Sweet and Fiery Pork Tenderloin w/ Mango Salsa

The other night I made an amazing dinner of pork and rice.  I love trying out new recipes (with a fifty-fifty chance of it being great).  Along with being a time killer, Pinterest is a great source for cooking concoctions.  For me, a picture says a thousand words and delicious looking dishes catch my eye.  I came across a picture from Skinnytaste that looked so good, that I just had to try the recipe.  The BF and I have been trying to eat better, so I'm happy that I came across this site.

I also served this with the Coconut Rice w/ Cilantro that was recommended with the pork on the same site.

Sweet and Fiery Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa from Skinnytaste (the nutritional info is at this link)

(Makes 4 servings)

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 lb pork tenderloin

1/4 c sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (or more to taste, which I doubled since I like spicy)
For the salsa (makes about 1 cup):
1 large mango, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp minced jalapeno (I just chopped up jalapeno slices)

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Combine all the salsa ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Refridgerate the salsa until it's ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Mix the garlic salt and ginger in a bowl.  Rub evenly over the pork.  And place the pork in a roasting pan.  Roast the pork for 40-45 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

Mix the chili sauce, honey, and sriracha sauce in a small bowl. 

Brush the sauce over the pork during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Slice the pork and serve with the pan drippings (I actually ended up making more sauce to pour over the cooked meat) and mango salsa on the side.

Brown Coconut Rice w/ Cilantro from Skinnytaste (with the nutritional info at the link)

1 c uncooked brown rice (I used white jasmine rice since that's what I had; just be sure to change the rice-to-liquid ratio)

1 c lite coconut milk

1 1/4 c water

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, crushed (I used minced garlic) 

1/4 tsp salt, or more to taste

2 tbsp sweetened grated coconut (I used some coconut shavings) 

3 tbsp cilantro

In a medium sized pot, add the coconut milk, rice, water, ginger, garlic, salt and coconut.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low.  Cover and simmer until all liquid evaporates, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from the heat.  Keep it covered for 10 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss with cilantro.

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I put some salsa over the rice, and the rest of it over the pork, with the additional sauce I made.  Although it took awhile to cook, it's pretty hands off.  Cutting up the mango was the most extensive part of the process.  This one had the BF and I's seal of approval so it's a keeper!

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi

NYC...with pictures!

Over the weekend, the BF and I took a kind of last minute trip to NYC.  We only live a couple of hours away, but have never actually been.  We took the Mega Bus, so we didn't have to worry about traffic, tolls or parking.  I was able to sleep and the BF was able to catch up on his PSP games.  We stayed at the Flatiron Hotel (which was one of the coolest places I've stayed in by the way!) on 26th St.  Considering this was our first visit and we only had a day and a half, we kept our trip to Times Square, Central Park area and the vicinity around our hotel.  Oh yea, we made it in the background on the Today Show as well (Check us out in the background between Bill and Guiliana).  Since it was ridiculously cold (we're talking like 6 degrees or something!), not that many people were hanging around the studio, so the camera guy was able to have conversations with all of us and got us on camera a couple of times when the show was coming and going from commercial.  My mom DVR'd the show.  We can now say we've been on national television :)  It did snow while we there too, but it turned to slush by the end of the morning.  Oh, and our hotel was by Koreatown, so alot of eating was spent there.  Now that we know our way around the city, we'll venture into other neighborhoods and ride the subway next time. 

A tv in the bathroom mirror!

Al's weather report.

My purchases from the korean grocery store.

Times Square.

Taking a break in Central Park.

The city squirrel that crawled up the BF's leg.

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi

NYC

We're currently sitting on a bus on our way back. I'll post pictures with a recap soon!!

Old Man Feet...

These cartoons are a pretty accurate depiction of myself and the BF (with the first being pretty spot on).  I have feet like an old man, not in looks (hopefully) but because they get unusually cold for no reason.  Some may see it as a circulation problem, but I see it as opportunities to keep the BF on his toes (no pun intended!).  When I see an opening, I'll slide my frosty feet under his shirt as a kind reminder that I'm next to him.  I also think it's awesome the boy is blonde and the girl is brunette...and that there's a look of utter shock and pain on the guy, while the girl clearly has a look of amusement.  That's so totally us.  I don't see any sort of evil with this at all....

