Rockin' Ribeye & Fresh Veggies

My husband and I are definitely carnivorous people; after a long week we crave protein and iron. I purchased a beautiful ribeye from my local market and picked out some fresh veggies to pair it with. We had a big dinner the night before so we need something that wouldn't bog us down.

Ribeye is hard to mess up, you sprinkle with salt, pepper, drizzle with olive oil and throw it on the grill (or grill pan).

As for the veggies I sliced up some broccolini, onion, red pepper and garlic. Sprinkled them with salt, pepper and olive oil then sauteed them until nice and crisp.

This is an easy, healthy, five ingredient or less meal. Enjoy!

xo Lo

Almond-Cornmeal Crusted Pork with Rice Pilaf & Broiled Veggies

I love a great flavored crust on pork, chicken, turkey or fish. Sometimes you find one and get stuck on using it all the time. When I made the following recipe I was determined to find a new rub that would turn into a delicious crust on my pork. I looked in my fridge and had pork chops, smoked almonds, cornmeal, brussel sprouts, yellow onion and rice. I became inspired and hit the ground running with my apron on.

Almond-Cornmeal Crusted Pork

My husband and I keep almonds in our house as a staple snack, not once did I think of chopping these almonds up and using them as a fabulous pork crust!

1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
2 pork chops
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of paprika

Chop your almonds, I used half plain and half smoked. Add in your cornmeal and seasoning. Have your grill pan or saute pan on medium heat with olive oil. Once the pork chops are coated on both sides, into this flavorful, nutty mixture place onto your hot pan. Cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Rice Pilaf

1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbp olive oil
1 cup Basmati rice
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch of basil

Meanwhile, add some chicken stock into your sauce pan or dutch oven. Put one cup of basmati rice into the boiling liquid. Add in olive oil and seasonings, cover and stir sporadically.

Broiled Veggies
 1/2 yellow onion
1 cup brussel sprouts
1 clove garlic
1 Tbs olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch basil

Chop up your yellow onion and brussel sprouts into thick slices or halves. Set the veggies aside and make your seasoning mixture by adding one chopped garlic clove to a bowl, pour in the olive oil, add salt, pepper and basil. Give that mixture a toss and add in your veggies to coat. Put another saute or grill pan on medium heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and add your thick disks of onion and halves of brussel sprouts, face down, that way they'll get beautiful grill marks.

Once your pork is done, make a cut inside, make sure it is mostly white with the faintest pink color. Stir up your rice, turn your veggies and serve. I hope the smoky, nuttiness of the crust on the pork will delight your palate and the comfort of the rice pilaf and veggies will please your soul.

xo Lo

Dill Salmon with Quinoa, Cucumber Salad & Fresh Peas

In the heat of summer, seafood dishes are refreshing and exciting for the palate. Salmon is a common fish that most people prefer, dill is a beautiful herb to enlighten the flavors in any salmon dish. Recently, I've been digging into quinoa, one of the most amazing grains available. This is the one grain that is a protein versus a carbohydrate and can take on almost any flavor you pair it with. Cucumber salad is one of my personal favorites for summer, the coolness of the yogurt sauce and the spike of the dill is a gorgeous combination in hot temperatures. Peas are an easy veggie to chef up, I always add them into a saute pan with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.

For this recipe, I took a filet of salmon added olive oil, salt, pepper and dill then set aside to let the flavors merry. I grabbed the quinoa, added it to a saute pan with olive oil and let the quinoa get toasty, after a few minutes I add chicken stock, this will enhance the flavor of any grain or pasta dish. Next I created a yogurt sauce with one cup of plain Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. I place this yogurt sauce into the fridge to let the flavors come together. Next I thinly slice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt in a colander and let sit to drain out the water.

Next, I check on the quinoa, give it a stir then I grab some yellow onions, dice them up and throw them in a saute pan with olive oil, these will go into the quinoa when it has absorbed the chicken stock. This dish has a lot of components that are time sensitive. It is important not to cook the salmon right away because it cooks so quickly that it'll be waiting for the other dishes to finish and get cold.

Once the quinoa is absorbed, scoop it into the saute pan that is holding the onions and stir. Rinse the cucumbers, add the dill-yogurt sauce and place back into the fridge to chill. Stir the peas, turn the heat lower (peas cook quickly). Finally, place your salmon onto the grill pan with olive oil. Salmon does not need a lot of time to cook, you want a crispy sear on the outside and a velvety medium-rare inside. Which means you only need to cook the salmon for 2 minutes on each side, unless you prefer well-done fish then you would cook it for about 4 minutes on each side.

Time to plate, place the salmon on the dish, the creamy onion quinoa, fresh garlicky peas and refreshing, cool cucumber salad. This dish will make you love summer nights!

xo Lo

Grillin' Summer Feast

Are you afraid of your grill? During the summer I always crave grilled meats and veggies...there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of your grill. Anything you cook in a saute pan or in the oven, you can cook on the grill. This day my Aunt and cousin had flown in from New Hampshire and I was determined to grill them a Texas-style meal. My new husband loves pork ribs and I recently discovered a chocolate-spice rub (thanks to Paula Deen) and tweaked it a bit to fit my culinary style. We always check our calendar to see what veggies are in season and try to purchase locally. We decided on: chocolate-spice rubbed pork ribs, baby portabella mushrooms, parmesan corn on the cob and red onions.

Chocolate-Spice Rubbed Pork Ribs

Grab a rack of ribs from your local store, make sure they are not frozen, take them out of their packaging and let them rest at room temperature while you get the rub ready.

Rub
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil

Combine rub ingredients together and brush over rack of ribs. Use your hands to make sure every inch of the rack of ribs is covered with the spice rub. Cover with aluminum foil, let the rub rest and marry into the pork ribs. Once your grill (I prefer charcoal, for flavor purposes) is ready place the ribs on the grill, set your timer for 20 minutes.

Veggies
Grab 4-6 corns on the cob, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Half unwrap your corn stalk leaving a few of the leaves on the outside, drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to taste. Then wrap the corn back up and place on grill.

Buy two packages of baby bella mushrooms, cut in half, marinate in soy sauce, cilantro, agave nectar and Worcestershire sauce. Once they have marinated for 30 minutes place on skewers then place on grill.

Mushroom Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup cilantro
1 tsp agave nectar
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Grab two red onions and slice thickly, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper then place on grill.

I decided to serve all these spectacular dishes outside, in Texas it finally starts to cool down around 7:30-8 p.m.  We impressed our New Hampshire family with some southern comfort, grillin' style food from Texas. Enjoy!

xo Lo