Sometimes a weekend can provide a nice assortment of enjoyable moments.  Take this past Saturday for example.  With only one child at home in the morning, we started the day by getting a few small work projects done, while our daughter proudly made breakfast.  After retrieving our son from an overnight stay, we headed to the mall for some shopping.  The next stop was the grocery store, at which the four of us planned that night’s dinner.  During the afternoon the kids hung out with friends while my husband and I took a walk and worked on dinner.  An enjoyable dinner was followed by a movie in the living room.

Reflecting on Saturday’s events, none were spectacular.  However, together they formed a perfect day:  spending time with friends and family, completing a few things on the to-do list, and cooking.  As my husband’s weekday schedule allows for little cooking, he got to be the chef for the main course of our dinner- pork chops.

He made both a dry rub and a sauce for the pork chops.  As we sat down for dinner, I asked what ingredients were in the rub.  He told us that we should guess but not all of the ingredients would be easy to determine.  I had seen the first two ingredients for the rub and admitted as much, but the rest of the ingredients would need to be discovered by taste and luck.  The kids and I began to guess different items, but none were correct.  At this point we were told where the ingredient was located and that it wasn’t a spice. When we learned the secret ingredient (Scroll down to see it!), we were surprised.

When you read the 5 ingredients used in this rub, you might wonder how this possibly could be a tasty combination.  If I hadn’t eaten a pork chop coated with it, I might have thought that also.  But, as proof that this combination works, it should be noted that everyone (kids and adults) found it to be a delicious coating for the pork.  So, if you are looking for a unique seasoning, this is it!

Uniquely Spiced Pork Chops

1 Tb. Old Bay Seasoning

1 Tb. dried basil

1 Tb. garlic powder

1 Tb. cinnamon

1 Tb. hot cocoa mix

5 sirloin pork chops, about 1/2″ thick

Combine first five ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well.  Score the pork chops using a multi-bladed meat tenderizer.  Divide spice mixture equally among pork chops, and rub onto each.

Preheat grill to a medium heat.  Cook pork chops for 5 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked.

When I was planning the week’s menu, I asked the kids for some input.  Our 13 year old son requested shellfish for dinner one night.  However, he wasn’t certain how he would want it prepared.  With a week of rain and cool temperatures forecast, I suggested soup.  That wasn’t quite what he had in mind.  My next suggestion was coconut shrimp, and that sounded perfect to him.

I had made coconut chicken tenders a couple months ago, and the recipe was a hit.  They were easy to  make and had a decent amount of crunch even though they were baked instead of fried.  While I had given the chicken a coating of batter and a coating of coconut, for the shrimp I decided a single layer of coconut would be better.

With the assistance of our 11 year old daughter, the shrimp were coated and ready for the oven in no time.  While the shrimp cooked, we made a veggie stirfry, which provided a savory contrast to the sweetness of the coconut.

One very important note about this recipe:  Make sure you use a liberal amount of nonstick cooking spray on the aluminum foil topped baking pan.  Between the egg whites and sweetened coconut, the shrimp will stick to the foil quite easily.

Coconut Shrimp

1/3 cup cornstarch

pepper

3 egg whites

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 375.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.  Using 3 small bowls, put cornstarch in one, add some freshly ground pepper, and mix well.  Place egg whites into second bowl, and whisk lightly.  Put coconut into remaining bowl.  Rinse shrimp, and place on paper towels to remove excess moisture.  Take 1 piece of shrimp, and dredge in cornstarch.  Dip shrimp in egg whites, then coconut, coating completely.  Place shrimp on prepared baking sheet, and repeat process with the rest of the shrimp.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes.

As I was thinking about dinners for this week, I knew that I wanted one of the dishes to include steak.  With a multi-day stretch of rain forecast, grilling was a less desirable option.  Panfrying the steaks seemed like a simple way to make dinner on an evening that was most likely to be filled with taking children to and from practices.

Although panfrying on its own would have been okay, I wanted to make a dinner with a bit more flavor.  Searching through my cookbooks, I found several different recipes for Steak au Poivre.  This dish seemed to have a variety of options for its sauce- some using butter for richness, others using heavy cream.  I took elements from several recipes and created my own recipe that was lighter than all of the recipes I saw.

As luck would have it, the day I decided to make this dish was rainy, which caused the cancellation of one child’s practice.  With no transporting of children needed until 7:00 pm, we had the opportunity to enjoy a more leisurely dinner.  With steaks cooked to everyone’s preference (medium well for the girls and medium for the boys) and topped with a lightly creamy sauce, dinner was an enjoyable meal that didn’t need to be rushed.

