Maple-Mustard Pork chops

from cooking light:

4 bone in center cut pork chops
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 T butter
2 T finely chopped shallots
1/4 c chicken broth
2 T dijon mustard
2 T maple syrup
2 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley


1. sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of pork

2. heat large skillet over medium high heat. coat pan with cooking spray. add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, but with a slight blush in the center. remove from pan; keep warm

3. return pan to medium high heat. add butter to pan swirling to coat. add shallots; saute 3 minutes or until tender. add broth; bring to boil and cook 1 minute. stir in mustard, syrup and remaining 1/4 t salt, cook 1 minutes until thick. return pork to pan. cook pork 1 minute on each side until thoroughly heated. serve pork with sauce, garnish with parsely.

Mediterranean Barley Salad

from cooking light:

2 1/4 c water
3/4 c uncooked pearl barley
1 1/2 t grated lemon rind
3 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1/2 t dijon mustard
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
1/3 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c finely chopped red onion
3/4 t kosher salt
1/2 t ground pepper
8 pitted kalamata olives, halved
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 c chopped walnuts, toasted

1. bring 2 1/4 c water and barley to boil in a saucepan. cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until tender and liquid is almost absorbed. cool to room temp (i didn't do this b/c i didn't plan ahead. i thought it was fine straight off the stove top)

2. combine lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, and mustard in a bowl; stir well with a wishk. add barley, fennel and next 6 ingredients (through beans); toss gently. cover and refrigerate for 30 mintues (i also did not do this. we had it immediately). garnish with toasted walnuts.


we had this with the roasted broccoli and it was a delicious meal! it was our weekly "i heart the environment" meal since it was vegetarian. dessert was girl scout cookies! yum!!!

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic

from every day food. perfect for a side:

preheat oven to 450. on a rimmed baking sheet toss together 1 head of broccoli, cut into long florets, 2 T olive oil, 5 garlic cloves (skin on). season with salt and pepper. roast until broccoli is browned and tender, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. toss with 1-2T lemon juice.

soooo incredibly delicious! you have to pop the garlic cloves out of their skin, but then don't forget to eat them too!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

from cooking light: i haven't made it yet but plan on it soon!

3/4 cup ol fashioned rolled oats, divided
1 c flour
1/4 c whole what flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c butter
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla
1 (8oz) carton light sour cream
2 T finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 t cinnamon
1 T chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1. preheat oven to 350.

2. spread oats on single layer on a baking sheet. bake at 350 for 6 minutes or until oats are barely fragrant and light brown.

3. coat 9 inch pan with cooking spray; set aside.

4. reserve 1/4 c oats; set aside. place reamining oats in a food processor; process 4 seconds or until finely ground. lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. combine processed oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.

5. place granulated sugar, 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/3 c butter in a large bowl. beat with a mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes. add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition; beat in vanilla. add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mix (batter will be slightly lumpy because of oats). spoon batter into prepared pan, spread evenly.
6. combine remaining 1/4 c oats, remaining 1/4 brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon in a bowl. cut in 1 T butter with pastry blender. sprinkle top of batter evenly with nut mixture. bake at 350 for 38 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. cool cake 10 minutes.

Barley, Butternut Squash and Mushroom Risotto

from cooking light:

3 c cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 T olive oil, divided
3/4 t kosher salt, divided
2 c thinly sliced shitake mushrooms- about 1/2 pound. I couldn't find these at the store so i used regular mushrooms. since you don't like mushrooms you could omit them without losing much from the recipe.
1/3 c finely chopped red onion
1 c uncooked pearl barley
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 c white wine
3 1/2 c veggie broth
black pepper
2 T fresh thyme leaves (i used dried)

1. preheat oven to 450.

2. combine squash, 1 T olive oil, salt/pepper. toss well to coat. arrange squash on baking sheet, single layer. bake for 25 minutes at 450. stirring once.

3. heat 1 T olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes or until browned, transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl and keep warm

4. heat remaining 1 T oil in pan. add onion; saute 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. add barley and garlic; cook 1 minute. add wine; bring to a boil. cook 3 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed. add broth, salt/pepper; bring to a boil. cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until barley is tender and liquid is nearly absorbed.
remove from heat. stir in squash, mushrooms, and thyme. serve immediately.

really tasty and good! plus a healthy, whole grain side dish with pretty significant protein.

the recipe called for taleggio cheese which i have no clue what it is(it said you could substitute brie, but i don't like that either). i stirred in some romano i had and i thought it tasted like barf (maybe i have just barfed too recently b/c eric thought i was crazy). anyway, i do not recommend using romano. maybe sprinkling the finished product with a little parmesan would be good.

Maple and soy-glazed flank stead

picture from eric's iphone. includes barley butternut squash risotto.

delicious recipes! from cooking light:

1 1pound flank steak
1/4 c soy sauce
3 T maple syrup
2 T dry sherry
2 t sesame oil
1 t siriracha
1/8 t ground pepper

1. preheat broiler

2. pierce steak gently on both sides. combine steak and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in shallow dish; turn to caot. marinade at room temp 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

3. remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. pour marinade into a small skillet; bring to a boil, stirring well. cook over medium high heat 3 minutes or until thick and syrupy.

4. brush steak with half of glaze; broil 5 minutes. turn steak over; brush with remaining glaze; broil 5 minutes more or until desired degree of doneness. place steak on a cutting board; let stand 5 minutes. cut steak diangonally across grain into thin slices.


we also had sauteed kale:

heat 2 t olive oil in skillet over medium heat. add 2 minced garlic cloves until fragrant but not browned. add chopped and de-ribbed kale. toss well. add 1/3 c water or broth, cover and cook for3-4 minutes. remove cover and let liquid evaporate. season with s/p. sautee until you think it looks right :)

Tilapia with fettuccine alfredo

I haven't made this yet, but am going to tonight. The spicy sound of the blackened tilapia sounds good, but not to me right now bc of heartburn issues. So, I am going to combine the fettuccine alfredo from this first recipe with the tilapia recipe from the second one and see how it goes. The blackened is usually a favorite...so I will have to revisit it, or if you make it, you can let me know how it goes.

Blackened Tilapia on a bed of Fettuccine Alfredo

Blackened seasoning

1 TB Paprika

2-2/1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Garlic granulated

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Thyme

Mix all together well.

Prepare Alfredo Sauce (recipe follows) and keep warm and ready to top pasta.

Bring water to boil for pasta.

Rinse 4-6 tilapia fillets. Dredge in lemon juice and dust with blackened seasoning.

In skillet melt 1 tbs of butter per piece of fish and saute.

Start cooking pasta while pan sauteing fish.

Toss cooked pasta in Alfredo sauce and top with Blackened Tilapia.

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 c Unsalted butter

1 c Whipping cream

Salt and WHITE pepper

To taste

1/4 c Freshly grated Parmesan

Cheese

Melt butter in a large skillet. When butter foams, add cream. Simmer over medium heat about 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and white pepper When your fettuccine has been cooked, drain noodles and place in the skillet with the cream. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Toss noodles and sauce over medium heat until sauce coats noodles, 20 to 30 seconds. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

4 4 oz tilapia filets

1/4 cup parmesan

3 tbls butter

2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper both sides of tilapia

combine in a bowl cheese, butter, lemon juice, salt and peper to taste, may need to put into microwave to soften butter.

put tilapia on cookie sheet sprayed with pam, cover the top of tilapia with the cheese mixture and broil until it is golden brown. serve hot.