Pork Tenderloin Papakarish with Egg Noodles

I found this in my Cooking Light magazine, and tried it for something different!



 It was a good, everyday kind of meal! You can find the recipe HERE.

Kuala Pork

Hawaii is famous for it's Kuala Pork... so when I asked the hubby what he wanted to for dinner- he asked me to try a kuala pork recipe! I have to be honest that this was back in July and I don't remember exactly which recipe I used. I know it'll come back to me as I'm searching through my 'internet recipe box', so until then I leave you with this mystery. But it's really good. Especially with some rice, corn on the cob and green papaya salad!

Aukauka Place Pasta

It's a NEW favorite, so much a favorite, my husband named it after our new home!

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz uncooked penne rigate pasta
6 oz hot turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
12 oz zucchini, quartered
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves
Dash of sugar
2 TBL red wine vinegar
1 28 oz. whole tomatoes
2 TBL heavy whipping cream
Cooking Spray
3 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 oz. Parm-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting fat and salt. Drain; set aside. Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add sausage to pan, and saute for 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from pan. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel. Add zucchini to pan; saute 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through sugar); saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add vinegar; cook 30 seconds or until the liquid evaporates. Drain tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1 cup tomato liquid. Crush tomatoes with hands, and add to zucchini mixture. Add reserved 1 cup tomato liquid; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat; stir in cream. Add pasta and sausage to tomato mixture; stir to combine. Spoon half of pasta mixture into an 11 x 7 inch glass baking dish and sprinkle 1oz mozzarella and 2 TBL parm-reg cheese over pasta. Top with remaining pasta and remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Bratwurst with Onions and Peppers

This is such a simple way to really make the bratwursts super yummy! We always buy Hillshire Farm Gourment Creations Beef and Jalapeno- they are just the perfect blend of spice!

For the onions and peppers:

INGREDIENTS:
1 white onion
1 red pepper
Salt/Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Slice the onion and pepper into thin strips. Cover with salt and pepper and put into a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 3-6 minutes. Transfer the onion and peppers into a foil packet and add it to the grill with your bratwurst. When done, put the sausages into buns, top with mustard and onion/peppers. Yum!

Chicken and Orzo Skillet Dinner

I actually used pork tenderloin when I made this, but chicken would be good, too!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces
8 cups water
12 oz uncooked orzo
2 cups chopped tomato
2 tsp no-salt-added tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups baby spinach leaves
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS:
Heat a nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and saute 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Bring 8 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add orzo; cook 8 minutes or until orzo is al dente. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add reserved cooking liquid, chopped tomato, tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt, and peppers to skillet; cook over med-high heat for 2 minutes. Add chicken, pasta, and 3 cups of spinach leaves, stirring until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese.

Zucchini Boats

I found this on pinterest- and had some zucchini from a local Farmer's Market and also bought some organic marinara sauce there, too! These were delicious!! Click HERE for the recipe.

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 tsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups pearl onions
2 cups Gala apple wedges
1 TBL butter
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat. Pat onions dry with a paper towel and add them to the pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once. Add apple to pan; place in oven. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until onions and apple are tender. Stir in 2 tsp butter, thyme, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Sprinkle pork with remaining salt and pepper. Add remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan; keep warm. Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 1 minute or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in vinegar and remaining 1 tsp butter. Serve sauce with pork and apple mixture.

Italian Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup

From Sarah


A sweet friend made this meal for us and we loved it SO much I begged for the recipe. We made it this week- and it is SO good. It makes a lot, so I froze half of it to save for another time, which is a bonus in my opinion. I served with a loaf of Italian bread and a glass of wine!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb Italian sausage

1 cup chopped onion2 garlic cloves3 cans beef broth½ cup red wine1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz)1 can peeled whole tomatoes (28oz)1 can tomato sauce (15oz)1 cup sliced carrots½ tsp dried basil½ tsp dried oregano1TBS parsley flakes1 cup sliced zucchini1 large package of fresh cheese tortellini1 med green bell pepper choppedParmesan cheese




DIRECTIONS:
Remove the casing from the sausage. Brown sausage over medium heat in a 6-quart stock pot. Set aside, reserving drippings in the stock pot. Cook the onions and garlic in the sausage drippings for about 10x minutes. Add the cooked sausage, beef broth, red wine, crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, carrots, basil, oregano, and parsley flakes. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30x minutes. Stir in the zucchini, tortellini, and bell pepper. Cover and simmer for 20-25x more minutes until the tortellini are tender. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Mexican Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

I love a good crockpot meal, and this one was SO easy and a fresh new spin on our (almost) weekly Mexican night! I found this on Pinterest and love the Skinnytaste blog. CLICK HERE for the link. I also have found these yummy tortillas- they are LaTortilla Factory's Smart & Delicious Tortillas. They are whole wheat, high in fiber, low carb and low fat- and they taste great and don't tear/break when you fill them up! I served the pork on the tortillas, with Corn Salsa, guacamole and sour cream (or Greek Yogurt). I also spooned the juices from the crockpot onto the shredded meat- this helped keep it moist and tender and put some fresh cilantro on top. We've been fighting over the left overs- I think everything tasted better the next day!

