Herb Crusted Pork Loin with Cauliflower Puree

When I think of Sunday night dinners, the first thing that comes to mind is a roast, whether it be chicken, beef or pork. There's something so comforting and easy about making a roast, it usually requires little effort to put together and cooks mainly in one dish in the oven. If you're lucky enough to own a meat thermometer you can set an alarm when the roast has reached a proper cooking temperature to avoid over cooking and drying out the meat.  Last night I made my moms favorite; herb crusted pork lion with cauliflower puree. I have been making this dish for many years and I could probably do it blind folded. I get so many compliments on the puree, people think it is mashed potatoes!  I love to serve this dish when we have family and friends over, but last night it was just a table for two, my husband and I :)

Herb Crusted Pork Loin with Cauliflower Puree 

3 lbs boneless pork loin with fat on top-at room temperature 

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp fresh rosemary

2 tbsp fresh basil

2 tbsp fresh sage

1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 Preheat oven to 475F. Lightly score the fat with a knife to allow flavorings to seep into the roast. In a small food processor blend garlic, rosemary, basil, sage, salt, pepper and oil. Rub marinade all over roast. Place in baking dish with fat side up. If you own a meat thermometer insert it in the middle section of the roast and set the alarm to 150F.  Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350F and roast for another 25-30 minutes.  Remove roast and let stand 10 to 15 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute throught the meat and to finish cooking, the temperature will increase 5 degrees. 

Slice and serve. 

(Keep the juices from the bottom of the pan to use as gravy, yum!)

Cauliflower Puree

1 baking potato, cleaned, peeled and chopped

1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and chopped

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

pinch of fresh nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot with water, add potatoes and cook until fork tender. Remove potatoes and reserve the water, add cauliflower to that starchy water and cook until tender (you may need to add a little more water).  Transfer cooked potatoes and cauliflower to a large food processor and add butter, cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Serve with roasted pork and pan drippings.  

Turkey Black Bean Chili

TURKEY BLACK BEAN CHILI

When the temperature outside dips below 60F I get excited about making soups and stews. Today I am sharing a recipe that I just love, turkey black bean chili. Turkey is a nice option to have since many chili recipes call for beef. I originally came across this recipe from a Williams Sonoma categlog, after making it a few times I adopted it with my own personal touch.  I hope you enjoy it!

Turkey Black Bean Chili

• 2 15 oz can of black beans (I like the low sodium one)
• 3 14.4 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1.25 lbs ground turkey (dark meat works best)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 jalapenos, diced and seeded
• 1 8oz can of tomato paste
• half pkg. of taco seasoning 
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano 
• salt and pepper
• water

In a large dutch oven on medium low, saute onions and garlic until softened.  Add diced red bell pepper and jalapenos. Stir and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes until the peppers are soft. Add ground turkey breaking it up into small pieces. Cook for 10-12 minutes, season with  salt and pepper. Rinse and drain black beans and drop them into the turkey mixture, next add the fire roasted tomatoes with their jucies. Add tomato paste and the rest of the seasonings. Stir and simmer on low for 50-60 minutes. If the chili is to thick add some water to thin it out. I like to serve this with sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, and tortilla chips. This recipe can feed an army! It also freezes well if you decide to save some for another time, but at my house this chili doesn't last very long. 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Labor Day weekend, a time to enjoy a BBQ or Cook Out with friends and family to celebrate the end of summer. Typically hot dogs and burgers are served with some kind of pasta salad and Cole slaw.  This year I wanted to do something different, I decided to make pulled pork from scratch in my slow cooker. I gathered some "how to" recipes online and came up this recipe for pulled pork. I served it with blue cheese slaw and my mother-in-laws famous broccoli salad. Making pulled pork this way is very inexpensive and can serve up to 8 people. Sure you can cheat and buy prepared pulled pork from your local grocery store, but making it on your own is super easy specially if you have a slow cooker and a little time on your hands, trust me you will not be disappointed. 

