your chicken creasts, you can cook in a pot of water with one pack of taco seasoning for flavor, and use the broth in place of canned chicken stock.

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

I modeled this healthy side dish after a delightful little salad I had at one of my favorite local, organic spots, Souper Jenny. This place is AMAZING. They receive local organic ingredients from near-by farms around 4am each morning. Then they get to work planning their menu for the day and emailing subscribers. I can't tell you how much I love getting this email every day. With dishes like the salad below, tomato-basil goat cheese soup, and even lobster salad sandwiches - you cannot go wrong! Of course, my salad was not as delicious as Jenny's, but I was pretty impressed with the taste.

Cheers!

RECIPE

Ingredients
1 cup dried Quinoa
1 cup water
Dash salt
1/2 diced English cucumber
1-2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 avocado diced
Juice from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lime
Drizzle of EVOO

Directions
Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup Quinoa to a boil in small saucepan. Once boiling, add a dash of salt and reduce heat to low and let cook, covered for 10 minutes. Transfer Quinoa to bowl and let cool in fridge overnight. Once Quinoa is chilled, add diced cucumber, red onion, avocado, lemon & lime juice and drizzle with EVOO. Mix all ingredients together. Serve cold and enjoy!

TIP - add you favorite veggies like tomato and yellow squash for an extra boost of color and nutrients!

Cannellini Bean Soup with Kale & Garlic-Olive Oil Crostini

I found this recipe on the Foodnetwork.com (courtesy of Dave Lieberman). I was looking for a warm, healthy, nutrition-packed meal. This seems to fit all of those criteria. I'm making tonight and will add pictures and review once I'm done!

Cheers!

Shelly

RECIPE

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bruschetta

6 to 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, plus 1 or 2 more whole cloves

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 quarts chicken stock, water, or a combination

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch kale, large ribs removed, chopped

1 baguette

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic and oregano and cook no more than a minute. Add tomato paste and vinegar, and cook another minute. Add beans and stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add kale and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Season, to taste, again with salt and pepper before serving.


Slice baguette on a heavy angle to create long slices. Toast in a toaster or in the conventional oven. Rub once or twice with half a garlic clove. Season a shallow plate of extra-virgin olive oil with salt and dip each side of bread into the oil. Serve as accompaniment to the soup.

Warm Pistachio Encrusted Goat Cheese Salad

Today I decided to make one of the most amazing “salads” I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. My father and I took my mom to a small Italian restaurant in Birmingham, AL last month for her birthday. We entered Gianmarco’s off Broadway Street in Homewood a little after 9pm. The establishment was crawling with people in search of never-ending bottles of wine and a hearty meal. To my surprise, we were seated right away for our 9pm reservation. I decided to order a salad to start the night prior to trying that night’s special: Veal Chop Parmesan. I ordered what seemed to be a simple salad, but what turned out to be an out-of-body culinary experience like I had never had before! After trying my hand at a few different recipes and finally finding the closest one to the dish, I present to you now my favorite salad recipe to date: Warm Pistachio Encrusted Goat Cheese Salad.

Cheers!

Shelly

RECIPE

Ingredients
1 12oz. log goat Cheese (I used Silver Goat) very cold or frozen
¼ cup all purpose flour

1 egg

1 TSP Dijon mustard

1 TSP lemon zest

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

½ cup finely crushed pistachio nuts

French Bread

2 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TBSP canola oil

Arugula

Watermelon

Balsamic Glaze

Directions
Beat together egg, mustard, lemon zest, salt & pepper. Set aside. Crush/pound shelled pistachio nuts until finely crushed. Set aside. Cut goat cheese log into equal portions forming the goat cheese into 1.5 inch discs. Take one disc and dust with flour. Then take cheese disc and dredge in beaten egg mixture. The roll disc around in crushed pistachios until fully covered.

Meanwhile slice a crusty French baguette into one inch thick slices. Drizzle with olive oil and toast in oven for 3-5 minutes on low broil.

While bread is toasting, heat canola oil on medium-high heat in non stick skillet. Once hot, add goat cheese disc to skillet. Pan-fry the goat cheese disc until golden brown on all sides.

Serve warm goat cheese disc atop a bed of arugula. Slice watermelon into thin wedges and arrange on plate. Drizzle balsamic glaze over greens, fruit and cheese and serve toasted crostini alongside the salad. Enjoy!

TIPS: Substitute strawberries or another sweet fruit in place of watermelon if it is not in season. If you do not have a balsamic glaze, you can make your own by boiling balsamic vinegar and sugar down to a thick reduced glaze. Also, feel free to make multiple "mini" goat cheese discs instead of one larger one. Finally - if you freeze the goat cheese, it will slice much easier without crumbling!

Quick-n-Healthy Chicken Enchiladas

This is my version of a much lighter and much quicker version of traditional Mexican enchiladas. One of these babies is enough to fill you up. They are tasty and are always great for those nights where you don’t feel like slaving away in the kitchen for hours using 50 of your 55 dishes to make one meal! I used Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, 99% fat free cream of chicken soup and reduced fat cream cheese. Feel free to mix it up based on your tastes. Serve these enchiladas alongside a big scoop of Spanish rice and an ice cold Corona J

Cheers!

Shelly  

RECIPE

Ingredients
2 TBSP Olive Oil

3 cups cooked/shredded chicken (I used Rotisserie chicken, but you can also use canned chicken, boiled chicken breast, etc)

1 TSP each: cumin, Mexican chili powder, dried cilantro & paprika

½ TSP cayenne pepper

1 can cream of mushroom (feel free to use cream of chicken) 99% fat free

¼ block of cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

½ can black beans

1 small can diced green chilies

2 cups Mexican shredded cheese

1 can red (or green) enchilada sauce

6 Flour tortillas

Freshly chopped cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add cooked chicken and spices. Toss skillet around in the skillet to ensure all pieces are coated with spices (about 2 minutes). Add the soup and cream cheese. Continue to stir until ingredients are blended and cheese is melted. Add in beans and green chilies and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove skillet from heat.ba

Add two large, heaping spoonfuls of mix to each of the 6 tortillas. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the mixture on each enchilada. Lightly cover bottom of a glass baking dish with enchilada sauce. Fold each tortilla over and place fold side down in the baking dish. Cover all enchiladas with enchilada sauce and then use remaining cup of cheese to sprinkle over each tortilla. Finish by sprinkling fresh cilantro over each enchilada.

Place dish in oven and bake on 350F for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Serve with a side of Spanish rice and enjoy!