Spicy Pork Tenderloin

Here's another tasty recipe, and easy too!
It's called spicy pork tenderloin.
First the recipe, then the pics.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons bottled ground fresh ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon powdered)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°
Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; rub pork with spice mixture.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add pork.
Cook 6 minutes; brown on all sides.
Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 155°.
Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
While pork bakes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add ginger, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in broth and syrup, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring broth mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes).
Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with sauce.


Here's the pork browned and ready to go in the oven. The secret to great browning, heat the oil in a pan until very hot. To test when it's right, drip a couple of drops of water in the oil, it should sizzle and 'dance'. Put in the roast and cook on each side for about 30 sec. turn with wooden spoons so as not to puncture the meat. It will retain its juices better. And our roast was more like 2 1/2 lbs, so we cooked ours for about an hour.
Here's the onions nicely browned with the ginger added, and ready for the chicken broth and maple syrup.

Mixture reduced and ready to spread on the sliced pork.

We served it with fried potatoes and broiled asparagus. The meat was sooo yummy!

And I know, that's 3 slices of meat for each person. I don't know how anyone can eat just one!

Turkey with White Castle stuffing

For Christmas Craig cooks a turkey with White Castle stuffing.

That's right, he uses White Castle hamburgers. You can find them in the freezer section in the store. Let them thaw completely and tear them into small bits.

Here's a pic of them all torn up.
The recipe........
1 box (six) of frozen White castle hamburgers. (you can use fresh, but take out the pickle)
1 1/2 cups diced celery.
2 cups diced onion,
1/2 bag stuffing mix. (any seasoned type you want)
1/2 teaspoon thyme.
1/2 teaspoon sage.
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper.

Mix all the ingredients together.
Use a stuffing bag to make it easier to get the stuffing back out. Stuff the turkey with as much as will fit. Tie off the end of the bag.

For the extra stuffing I make a foil pouch to hold the rest so it will fit in the corner of the oven with the turkey. Make sure to add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the stuffing in the pouch to help moisten while cooking. Add the pouch to the oven for the last hour of cooking.
Here's a pic of the turkey, stuffed, seasoned and ready to cook.

If using a roaster pan cover and cook at 325 for recommended time. if using a foil roasting pan, make a tent out of foil and cover, not letting the foil touch the turkey, and cook.

Make whatever side dishes you want. We had scalloped corn and scalloped potatoes.

Enjoy a delicious turkey dinner!

fried potatoes

We eat fried potatoes quite a bit. They're very tasty and satisfying. And here's how to make them...

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick.
Arrange in a frying pan coated with cooking oil. (we use olive oil)
Sprinkle with Paprika, and a little garlic, and Cook on medium turning frequently until browned and crispy.
Wasn't that easy? and they're so yummy!

Beef stir fry

A tasty beef stir fry.

We used a beef sirloin for this meal. Also mushrooms, snap peas, red pepper, and onions.The secret to tender lean beef, is to let it simmer in the marinade sauce.

We seasoned and browned the meat. remove to a plate, then saute the onions peppers and snap peas. Mushrooms don't take as long, so we did them in a separate pan. Then add all ingredients to same pan, add marinade, we used orange juice, teriyaki sauce, and some cornstarch for thickening, and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Turkey dinner

Ummmm! Turkey dinner!
Craig is a traditionalist when it comes to holiday meals, and Thanksgiving is one of them.
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and scalloped corn.


His turkey is always moist and tasty. He does stuff the turkey, and makes extra stuffing on the side. Then mixes them together before serving. He then puts the turkey into a roasting pan and seasons the outside with a rub. What ever seasonings you like. Add some water in the bottom, and make a tent out of foil and completely seal the pan. But not touching the skin, this allows the turkey to steam as it cooks, making it extremely moist. Cook at 325. The time depends on the weight. Craig will cook a 13 lb turkey for 6-7 hours. Uncover the turkey the last 30 minutes so it'll brown nicely.
Scalloped corn and home made mashed potatoes finish the meal.

And we always eat too much! It took 2 plate to hold the food!

And there you have it. A delicious turkey dinner!

Panko Chicken with broiled marinated Zucchini and fried Potatoes

Panko Chicken with broiled marinated Zucchini and fried Potatoes.

If your not familiar with Panko, you really need to try it. It makes the best crunchy coating when baking any kind of meat. It's completely different from regular bread crumbs.


First you need a liquid to dip the chicken in so the crumbs will stick better. I usually use Egg Beaters, but I've also used fat free dressings like Italian or Ranch. I've even used Miracle whip. So just about anything you like. Now I add seasoning to the crumbs for more flavor. I use Mrs Dash and garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.

Dip the chicken in liquid, roll in crumbs, and place in a greased pan. I foil the pan for easy clean-up afterwards. Spray with spray butter, for better browning . Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Slice the zucchini lengthwise and place in a zip-lock bag. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, and a teaspoon of Oregano. Marinate for 30 minutes. Broil for 20-30 minutes, turning once until tender and browned on edges. We like a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled when served.