Chef Paul's Cajun Meatloaf

I swear I've posted this before, but I couldn't find it (and had to dig out my written cookbook...gasp!)
It's super yummy and a good meal that I snuck more veggies in with some spinach leaves chopped up (I've been sneaking that in LOTS lately!)

INGREDIENTS:
4 TBL butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1 TBL plus 2 tsp Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic
2 tsp minced garlic
1 TBL Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Pepper Sauce
1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup very fine dry bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a 1 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, green onion, Meat Magic, garlic, Magic Pepper Sauce, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan until the mixture starts sticking excessively, about 6 minutes. Stir in the milk and ketchup. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the beef and pork in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, cooked vegetable mixture (remove bay leaves and make sure it's cooled!) and bread crumbs. Mix by hand, being careful not to overmix (overmixing releases proteins in the meat and makes it mushy). Blend just long enough to distribute the ingredients. Place mixture in an ungreased 13" by 9" baking pan. Shape into a loaf that is about 12x6x1-1/2 inches (it will not touch the sides of the baking pan). Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Raise heat to 400 and continue cooking until done, approximately 35 more minutes.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I used Pioneer Woman's Recipe for Dr. Pepper Pork with a Boston Butt Pork to make my Pulled Pork! It was SO good- really spicy, so I think I'll use half the can of chiles next time, but really good!

INGREDIENTS:
1 Boston Butt Pork Roast
1 onion, sliced
Salt and Pepper
1 can Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce (ONLY half the can or it will be really spicy!)
2 cans Dr. Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place roast in a crock pot, coat in salt and pepper and add onion. Pour chilies (with sauce) and Dr. Pepper over meat. Let cook on low for 5-7 hours. Pull meat apart and serve on buns with hamburger pickles and your choice of barbeque sauce!

Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin and Snap Peas

INGREDIENTS:
Hormel Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin
Frozen Sugar Snap Peas

DIRECTIONS:
Chop and cube the pork tenderloin when col. Cook pork in skillet with olive oil, and when done add sugar snaps. Cook until peas are done.


**Other flavors were recommended on the Hormel Pork Tenderloin as well!

Mushroom Porkchops and Peas

From Amy

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg boneless pork chops
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 large can very young small sweet peas, drained
1 small can very young small sweet peas, undrained

DIRECTIONS:

Brown pork chops. Combine the soup & peas. Pour mixture over pork chops, reduce heat to low, & cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve with rice.

Basil Pork Chops

Shared by Jamyn Eckelkamp


Ingredients
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick and 4 ounces each)


Directions
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, basil, salt and chili powder. Gradually stir in 1 tablespoon oil until crumbly. Rub over both sides of pork chops.
In a large skillet, cook pork in remaining oil over medium heat for 7-8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 152 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 312 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 6 g protein.

Baked Pork Chops

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
garlic salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
4 pork chops
1/2 cup butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. In a shallow bowl, combine crushed crackers and garlic salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Dip the pork chops in the egg mixture and coat with crackers. Place in a casserole dish and spread chunks of butter around them. Bake for 45 minutes.

I made sweet potato fries (just cut up sweet potatoes, drizzle in olive oil and coat with salt and pepper- bake along with the pork chops until tender) and steamed broccoli. I don't LOVE pork chops, but these were a decent filler meal for a quick mid-week fix.

Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry Sauce

This meal is so easy- and so great! It actually would be a delicious date meal (Valentine's Day!) although it's one of Tyson's favorite, too- he even at all his meat!! I got the recipe from one of my music professors who is also an awesome chef!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2-1/4 lb of pork tenderloin per person

Crystal Hot Sauce

Salt and Pepper

Sauce:

8 oz. jar of Polaner All Fruit (Smuckers) Black Cherry (you can use other flavors, but black cherry is the best!)

4 TBL soy sauce

3 TBL red wine vinegar

1 TBL dry mustard

1/4 tsp allspice

DIRECTIONS:

Set the pork tenderloin out until it reaches room temperature. Rinse it and pat dry- and trim all extra fat. Slater in hot sauce and salt and pepper.

