Barbecued Pork Chops

Tuesday morning rolled around and I opened up the freezer for possible recipe options for that night. Pork chops, salmon or hamburger patties. Leaning toward the pork idea, I opened up a couple recipe books for some ideas. However, no recipe seemed too intriguing.

Turning instead to my own imagination, I decided to make do with a new gluten free teriyaki marinade I bought earlier in the week, a barbecue and a considerable amount of flexibility. In order to spice things up a bit, I reopened one of my recipe books and flipped to the vegetable selections. I chose a parsnip and turnip mash and then sautéed some assorted veggies as well just in case the mash flopped.

Ingredients: 

4 pork chops

1/2 bottle of San-J Mongolian teriyaki sauce

2 cups turnips

3 cups parsnips

1 onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 heads of broccoli

10 chopped asparagus

1 tomato

After thawing the pork chops, place them into an open container and pour the Mongolian sauce over the meat. Allow to marinate for about an hour. During this time, heat up the barbecue and keep on high. Place the chops on the barbecue and cook for 4 minutes on each side.

 

During this time, chop up the parsnips, turnips and onion and mix in a medium sized bowl. Cover with olive oil and spread out on a aluminum foiled cookie sheet. Open up the 350 degree oven and allow to cook for 45 minutes. After, take out the cookie sheet and return them to the previous bowl. Beat together on high for two minutes and sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder and salt/pepper to taste.

For the sautéed vegetables, turn the stove on medium and drizzle in some coconut oil into a dutch oven. Olive oil works too, but the coconut flavor works really well with the teriyaki flavor of the pork. Add the asparagus and broccoli into the dutch oven and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomato and cook for another 5.

The pork ended up extremely well! I have a little bit more confidence manning the barbecue as well. However, the parsnip and turnip mash turned out too bitter for my taste. I think the turnip taste overpowered the parsnips and onion. It only became edible after topping it off with a few shakes of Tapatio. I recommend using half the amount of turnips next time and maybe beating in some chopped garlic as well.

A small bite of pork, mixed with a piece of broccoli and a small portion of the vegetable root mash formed a wonderful sweet, smoky, savory and spicy taste that prompted a satisfying smile on every dinner guest’s face. 

Another Creative Tuesday success!

Lemon Thyme Lamb Chops

Last Tuesday, I decided to not only attempt a recipe I had never cooked, but try a food that I had never tasted. Why not go all out?

Pork chops? Sure, I’ve had them and they are quite good. But, Lamb chops. Oh baby. I don’t know why I have never allowed my palette close to this delicious new delicacy that will now enter my kitchen on a regular basis. This recipe is extremely simple, yet the flavor bursts through the taste buds more and more with every bite.

Ingredients:

Lamb Chops:

2 tablespoons thyme

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 lamb chops

salt and pepper

Roasted Veggies:

15 pieces of asparagus

15 cherry tomatoes

10 brussel sprouts

10 baby red potatoes

garlic salt

red pepper flakes

Starting about 3 hours before the desired dinner hour, I mixed together the lemon juice, thyme and olive oil in a small bowl. After rinsing the lamb chops in cool water and patting them dry, I placed them in a large ziplock and poured in the marinade, making sure the lemony marinade covered them completely. I then let them marinate in the refrigerator for the next 2 hours.

30 minutes before go time, I set my oven to 450 and began chopping up all of the vegetables. I spaced them out onto a foiled cookie sheet, poured a little olive oil and sprinkled some garlic salt and red pepper flakes onto the veggies. I opened the oven and slipped in the assorted veggies for 20 minutes.

While the oven’s timer ticked on, I fired up the barbecue to high, sprinkled a little salt and pepper over the marinated lamb and grilled them on each side for about 5 minutes.

I also decided to sauté some portobello mushrooms in coconut oil with this meal because they pair so well with the lemon, thyme and barbecue-grilled flavor.

Right about the time, or should I say “thyme,” I took the chops off the grill, “Ding.” The oven called. The veggies were sufficiently roasted.

Picking my lamb chop, the mushrooms and finally the roasted vegetables, I looked at my plate with eyes full of hunger and accomplishment. This meal began with some mystery and a little doubt. But, might I say that it turned out!

I ate well on this Creative Tuesday, and I hope you enjoy the dish as much as I did!