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Arrange in a frying pan coated with cooking oil. Sprinkle with Paprika, and a little garlic, and Cook on medium turning frequently until browned and crispy.
And there you have it! A tasty dinner!

Beef Stroganoff and Honey Ginger Carrots

Craig loves to cook!
And here's his recipe for Beef Stroganoff.
Take your choice of beef, he used top round for this one.
Slice bit size across the grain.
Season. Craig used garlic and cumin.
Add half a can of any beer, set aside.

In a pan saute 1/2 cup chopped onions and 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms with olive oil, or canola, till golden, then move to a plate.

Add meat to pan and cook till browned.
Reduce heat to simmer, Add onions and mushrooms to pan and add 3/4 cup skim milk with 1/2 cup light Alfredo sauce and packet of beef stroganoff mix. Stir and simmer until thickened.

Stir in 3 Tablespoons of sour cream. We used fat free sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.

For the honey ginger carrots, microwave carrots in water till just fork tender. We used mini carrots. Drain. In a pan add carrots with spray butter. Add teaspoon ginger and drizzle with honey. Saute until golden, and glazed, about 5 minutes.

Now Craig rarely measures things for recipes, so the amounts I put in the recipes are estimates.

spicy-sweet pork tenderloin

This was a new recipe we found in a magazine. It was very good! A nice change from broiling or baking.

Spicy-Sweet Pork Tenderloin

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 (3/4-inch-thick) slices
1/3 cup bottled salsa
1 tablespoon seedless raspberry preserves

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Flatten each pork piece to 1/2-inch thickness using your fingertips. Add pork to pan; spoon soy sauce mixture evenly over pork slices. Cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn pork over; cook 3 minutes or until done. Remove from pan.
Add salsa and preserves to pan; increase heat to medium-high
Cook 30 seconds or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.
Serve pork with salsa mixture.
Now we used 2 pork cutlets instead of the pork tenderloin, and it was great!

We served it with pan fried potatoes, and marinated grilled asparagus with Parmesan and spray butter. Yummy!

Potato Salad

Craig's delicious, creamy, Potato Salad recipe!

First off, there are a lot of different types of Potato Salads, and I like most all of them, (heck, I like most foods period!)
But this is my favorite! It's easy and tasty!.

2lbs cooked potatoes with skin on. (Craig prefers red potatoes, but you can use any kind)
1 cup chopped Onion
3 stalks chopped Celery
5 hard cooked eggs diced(with the yolks separated and put aside)
1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip, Fat Free
1 Tbs white vinegar
2 packets of equal(or any artificial sweetener)
mustard to taste(Craig uses about 2 Tbs)
1/8 tsp pepper.

Put the first 4 items in a large bowl.
Mix the rest of the items in a second bowl and add the mashed yolks and stir.
Add the creamed mixture to the large bowl and stir.
Chill, and Enjoy!
You'd think Craig could at least smile for the camera! (he doesn't like his pic taken)

Graham Cracker Pudding Cake

Here's a really easy dessert, that tastes like the riches cake you've ever eaten!


Graham Cracker Pudding Cake


-Graham Crackers
-Chocolate pudding
-Cool Whip
Place crackers on a serving plate,
any shape or size.
Spread pudding on cracker,
about the thickness of the cracker.
Then alternate pudding and
cracker until you reach the
size you want.
Cover and refrigerate till morning.
spread cool whip over top and sides,
maybe some colored sugar sprinkles,
and serve.
It is so tasty!!

String Pie

Now this is one tasty dish!

8 ounces spaghetti
1 med onion peeled and finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta, drain.
Preheat oven to 350 F
Cook beef, onion, green pepper in large skillet over medium heat until meat is brown, stirring to separate meat. Drain drippings.
Stir in spaghetti sauce
In a large bowl, combine cooked spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and butter; mix well.
Place in bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.
Spread cottage cheese over top
Pour meat sauce mixture over cottage cheese.
Bake 20 min or until hot
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top of casserole and heat until melted.

Now Craig tends to modify all the recipes he finds, and for this one he added diced tomatoes and green onions when he served it.

The above pic is a piece that was left over. Forgot to take an original pic.

Stuffed Meat Loaf

Craig makes many different meat loafs, but this ones my favorite!

Stuffed Meatloaf

1lb. extra lean ground beef
1lb Lean Hot Italian Turkey Sausage(casings removed)
dehydrated onion
3/4 cup grated zucchini
3/4 cup grated carrots
1-16oz can of pinto beans (drained and smashed)
2 eggs

Topping,
I can tomato paste
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 can sliced mushrooms

mix all ingredients in a bowl (except topping), cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a separate bowl, mix 1 12oz pkg of Kraft free shredded cheddar cheese with enough Egg Beaters to moisten.
On waxed paper, sprayed with cooking spray, spread the meat mixture out to about 1 inch thick.
Spread cheese over the meat leaving 1 inch from edges.
Roll into a log or fold in half and put in a casserole dish. Seal the ends by pinching the meat together.
Bake at 350 for an hour and.
Remove from oven (Careful, it will be hot!)
Spread topping over the top, bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until done.
Remove from oven (careful, still hot! use oven mitts!)

