Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Salsa

Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite things to grill in the summer. It is so easy to make as you can just throw it on the grill with some salt and pepper or dress it up with most marinades. It can also go well with many grilled side dishes. I served this dish with grilled asparagus and halved baby red potatoes both tossed in EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), salt, and pepper.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, divided

1/2 cup minced shallots, divided

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 pork tenderloins, about 2 1/2 pounds total

1/2 pound fresh cherries, stemmed, pitted, halved

1 fresh Fresno chile, red jalapeño, or Holland chile, thinly sliced crosswise

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup minced shallots, 4 tablespoons lime juice, and vegetable oil in a resealable plastic bag. Add pork; seal bag and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup shallots, 2 tablespoons lime juice, cherries, chile, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season salsa lightly with salt and pepper and set aside to let flavors to meld.

Remove tenderloins from marinade and season generously with salt and pepper.

Grill tenderloins, turning frequently, until a thermometer inserted into meat registers 145°, about 15 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Cut into thin slices and serve with salsa.

Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna on Mixed Greens with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Ok, this one sounds like a lot, but it's really quick and easy to whip up. AND it was delicious! Seriously, I got home from a 10.5 hr day of work at 6:30 and dinner was completely ready by 6:50 with Joe's help at the chopping board :)

Mmm- Doesn't that look good?!

The Greens
It's good to have helping hands to chop up all of the goods while you mix the dressing and sear the tuna. Just dice and chop everything up! In this mix we used:
-Cabbage
-Spinache
-Broccoli
-Cilantro
-Bok Choy stalks
-Cucumber
-shredded Carrots
-sliced Strawberries


Wasabi Vinaigrette 
Combine and Shake Well!!

Red Rice
You'll see this dish used time and time again with me, so just try it! It's good with everything!

• 1 c rice
• 1 c water
• 1 can diced tomato (with basil, garlic, or whatever)

1. Bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to LOW, cover, and let simmer 15 without opening the lid!

Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna

• 1 eight-oz tuna steak
• 3 T sesame seeds
• 1 egg, whipped
• 3 T olive oil

1. Dip tuna in egg, then sesame seeds (on both sides)
2. Sear in a pan with olive oil on medium/ medium high heat on each side for just under 2 minutes each.
3. Slice going with the grain and lay atop Mixed Greens.
4. Add a scoop of Red Rice. The hot rice with the cool salad makes a nice wilty and refreshing treat with the Tuna!
5. Drizzle with Vinaigrette.

   

   When you sear the Tuna, you'll still see some Pink/Red on the sides when it's time to pull it out of the pan.

Casey's Chicken Parm

You can tell that Jolene and I must be friends if we made the exact same meal on the same night and didn't even plan it! My chicken parm is a little different than hers as I used jarred sauce, breaded my chicken, and baked it in the oven after browning it.

I think the secret to chicken parm lies in pounding out the breast meat, breading the chicken, and using a meat thermometer so it does not get over cooked. For the recipe below I used Bertolli Sauce from a jar and Kraft mozzarella cheese. The Kraft cheese I used has the "Touch of Philadelphia Cream Cheese" in it and it was FABULOUS, a little more expensive than the Kroger kind but so delicious and creamy. However, you can substitute for any type of sauce or cheese you prefer. I also mixed Italian breadcrumbs with the panko so the mixture was half and half, for texture reasons.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

4 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water and seasoned with salt and pepper

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 cup vegetable oil or pure olive oil

Tomato Sauce

1 pound mozzarella, shredded or thinly sliced if fresh

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Fresh basil or parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Dredge each breast in the flour and tap off excess, then dip in the egg and let excess drip off, then dredge on both sides in the bread crumbs. There is a certain way that I like to bread my chicken which I think really helps. When you are dredging it in the flour, egg, and bread crumbs, only use one hand on the chicken. Use your other hand to sprinkle the flour and bread crumbs onto the chicken if it dosen't stick. Do not use your "sprinkle hand" hand in the eggs at all. If you do and it gets gooey, wash your hand before proceeding. The dryer you keep your "sprinkle hand" the easier it will be to flour and bread the chicken completely.

Divide the oil between 2 large saute pans and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add 2 chicken breasts to each pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking dish and top each breast with some tomato sauce, a handful of shredded mozzarella, and a tablespoon of Parmesan. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 10 to 15 minutes or until your meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and garnish with basil or parsley leaves.

Serve over pasta mixed with sauce, and garlic bread.

Jolene's Chicken Parmesan

I think Chicken Parm may be my all time favorite... I'm trying to nail down a recipe for red sauce. Today it came out kind of chunky + watery. I was looking for something a little smoother and more continuous. The flavor was aMAaAzing, but next time I'll try pureeing after cooking the sauce.

Chicken Parm takes: Red sauce, Spaghetti, Fried chicken, Parmesan cheese.

Red Sauce

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 2 hours
Makes: 6 cups red sauce

Ingredients:

• 15 tomatoes
• 1 sweet onion, chopped finely
• 7 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 hunk of pork (I used a pig foot)
• 1 glug EVOO
• 1/4 c red wine
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3 chopped green onions
• fresh basil
• 2 bay leaves
• salt, pepper

The Tomatoes 

1. Fill two large pots with water, bring one to a boil and add ice to the other. Set aside a large mixing bowl.
2. Once boiling, put each tomato in the boiling water for 30-45 sec (4-5 at a time). Remove the tomatoes from the hot water and place directly into the cold water.
3. While more tomatoes sit in the boiling water, transfer your cold water tomatoes to the mixing bowl. So on and so forth.
4. The tomato skins will either already be off or will peel right off.

