Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenerloin is great for a relatively inexpensive, easy, tasty meal- if you dress it up the right way.  I made this recipe up with things that I already had in my refrigerator and pantry, so chances are all you will have to buy is the pork.  This is also a great marinade for chicken, so if that's all you have on hand you can definitely subsitute chicken for the pork.  I'm a lover of the pig, though, so I'll take the pork.

• 3/4 C soy sauce
• 1/4 C orange juice, no pulp
• 1/4 C canola oil
• 2 Tb agave nectar
• 1 Tb minced garlic
• 1 Tb minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, tupperware, or ziploc bag- whatever you are planning to marinate the meat in.  Place the tenderloin in the marinade and leave it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.  The longer it sits, the better it gets.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the tenderloin in a baking dish, and pour the remaining marinade over the meat.  Bake for 30 minutes or until an internal thermometer reads 145 degress.  Let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.  Pour a drizzle of the sauce from the marinade over the sliced pork and serve.

Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and are full of good for you antioxidants.  Pack all of that into a delicious waffle and you've got yourself the perfect breakfast- delicious and good for you (and let's face it, that doesn't happen often).  These waffles are great topped with maple syrup, whipped cream, candied pecans......or all three.  This recipe will make 6-8 big waffles, so if you only need a few, do yourself a favor and throw the rest in the freezer for a quick breakfast on a rushed morning.  All you need to do is pop one in the toaster.

I make my own sweet potato puree by piercing a sweet potato with a fork, wrapping it in foil, and baking it in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Then I scoop out the flesh, and throw it in the food processor to puree it (you can also use a hand mixer).  You can also buy it in a can, but make sure you buy 100% pure sweet potato puree without any added sweeteners or flavoring.  If you have the time, it's easy and much cheaper to make your own, so it's worth it. 

• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 Tb baking powder
• 2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 C pureed sweet potato
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinammon
• 2 Tb agave nectar
• 1 Tb brown sugar

Preheat and lightly grease your waffle iron.

In a small bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, egg yolks, and agave nectar.  Set aside.

In another small bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks have formed and the volume has tripled.  Make sure their is absolutely no egg yolk in the whites or else the whites won't whip properly.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and cinammon.  Slowly add the milk and mix using a hand mixer.  Next, add the sweet potato mixture and thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.

Lightly fold in the egg whites.  This will make your waffles light and fluffy.  To fold, use a spatula and start at the far end of your bowl, scrape from the bottom and fold over the top into the middle.  Continue to do this, turning the bowl a quarter turn each time, until all the egg whites are combined.

Pour the batter into your waffle maker.  IMPORTANT- do not overfill!  Each section should have only about 1/2 C or less of the batter.  It might not look like a lot, but it will increase in size as the batter cooks, just like a cake would.  If you overfill it, you will have a huge mess on your hands and the waffles will be raw on the inside.  I know from experience, it once took me almost two hours to clean all the crevices of my waffle maker. 

My waffle maker beeps when the waffles are done (how awesome is that?), but if yours doesn't, buy a new one.  Just kidding, they cook for about 3-4 minutes and should be golden brown when finished. 



Marinara Sauce

A great marinara sauce recipe is a key component to have in your arsenal of recipes.  It goes well with so many different things- in pasta, on chicken, on fish, as a dipping sauce, on pizzas....my husband even likes it on a hot salami sandwich.  This sauce takes awhile to make, but that's why I like to make it in big batches and freeze it.  We like to have stuff like this in the freezer to make quick and easy weeknight meals- just boil some pasta, add a green salad, and you are good to go. 

• 2 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes*
• 2 28 oz cans tomato sauce
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flake
• 2 tsp dried oregano**
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tb sugar
• 1/2 C julienned fresh basil

* I use whole peeled tomatoes and crush them by hand- I like to have control over the consistency of the sauce, plus it helps to get my agression out.  Nothing relieves stress better than squeezing a juicy tomato in the palm of your hand.  However, if you want to crush them in the food processor or purchase already crushed tomatoes, that's fine as well.

** I use dried oregano over fresh in this recipe.  I find fresh oregano to be too strong for this sauce. 

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, sautee the olive oil, onion, and garlic for 10-15 minutes until they are tender.  Add the red pepper and sautee for an additional 3-4 minutes.

After the whole tomatoes have been crushed (either by your hands, the food processor, or the nice man at the tomato factory), add them to the pan, along with the tomato sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar and stir.  Bring to a simmer.

Once the sauce is simmering, add the fresh basil and stir.  Continue to simmer over medium low heat for 3-4 hours.

Italian Turkey Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of the all star comfort foods.  Traditional Italian meatballs are made with ground beef, pork, and veal, which makes it like most comfort foods in that it's caloric value is more than the combined IQs of the entire cast of Jersey Shore.  Since I can't live in a world without meatballs, I decided to try and lighten them up without losing any of that delicious Italian flavor.  This recipe uses ground turkey breast instead, which has a tendency to dry out, but the rest of the ingredients keep these meatballs tender, juicy, flavorful, and wonderfully healthy.

I use my own homemade marinara sauce for these, but you can use your favorite store bought brand if you'd like.  This recipe makes about 12-18 meatballs depending on how big you like to make them.  You can make really small ones and serve them as an appetizer, large ones and serve them with pasta, or even make them to smother with cheese and peppers and make a killer meatball sandwich.  Just remember to adjust the cooking time based on the size.

• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 5 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into half inch cubes
• 3 Tb milk
• 1 large egg
• half a yellow onion, grated (* I use a box grater to turn the onion into almost onion juice- this keeps the turkey very moist and keeps you from biting into big onion chunks)
• 1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 6 cups marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 400.

Place the bread cubes in a smal bowl and cover with the milk.  Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

 

 

In a large bowl, combine all of the rest of the ingredients.  Mix with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined.  I always use my hands to make sure it's all evenly distributed and I'm not overworking the mixture.

 

 

Add the soaked bread and mix again. 

Roll the mixture into golf ball sized balls.  This part can be sticky, so it helps to get your hands wet first.  This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.

 

 

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the meatballs are almost cooked through.

 

 

While the meatballs are baking, heat up the marinara sauce on the stove top in a large pot.

 

 

Place the partially cooked meatballs in the sauce and cook the remainder of the way, about 20-30 minutes, covered. 

 

Blue Cheese Dressing

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a salad dressing snob.  I've been known to turn my nose up at many a restaurant offering, and don't even get me started on the ones at most supermarkets.  Especially the ones that aren't refrigerated.  Anything with dairy in it that by some chemical means does not need to be refrigerated is just WRONG people, just plain wrong.  It's so easy and cheap to make your own dressings that you should make the switch to homemade- and if you love blue cheese as much as I do, start with this one.

My mom likes me to make this for her when I'm at her house so she has it to eat all week long.  She even makes the request if she doesn't have any blue cheese accompaniments.

"But Mom, you don't even have any lettuce or veggies or anything."

"I have a spoon."

"Good point."

 

 

• 1 C plain Greek yogurt
• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1 Tb whole milk (less if you like thicker dressing, more if you like it thinner)
• 1 clove very finely minced garlic (or grated if you have a micro plane)
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (this is the secret ingredient, guard it with your life)
• 4 oz good quality blue cheese, crumbled

 Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. 

Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to overnight so all everyone can get friendly and the flavors combine. 

Mexican Lasagna

I know, I know.  Thanksgiving is in two days, and I'm giving you a recipe that has nothing to do with turkey or pumpkin, what was I thinking?  I'll tell you what I was thinking.  I am without a doubt excited to overdose on all things Thanksgiving, but I save it until Thursday because I always have plenty of leftovers to last me through the weekend, and I don't want to get sick of those flavors before the day has come.  So, instead of calling the local pizza place to feed us before the feast, I wanted to make something that's the complete opposite of Thanksgiving- Mexican food. 

I've been making this recipe for a few years now, but it never had a name.  Then one day it came to us- it has all the components of a lasagna, but it's ingredients you find in Mexican food, so there you have it!  Mexican Lasagna.  This can easily be made a day or two ahead of time and then baked.  I also like to double the recipe and freeze one to make at a later date (up to 3 months). 

For the Sauce:

• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 2 C. chicken stock
• 1 Tb. cumin
• 1 Tb. Mexican Hot Chili Powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

For the Filling:

• 12 corn tortillas, cut in half
• 2 Tb. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 2 jalepenos, ribs and seeds removed, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tb. cilantro, chopped
• the juice of half a lime
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 C. crumbled Queso Fresco

In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce.  Bring to a boil, then bring down to a simmer.  Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, then take off of the heat.


In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, peppers, jalepenos, and garlic and cook for 10 minutes.


Add the cilantro, beans, lime juice, salt and pepper to the onion and pepper mixture.  Cook for additonal 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.


Begin assembling the lasagna in a 13x9 pan.  Start with some sauce on the bottom, then 8 pieces of the tortilla, then the veggies, more sauce, and the cheese.  Continue this until you have three layers.  Your pan should look like this, from the bottom up-

Sauce

Tortillas

Veggies

Jack Cheese

Queso Fresco

Sauce

Tortillas 

Veggies

Jack Cheese

Queso Fresco

Sauce

Tortillas

More Sauce

Cheese

    Cook tightly covered in foil for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes or

    until cheese is melted and lasagna is bubbly.  Let rest for 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven

    so it doesn't fall apart when you serve it.  I like to garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and some

    crushed tortilla chips, but you can add whatever you like.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Pancakes

I developed this pancake recipe when my girls decided to go on a vegetable strike.  Knowing they would never even fathom going on a chocolate strike, I decided to combine the two in order to keep their vegetable intake at an acceptable level.  My children will devour nearly anything you put chocolate on or in, so these were an instant hit.  They are fluffy, flavorful, and come on- it's essetially cake for breakfast.  You can't get any better than that.

• 1 C. all purpose flour
• 1/2 C.  whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 C. shredded zucchini (about one medium zucchini)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tb. light agave nectar
• 1 1/4 C. whole milk
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. mini chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Add the shredded zucchini and toss with your hands to coat each piece with flour.  This will help the zucchini from clumping.  It should look like this-

and then this-

 In a small bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips.  Whisk

 until it's thoroughly combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is incorporated. 

Add the chocolate chips and stir.

Cook the pancakes in a skillet on medium high heat for 6-7 minutes per side.  You can tell when it's  time to flip them over when little bubbles form on the surface.

This recipe makes 12 medium size pancakes,but can easily be doubled.  I like to make a big batch on a Sunday and then freeze them in a Ziploc bag for easy breakfast all week long- you just need to pop them in the microwave. 
See?  All full of fiber and none the wiser-