Grilled Pork with Blackberry-Sage Sauce

I came across this recipe the other day, and I thought it would be perfect to make since I had most of the ingredients. I have lots of meat in my freezer that I bought when it was on sale, and I also have some leftover frozen blackberries from the U-Pick farm.
Pork tenderloins are one of my favorite things to eat and cook. The possibilities of dressing the pork are endless, and the blackberry-sage reduction was a nice outfit for this tenderloin.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 Tablespoons minced shallots
3 cups fresh blackberries (about 1 pound)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
Sage sprigs (optional)

Directions:
Prepare grill to medium heat.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add blackberries, sage, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until blackberries break down. Press blackberry mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return liquid to pan. Stir in vinegar and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes); remove from heat. Stir in butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring until butter melts. Keep warm.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper over pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160-degrees, turning pork occasionally. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Serve with blackberry reduction; garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.

Makes 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and 2 Tablespoons sauce)

Nutritional Info: 199 calories; 6.1g fat; 79mg cholesterol; 32mg calcium; 10g carbs; 439mg sodium; 25.3g protein; 4g fiber; 2mg iron

Source: Cooking Light

Frozen Food Friday

Brownie Bottom Ice Cream Cupcakes

I've helped celebrate several birthdays this week (including mine), so I thought these ice cream cupcakes were the perfect frozen food to make. You get cake AND ice cream all in one little cupcake. You could pair any ice cream flavor with the brownie bottom, but I thought the cake batter ice cream would be perfect for obvious reasons.


Ingredients:

Fudgy Brownie Bottoms
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Cake Batter Ice Cream or your favorite ice cream, softened

Directions:

Fudgy Brownie Bottoms
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line two cupcake pans with foil cupcake liners. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water, creating a double boiler. Heat until melted and smooth. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into each foil liner. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes before scooping the ice cream on top.

Chocolate Ganache
Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan. Pour cream evenly over chocolate. Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth. If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands. Scoop by the teaspoon full onto the ice cream cupcakes. Spread and garnish with sprinkles. Refreeze until ready to serve.

Source: Joy the Baker

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

I really enjoy eating sliders; more so than a regular sized burger. I'm not sure if it's because I can get away with eating more than one hamburger or if it's because they are so cute.
Just because these burgers are cute doesn't mean they can't pack a punch of flavor in your mouth. The spicy fry sauce is the perfect addition to these sliders, and it gives the flavor a little "kick." I'll definitely make these over and over.

Ingredients:
1 serving of spicy fry sauce
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 whole medium onion, finely diced
8 ounces, weight white mushrooms , chopped finely
1/2 cups white or red wine (optional)
Salt and pepper
2 pounds ground beef
Worcestershire sauce
4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
6 slices Swiss cheese, cut into four squares each
8 whole dinner (slider) rolls, split

Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine (if using), 4 dashes Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minutes over medium heat, or until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.

Mix ground beef, heavy cream, 4 dashes Worcestershire, salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients. Form 1/4 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook.

In the same skillet as the one used to cook the mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add four patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip.

Spoon generous portions of mushroom mixture on each patty, then top the one or two squares of Swiss, depending on your preference. Place lid on skillet and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until burgers are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove to a place and keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.

Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with spicy fry sauce. Place patties between buns and serve immediately with fried onion strings.

Source: Pioneer Woman

Fried Onion Strings with Spicy Fry Sauce

These little things may be thin, but they sure are dangerous. Before I even realized it, Aubrey and I had almost knocked out a whole onion. They are like a blooming onion from Outback Steakhouse sans the bloom. And even though they're fried, they aren't very greasy if you drain them on a few paper towels.
The spicy fry sauce reminds me a lot of Guthrie's sauce. I'll definitely be making this more often to add to hamburgers and as a dip for french fries and chicken fingers. It's absolutely amazing! You can adjust the red pepper to suit your taste buds.

Onion Strings

Ingredients:
1 whole large yellow onion
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups All-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon (scant) salt
1/4 teaspoon (to 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne (red) pepper
1 quart (to 2 quarts) Canola oil
Black pepper, to taste


Directions:
Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk and soak for at least an hour.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Heat oil to 375-degrees. A candy thermometer comes in very handy here.
Grab a handful of onions, throw them into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and plunge into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown. Repeat until onions are gone.
And the words from Pioneer Woman's mouth: "Eat before your family sees them. Repeat with another onion, because they'll be really mad if they didn't get any."

Definitely make the spicy fry sauce below to dip these little suckers into:

Spicy Fry Sauce

I doubled this recipe:
Mix together 1/3 cup Mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons Ketchup, and 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (use less if you have a sensitive mouth).

Source for onion strings: Pioneer Woman
Source for sauce: Pioneer Woman

Frozen Food Friday

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

It sure has been a hot summer here in south Alabama. There's nothing like a cold scoop of ice cream to cool you off. I was really happy with this strawberry ice cream recipe. The strawberry is definitely the star of this creamy treat. I love the tiny pieces of strawberries mixed throughout, and the deep red strawberries mixed with the cream make the prettiest shade of pink.

