Balsamic Steak with Fruit & Gorgonzola

BALSAMIC STEAK

with FRUIT & GORGONZOLA

(low calorie: about 222 per serving)

1-1/2 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed and cut into six 4-oz filets [or use a pre-cut lean beef steak]
1 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper
1 Tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tblso strawberry jam
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
6 Tblsp Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 Tblsp fresh basil, minced

• Season filets with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Add filets; sear 2-3 minutes per side for medium. Transfer filets to plate; tent with foil.
• Add vinegar to the pan; cook until liquid is reduced by half, 5 minutes. Whisk in jam; stir to dissolve.
• Serve steaks with balsamic sauce, strawberries, and Gorgonzola; garnish with basil.

recipe directly from CuisineLite, Spring 2013 edition

Sweet Potatoes w/ Crispy Prosciutto

SWEET POTATOES

with CRISPY PROSCIUTTO

1-1/2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato (1 large potato)
2 tsp olive oil
1 slice prosciutto or 1 strip bacon, diced
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tblsp chicken broth
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tblsp fresh parsley, minced

• Cook sweet potato in a pot of water until fork-tender, 6-8 minutes; drain.
• Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto, cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes. (if using bacon, omit oil).
• Stir in garlic; cook 2-3 minutes. 
• Stir in broth and salt; cook until broth evaporates, about 5 minutes. 
• Garnish sweet potatoes with parsley.

recipe directly from Cuisine Lite Spring 2013 magazine

Chicken w/ Blueberry Sauce & Blue Cheese

SAUTEED CHICKEN 

with BLUEBERRY SAUCE & BLUE CHEESE

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
1 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tblsp shallots, minced
1/4 cup dry Maderia or sherry
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tsp crumbled blue cheese

• Pound each piece of chicken between plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/2 inch using a meat mallet. After pounding, cut each chicken breast into 2 pieces. 
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken on both sides until cooked through, 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; tent with foil.
• Saute shallots in pan with 1 tsp oil over high heat, 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with Madeira, cooking until liquid is nearly evaporated.
• Add blueberries; simmer until berries start to burst, about 2 minutes. Add broth, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
• Crush blueberries with a potato masher; simmer 2 minutes.
• Place 2 chicken pieces on each plate. Top servings with blueberry sauce; garnish with blue cheese.

recipe directly from Cuisine Lite Spring 2013 magazine

Easy Supper Club: Herbed Pork Roast

"Easy Supper Club"

from Southern Living's 

"Cooking for Christmas"
Bacon-Arugula-Apple Bites
Herbed Pork Roast
Roasted Fall Veggies
Puffed Mashed Potatoes
Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad
Brandy Alexander Cheesecake

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

HERBED PORK ROAST

1 (4-5 lb) untrimmed pork loin roast

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Kitchen string

5 Tblsp olive oil, divided

2 Tblsp chopped fresh sage

2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tblsp chopped fresh thyme

1 Tblsp chopped fresh rosemary

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle pork with kosher salt and ground pepper. Tie pork with kitchen string, securing at 2-in intervals.
• Cook pork, fat side down, in 3 Tblsp hot oil in a stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Place fast side up, on a wire rack in a aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Remove kitchen string; make 5 (1/2-inch deep) cuts in pork.
• Stir together sage, next 3 ingredients and remaining 2 Tblsp oil. Stuff herb mixture into slits in pork.
• Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155 degrees F. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Thursday: Roasted Fall Veggies & Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad

The Ultimate Mashed Potatoes

So a few years ago, one of my amazing friends, Catherine, invited us for a Thanksgiving dinner. So, of course we went and had a ton of food and turkey and the whole sha-bang. With the whole sha-bang, were these incredible mashed potatoes. I mean INCREDIBLE. I just HAD to know how to make them. So she told me. And I've been making my mashed potatoes this way ever since.

This isn't exactly "low fat" or "low carb" either...but using "low fat" cream cheese instead helps...just a smiggen.