The Saute Pan

1. Add one glug of oil to a pan on medium heat. Add the pig foot to the pan and cover for 5 minutes.  
2. Add onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes.

The Sauce Pan

1. Put the tomatoes, saute pan contents and the rest of the ingredients into a large pan on medium heat. Really you'll just heap the wine, sugar, spices and pig's foot together with the peeled tomatoes and cover.
2.  Cover and let simmer on low for a half hour.
3. I take a wooden spoon and bust up the tomatoes after a half hour... it feels like it's speeding the process up.
4. Let it simmer and stir occasionally for the next hour or hour and a half. I think depending on the tomatoes you get, it will take varying amounts of time to cook the water off. Roma tomatoes have thick walls and less water, so they make sauce faster.
5. Once the sauce is cooked, let it stand while you make the chicken and pasta. Before serving, take half of the sauce and puree it. Combine it with the non-pureed sauce.

Fried Chicken 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c flour
• salt, pepper
• 2 t garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 chicken breasts sliced in half.

1. Put a few of the half breasts into a large Ziploc bag and smash them up with a rolling pin. It's therapeutic for you and it startles your guests!
2. Begin heating some oil in a fry pan on medium heat.
3. Dip a breast into the egg, then into the flour.
4. Dip it again into the egg and again into the flour.
5. Repeat for all chicken breasts.
6. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. The oil should bubble up when the chicken hits the pan, so to tell if it's hot enough, drop a little flour goober into the oil. It should bubble and float.
7. Top each fried breast with parmesan or mozzarella cheese when it comes out of the oil, the cheese should melt on it.

Combine Spaghetti, Chicken and Sauce. Enjoy!

Joe's Review: "It smells like Olive Garden in here!" :)

Camper's Sausage Gravy Delight

Travis and I love to go car camping but don't like to skimp on the food. I always like to make sausage gravy at home, put it in a tupperware, and bring it camping in a cooler. It is always so good to wake up after a night of car camping and eat a warm, hearty, home cooked meal. We just throw it in a cast iron on the fire or camp stove, heat it up, and serve with biscuits. I premake the biscuits at home and put them in a zip lock bag. I don't make my own biscuits because Grand's Buttermilk Biscuits are an absolute favorite in our house, and if it ain't broke why fix it?

Ingredients

Serves 4 (or 2 hungry campers)

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a saucepan, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in butter until melted. Sprinkle with flour. Gradually stir in milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Serve over biscuits or place in a tupperware for later use.

Grilled Pork Chops with Maple Syrup Sweet Potatoes

Another easy meal which is great for dinner guests as it is inexpensive, easy to make, and always a crowd pleaser. I served the pork chops and sweet potatoes with a side salad and Arizona Arnold Palmer mixed drinks. This half iced tea, half lemonade liquid mix, found in the liquor section of the grocery store, makes one of

my all time favorite summer drinks. Special thanks to Travis my grill master who does ALL the grilling!

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 1-inch thick bone-in pork chops (about 2 pounds)

Salt & Pepper

4 small sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into wedges

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs maple syrup

2 scallions, sliced

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium-high.

2. Toss the sweet potatoes with 1 Tbs oil and some salt and pepper.

3. Place the potatoes on the grill, reserving the bowl. Cook, turning often, until tender and slightly charred, 12 to 16 minutes.

4. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. After 10 minutes of cooking the potatoes place the chops on the grill. About 5 minutes per side.

5. To the reserved bowl add the syrup, scallions, remaining Tbs of oil and some salt and pepper. Add the sweet potatoes and serve with the pork.

Even Cash enjoys a pork chop!

Salmon, red rice, and eggplant Jo Jo's

This is my twist on an easy way to dress up salmon that's quick and always a hit!

Ingredients:

• 2 four oz pieces of salmon (I got the "tomato basil" ones from the fresh fish market at Giant Eagle)
• 1 c long grain rice
• 1 c water
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (basil, garlic and oregano seasoned)
• 1 egg plant
• 2 glugs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• rock salt ("Jal Jeera" is the Indian name, or "Chaat Masala" ... I think Casey referred to this as "house seasoning")

 Red Rice

1. Combine rice, water and canned tomatoes in a medium pot
2. Uncovered, bring to a rolling boil
3. Reduce heat to LOW, cover, and let simmer 15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let stand until the meal finishes cooking. Resist the urge to open the lid when you remove it from the heat. Just let it be, child.

**Get this started because it can sit for as long as the meal takes to cook.

Salmon
1. Preheat oven to 400 F, put salmon on a baking tray

Eggplant Jo Jo's

1. Cut eggplant into 2" rings, slice rings in half (into two half circles), stand the half circles up, and slice them into 2 wedges.
2. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Season with salt, pepper, rock salt
4. Add to baking tray (with salmon if you're a one pan weirdo like me...)

Bake

1. Bake Salmon and Eggplant at 400 for 15 minutes.

Voila! Fresh, yummy, healthy, and quick! Joe's review: "...the rice came out soft and perfect... I give it a 3.5 out of 4" (Cue: Jolene gives Joe a nasty look and clears throat) "Actually, 3.9 out of 4." Moral of the story, Don't piss off the cook... duh!