Stepmom's Honey Sesame Tenderloin

Note: Again, not my photo. One day when I have a nicer camera I'll take photos of the food that I cook. I think that my camera would make anything look unappetizing...

Source: my stepmom

If you cook both tenderloins, makes enough for 4-6 servings. I usually just make one and it's plenty for my husband and I, plus a little bit of leftovers (I freeze the other).

Prep time: 1 hour+ marinading, 15 minutes prep time, 30 minutes cook time.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (I'm lazy about mincing so I buy a HUGE jar of pre-minced stuff. It's good and doesn't go bad like fresh garlic can.)
  
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh giner or 1 tsp dry ginger
• 1 lb whole pork tenderloin (i.e. 1 tenderloin from the package of two)
  
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. Place tenderloin in a heavy plastic bag, pour soy mixture over it. Let it marinate 1-2 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

2. Remove from marinade and pat dry. Mix together honey and brown sugar in a shallow plate.

3. Place sesame seeds on a separate shallow plate. Roll pork in honey mixture, coating well, then roll in sesame seeds.

4. Bake pork in a shallow pan at 375 degrees from 20-30 minutes, or until the meat thermometer hits registers 160. 30 minutes works for us.

5. Remove from pan and slice thinly to serve.


My Comments: I love this recipe. My stepmom sometimes makes it for special occasion dinners, like Easter. The pork always comes out tender with a wonderful flavor. I usually have rice with it and make a sandwich with the leftovers.

Greek Tacos

Note: Not my photo. But it turned out pretty much like this.

Source: Tasteofhome magazine

Makes 12 tacos according to the recipe. We used the larger taco shells with flat bottoms (the ones that stand up by themselves) and I would say we got maybe 8 or 9.

Prep time: 20 minutes or so

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (I subbed ground turkey and it was great)
  
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach (I think I'll add a third cup to make it healthier next time)
  
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained (I don't like black olives, I just approximated the amount using kalamata olives)
  
• 1 package taco shells
• crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

Directions
1. In large skillet, cook meat over medium heat, drain. Stir in the tomatoes, Greek seasoning, garlic and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 8-10 minutes or until thickened. Add spinach and olives; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

2. Meanwhile, place taco shells on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake following the directions on the box. Spoon in meat mixture, top with feta cheese and onion.

My Comments: I liked it because it was simple, yummy and something different. If you sub the black olives for kalamata ones you probably don't need the full amount because they have such a strong taste. I also feel like it's healthier than regular tacos. The recipe would also work well with pita bread.

How to make lobster bisque

This isn't my recipe. I got it from this link: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-lobster-bisque.html and there is a couple of changes I would/did make.

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth- I'd make sure it was low sodium
8 oz clam juice
14.5 oz stewed tomatoes and juice
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 onion, diced
1 large leek, diced (just the white part!)
1 T dried parsley
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning mix 1 tsp dill
1 cup heavy cream (to add later) Same as heavy whipping cream
2 lobster tails (to add later)
lemon slices as garnish
also need a large crock pot and an immersible mixer

How to make:

Combine broth, clam juice, tomatoes, onion, chopped mushrooms, leek, parsley, dill and Old Bay. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Use the immersible mixer to blend everything together into a broth. Add lobster tails, cook on high for 30-45 minutes or until the tail has turned pink and meat is fork-tender. Remove lobster tails from crockpot, add in heavy cream.

Take the meat out of the the lobster tails with a fork, add to the soup. Serve with a lemon slice for garnish!

My personal notes:

Use low sodium chicken broth. It could also stand for a bit more cream. Heavy cream is the same as heavy whipping cream, which confused me when I was in the store.

After the first step, you're going to look into the crockpot and say, "Wow, that's a lot of mushrooms." Don't worry, they blend up nicely.

Also, here is what a leek looks like-
I had to ask two kindly older ladies to help me find one in the grocery store (they weren't labeled). I asked two because the first didn't know what one looked like either.

Monday Recipe: Bruschetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I took the basic recipe from Kraft.com and switched it up a bit. I love this recipe because it's something different to do with boring chicken.

Serves 2-3. Prep time: 15-20 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 can of diced Italian style tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons of dried basil
• 1/2 package of Chicken Stovetop Stuffing
• 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breast halves (3-4 per package)
• Italian dressing
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix tomatoes, 3/4 cup of cheese, and basil in bowl. Add stuffing mix, stir until just moistened.
3. Place chicken breasts into large freezer bag. Pound with mallet or heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch think. Remove from bag, place top side down, and pour thin layer of dressing on chicken breast. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at narrow wend, tightly roll up each breast. Put in baking dish seam-side down and repeat with other breasts.
4. Drizzle with dressing.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with rest of cheese, bake 5 minutes more.

Baked Salmon

I've been attempting to introduce more fish into our diet....but I hate "fishy" tasting fish. This recipe is great!

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time (with marinade): 1 hr 35 min Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 Salmon fillets. I buy a bag of individually packaged ones from Walmart.
• 6 tablespoons light olive oil
• about 1 teaspoon dried basil
• about 1 fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves/2 teaspoons minced garlic
  
• salt and pepper--up to you how much
  
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (or in my ever so scientific way, "a couple of squirts"

Directions
1. Mix up the marinade in a large ziploc bag. Mix together the garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon into ziploc bag and marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes.

Crockpot Chicken Burrito Mess

This is a work in progress--someone on a message board I frequent suggested it without giving any specifics. I'd love any suggestions for extra/different ingredients.

Serves 6-8. I'm attempting to freeze half, not sure how that's going to turn out.
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 6 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 pack of chicken breast tenders
  
• 1 can of medium salsa
  
• 1 can of corn
  
• 1 can of black beans
  
• large burrito flour tortillas
  
• other Mexican fixings: shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.
  

Directions

1. Put chicken in crock pot.
2. Add in salsa, corn, and beans. Be sure to drain the water from the corn and beans before adding it.
3. Stir.
4. Cook on low for six hours.
5. The chicken is now very tender and will shred simply by stirring it vigorously.
   
6. Serve as burritos on flour tortillas

The verdict? A teensy bit bland but still pretty tasty. Next time, I think I'm going to consider adding lime, chicken taco seasoning (you can buy the packets at Wal-mart, I use it for quesadillas), and perhaps canned diced tomatos and onions (the type you put in chili).

Crockpot Chicken Alfredo

I'm always looking for something new to cook in my crockpot and I came across this recipe. Here's my scaled down version of it.

Serves 4-6. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 7 hours.

Ingredients

• Half a jar (7.5 oz) of alfredo sauce. Classico brand is very good.
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of pesto
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, or one clove of minced garlic. I'm lazy and buy the pre-minced stuff from a jar.
• 1 pack of frozen chicken breast tenders
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
• 1/2 cup of Italian blend cheese

Directions

1. Pour the alfredo sauce into the crockpot.
2. Add milk and stir well.
3. Drop in garlic, butter, and pesto, and do not stir. I have no idea why not, but it worked for me.
4. Place frozen chicken on top of alfredo sauce.
5. Cook on low for six hours.
6. After six hours, remove lid, stir, and add cheese on top. Cook for one more hour.
7. Serve with pasta!