Rosemary Tenderloin With Warm Asparagus Salad

Haven't made tenderloin in a while so trying it again. It's actually pretty easy to cook. Yes it would be better if I cooked part of it in the oven, but who has time to remember it's in there when I've got things on the stove top and a baby to watch. Right? 

Pork Tenderloin
Cornstarch - seals in the juices
Soy sauce
Rosemary
Cumin
Garlic

Warm salad:
Asparagus
Butter
Salt
Costco kale salad (minus fixings)

Marinate the tenderloin and then pan sear...I think 5 min per side? You want it to be medium in the middle. Yes, contrary to what I've been taught all my life, good quality pork can be eaten medium! So much juicier and softer!

The salad is prepared by sauteing the asparagus in butter. As it's getting soft I add the Costco kale salad. And when everything is warmed, but not wilted, it goes onto the plate. The seasoning is kept simple because of time...but let me know what seasoning you find works!

Enjoy!

Warm Dark Greens Salad

 

Once you open a box of spinach, you really have to eat it up fast before it starts to wilt and melt. So here's another salad:

Asparagus - steamed for 5 min (or to desired softness)

Dark Kale - sauteed

Spinach - left raw

Apple - sliced

Sunflower seeds

Green onion - chopped  

The raw spinach was tossed in with the warm asparagus and kale. These are all dark green veggies which supposed to be full of great vitamins and antioxidant properties. Apple slices, sunflower seeds and green onion added after that. Blaming this on pregnancy brain...but I can't remember what I used for a dressing....sorry! 

And that lovely chicken on the side...Costco roast chicken. So good. =) 

Pita Pockets

 

It was one of those days where I couldn't think of what exactly to put together. I had bits of everything but not enough of one thing to make a main dish out of it. And then I was inspired by the  pita pockets I saw in my fridge....filling the pockets only require a little of everything to fill. And it's yummy. So I just cooked each thing separately and we filled our own pockets the way we liked.

Paprika sautéed mushrooms

Sautéed zucchini
Sautéed kale & onions
Pan seared chicken
Pita pockets
Chipotle mayo
Mayo

Tip: Warm or slightly steam the pita pockets first if they're coming straight out of the fridge. They tear easily otherwise.

Pomegranate Kale Salad

I whipped this up one day when trying to figure something out for vegetables. I had the kale, which I shredded. There was pomegranate in the fridge which I though would add some nice color and sweet tartness to the mix. A loose carrot "peeled" into the salad gave additional color and flavor. Considering kale was on the nuttier bitter side, I thought a sweeter salad with the pomegranate and carrot would be nice. Then I added the seeds and nuts for protein.

Pomegranate seeds
Baby kale leaves
Carrot shreds
Chia seeds
Hemp hearts
Pine nuts

Dressing :
Tahini
Garlic
Cider vinegar
Maple syrup
Grainy mustard

It was the second time I tried using tahini to make a dressing. The first time failed because I tried to thin it with oil...but it caused the mixture to break up and get really goopy. This time, it's thinned with vinegar or water, which worked out really well. Overall, I really enjoyed this combo for a tahini dressing...will be definitely repeated!

And Ta-da....a nice bright'n colorful'n tasty side.

And with that, here's to a happy and healthy New Year in 2014!! Keep cooking, experimenting and creating. God bless!

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!

Warm Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad

I burned the last batch of brussel sprouts I made so this is a redemption effort. Still not the way I like it because it didn't char as much as I like this time. I used my favorite brussel sprouts recipe and then mixed it with sauteed kale in a kind of salad. It's served over quinoa rice and topped with the pre-seasoned New Zealand rack of lamb that you can quickly throw in the toaster oven and make.

Brussel Sprouts
Fish sauce
Sugar
Grapeseed oil
Kale
S&P

Crustless Quiche

I was too lazy to make a crust...so I made one of my regular quiches in a cast iron pan, then put the whole thing in the oven to bake. Lovely.

