Lemon pork with rosemary

Last night I couldn't decide what sounded good for dinner. The hubby was starving after work, so we decided to just to a quick "whatever" night. That usually means sandwiches, cereal, oatmeal...something simple and cheap.

But, then I remembered I had these two leftover pork loins in the freezer. They are very small, but SO tasty. I also had a zucchini leftover from some bread I made yesterday. So, I decided to get to work.

Ingredients:

2 pork loins
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 t Rosemary
1/2 lemon (juice)
onions (about 1/4 cup sliced thinly)
1 zucchini

Directions:

Cook the pork loins over medium heat in 1/2 cup water and cover with lid to let the steam do the work. When almost done, squeeze almost the whole half of lemon juice onto the pork and add the onions to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and rosemary.

Once pork is cooked through, add peeled and chopped up zucchini to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until zucchini is tender, but not mushy. (Unless you're the type who like mushy vegetables, in which case, you probably won't want to eat dinner at our house.)

Remove contents from the pan and serve! (Makes one serving, well for me it did, but I'm sure you could serve two with it if you had some additional sides. The pork is very thin, though, and not super filling.)

How did it turn out? I loved it. I squeezed some more lemon juice on the zucchini afterwards, and that tasted great. It wasn't very filling, though. It would probably be good over some pasta or served with some steamed rice. I had some zucchini bread for dessert, and I was still kind of hungry. When I tried to share this with my husband, he politely replied, "No thanks, I'd prefer a turkey sandwich." Whatever. :)

Tilapia with tomatoes

This was a great recipe. It's only for two fillets, so if there are more in your family, you'll need to adjust the recipe accordingly. It was a great and fresh taste, a really good summer meal!


Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato (I used canned)
5 T sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 tilapia fillets

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mash together the garlic and tomato. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper Place the fish fillets in a shallow baking dish.

3. Bake fish for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until about halfway done. Remove from the oven, and pour the tomato sauce over it. Return to the oven, and cook for 10 more minutes or until fish fakes easily with a fork.

***It always makes me nervous to cook fish in the oven, because I never feel like I know exactly when it's "done". Next time, I think I'll cook the tilapia in a pan on the stove in some olive oil and then add the sauce to the top when it's done and warm it through.

Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

I cannot remember who's blog I found this recipe on, but it's a delicious and creamy pasta. She said that she had copied it from a dish at Macaroni Grill. In her recipe (listed below) she used broccoli, but that's not a favorite in our house so I substituted green beans. They were fresh and frozen ones, but the taste was a little strong. I think next time I might try frozen peas or corn...or both.

The only tip I would give is that when you're making the sauce it's going to feel like you're adding a LOT of milk and that it's going to be too thin. But, don't worry. If you keep stirring and keep it over heat like she says, it turns out creamy and wonderful. We loved it!

Ingredients:

pre-cooked grilled chicken strips
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 cup sundried tomatoes
approx. 10 oz. penne or bowtie pasta
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add frozen broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cook time.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet then add flour and stir until well combined. Pour in milk and stir. Add chicken and sundried tomatoes and cook until heated through.

Combine once both are finished and stir.

Grilled Chicken Italian Pasta

I apologize that the lighting on this picture makes the dish look disgusting, but I promise it's not.

This is our big sister's recipe and every time I eat it I wonder why I don't make it more often.

My two-year old asked for THIRDS! It's that good.

Directions:

Grill some chicken (preferably on the b-b-q) and right before you take it off the grill, brush on some Ken's Steak House Three Cheese Italian Dressing.

Go inside.

Now turn some water on to boil.

Put some onions and red or yellow or orange sliced peppers in a skillet with some olive oil

(don't use green peppers, they just don't go as well)

Cook until all are soft.

Now add a can of Italian diced tomatoes (drain liquid first)

Add a pinch of sugar

When your pot of water boils, add pasta (I prefer bowtie)

Now slice or chop or dice up your grilled chicken and add to skillet mixture.

When pasta is done, drain and add to skillet.

Serve with parmesean cheese on top and some nice french bread on the side.

Pudding Extravaganza

I cannot take credit for this beautiful creation because (brace yourselves) .... my husband made it.

I know! Can you believe it? But, he did.

I can't say it's much of an "original" recipe, but it tasted awesome, and here's what he did.

Ingredients:

One small box of the Jell-o instant chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
5 strawberries
Cool whip
Mini chocolate chips
8 animal crackers

Directions:

Mix the mix with the milk as directed, stirring for two minutes.
Pour the pudding into your dishes and then garnish with the toppings.

It tasted SOOO great. Maybe it's because they're our first strawberries this year...but, they tasted like candy, they were so sweet!

Give it a try. The Jell-o is $.76, why not?