• 4 lbs boneless pork roast, some fat trimmed 
• drizzle of oil
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire 
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• burger buns
• blue cheese slaw

 Drizzle roast with oil and season with a little salt and pepper and transfer to your slow cooker. In a large bowl, mix together BBQ sauce, vinegar, stock, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. Pour over roast, top with chopped onions and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 5-6 hours. 30 minutes before roast is done, transfer roast to a large plate and shred with two forks. Meat should be very tender and easy to pull apart. Transfer meat back into slow cooker and stir, cover and cook until timer goes off. The sauce start to thicken at this time. Serve with toasted buns topped with blue cheese slaw and extra BBQ sauce if needed. Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Slaw: Mix together pre-shredded Cole slaw mix with a few tbsp of blue cheese dressing. 

Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

SAUSAGE AND SPINACH LASAGNA

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 oz sweet italian sausage, casting removed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 15oz part skim ricotta cheese
• 8 oz fresh baby spinach 
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F. Light grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Cook noodles for 8-10 minutes, drain and set aside. In a large skillet with olive oil saute onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces.  Pour in jar of mariana sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce thicken, season with salt and pepper. If you have fresh basil on hand toss it in.  Meanwhile, in a large bow mix together ricotta, spinach, parmesan cheese and egg. Season with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. Spread some sauce on the bottom of the baking dish top with 3 noodles, spinach mixture and sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and left over sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 45-50 minutes, remove foil and brown form an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!

I love making lasagna, and I usually play around with the some the ingredients, sometimes I will use whole wheat lasagna noodles, turkey sausage or ground dark turkey(1.25 lbs) in place of the pork sausage. My favorite marinara sauce is Aunt Mary Ann's Sunday Marinara by La Famiglia Del Grosso. You can certainly use which ever sauce you have, or buy whatever is onsale. You could even make a sauce from scratch if you have the extra time. Make 9 servings.

Classic French Roasted Chicken

Hi my name is Jessica and I am a foodie. I love everything there is to know or learn about food. I'm not sure when exactly I became like this but I know I have always had a passion for food. My family members are also foodies, which helps. The purpose of this blog is to share some of my favorite recipes from my kitchen to yours. 

So take this journey with me it should be fun...

Ok, here we go recipe number one

CLASSIC FRENCH ROASTED CHICKEN

• Olive Oil
• 1 whole chicken (4-5lbs) at room temperature
• 2 springs of fresh Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano
• 1 large head of garlic, cut horizontally, unpeeled
• 2/3 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)
• 6-8 baby potatoes, cut in half
• 3 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into thick chunks
• 4 shallots, peeled and left whole or 1 large onion, peeled and 
• 1 tbsp herbs de Provence  
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450F. Rub the inside of a dutch oven with oil. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Toss in half of the fresh herbs as well as half of the garlic into the cavity of the chicken. Put the chicken in the dutch oven, place the other half of the garlic and herbs in the pot. Pour in a few tbsp's of oil, wine or chicken stock around the chicken. Cover and slide the pot into the oven.  Roast, undisturbed for 45minutes.  After 45 minutes, toss in potatoes, carrots and shallots with enough oil to give them a shine.  Season with more salt and pepper.  Cover, roast undisturbed for another 45 minutes. Total roasting time is 90 minutes, so be sure you have enough time on your hands. Remove chicken from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes, covered. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil, be sure to remove the garlic inside the cavity, you will need it. 

Bring pot to the stove top and simmer on low. You should have enough liquid to make a sauce with the potatoes, carrots, shallots and garlic. Carefully squeeze out the roasted garlic into the sauce. If you need more liquid add some chicken stock. Adjust the seasoning. Finish with a tbsp of butter. Carve chicken and serve with the vegetables and sauce. I like to make a nice salad on the side for a complete meal.  This meal easily feeds up to 4 people. It's very inexpensive to make, it just takes time. So if you have some time on your hands this is an excellent meal to make. I usually make this for special occasions or on Sundays when I have a lot of time. Enjoy!

Key Lime Colada

KEY LIME COLADA

I recently came back from Islamorada, Fl with a friend and we discovered this drink called Key Lime Colada. One sip and I was hooked!! I had to know how to make them so I could enjoy them at home. I found a great recipe that tastes just like the one we had at the Holiday Isle. 

Makes 2 drinks to share, or 1 big drink. Enjoy!

• 1/3 cup KeKe Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur
• 1/3 cup Malibu Rum
• Splash of Pina Colada Mix
• Juice of 1 key lime
• 2 cups ice

*optional: rim with graham cracker crumbs

Blend and serve!