 

I am also apparently a bed hogger.  I'll start on my designated side and then throughout the night I end up with a glorious amount of space, the dog will have my original space, and he's left cradling the edge.  Oops.  I blame it on my old mattress with the dip in the middle.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I'm convinced that when we finally do get a new (and bigger) mattress, there won't be a problem.  We'll see. 

By the way, if anyone knows where these pictures are from, let me know so I can give them credit!

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi

Pinterest Is Gonna Be The Death Of Me

Pinterest has struck again!  A couple of days ago, I ended up with another project I saw on that wonderful site.  The first project was flip-flop hangers, which I'll show another time. 

Like I said in my previous post, I make a weekly menu plan.  I stumbled across this great idea at make and takes.  Why have a generic white dry erase board when you can reuse an old frame (or buy a cheap frame, like I did)?

My supplies: frame and scrapbook paper

I cut the scrapbook paper to fit the frame. I printed out the days of the week (using font from Peas For Font) onto the paper.

And you have your dry erase board. Even if you don't have anything written, the design of the scrapbook paper makes it decorative. As a side note, the BF and I use our other board as a "funny drawing" board. One of us starts a drawing, and the other has to finish. On this particular day, he started the drawing and I finished it with a chubby samurai with freckles and a scar.

And it erases just like a dry erase board.

Bring it, Martha Stewart.

Stay classy my friends,

Heidi

Stereotypes Are Bad, But I Really Do Belong In the Kitchen

So the past couple of years, I've learned to love cooking.  While living at home, I hardly ever cooked.  I had no reason to.  Mom always had something lying around.  Usually, I just had to nuke it up in the microwave.  And once I started driving, I'd just go out to eat. 

When the BF and I moved out here, he did almost all of the cooking.  I was already working at my new job, so he had the time to whip up something for dinner.  And now, almost 4 years later, I've taken over the kitchen and now cook 4-5 nights a week, with each dinner usually being a brand new recipe.  I love being in the kitchen!  I love trying new stuff and I love tasting how different ingredients go together.  I can count on one hand how many times the BF has been in the kitchen in the past 3 years, and I'm completely okay with that.  Now, I'll be honest and admit that there have been many disasters that I refuse to bring up in detail, but they were lessons learned.  My recipe book is forever growing and it's getting hard to make repeat dishes when there are so many new things I want to try.

I plan out the menu a week ahead (usually on Fridays or Saturdays).  With planning the menu out for the week, I know exactly what I need grocery wise and the BF knows what's for dinner and the "open" nights where I don't plan on cooking.  Making a menu and couponing (which will be another blog post one day) helps save so much money.  As a side note, I consider myself obsessive compulsive and I usually have to have a "system" for stuff and my menu making is one of those systems.  If I didn't do it the way I do now, I'd have so much anxiety. 

So anyway, this week, I'm gonna share two things I made that ended up worth noting.

Earlier in the week, I made a bbq chicken pizza.  The flavor was awesome, the BF and I just weren't fans of the crust, which was store bought (Wegman's, which I usually love all of their food, so I'm wondering if I just baked it for too long).  Next time, I'll try a crust I know we've liked before or even make it myself.

So the recipe I kind of put together.  It had elements that I saw for a couple of different pizza recipes.  I cut the chicken into pieces.  I cooked the chicken in oil in a pan, added bbq sauce to the chicken while it was cooking.  I sauteed some chopped onions and minced garlic, and also added a little a bbq sauce to that.  I brushed olive oil and sprinkled grated Parmesan over the crust.  I then spread some bbq sauce over the crust.  I added the chicken, a little cheese, the onions, a little more cheese, jalapenos, and a little more cheese, oh and crushed red pepper.  And I popped it in the oven for a great tasting pie. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

And yes, that it a cardboard tray it was served on.  I didn't want to dirty up another dish, so I used the tray the crust came with.  Resourceful is what I think it is.

