Honey and Soy Pork Chops

Just like I was saying about having a bunch of pork chops in my previous post of  Molasses Coffee Pork Chops. I found another great recipe, it's oringaly ment for pork ribs but I thought it would be great on chops and it was! Another great pork chop recipe! Yay I was getting a little tired of same dijon pork- yes it's yummy but sometimes it nice to spice things up.
Honey and soy pork chops
4 (1/2 inch thick) bone in pork chops
1 cup of honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 TBS sherry
1TBS garlic powder
1/2 -1 tsp crushed red peppers

Combine the honey, soy sauce, sherry, garlic powder and red peppers in a sauce pan and heat up to a mild boil, then take off the heat and let cool. Once it's cool pour over the pork chops and let marinate overnight.
When I cooked them I slow roasted the pork chops in the marinade covered with foil for 2 hours at 300 in the last 20 min take off the foil. With all the excitement of dinner being ready I didn't take any pictures.

Smoothie Pops

It's been getting nice outside and soon it will be Hot and time for pops. Now is the time to get the freezer stocked up on pops. It's no fun to make pops when you could be eating them. This pop recipe is more of a guideline for smoothie pops. I'm a huge fan of drinking smoothies all year round. The other day I got a little excited about fresh fruit that I had way more then I could eat in a few days. So I made a big batch of smoothies drank what I wanted and made pops out if the rest. 
1 pineapple peeled and cored
4 mangos peeled and cored
2 pounds strawberries green removed and cut
3 Bananas -peeled
6 oz nonfat blueberry yogurt
2 packs emergen C  Vitamin C
1/2 c Acai Berry juice

 I blended everything together and made sure it was all smooth. I drank what I wanted which was 2 full glasses - it was Yummy! Now divide into Popsicle molds, freeze for about and hour and add the sticks. Don't add the sticks right away because they will sink to the bottom. I always freeze my pops overnight before removing from the molds. To release from molds, just dip in warm water and pull out. Wrap the pops in wax paper or plastic wrap,then stack in a freezer bag. It's so much better then store bought pops!

Coffee and Molasses Pork Chops

I recently bought a big pack of pork chops cause they were a great price. Talk about getting four -3 serving  meals for $13.  All I had to do was make something spectacular, and I can do that! I was on a search for good pork chop recipes and came across this one. Let me tell you this was fantastic! But what do you expect from Alton Brown? I changed the recipe around a bit because of what I had in my pantry.
Coffee and Molasses Marinated Pork Chops
adapted from Alton Brown
3 or 4 (1/2 inch) bone in pork chops
1 cup Coffee -cooled
1/2 cup Molasses
1 TBS Dijon mustard
2 TBS minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 Bay leaf
Rinse and pat dry the pork chops and set in a large ziplock or shallow dish.
In a seperate bowl combine the coffee, molasses,  mustard, garlic, salt, ginger, pepper, rosemary and bay leaf. Whisk everything till smooth. Pour over the pork chops and let marinate for a little as 2 hours or as long as overnight.
To cook: It would be great grilled for summer cookouts- or if you are inside: Pan fry in a large frying pan with 2 TBS olive oil and let the pan heat up. I mean get it smokin' hot. Then carefully add the pork chops. Depending on the thickness of the meat will depend on the amount of time it needs to cook on each side. Mine took about 3 min each side. With the leftover marinade it can be reduced down by half and served over the pork. I didn't do that I as out of space on the stove. But I bet it's really yummy. Over all the meat was tender and juicy and didn't have a overwhelming taste of coffee. I served it with brown rice, brussels sprouts, and corn It will definitely be in rotation in this house.

Lemon burst cookies

When I was  thinking up ideas for cookie Thursday I kinda came up blank. I looked outside and saw the rain and cloudy skies and wished for summertime. Then I thought of the most summery thing Lemon burst cookies! Then I realized I haven't done a cookie like this for cookie Thursday before. I added a little lavender- but I could have added more it has a small hint of lavender. This cookie come together fast and makes the house smell amazing!

