Slow Cooker Sunday: Pork Chops Dijon

This is a recipe my mom used to make when I was little.  It was always a hit with both my brother and I.  She used to make it on the stove, but I tried to adapt it to the crock pot.  The combination of pork and mustard is almost always a win-win conbination, and this recipe demonstrates how well they go together perfectly.  I had a crock pot mishap in the middle of cooking this--the crock pot just shut itself off.  I ended up having to cook it for about 2 hours on high to ensure it was done. 

Ingredients
3-4 bone in pork chops or boneless center cut pork chops
3 Tbs of Dijon mustard
2 Tbs of Italian salad dressing
2 Tbs of EVOO
salt & pepper
chicken broth (about 6 oz)
1 medium yellow onion sliced and cut in half

Directions
1) Heat a frying pan on medium high heat and add the EVOO, allow to heat for a few more minutes.  Sprinkle each side of the pork chops with salt & pepper.  Place the pork chops in the pan and brown each side for 3-4 minutes per side.  Add the contents of the pan, including the oil to a crock pot and set it to low.

2) In a small bowl, mix the Dijon mustard and Italian dressing and then pour it over the pork chops.  Add the onions to the crock pot too.  Pour the chicken broth in until it completely covers the pork chops.

3) Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with potatoes or something else that absorbs the delicious sauce.

Restaurant Review: Victory 44

On Tuesday night, we decided to give Victory 44 a try.  This little gem is located in the Camden neighborhood in Minneapolis, not an area we normally go to eat.  What enticed us to venture up there was the 2 for 1 tasting menu on Tuesday nights.  It was a great opportunity to see what the chefs were capable of, and they proved that they were capable of quite a lot!  Sorry for the lack of pictures, but my dining companions do not appreciate the flash. 

Food-- We had a five course meal, and every course was incredibly good.  We started out with a sweet potato bisque topped with marshmallow blended with a bit of jalapeno.  I am the girl who would never eat the sweet potatoes topped with marshmallow at Thanksgiving, and I have to say the flavors in this soup were interesting, complex and very tasty! I also liked the different textures from the soup to the marshmallows to the almonds on the better.  Our favorite course was the scallops crude.  I ate a raw sushi grade scallop for the first time and it was buttery and delicious.  The scallops were served with thinly sliced radish, bits of pork bellow, kumquat jelly and jalapeno puree and every bite had a unique and interesting flavor depending on what you scooped up with the scallop.  The dessert course was a dessert platter and our favorites were salted caramel topped with white chocolate flakes and a fudge brownie topped with peanut butter whipped cream.  The other courses were delicious and I could go on and on, but this post would be incredibly long!

Prices-- Victory 44 specializes in small plate dining, but all of the small plates are very reasonably priced, especially considering the care that goes into each dish.  I love trying food, so the small plates are ideal for me, however you are not going to get a massive plate of pasta at a place like Victory 44.

Atmosphere-- The best way to describe Victory 44 is unpretentious.  You seat yourself if there are available tables.  The decor is minimal and simple, which I really do no mind.  I really liked the chalkboard menu.

Service--  The service was the best part besides the food.  When the server or the chef (who delivered and inquired about one of our courses) asked how the food was, they genuinely wanted to hear our answers and cared about our response.  They were great about answering our questions and explaining what each course was.

Cons--  The wine list was a little short and I would make sure to sit towards the back of the restaurant as the doors opening and closing created quite the draft.  Other than that--I really have no complaints.

Would I go back?  Definitely.  In fact, I can't wait to go back and try a few different dishes on the menu.  I felt like it was the kind of place that I want to become a regular at.

Cookbook Review: The New Basics Cookbook

The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins is probably one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.  My parents got it for me, after I had seen my mom using it for years.  It really meant a lot and it has been such a great resource for me as I learn more about cooking.

Difficulty--There is recipes that are remarkably easy to recipes that are fairly hard.  I like it for this reason.  It has been both accessible and challenging, which keeps it interesting for me.

Ingredients--You should not have any trouble finding the ingredients in this cookbook in your local grocery store.  Every now and then, I come across something that requires a trip to a specialty grocery store, but rarely.  It does not have a lot of suggestions for ingredients that are lighter or low fat, but you can replace things if you choose to do so.

Presentation--This cookbook does not have a lot of pictures.  I struggled with this at first, but at least I do not feel bad if it does not look exactly like the picture.  I like the way the cookbook is divided into chapters starting with appetizers and ending with desserts.  My favorite thing about the cookbook is the special sections which includes things like a spice chart which lets you know which spices go with what foods.  There is a similar section for wine, a conversation table, a table describing different cuts of meats, and a table for salad greens which makes it an incredible resource in the kitchen.

Taste--I have found a ton of recipes in this book I will make over and over again.  I admit there has been a few failures (usually relating to something not setting right or failing to thicken), but I blame them on myself and not on the cookbook.  My favorite recipes from this book are Beef Bourginon (better than Julia Child's, sorry Julia!), Marno's Chicken Noodle Soup (I have adapted this quite a bit to make it my own), and the Beef Vegetable Medley.

Overall--I think this cookbook is essential to any modern kitchen.  Whatever your culinary need--this cookbook will not fail you.  I have opened it up in a panic, needing a salad for a dinner party.  I have turned to it when I wanted to make something basic like deviled eggs.  It has been a guide for me as I try to perfect my chili and my marinara sauce.  

