~Simple Skillet Pork w/Green Beans~

Wow!  I can't believe the last time I posted it was Thanksgiving!  Where've I been since then?  Well, just about everywhere.  If you go to our family blog, you can get all caught up if you'd like; but in the last few months, we managed to spend the holidays with both our families (in UT and CO), and moved to and got settled into our new home in Stuttgart, Germany. 

Now that we're pretty much settled in, I'm starting to spend more time in the kitchen again (especially since my work schedule has allowed this to happen as of late--early nights, gotta love 'em!).  However, I just haven't felt like blogging about cooking lately.  I just thought that tonight, I'd give it a try.  Maybe this will inspire me to dust off my other cookbooks...perhaps to bake up something nice and sweet!

So you guys know how I LOVE simple recipes?  Well, this particular recipe is just that..  If you were to make it for your friend's they'd mistake it for something you spent the entire evening slaving away to make.  It makes for a wonderful presentation, yet you use very few ingredients--some of which you probably have just lying around in your kitchen.  Chicken is really played out in our house, so pork was a nice change.  And mushrooms are a favorite.  It's always nice when you get to decide just how many mushrooms to put in the sauce.  The recipe called for 2 cups, but I LOVE mushrooms and loaded them in.  This cream sauce was the bomb too....oh my goodness....just take the recipe and try it!

Simple Skillet Pork with Green Beans

by Kraft Food & Family (Spring 2011)

1 lb. pork tenderloin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 lb. thin fresh green beans

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup Kraft Light Honey Dijon Dressing

2 oz. Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1.  Cut meat into 3/4 inch thick slices; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness.  Season with garlic powder and black pepper.  Heat oil in large non-stick skillet on medium heat.  Add meat; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.  Transfer to platter; cover to keep warm.

2.  Add beans to skillet; cook and stir 4 or 5 minutes until crisp-tender.  Transfer to platter with meat.

3.  Cook and stir mushrooms in same skillet 1 minute.  Add next 4 ingredients; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until Neufchatel is completely melted and sauce just comes to a boil.  Serve over meat.

I subscribe to the Food & Family magazine and without fail, they've got several recipes that I'm dying to try.  And ALL of the recipes are as simple as this one, yet utterly delicious.  I'll be making a few more dishes out of this month's issue this week!

Cashew Sweet and Sour Pork

I've been doing fairly well, creating a dinner menu for the week and sticking to it!  My hubby has enjoyed every dish I've made so far, as have I.  

This dish, Cashew Sweet and Sour Pork was also taken from Cooking Light.  You think I'd be losing weight with these recipes.  Unfortunately, I haven't quite grasped the concept of portion control.  I can't seem to limit myself to one serving.

What's cool is that we happened to have fresh pineapple on hand, so I had the hubby dice it all up for me.  It added the right amount of sweetness to go with the sour of the vinegar sauce.  But it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet like the kind you'd get at your favorite Chinese restaurant. And I just loved the crunch from both the cashews and the snap peas! We had this with steamed rice...yummy!  You can actually see the steam in the picture below, as we ate it right out of the pan!

Cashew Sweet and Sour Pork

by Cooking Light

1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain

2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

1 tablespoon sherry

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1/3 cup finely chopped dry-roasted cashews, unsalted

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 teaspoons bottled minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed

1 (8-ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, drain

 

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sherry, and pork, tossing well. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch, water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and ketchup, stirring with a whisk.

Heat the peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add cashews, green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add snow peas and pineapple; stir-fry 3 minutes or until snow peas are crisp-tender.

Add vinegar mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Serve the pork mixture over rice.

Enjoy!

Christmas Day Yummies!

Okay, so I think I may have gone a little overboard on chocolate during our family Christmas Day party. Actually, my entire family went overboard on food period, but it was a great time. In this picture, you can see some of the sweet treats I served up that day. In addition to chocolate fondue, complete with pretzels, marshmallows and angel food cake, I served up some delicious brownies and some truffles. I also whipped up a pulled pork recipe that I borrowed from one of my fellow bloggers. These were only a few things featured on that day's menu. We had everything from Beef Bourguignone and traditional Filipino food to various side dishes and casseroles. I'm still feeling the tightness in my jeans from that day! So scroll on down, and I'll you'll find recipes for the desserts/dishes that I made.

Up first are these Ooey Gooey Bars, compliments of my TWD Elfster Secret Santa, Melissa, of Love at First Bite. As I've mentioned before, Melissa and I go way back to our high school days and she got me started with blogging. She has an awesome blog, which I reference quite frequently. With her Christmas card, she enclosed two of her favorite family dessert recipes. One of which, were these Ooey Gooey Bars, which were very rich and completely delightful!

The only problem is that I'm a dud and the card with the recipe on it was packed this morning with the rest of my cookbooks and kitchen items. So I'll have to post the complete recipe later on in a few weeks. I will be in sunny El Paso, Texas by then. So sorry Melissa, this post doesn't really do you or the Ooey Gooey Bars any justice, but I want you to much how much I appreciate you sharing your family recipes with me!

So you know how those 8 oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese boxes have neat recipes inside them? Well, I found this particular recipe in one of those boxes and turned out some lovely looking chocolate truffles--my first batch ever. They make a lovely presentation, but were very rich. I still have some leftover, probably because they were overshadowed by Melissa's brownies and the chocolate fondue. They're extremely easy to make and perfect if you have a little helper that loves to be in the kitchen with you.

Simply Sensational Truffles

(from 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

1. Melt 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Shape into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

3. Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Finally, months back I saw this recipe on Pamela's (one of my favorite foodies!) blog--Cookies With Boys. Who would have known that root beer would make the perfect marinade/sauce for pulled pork? Not I, but I do love the drink as do a couple other members of my family. So it was an instant hit and received rave reviews. Thanks Pamela for featuring this on your blog! As I am typing this, my mouth is watering. But since all my stuff is being packed as we speak, it'll be a little bit before my crock pot will be available for me to make this again.

Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce

(from Better Homes & Gardens)

1 2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 cup root beer*
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles)*
1 cup bottled chili sauce(used a whole 12 oz. bottle)
1/4 teaspoon root beer concentrate (optional)

Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
8 to 10 hamburger buns, split (and toasted, if desired)
Lettuce leaves (optional)
Tomato slices (optional)

1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.

4. Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. To serve, line buns with lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if desired. Add meat and onions; spoon on sauce. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

*Note: Do not substitute with diet root beer