Kale
Mushrooms
Onion
Cheese
Eggs
Almond Milk (remember it's 3 eggs to 1 cup milk)
Cumin
Paprika
Salt/Pepper



One of the best parts was that I did the whole thing in the same pan from start to finish. A couple less dishes to wash. =)

Zucchini Pasta with Kale & Tomato

I've been seeing posts about a gluten free zucchini pasta...and what makes it gluten free is because you're actually using whole fresh zucchini pieces cut into pasta shaped noodles as opposed to processing zucchini with other ingredients to make noodles. It's a bit labour intensive...I used a mandolin then stacked and sliced the zucchini down to fettuccine sizes. And then I made "pasta sauce" by just sauteeing and simmering the rest of the incredients together. Season to taste.

It's REALLY good. =) Hope you'll enjoy it too!

Zucchini

Pasta sauce:
Garlic
Onion
Basil
Savory
Salt
Soup stock
Kale
Tomatoes
 

Sautéed Kale with Onions

I found this Italian kale at the grocery and thought I'd give it a try. The leaves are softer than the regular kale I'd find at Superstore so I wanted to see how it'd taste. Usually we're asked to cut away the stalks of the regular kale and it feels like such a waste but these ones, I could throw everything in to cook. Super simple side for anything.

Kale
Onion
Cumin
Paprika (this Cumin paprika mix is totally one of my favorites as you can probably tell)
S&P

Covered it for a bit and then sautéed until the moisture was gone.

Chicken & Kale sandwich

On the kale and chicken theme this week, because I had leftover from the last meal, I found a sandwich the perfect place for it to go. I sauteed the kale until it was soft to use in the sandwich. Turned leftover chicken breast into a chicken salad...add bread and cheese and voila!

Kale
Chicken
Mayo
Mustard
Cheese
Bread

Butternut Squash Soup & Kale Chicken Hash

I've always wanted to try making my own butternut squash soup. So, I bought one, baked it in the oven for 45min and then used half of it to make this soup.

Butternut squash
Onion
Curry Powder
Chicken Stock

I made the chicken stock with the carcas of a Costco BBQ chicken. Meanwhile I took its breastmeat and sauteed it with kale and some leftover potato hash. Everything went together...great comfort food! So great in fact, I just put the kale chicken hash straight into the butternut soup:



So now it's a hearty kale chicken butternut squash soup!

Both were really delicious...and will surely be made again. =)

Leftover Makeover : Mish-Mash

This one my Hubby put together. (yay!) He had the day off and was rummaging through the fridge for whatever leftovers were still lurking about. This delicious fried rice was what he put together from a tub of curried rice, some BBQ pork/char siu, a small container of soggy napa cabbage/siu choi, some kale leaves and some purple cabbage shreds.

The virbrant green and purple of the veggies, cooked separately from the rice, was beautiful...and super tasty:

Kale
Cabbage
Paprika
Dark soy sauce
Butter & coconut oil
Sugar
Salt

As for the fried rice, the possibilities are endless depending on what leftovers you have. In this case:

Curried rice
BBQ Pork/char siu
Coconut oil
Napa Cabbage/siu choi
Sriracha
Hoisin sauce
Soy sauce (light & dark)

And the best part, I got to eat lunch with my Hubby. =)

Mushroom Onion Kale Omelet

It was Meatless Monday and I was thinking about making a quiche again, but my only pie dish held a very yummy bake-less cheesecake in the fridge. So I opted to make a crustless quiche, but in the frying pan. So I guess I'll call this an omelet.

Kale - thinly chopped
Onion
Mushrooms
Eggs
Almond Milk
Salt & Pepper
Paprika
Cumin
Frulani cheese

I think I mentioned it previously, but the magic egg/milk ratio is three eggs to one cup of milk. It's a light, fluffy and fragrant mix every time! Enjoy!

Kale chicken

I remembered a dish I enjoyed years and years ago that was some kind of sauteed chicken on a bed of deep fried spinach leaves. The chicken was delicious but I didn't care too much for the spinach leaves. They were greasy. Here's my variation on baked kale chips....I love kale chips.

Chicken thigh meat
Garlic
Soy sauce (dark and light)
Sugar
Satay paste

Kale leaves (bite size)
Olive Oil
Salt

And I had some crushed cashews handy so that went on top as well. Pretty yums!
(Espcially kale chips...I could eat a bowl of it by myself.)