Steak au Poivre

2 lb. top sirloin, cut into 4 1-inch steaks

1 Tb. freshly ground pepper

salt

2 Tb. butter

1/4 cup Cognac

1/4 cup beef broth

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tsp. dijon mustard

cornstarch

Press pepper into both sides of each steak.  Sprinkle salt onto one side of each steak.  Heat large frying pan over medium heat, and add butter.  When butter is melted, place steaks in pan.  Cook for 6 minutes, flip steaks and cook for an additional 6 minutes. (This amount of time should produce medium steaks. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.)

Remove steaks from pan, place on plate, and cover with foil.  Remove pan from heat, and add cognac and broth.  Return to heat, and stir to combine.  Add milk and mustard, and bring to boiling.  Sprinkle a pinch or two of cornstarch on sauce, and continue stirring.  Allow to boil for approximately 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Serve steaks topped with several tablespoons of sauce.

My husband and I cook differently.  He tends to choose his ingredients in a more spontaneous manner, while I make a plan of what I will use.  I prefer to measure ingredients, and he likes to approximate.  He adds many spices to dishes, while I choose one or two to flavor my creation.

Nonetheless, or maybe because of our different approaches, we work together well while cooking.  However, this past Sunday I merely was a spectator, as it was Mother’s Day.  While I didn’t want to give the appearance that I was being a critic, I wanted to watch him make our dinner.  Otherwise, I knew I wouldn’t have measurements when I wrote this recipe.  (With that being said, all measurements are approximate because, as noted above, he doesn’t measure.  So, when he added an ingredient, I made my best judgment as to how much it was.)

I must confess that when I initially saw the zucchini post-blending, I wondered how it would work in this dish.  However, as he added ingredients, I could see that an amazing filling was being created.  I was able to sneak a tiny taste and was assured that not only did it look good, it was filled with great flavors.  As his “recipe” made more than was needed to fill the chicken breasts, the remaining filling was heated and served as a sauce to top the chicken.

Served with roasted butternut squash and blanched green beans, it was the perfect Mother’s Day dinner.  What a wonderful treat for me from the man I love.

Italian Stuffed Chicken

1 zucchini, ends removed

1 medium onion, caramelized

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan, grated

20 pepperoni slices, diced

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic salt

4 chicken breasts, pounded thin

1 egg

1/2 cup panko

1/2 cup pecans, ground

Preheat oven to 350.  Place zucchini in a blender, and puree.  Pour zucchini into a large bowl.  Add caramelized onions, cheddar, parmesan, pepperoni, mozzarella, and seasonings.  Mix well.  Using half of the mixture, divide among chicken breasts, spreading over the top of each.  Starting at narrow end, roll chicken, and secure with a toothpick.

In a small bowl, whisk egg.  In a second small bowl, combine panko and pecans.  Dip one rolled chicken breast in egg, coating all sides.  Then place into panko-pecan mixture, again coating all sides.  Place into a baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Repeat with 3 remaining chicken breasts.

Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered.  Cover with foil, and cook for another 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

As mentioned in the previous post, Saturday was an afternoon of grocery shopping and cooking for my husband and me.  While I worked on the Pineapple-Mango Chutney, he was busy creating a pork dish.

Keeping with our plan for finger foods to be eaten at an indoor picnic, we decided that this dish should be able to be eaten in the same manner.  Our actual intention was to make a lamb dish, but the store didn’t have any cuts that would have worked well.  (I guess being the day before Easter, we should have figured that lamb would be in high demand.)  So, we found some thin boneless pork chops that seemed perfect for pinwheels.

With the great cheese counter at this grocery store, we knew they would have goat cheese for part of the filling.  We had hoped to combine the cheese with figs, but apparently figs were also a popular item, as they were sold out.  Looking around the produce department, I suggested dried apricots, which sounded good to my husband also.

This dish was very simple to make, requiring only 5 ingredients and taking only 10 to 15 minutes to prepare.  A little time for baking, a couple minutes to cool, then slice it, and dinner is ready.  Enjoyed with the previously mentioned chutney, pita chips and brie, and a glass of Chenin Blanc, this made for a great picnic for adults.

Pork Pinwheels

8 - 10 thin sliced boneless pork chops

5 oz. goat cheese

6 - 8 dried apricots, diced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 cup almond liqueur*

Preheat oven to 425.  Place 1 pork chop between layers of plastic wrap, and pound until 1/4-inch thick.  Repeat with remaining pork chops, and set aside.  In a small bowl, combine cheese, apricots, and seasoning.  Divide cheese mixture evenly among pork chops, spreading on top of each piece of pork. Starting at narrow end, roll tightly.  Place in an 8 x 8 baking pan, seam side down.  Once all pieces are in pan, slowly pour liqueur over pork.  Cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes, or until meat reaches a temperature of 150 when checked with a thermometer.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch slices.

