Chipotle Mayo Pork Chops on Spaghetti Squash

I asked my husband to help marinate the pork chops we got and he creatively put this marinade together:

Chipotle mayo
Soy sauce
Mustard

Quite a tasty marinade I must say. The chops were pan seared...about seven minutes on each side because it was so thick. I've started to be daring and take pork to a medium well instead of fully cooking it. It's so much juicier and tender that way. It was served topped with mango salsa (from Costco). The flavors worked really well together!

As for the spaghetti squash...after it was baked and scraped into a large pan, I added all the little extras for additional flavor and texture and color. Hard to go wrong.

Squash
Onion
Garlic
S&P
Tomato
Cilantro
Parmesan

Christmas Steak

And just like that, Christmas is upon us! This isn't Christmas dinner, but it's close.

Boneless rib steak:
Montreal Steak Spice
Chopped cilantro
Olive Oil

Mushrooms:
Garlic
Paprika
Cumin
S&P

Salad:
Baby Kale
Chick Peas
Pomegranate
Avocado

Dressing:
Tahini
Grainy Mustard
Maple Syrup
Lime juice

Everything was delicious. The steak was eaten with a wedge of lime for a nice citrus note. And, the vitamin C from the lime helps your body absorb the iron better from the red meat. Just FYI.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. 

The Love, Joy and Peace of Christ be upon your household. 

And may every good and perfect gift find its way to you in the New Year!

Green Steak and Ham

A MEAT post!!! Finally! ...but no ham in this...I was just thinking about Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham book.

My husband told me about a cilantro mint chutney that his coworker shared with him once. It's simply:
A bunch of fresh mint
A bunch of fresh cilantro
Thai chilies (as many or as little as you like....I would recommend at LEAST one)
A spoon of sugar

And then blend it to a saucy consistency.
We only have the Magic Bullet...and had trouble with the leaves sticking to the walls and not coming down. So we added about 1/3 cup of olive oil. It ended up being a thick paste. Keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge.

What's great about it, is that it can be used to marinate ANY meat. In this case, I used it on steak. I thinned out several spoons of the paste with some grapeseed oil since it was going into the BBQ. In hindsight, I should've only used grapeseed oil since olive oil burns in high tempuratures....like in the BBQ. Here I've got some rib steak marinating in the green goodness:




And after grilling to a beautiful medium rare, I took more chutney, added some lemon juice and minced garlic to make a chimichuri sauce for the steak. SO GOOD.



The sides are a quick Asian pickles and grilled cauliflour.

Pickles:
Cucumbers
Couple spoons of white vinegar (you're supposed to use rice vinegar)
Spoon of sugar
Minced garlic
Spoon or two of soy sauce
few drops of sesame oil

Grilled cauliflour was tossed in grapeseed oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

Fennel Broccoli and Orange Salad

It's not quite Spring...but we wanted something fresh and summery to brighten all the gloominess of Winter. So...threw together a yummy salad to enjoy:

Fennel
Broccoli
Orange
Cilantro
Pine nuts

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Honey
Wine vinegar
Grainy mustard

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Are we sick of turkey? Any great meal ideas to share?? =D

So I didn't get a picture for this one...but don't let that stop you from trying it out! Chicken thighs were the meat of choice...I'm freezing the leftover turkey for the New Year. While trying to think of a flavor to try, I found half a lime and a bunch of cilantro that was threatening to brown in my fridge. I liked lime and cilantro in guacamole....why not try it here?

Chicken
Lime juice
Cilantro (finely chopped)
Garlic
Cumin
Salt & pepper

It was really tasty!! And also a bit of a palate cleanser with the citrus. The only negative was that the cilantro turns a muddy brown after you cook it for a while so the dish isn't the prettiest when done. Nevertheless, my tastebuds don't discriminate... =)

Guacamole

This is a favorite snack of mine: GUACAMOLE! Goes with chips, sesame crackers, rice crackers, lentil chips...anything crunchy really. (Sorry the camera focus wasn't quite right.) While avocados have higher calory counts, it's got some very good benefits for your body. I also like to use a fork and spoon to do the mashing together instead of a blender. This way I get a nice chunky texture that tells me I'm eating the real thing instead of some processed and powdered mix.

Avocados
Lime juice
Salt & Pepper
------------------These first three ingredients is my basic go-to recipe for a quick guac fix

Garlic (one clove minced is enough punch)
Cilantro

I LOVE this stuff!! Ymm!
 

Veggie Quiche & Broccoli Salad

The Salmon & Swiss Chard quiche turned out so well I wanted to try again. This time with tomatoes replacing the salmon. A true Meatless Monday meal. Oh wait....I have eggs...

Quiche filling:
Onion
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Marble Cheese
Eggs
Almond Milk
S&P

I think I failed to mention last time that the eggs:milk ratio is 3 eggs: 1 cup of milk. I think the almond milk gives it an extra layer of depth in flavor....the magic for aromatic, fluffy goodness!

Broccoli salad:
Broccoli
Raisins
Pumpkin Seeds
Flax Seeds
Cilantro

Dressing:
Mayo
Mustard
Vinegar
Sugar

Pineapple Salsa

There's a bit much going on in the photo...but this post is really about the pineapple salsa. There were a few pieces left over from the pineapple we cut up so I decided to use it as a salsa over pork chops. It's got a very summery, sweet and fresh taste...brings out the flavor of the pork really nicely.

Salsa:
Pineapple
Tomato
Cilantro
Shallot
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Honey



But why stop there...I had a bit of salsa left over so the next morning, it went over eggs on toast for breakfast. Yum!

Golden Pompano

The Pompano is a cousin of the pihrana I believe...and it's an easy fish to cook. For starters, it doesn't have any scales. Its bones are few and easy to remove. The meat is medium firm and quite tasty....and you can fry, steam, bake, grill it however you like.

There are many ways to season and cook this fish. My current favorite is to rub a curry powder mix onto it (as well as inside the cleaned belly). Then I pan fry it until I can easily push a fork through the whole fish. Add some fresh chopped cilantro and squeeze some lime over it as you eat. Yumz!!

Ingredients:
Curry powder mix (tumeric, chili powder, masala, ground coriander, ground fennel seeds, ginger powder....whatever is in your cupboard)
Cilantro
Lime

Red Cabbage Slaw

I discovered my love for red cabbage slaw while on a trip to Israel recently. It's cool, crunchy, light and tastes like summer. There's so many different ways to do this slaw so you'll probably see several variations come through this blog. So yum! I unfortunately ate the whole thing before remembering to take a photo of it....so next time. Here's what went into it:

Half a red cabbage, slivered
Some fennel
One shallot
Handful of raisins
Cilantro

For the dressing:

Mayo
Honey Dijon mustard
Sugar
Salt & pepper
Lime juice
Some vinegar