THE ULTIMATE MASHED POTATOES

6-8 red potatoes, diced
1 block cream cheese (8oz)
2 tablespoons Milk (maybe more/less)
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Boil diced potatoes, skin on, in water until tender. Drain.
• Place potatoes and cream cheese in stand mixer (doing this by hand is extremely difficult, be warned, you might hurt in places you didn't dream about having after you do!) and beat on medium until mixed together.
• Carefully add milk (this is where it would be more/less. If its too thick, add more milk!) and add the salt.
• Make sure you taste them and add more salt if needed. NO PEPPER!
• Beat the potatoes in the stand mixer for a good 3 minutes. You want them whipped pretty good!
• Serve warm (of course!) and enjoy!

This is a great recipe to freeze as well. I usually make OVER the amount I need and freeze in little batches. I use the little batches when my hubby is out of town and I need a quicker dinner--just pop in microwave and heat for a few minutes, stirring in between.

Corn Crisps

***Thanks to Pinterest, I'm getting a lot of traffic on this recipe! So, WELCOME! Please take a look around at other recipes, there are some fabulous ones (if I must say so myself)! And please "like" me on FaceBook so you won't miss anything! Thanks again for taking the time to visit and enjoy the food!***

I saw these in "family fun" magazine and had to try. We all LOVE corn and these looked like the best bite-sized side for any meal!

CORN CRISPS

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper [optional]
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 T [tablespoon] unsalted butter, melted
1-1/2 cups can or frozen corn, thawed if frozen [I think it could do with MORE corn, so try adding 2 cups]
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
Canola or vegetable oil

• In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cumin, sugar, and cayenne. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter. 
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until they are just blended. Fold in the corn and scallions.
• Pour oil in large nonstick skillet [until it come up 1/4 inch on the sides] and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. 
• For each crisp, drop a slightly rounded tablespoon of batter into the oil. Fry them in batches over medium-high heat until they are golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Transfer the crisps to a paper towel-lined sheet pan, sprinkling them immediately with a bit of salt. [this can be taken out--it was pretty salty with the sprinkled salt on top, in my opinion]
• Repeat with the remaining batter.

Grilled Stuffed Pork Loin

GRILLED STUFFED PORK LOIN

Not all pork loins can be stuffed. When choosing a pork loin, look for short and wide shape. That gives more surface area once roast is opened up. Avoid long and thin pork loins, too little room for stuffing.

Filling
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large shallot, halved lengthwise and sliced thing crosswise
1 1/2 cups packed dried apples (4 oz)
1/2 cup packed dried cranberries
1 tblsp grated fresh ginger
1 tblsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper


Bring all the ingredients to simmer in medium saucepan over med-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Push mixture through fine-mesh strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to saucepan and simmer over med-high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup cup, about 5 minutes; reserve glaze. Meanwhile, pulse apple mixture in food processor until uniformly coarsely chopped, about 15 1-second pulses. Transfer filling to bowl and refrigerate while preparing pork.

Pork
1 boneless center-cut pork loin roast (about 2 1/2 pounds)
kosher salt and ground black pepper
vegetable oil for cooking grate

Cut meat into an even 1/2 inch thickness. Start cutting across on bottom, "rolling" meat out until you have an even thickness rectangle. Click HERE for a similar cutting strategy. Season liberally with salt and spread apple filling en even layer, leaving 1/2 inch border. Roll tightly and tie with twine at 1-inch intervals. I used my special  reusable "food loop" ties that I used as a giveaway HERE quite a ways back. They are awesome!

INDIRECT heat grilling
Heat grill on high heat, scrap grate to clean, then rub oil over to prevent sticking. Turn off one side of the grill and place the roast, with fat side up first, on the side without flames. Continue grilling, rotating only once, until instant-read thermometer stuck in the thickest part of roast reads 130 to 135 degrees F. About 55 to 70 minutes. When you flip the roast half way through, brush with the reserved glaze. Brush roast again 5 minutes before removing from heat.

Transfer to cutting board and loosely cover it with foil, and let it rest 15 minutes. Cut into slices and serve immediately!