Let cool 10-15 minutes.

Creamy Turkey Pie

Here's another recipe to warm you on a cold day. Creamy Turkey Pie!


Creamy Turkey Pie


1lb ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 oz package fat free cream cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 pkg low fat refrigerated biscuits or bread
(the kind in a rolled can)
1 egg
1 cup fat-free cream-style cottage cheese
1/4 cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese
1 tbs flour
chopped tomatoes
chopped onions
4 oz. fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Brown turkey with salt and pepper, and saute onions. Drain.
Stir in cream cheese til combined, add mushrooms, set aside.
In a lightly greased 9 inch pie plate, spread bread dough, pressing onto bottom and up the sides to about 1/2 inch over edges.
Spoon in turkey mixture, spreading evenly.
In a bowl, combine egg(remove the shell), cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and flour. Mix till smooth. Spoon over turkey mixture.
Bake uncovered 25-30 min at 350.
Remove from oven(careful, hot!). Let stand 10 min.
Garnish with tomatoes and onions, and cheese.
Enjoy!

Wet Burritos

For this edition of C/C, here's a favorite of mine, wet burritos! They're soooo tasty!
And he makes them low fat. Here's the recipe.
6 large flour tortillas
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can enchilada sauce
1 pkg brown gravy
1 8oz bag fat free shredded cheddar cheese
fat free sour cream
3 bunches chopped green onions
3 Roma tomatoes chopped
1 pkg low sodium taco mix
Brown the ground beef and add the taco mix, let simmer according to directions. Heat refried beans. heat the enchilada sauce mixed with the brown gravy.
Lay out a flour tortilla, spread some of the refried beans, the beef, onions, cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. Roll up and place in casserole dish.
Then pour enchilada/gravy sauce over them and garnish with left over cheese, onions, and tomatoes. Heat in microwave or oven until warmed through.
Enjoy!
This recipe should make 6 burritos.

Home made Pizza

Home made pizza.
Start out with store bought pizza dough. Make it to instructions and spread out on a pizza stone.


Spread store bought pizza sauce over dough, then mushrooms, meat, and finally mozzarella cheese. Bake at 425 until crust is golden brown.

What makes this a better pizza health wise, is he uses 4% fat ground beef, and 2% Mozzarella cheese. He also adds mushrooms. We like our pizza's fairly basic.

And of course for the best crust, you have to use a pizza stone.

Home made Nachos

A good easy lowfat Nachos.

We love nachos!

And to make them better for us, we used baked tortilla chips,

2% Mexican shredded cheese,

and 96% lean ground beef.

Spread the cooked ground beef over the chips, top with diced tomatoes, and green onions, add the cheese, stick it under the broiler for a few min. and enjoy!

Pineapple Pecan Cream Pie

An absolutely heavenly pie! Pineapple Pecan Cream Pie

 1 can crushed Pineapple

 1 cup sugar 

1 can sweetened condensed milk 

8 oz cool whip 

1/4 cup lemon juice 

1 cup chopped pecans

 Heat sugar and crushed pineapple, add cornstarch mixed with water till you have a pie filling consistency. Cool .Mix condensed milk with cool whip. Gradually add Lemon juice. Fold in chopped pecans and the cooled pineapple mixture.

Pour into a baked 9-10 in pie shell. Chill for at least 2 hours, if you can wait that long!

Tomato Cups

This is a wonderful appetizer! And easy and quick! Your guests will love them!


Now we filled them up full, and they were perfect!

Turkey Rice Casserole

Turkey Rice Casserole.

This is a great recipe for using leftover Turkey!

Pre-cook long grain rice. Craig added chopped green onions and carrots while cooking the rice for a color and nutritional boost.

Put half the rice in a greased baking dish. Top with turkey, chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, and fat free shredded cheese. Top with rest of the rice mixture and top with remaining gravy. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Yummy!

Baked Pork Cutlets and Stuffing

Baked Pork Cutlets and Stuffing.

Take one package of stuffing mix,

one package mixed frozen vegetables.

Thaw first. We used Broccoli, Corn, Red Peppers, and Cauliflower.

You could use fresh also but the frozen was easier.

One can Cream of mushroom soup. You could use any cream soup you want.

Mix all three together and put into casserole dish.

Trim excess fat from Pork Cutlets, season and place on top of stuffing mixture. See pics.We used Garlic, Cilantro, and Cumin.You can use what ever you like.

Bake at 400 for 40 min.

Enjoy!

Corned Beef Dinner

Corned Beef Dinner!

This is the most tender tasty Corned beef you'll ever eat!

2 Cups water

1 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Cup Chopped Carrot

1 Cup Chopped Celery

1 Bottle Guinness Stout Beer

1 Can Low Salt Beef Broth

2/3 Cup brown Sugar1 Can Tomato Paste

1 Tablespoon Dill Weed

6 Black Peppercorns

2 Whole Cloves

Combine everything in a slow cooker.

Top with 3 lbs Corned beef Brisket. (trimmed of fat)

Cook on high 8 hours.

Discard liquid and serve.

And with it we had fried cabbage, and boiled Potatoes.