*Almond liqueur can be replaced with chicken broth.

Homemade pizza is a family favorite at our house.  Last Friday night, my brother’s family was planning on stopping by for a visit, so we asked them to join us for dinner.  Trying to consider the food preferences of kids ranging in age from 21 months to almost 13 years old, pizza sounded like the winner.

For the kids and my finicky “little” brother, we made a few plain and pepperoni pizzas.  However, for the more adventurous eaters we made Barbecue Chicken Pizza.  This pizza is packed with flavor but is extremely easy to make.  To make the recipe even easier on a workday, I used store-bought pizza dough.

As I didn’t want the pizza to be too spicy, I used two different barbecue sauces to produce a slightly sweet sauce that had a little bit of a bite.  However, if you prefer a sauce that is sweet, just eliminate the hot barbecue sauce, and use more pineapple barbecue sauce, if needed.

The adventurous eaters in our group (my husband, my sister-in-law, and I) all thought it was a great pizza.  With a little spice in the sauce, a handful of tastes from the blue cheese and onion, and melted goodness from the mozzarella, it was a delicious pizza choice.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

1-14 oz. bottle pineapple barbecue sauce

1-14 oz. bottle hot barbecue sauce

1-1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 2″ chunks

1 pound whole wheat pizza dough

blue cheese

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Pour pineapple barbecue sauce into medium sized pot.  Stir in 1/2-cup hot barbecue sauce, and taste to check spiciness.  Add more hot barbecue sauce if desired.  Add diced chicken, stir well, and place over low heat.  Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 hours.  Set dough on counter to warm to room temperature.

When chicken has cooked for several hours, use two forks, and shred chicken into smaller pieces.

Preheat oven to 450.  Divide dough into two sections.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle.  Place dough on pizza pan.  Using a slotted spoon, cover dough with half of the chicken.  Add as much additional sauce as you like.  Sprinkle half of the red onion and your desired amount of blue cheese on the pizza.  Top with half of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat directions with other half of ingredients.  Place both in oven, and bake for 15 minutes.  Crust should be golden brown, and topping should be melted and golden when done.

The diverse range of foods that our children like and dislike amazes me.  There are some foods that typically aren’t kid favorites, that some of our kids like, such as sushi, crab, and brussel sprouts.  Then there are foods that many kids like that aren’t enjoyed by all of ours, like oatmeal, blueberries, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Of course, with four kids you get more diversity.  Even with that in mind, every once in a while one of the four surprises me with a request for a certain food.  A few weeks ago, the surprise factor was attributed to our 11 year old daughter.  We made stirfried chicken, and she wanted to know if we had any baby corn for the dish, as she stated really liked it.  Sadly for her, we had none.

So, when we were grocery shopping this week, my husband saw a can of baby corn and added it to our grocery cart.  When we told her that we had bought this vegie, she was excited. Last night we made stirfry, using the baby corn, and it was a hit, with all of the kids in attendance.  Yet another bit of amazement as a parent, serving a vegie-filled stirfry and pleasing a group of kids.

Pork & Tofu Stirfry

olive oil

1 lb. boneless pork sirloin, cubed

salt & pepper

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 celery stalks, sliced

10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

4 scallions, sliced

1/4 lb. snow peas

15 oz. can baby corn, drained and cut in half

6 oz. can water chestnuts, drained

8 oz. tofu, cubed

1 Tb. cornstarch

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tb. orange juice

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium heat, and add 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add pork, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 - 6 minutes, or until fully cooked.  Transfer pork to a separate dish.

Pour an additional tablespoon of oil into pan, and add carrots.  Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then add celery, mushrooms, scallions, and peas.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add corn, water chestnuts, and tofu, and cook for another 2 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, combine cornstarch, soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl, and whisk well.  Add cooked pork and sauce to vegetables, and heat through, stirring continuously  for 2 minutes.

Serve immediately with plain or coconut rice.

This weekend we had a request for homemade chicken noodle soup.  While it holds little appeal for myself or  my husband, it is a favorite for three of our four children.  As we hadn’t made this simple soup in quite a while, I didn’t feel the need to have the kids choose a more creative soup.

However, that didn’t mean that my husband and I needed to eat this same soup.  I planned on making homemade broth on Sunday morning, which could be divided between two pots to make two different chicken-based soups.

In the past, we have used chicken broth as a base for vegetable soup and for Asian Chicken Noodle Soup.  This week I wanted to try something new and with different flavors.  The idea of using sun-dried tomatoes, instead of canned or fresh sounded like a nice twist on our typical soups.  Plus, as only adults would be eating this soup, I thought we could add some more interesting vegetables, such as mushrooms and artichokes.