Preheat a cast iron skillet on high and saute on each side for 3 minutes. Move the meat onto a baking tray and cook on the top rack in the oven for 17-20 minutes at 425. (The meat thermometer should read 150 degrees when it's fully cooked). Take out and cover pan with aluminum foil and let rest. Slice diagonally with a good knife.

While the meat is cooking in the oven, mix the sauce ingredients in a pan on low until it simmers. Stir very well. When ready to eat, pour over the meat and enjoy!

We love to enjoy great bread with our dinners- I sometimes brush olive oil over the loaf of bread and add italian seasonings before I bake it to give it a crispy, delicious taste. For this meal, I made Parmesan butter and cut the bread into slices- spreading the butter inbetween each slice and also on top. Then I wrapped it in foil and baked until warm and the butter was melted. I usually use french or italian loafs. Here is the butter recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick of butter (or you can use margarine, or I can't believe it's not butter)

1 TBL Romano/asidago/Parmesan shredded cheeses

1 TBL lemon juice

1 TBL white wine- use penogresso or chardonnay

Salt/Pepper

Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt

Put all ingredients into a food processor and mix. You can also mix by hand- just be sure everything mixes up evenly! This is SO good on bread- either before or after you've cooked it!

Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Succotash

INGREDIENTS:

2 boneless pork chops

7 TBL Flour

2 large eggs

2 TBL dijon mustard

Bread Crumbs (I usually buy Progresso Italian Flavored)
*Dried Basil and Chili Powder (I added these into the bread crumbs last time I made them and they were a yummy addition!)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 TBL butter

1 small onion, minced

1/2 red or green pepper, minced

3/4 cup frozen baby lima beans (thawed)

3/4 cup frozen corn (thawed)

2 tsp of parsley and basil mix

Salt and Pepper

Lemon Wedges

DIRECTIONS:

For the pork chops: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the flour on a shallow pan or plate. In a second shallow pan or plate, whisk the eggs and mustard with 3 TBL of the flour. On the third shallow pan or plate, place the bread crumbs with the cayenne pepper. Pat the pork chops dry and flatten them to 1/2 inch thickness. Season them with salt and pepper and then dredge them through the flour, the egg/mustard mixture and coat with the bread crumbs. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook each pork chop until well browned on both sides. Transfer to a baking sheet and let rest in the warm oven until the center of the chops register 150 degrees.

For the succotash: In a clean skillet, add 1 TBL butter and cook the onion and bell pepper until soft. Stir in the lima beans, corn and seasoning, along with the last TBL of butter. Cook until heated through and softened. Serve pork chops and succotash with lemon wedges.

Baby Back Ribs

To prepare Baby Back Ribs, I use 3 methods, and they are truly delicious! The first step is to cut them into about 2-3 ribs pieces. I boil those in salted water until they turn gray. Once they are done, I remove them from the water and brush the barbeque sauce of choice onto the ribs and put them on the grill. Once they are fully cooked, I put them into the crock pot with lots of extra barbeque sauce for about 2-3 hours, or until ready to eat. Messy- but so yummy!

Sausage Manicotti

This is a twist on Manicotti- made without any ricotta cheese! You can add ricotta in with the sausage if you prefer, but it's definitely yummy without! Especially if don't like the texture of ricotta cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. (Jimmy Dean) italian sausage

1 box of manicotti noodles

3 cans of italian-diced tomatoes

Olive Oil, 1 TBL

1 sm. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. In one skillet, brown the italian sausage. In another, heat the olive oil- adding the onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Add tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer. In a saucepan, prepare the manicotti noodles as the package directs (boil for 7-9 minutes). Drain the noodles and rinse with cool water. Stuff the noodles with the cooked sausage and lay into a baking dish. Pour tomato mixture on top and spread mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted. 

Excellent with French Bread and an Italian Salad!

Ham, Potatoes and Green Beans

Pretty easy! We are lucky to live close to a fresh produce stand, that I go to every chance I get!! They had these yummy new potatoes and fresh green beans, so I had to make this meal. I served it with dinner rolls and it was delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

Ham Steak

Dijon Mustard

Honey

Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

Brown Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet, or on a grill, cook the ham steak while covering with the remaining ingredients on both sides. 

*For the green beans and potatoes, I boiled them in a large pot with real bacon bits and vegetable oil. After done cooking, I drained the water and put butter, Nature's Seasoning and sliced onions and let cook until the onions were tender.