You can buy this cookbook inexpensively on Amazon

Slow Cooker Sunday: Adobo Chicken

I got this recipe from my blog friend Shannon.  It is a Filipino recipe and not only was it delicious, but it was super inexpensive to make.  I did a few things different--I added frozen broccoli because I wanted to add a veggie to this one dish meal and I also put the peppercorns in a tea infuser because I do not like crunching on peppercorns.  Shannon suggested reducing the sauce, and although it was still good, I would recommend it for a more flavorful sauce.  Additionally, I would add the frozen broccoli about 30 minutes before the dish is done because if it sits in the stew all day, it will get mushy.  


Ingredients
1 lb chicken thighs ($2.50 on sale)
1 12 oz package of frozen broccoli ($1.99)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into half rings ($0.30)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce (stocked in the pantry)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (stocked in the pantry)
peppercorns (stocked in the pantry)
8 crushed garlic cloves (stocked in the pantry)
2 bay leaves (stocked in the pantry)
brown rice (stocked in the pantry)

1) Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker and cover them with the onions and frozen broccoli.  Put the seasonings over the veggies.
2) Mix the water, soy sauce and white wine vinegar in a separate dish and pour it over the veggie chicken mixture
3) Let it cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve over brown rice.

This meal is a little over $5 and for about 5 servings.

Cupcakes? Muffins? Not quite--Mini Meatloaves

I have never been a huge fan of meatloaf, and no offense mom if you are reading this, but I always kind of dreaded it when it was on the menu for dinner.  However--lately I have been making meatloaf with ground turkey, and I like it a lot better.  A blog friend of mine, Robin, shared this recipe and I had to try it.  Instead of making a loaf, you make mini turkey loaves in muffin tins.  It works great because 1-2 of them is the perfect portion size.  I made the Italian version, but you can easily switch it up a bit and use taco seasoning, cheddar cheese and taco sauce instead.  You could also do just salt & pepper, with some barbeque sauce and cheddar cheese.  I thought about making a Greek version with spinach, feta cheese and greek seasoning.  Be creative! These are kind of fun and pretty kid friendly. 

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey or beef
2 eggs
1 cup Panko bread crumbs (or plain bread crumbs)
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
1/2 to 3/4 jar or marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix ground meat, bread crumbs and eggs together in a large bowl.  Add your desired amount of Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Mix well.
2) Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full and make a little indentation with a spoon.  Add a spoonful of marinara to the indentation and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over it.  The recipe should make about 12 "muffins."
3) Bake for 30 minutes. 

This works great served with potatoes or pasta and a green veggie.

Superfood: Quinoa Burgers

Superfood? What do I mean by that? Quinoa is an ancient grain, that is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.  It is packed full of protein, fiber, maganese, and calcium and it is also a complete protein, meaning that you are getting all of the essential amino acids needed for building muscle.  In an effort to add more vegetarian dishes to my diet, I made quinoa burgers.  They were full of flavor, and honestly, not that much different in texture than a hamburger.  The best part, the next day I cut up the leftover quinoa burgers, warmed them up along with some marinara sauce to dip them in, and served them as an appetizer.  This recipe is from Gather--Food Talk. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa (about a cup of dry quinoa)
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs of EVOO
3 Tbs marinara or tomato sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp yellow mustard
6 deli flats or rolls

Optional:
sliced cheese
lettuce or spinach
sliced tomato
ketchup & mustard

Directions
1) Cook the quinoa.  In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of vegetable broth (or water or chicken broth) to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.  Pour into a large bowl and let it cool for awhile.
2) Mix all of the ingredients in the bowl except the deli flats of course and stir well.  I add the eggs last, as I do not want the hot quinoa to cook them.  
3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a pan with tin foil and spray it with non-stick spray.  You can use parchment paper and skip the non-stick spray if you would like.  Shape the quinoa mixture into six patties.
4) Cook for 25 minutes.  Flip the burgers and cook for 15 more minutes.  If you are adding cheese, you might want to do that about 5 minutes before they are done.
5) Make your burger. Add spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and whatever else you might normally put on a burger and enjoy!
**served on the side are oven fries with sea salt, pepper and fresh thyme**

Slow Cooker Sunday: Azorean Spiced Beef Stew

Beef stew is a pretty regular recipe that I throw in the slow cooker.  When I saw this recipe for a spiced beef stew I was excited to add a little zip to an old classic.  I got the recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking, which by the way is a great resource if you are looking to use the slow cooker a little more.  I made the recipe on Wednesday morning, and when I came home at 5 PM, I immediately wanted to eat because it smelled unbelievably good.  A few hours later--it tasted as good as it smelled.  I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, but I did not have green onions, so I threw a yellow onion in.  I also used venison since I did not have beef stew meat on hand.  Some changes I am going to put in the recipe--more crushed red pepper and less salt.  The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons would have been much better.  Remember, people can always add more salt on their own, but it is really hard to take it away and involves diluting the stew with water, which takes away from other flavors.

Ingredients
1 lb beef stew meat (I used venison and it was great)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3 green onions chopped (I used yellow and added them with all of the other veggies)
3 cups of beef stock
1 cup of grape tomatoes, quartered (if you need to you can use a can of diced tomatoes)
1 cup sliced carrots
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 Tbs of crushed red pepper
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cumin
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf

Directions
This one could really not be an easier.  Add all of the above ingredients except for the green onion to the slow cooker.  Give it a good stir, set your crock pot to low and cook for 6-10 hours.  The longer this recipe cooks, the more tender the meat gets and the more flavorful the stew will be.  If you are short on time, you can easily do 3-4 hours on high.  

 

Slow cooker fun fact:  You can almost always throw in frozen meat.  You will just have to cook it a bit longer than normal.