Sunday Stir-Fry

Last Sunday, I had a craving for some creative cooking.

While the rain drops continued to fall onto my windshield, I drove down to meet a friend at the local Ralph’s in hopes that we would come together with a delicious recipe. Two heads are better than one, right? Maybe, but when low blood sugar plays a role, I rarely can make any cohesive decision.

So we meandered around the store’s isles for a little while piping in with an idea when we saw something new. Soup soon became an option. While it sounded divine, I didn’t have the patience to let the pot simmer for an hour or two. Plus, I have never made it before on my own and it would be sort of a shot in the dark. While my partner in grocery crime confidently stated that he could concoct a wonderful soup, I had my doubts and decided to temporarily check that off the list. He will have to prove that to me someday.

We then passed by the vegetables for the third time and he came up with a much more conceivable, and less time consuming lunch option. Stir-fry! The cook time for this steak-veggie-rice goulash made for a simple yet enjoyable cooking experience that I wanted to share with you all!

The great thing about stir-fry: There is a plethora of possibilities to toss in that spice things up and create an asian, hawaiian, mexican or all-out original flavor.

Here is what we came up with:

We came up with:

– 1 large carrot

– 1 red bell pepper

– 1 large zucchini

– 1/2 red onion

– 2 green onions

– 1 bag of portobello mushrooms

– 1 cup of jasmine rice

– 1 package of ready to cook stir-fry steak

– 1 bottle of gluten-free teriyaki sauce (I recommend the the San-J brand)

After purchasing our groceries, we unloaded the goods and got to chopping.

Before you do anything, pour the rice into a small pot of 2 cups boiling water and let simmer for 15 minutes or until all of the water has soaked into the rice. Then, cook the steak in its own pan until it has lost its pink color. Combine the bite-size veggies into another pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and allow to cook until the zucchini is soft and the onions have caramelized. Your work here is done! How easy is that?

Choose a bowl and spoon in some rice, the cooked vegetables and then top it off with the steak. Pour a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce over your stir-fry. Also, as you know, I love my sriracha and added a teaspoon of that into my bowl as well.

With that, sit back and enjoy your lunch. I recommend making meals like this alongside a good friend — the prep time provides good time for conversation and you can look back and with a small amount of pride at the beautifully colorful Sunday stir-fry.

Creative Tuesdays: Stuffed Peppers with Salsa Verde

As I lay awake the other night, unable to shut my brain off due to the unfortunate yet delicious cup of coffee that I drank too late in the day, a couple of new ideas ran through my head. With them came a whole new reason to look forward to and enjoy Tuesdays.

Now introducing: New Recipe Tuesdays!

From now on, I am going to pull out a recipe that has been gathering dust in my imaginary bookshelf of intriguing recipes. Yesterday marked the inaugural Tuesday and I attempted enchilada stuffed peppers with salsa verde. You may be like me and not want to hear about the outcome until after hearing the entire story first. But, can I just say: DELISH. I went to bed with a full and very happy stomach.

This recipe is a little time consuming, but every minute spent in prep time is worth the final outcome that had my taste buds dancing in victory.

This stuffed pepper produced more of a Mexican twist then I expected. Inside the Poblano pepper, i stuffed in sautéed turkey meat, spinach, carrots, yellow onion and sweet potato. I know what you may be thinking: what place does a sweet potato have in this dish? But, the seemingly out of place spud added a semi-sweet consistency that provided the stuffed pepper to achieve proper excellence. With all of the trimmings stuffed in and around the peppers, I stuck the pan in the oven and allowed them to bake for 30 minutes. All of the tastes culminated and formed a beautifully cohesive dish that left me happily surprised.

I also mashed up an avocado, sliced in some cherry tomatoes and splashed a little lime juice in a bowl to create a quick guacamole that accompanied the Mexican meal quite well.

Last but not least, the chile verde sauce caught me by surprise. The salsa pinnacled the pepper with just the right amount of tang and garlic-y goodness. I think I went back for seconds just to add yet another another spoonful of salsa verde onto my plate.

I recommend serving up a pepper, scooping out some guacamole, shamelessly spooning on the salsa verde and adding a quick drizzle of Sriracha to form the perfect plate.

Forget about dietary restrictions with a delicious meals like this. Who needs gluten?

Try this out. I dare you not to go back for seconds.