Lemon Burst Cookies 

with a hint of lavender

1 stick unsalted butter- softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs- room temp*

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 lemons zested

1-3 TBS lavender buds** chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar- set aside

Preheat the oven to 350

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar for 3 min until fluffy. Then slowly add each egg at a time, and mix till incorperated, add the vanilla extract. In a seperate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, lemon zest and lavender buds. With the mixer on low slowly add the flour mixture and mix till just combined. Now roll the dough into tablespoon size balls and roll into the reserved powdered sugar. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 13-15 min. Until domed up and lightly brown on the bottom.                                                                                               * to get cold eggs to room temp place them in a glass of warm water for 10 min      **I used 1 TBS  but next time I would use 3 TBS.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rollin' Momma http://rollinmomma.blogspot.com/
Chocolate chip cookies are classic! 
They are always easy to whip up and one of my most favorite cookies. For this batch I used whole wheat flour. But using all purpose flour works out great too.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 cup + 2 TBS soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tso baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.
In the bowl of a electic mixer combine the butter and sugars. Beat together till fluffy about 3 min. Add the egg and beat till incorporated.  Scrape the sides and bottom down then add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Just mix till it comes together. Add the chocolate chips and combine. Spoon into rounded tablespoons on parchment lined sheet pans. Smash down into small disks. Bake for 10-13 mins. Rotate the pans half way through the baking process. I got about 25 cookies. They are so so yummy enjoy!

Petite Frittatas

No time to make a fancy quiche? Well a frittata is just as yummy with half the work. It's just a crustless quiche. Great breakfast item to get your eggs and other veggies and meat packed all together. I sometimes make petite frittatas for company or when I don't have time to make breakfast in the morning. It's great cold or warmed up a little. One of the best things about frittatas is that you can put anything in them. Leftover grilled onions, mushrooms, red peppers, kale? toss 'em in. All you really need is eggs and some cheese- it helps everything hold together. Today I used chicken , cheddar and broccoli- I would have to say it's my all time favorite.
Petite Frittatas:
6 whole eggs
1/3 cup nonfat sour cream
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli- chopped
1 chicken breast, cooked- chopped
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 375
In a large bowl slowly whisk the eggs into the sour cream 1 at a time. Add the pepper and garlic. I used muffin tins with muffin cups to make them easy to grab. Combine the broccoli, chicken, and cheese in a bowl and divide into 8-9 muffin cups. Then pour the egg mixture into each cup, try and fill mostly full. leaving about  3-4 cm of space at the top. After that sprinkle with a little bit of cheese on top.
They bake for 30 mins check for firmness  and it will be puffy.  take out and let cool in the muffin tin.
You can freeze them for 1 month, or keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

2 bite Cinnamon Cookies

I just love these swirl cookies! They are like little cinnamon roll bites. While they are baking the whole house smells amazing. They aren't too sweet which is nice in a cinnamon cookie. They taste great with coffee and tea, and are a great afternoon treat for the kiddos.They didn't turn out exactly how I expected but they were tasty and worth a try. To achieve the swirl they need to be rolled out, then sprinkled with Cinnamon sugar and rolled up.  Very Similar to the Old Fashioned Chocolate cookies, and not as much work as Homemade Samoas and Tagalongs.
Cinnamon Swirl Cookies
adapted from Good Housekeeping
1/4 c butter, softened
1/4c Applesauce
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a electric mixer add the butter, applesauce and cream cheese and beat on medium speed for about 2 min until creamy. Then on low speed add the flour and salt- trust me low speed is the way to go otherwise you will have flour all over you and the kitchen. Mix the dough till it's combined- if it's a little too sticky add a tbs or 2 of flour. Then toss the dough out on to a floured counter, and knead with your hands so the dough is no longer sticky. With a rolling pin roll it out to a rectangle about 12x15. 
Toss together the cinnamon and sugar- spread out all over the dough except for 1/4 inch along all the edges. Starting at the top  roll the dough up tight like a fruit roll-up. Once you reach the end dab a little water along the seam to seal it. Roll the dough into a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap. Let it set in the freezer for 30 min or so.
 Preheat the oven to 400. The dough will be firm enough to cut into 1/4 inch slices. bake for 10 min or until lightly browned turning the pan half way through. This dough can be made 3 months in advance and kept in the freezer- just pull out and slice when you're ready to bake. 
Yeild: 2 doz 2 bite cookies.