Please don't hold it against me that I'm in desperate need of a manicure. Maybe I'll get one for my birthday next week.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vodka or kirsch
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Bow-Tie "Lasagna"

If you are looking for a quick and filling weeknight meal, you'll have to give this recipe a try. It took me about 20 minutes to cook this meal from start to finish. The result was creamy delicious
bite-size pieces of lasagna. Aubrey isn't a big fan of fennel, so next time I'll probably make my own Italian seasoning sans fennel. This makes a ton of pasta, but it reheats really well. I just put it in an individual pasta bowl, add a little water, and cook it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.


Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
5 cups Bow Tie pasta
3 cups of your favorite Marinara sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Brown the beef in a skillet and drain. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. After pasta is cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce.
Add your meat, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Source: Pioneer Woman - Tasty Kitchen

Frozen Food Friday

Dreamy Creamy Nutella Ice Cream

I have been so excited to make this ice cream. If you've never tried Nutella, you are seriously missing out. It's the best stuff since sliced bread. The first time I was introduced to it was when I traveled to Paris with my BFF, Meredith. There were little food stands around the Paris selling crepes and Nutella. I don't even think we tried it in Paris; we were too afraid, I guess. It wasn't until a few years later when I tried it one day while snooping for a snack in my mom's pantry.

My favorite way to eat Nutella is right off of a spoon, and that's what I feel like I'm doing when I eat this ice cream. This ice cream is very rich, which is good because it keeps me from eating so much in one sitting. I found the consistency a bit odd. It never really hardened in my ice cream maker, so it was a little soupy when I stuck it in the freezer. However, it turned out really creamy once it froze.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Nutella
1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tablespoon evaporated milk

Directions:
Warm the evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the Nutella, and stir until it melts and both ingredients become one. Cover and refrigerate for several hours until well chilled, preferably overnight.
Whisk again and churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.

Source: Chocolate & Zucchini

Bacon and Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby Spinach

Risotto can be made into a complete meal when vegetables and meat are added. The choices of combinations are endless. This recipe says to use a combination of wild mushrooms, but I like to stick with the baby bellas and the button mushrooms. There are some wild mushrooms that remind me of other things such as squid tentacles and frog legs. Thanks, but no thanks!
This particular risotto has an amazing smoky flavor, thanks to the crispy bacon. I also chose to sprinkle a little of the cheese on top of the risotto after serving instead of mixing it in. Therefore, I used less cheese and saved a few calories.




Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped shallots
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces wild mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry sherry
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup (2-ounces) grated fresh Asiago cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil); keep warm over low heat.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon to pan; cook 8 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon. Add shallots, oil, thyme, and garlic to drippings in the pan; cook 6 minutes or until shallots are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in mushrooms; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sherry; cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup stock; cook 4 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of stock is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total).

I recommend pulling up a chair to save your feet. :)

Stir in spinach; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with bacon.
Yield: 5 servings

Nutritional Info (per 1 1/4 cups risotto and 1 Tablespoon bacon):
405 calories; 19.1g fat; 38mg cholesterol; 145mg calcium; 42.6g carbs; 555mg sodium; 16.5g protein; 3.5g fiber; 2.4mg iron

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Frozen Food Friday

Bananas Foster Ice Cream Sundae

I recently found a recipe in my ice cream recipe book for Roasted Banana Ice Cream. I really love bananas, so I'm not sure how I looked over it so many times. I love how this recipe uses real bananas instead of banana flavoring, and they added a nice aroma to our house while they were roasting in the oven.
Once everything was pureed, I had to have a little taste. I was surprised at how much this tasted like the banana pudding that Aubrey's grandmother makes (recipe coming in the near future). It was amazing! That night I was brainstorming about what to put on top of the ice cream. I thought of crushing up vanilla wafers at first. That would be good. But I wasn't satisfied with that. I wanted something more. Bananas Foster! That's it! I could make Bananas Foster to drizzle on top. Perfect! I searched for recipes on the computer and found one that looked delicious. And delicious it was! This is one of my favorite ice cream recipes that I've made (I feel like I say that every time). Please try it. You can also put the topping on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which would be very good.


Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Source: The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, and puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.

Bananas Foster Topping
Source: adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large firm bananas, sliced
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Directions:
In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg until blended. Add bananas and pecans; cook, stirring gently, for 2-3 minutes or until bananas are glazed and slightly softened. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. Serve with ice cream.

Tres Leches Cake

This cake was a favorite among the birthday party guests. My mother-in-law even came over a couple of times to snag a piece of leftover cake for dessert, and I think Aubrey even ate some for breakfast.
I used a butter cake box mix for this cake, and it was perfect. It was fluffy and moist all at the same time.
You can try a less guilty version of this recipe if you wish.

Cake

Ingredients:
1 box butter cake mix, plus ingredients listed on the box
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box.
Once the cake is cool, poke holes all over the cake with a toothpick. In a medium bowl, mix together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream. Pour milk mixture evenly over cake and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Once ready to serve, spread the whipped cream frosting over the cake.


Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.

Source: Frosting recipe from Joy of Baking