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And tonight, I made a repeat of something I made a long, long time ago (there's so much in my approved recipes book, that it's rare for me to repeat one).  I actually think the original was a recipe from Kraft.  I tweaked it tonight.  Cook up a box of rotini or whatever pasta you have.  Cut up some chicken and cook it in a pan with oil.  Add chopped bell peppers and onions, add about a 1/4-1/2 cup of zesty Italian dressing and a tablespoon of chili powder (or less if you don't like spicy).  Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of salsa and 1/2 c of sour cream.  Add some corn for a slightly crunchy texture.  Stir in the drained pasta and stir.  Then add shredded cheese.  Mix.  And because the BF and I love spicy (what we consider normal is raging hot for almost everyone else), I added crushed red pepper, spicy taco seasoning and some chipotle powder for a smoky flavor.

Fiesta Chicken Pasta

And I still get stuck with the dishes about 50% of the time.  What happened to whoever cooks is exempt from cleaning?

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi

K is for Kimchi

Courtesy:  wikibooks.org



Yummm!!!!!!

Dr Oz. gives kimchi his seal of approval.  If you don't know, kimchi is pretty much a vegetable that's fermented in spices.  It sounds disgusting, and I think it is a bit of an aquired taste.  There are also variations of kimchi.  My mother, who is Korean, makes an awesome cucumber kimchi.  That's what I grew up on.  Put some of that with rice, and MMMM, I was in heaven for a few minutes.  Traditional cabbage kimchi, I wasn't always a fan of.  It wasn't until recently when I started eating at a local Korean restaurant that I fell in love with it.

Lately, I've been cooking a lot from Jaden Hair's Steamy Kitchen, both her site and cookbook.  I've found bunches of her recipes that have been delicious, easy and fast.  I stumbled upon a recipe that I already had ingredients for, so no need for the store, which is my kind of recipe!  This particular one had two of my almost favorite foods:  fried rice and kimchi.  I couldn't find the recipe on the website, but it is in her cookbook the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. 

*Note:  I've learned from various sources throughout my recent years that the best fried rice is used with leftover rice that was in the fridge.  The rice dries out in the fridge, but when it's fried, the moisture goes back into the rice, leaving an amazing fried rice.

Korean Kimchi Fried Rice

Serves 4

(I cut this recipe in half since it was just two of us) 

4 c. previously chilled cooked rice

2 tbsp high-heat cooking oil

1/2 c diced red bell pepper

1/4 c chopped green onions

1 tbsp finely minced garlic

Chopped kimchi

1 tbsp soy sauce

1-2 tsp kimchi juice

(I didn't have much in the jar, so I also put in some Sriracha sauce)

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

With a fork, gently separate the grains of rice.

Set a pan or wok over high heat.  When hot, add 1 tbsp of the oil and swirl to coat.  Add the bell pepper and green onion and fry for 15 seconds.  Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.

Add the rice, toss with all the ingredients, and spread the mixture out all over the cooking surface.  Let fry, untouched for 1 minute.  Add the kimchi, soy sauce, kimchi juice and salt. Toss very well to mix all the ingredients.  Again, spread the rice out all over the cooking surface and let fry, untouched for 1 minute.  Repeat the tossing, spreading and 1 minute frying until each and every grain of rice is heated through.  Taste and adjust with additional soy sauce if needed.

Dish out the fried rice, rinse the pan and dry thoroughly.  Return the wok to high heat.  When the wok is hot, add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat.  Crack the eggs into the wok and let fry for 1 minute.  Then turn the heat to medium-low and continue to fry the eggs until the whites are completely set and the yolks are still runny.  (The BF and I aren't fans of runny eggs, so I just fried them and it worked out great!) 

Top each portion of fried rice with an egg and garnish with additional kimchi.

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Now, I wish the recipe was on her site because my picture looks nothing like the pretty picture Jaden took of her dish.  It actually doesn't look nearly as appetizing, but looks are deceiving because it was so good!!!

You can kinda see the egg under there!  Also note my kitchen must have, Sriracha sauce (specifically the one with the rooster)!!!

Stay classy my friends,

Heidi