Which brings us to this soup and its unique name.  There are so many different flavors, it seemed they all deserved to be in the recipe’s title.  To avoid a long title, it has been simplified to an abbreviation.  CATMO Soup is merely: Chicken, Artichoke, (sun-dried) Tomato, Mushroom,  & Onion Soup.

CATMO Soup

1 cup water

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1-1/2 oz. sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil or liquid)

7 cups chicken broth

3 Tb. tomato paste

1 Tb. olive oil

1 red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, not marinated

1 cup white wine, divided

pepper

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Place water in a small pot over high heat until boiling.  Add mushrooms, remove from heat, and cover.  Let stand for 30 minutes.  Remove cover.  When cool, squeeze mushrooms to remove liquid, saving liquid in pot.  Chop and set mushrooms aside for later.

Dice sun-dried tomatoes.  In a large pot, combine broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, and reserved mushroom liquid.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add onion and saute for 5 minutes.  Add garlic, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and heat for 1 minute.  Add 1/2 cup white wine, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add mushroom and artichoke mixture to soup pot.  Add chicken and remaining 1/2 cup wine, and allow to heat through, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

On a recent Saturday, the kids were tired from a late Friday night.  So, rather than eating dinner together, we made an early kid dinner and put them to bed a little before 8.  After they went to bed, we had a nice quiet, candlelit dinner for two.

As chicken and spinach were our dinner ingredients, they worked well for both meals.  The kids were pleased to have grilled chicken breasts and a “no thank you” serving of spinach.  (In our house, that is a petite serving, enough so that you are sampling but not enough to feel torturous for the child.)

For the grown-ups the chicken and spinach were combined into one entreé.  I had never made chicken florentine previously, but decided that if I cooked it similarly to chicken cordon bleu, it should work.  The meal was complete with a side of glazed carrots and a glass of cabernet-syrah.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night at home.

Chicken Florentine

2 chicken breasts

10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained (You will need only 1/2 of package)

1-2 oz. fontina cheese, sliced thin

3 Tb. flour

salt and pepper

1-1/2 Tb. butter

1 cup dry white wine

1 cube chicken bouillon

parmesan cheese

Place chicken breast in between layers of plastic wrap, and pound until thin.  Repeat with other chicken breast. (If pieces are large, they can be cut in half to make 2 servings each.)  Place a small amount (1-2 tablspoons) of spinach on one half of each chicken breast.  Cover spinach with slices of fontina cheese.  Fold other half of chicken breast on top of fontina.  Secure with a toothpick.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  In bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper.  Add butter to frying pan, and allow to melt.  While butter is melting, dredge both sides of chicken in flour mixture, then place in frying pan.  Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.  Flip chicken when brown on first side.

After both sides are brown, add wine and bouillon to frying pan.  Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve immediately, topping with grated parmesan cheese.

With soup typically served once a week during the cool months, it is easy to become bored with this dish.  However, to reduce repetition, a different family member gets to choose the soup each week.  With several different taste preferences, this helps to encourage creativity and new flavors.

This week, our 12 year old was tasked with choosing our soup.  He started to fall back upon one of his favorites, corn chowder.  However, I have made that soup already this winter and wanted him to think a little more.  To help him with his decision, I told him to choose an ingredient that he wanted in the soup.  He suggested beans, preferably kidney.  I then asked if he wanted a thin or thick soup.  He said he wanted something with a broth base.

Taking those two suggestions, I flipped through my mental Rolodex of soups I have eaten, made, or seen.  At that point, I soup I never had made but had seen on many menus came to mind: tortilla soup.  It seemed like a simple soup with minimal preparation or ingredients needed.  My soup chooser liked this idea, even with 2 changes. 1.  I would use black beans instead of kidney.  2. I would add some canned tomatoes to the broth to give it more of a Mexican feel.  He thought these two changes would be fine.

When making this soup I decided it was more of a Mexican Soup than a tortilla soup, as we used the tortilla strips as a garnish and not as a prime ingredient.  Everyone enjoyed this slightly spicy soup, which now can be categorized as a “has been made” soup in my Rolodex.

Mexican Soup

4 corn tortillas

32 ounces chicken broth

3/4 tsp. cumin*

2 tsp. chili powder*

2 tsp. Italian seasoning*

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro*

salt

pepper

1 pound chicken, cut into cubes

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/2 cup frozen corn

8 oz. can diced tomatoes

Slice tortillas into thin 2-inch strips.  Heat a small nonstick frying pan, and cook strips in small batches until crispy.  Set aside.

Place a medium soup pot over medium-high heat, and add broth, cumin, chili powder, Italian seasoning, cilantro, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, and add chicken, beans, corn, and tomatoes.  Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes.  *Taste soup, and add more seasoning, if desired.

Ladle soup into individual mugs or bowls.  Garnish with tortilla strips.