Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

Serves 4

4 bone-in pork loin chops, 3/4- to 1-inch thick
Salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. honey

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper.
• Heat skillet over medium heat.
• Add pork chops and cook until brown, turning once, then remove from the skillet.
• Place pork chops in 9x13 baking dish.
• Combine brown sugar and honey in small bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds; stir to combine.
• Spoon half of the honey mixture over tops of chops, spreading evenly.
• Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Turn pork chops; spoon remaining honey mixture over chops, spreading evenly. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve!

Lean Turkey Stroganoff

My boyfriend found this delicious stroganoff recipe online that called for lean ground turkey instead of the typical ground beef. It was delicious! The turkey brought in a whole new flavor and also made the dish feel a little lighter. If you like beef stroganoff, I definitely think you should try this recipe, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Lean Turkey Stroganoff

Serves 4

12 ounces egg noodles

1 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup chopped leeks
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 cups sliced white mushrooms

1 Tbsp. butter

24 ounces creamy mushroom soup

• Cook egg noodles as directed on package. Once done, drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, brown ground turkey, with garlic powder and leeks. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in butter until tender.
• Once everything is done, and pasta is drained, combine pasta, ground turkey and mushrooms in a large pot and add creamy mushroom soup and stir well.
• Cook for a few minutes and once hit and mixed well, serve.

Sesame Pork with Garlic and Butter Cream Sauce

I must say, this was my first time to broil something and it turned out quite nicely. The pork has a sort of crisp texture after being broiled with the sesame seeds. The cream sauce is unexpected, but very satisfying. This dish is very easy to make and takes only about 20 minutes total!

Sesame Pork with Garlic and Butter Cream Sauce.

Serves 2-4

1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sesame seed

1 Tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 pkg cream cheese, cubed and softened

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp chives

• Set oven control to broil.
• Brush oil on both sides of pork and place on rock in broiler pan.
• Sprinkle with half of the sesame seed.
• Broil pork 4 to 6 inches from heat for 6 minutes. Then sprinkle with remaining sesame seed and boil for 5 minutes longer until pork is no longer pink in center.
• Meanwhile, in a 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook garlic in butter about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat and add cream cheese and milk. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly or sauce will scorch, until smooth and hot. Stir in chives.
• Serve sauce over pork.

Pecan-Maple Chicken

This pecan-maple chicken makes a pleasant change to the traditional chicken breast dinner. As the chicken cooks, the maple syrup seeps into the meat making every bite tender and juicy sweet. It's rich flavor of the maple and pecan sauce pares great with green vegetables. This is a great dinner option when you want to make something delicious, but you only have 20 minutes to spare.

Pecan-Maple Chicken
Serves 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup pecan halves

• In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, melt butter with salt over medium heat.
• Cook chicken in butter for 1 to 2 minutes, turning once, until brown.
• Stir in maple syrup and pecans.
• Cook 8 to 10 minutes.

Blue Cheese Burger

For those of you who can handle aged cheese with no problem, I have a burger that you won't find at your traditional restaurant. These burgers are fun to make and the blue cheese adds a surprising compliment to the ground beef. This version of the blue cheese burger uses half blue cheese and half cream cheese. This lessens the amount of blue cheese, but doesn't lessen the bold flavor. Just be careful, these burgers can get pretty messy.


Blue Cheese Burgers
Serves 2

2 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. crumbled blue cheese
1/8 t. garlic powder
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
4 burger patties
2 burger buns (try whole wheat)
Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

• In a small bowl, mash together cream cheese and blue cheese then stir in the onion powder and parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• To fill burgers, place a tablespoonful of cream cheese mixture in the center of each of two patties. Spread the filling out evenly to within half an inch of the edge of each patty. Place the remaining patties on top to form two filled burgers. Gently press the edges of each burger together.
• Sprinkle burgers liberally with coarsely ground black pepper.
• Cook the patties on a George Forman grill or on a cast iron skillet until meat is cooked all the way through.
• Once patties are cooked, place onto buns and serve.

Southwestern Pan-Fried Catfish in a Light Butter Sauce

Southwestern Pan-Fried Catfish in a Light Butter Sauce
Serves 2

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and black pepper

2 Catfish fillets

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1/4 cup cooking sherry

1/2 tablespoon butter

• Place flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
• Lightly coat catfish fillets with seasoned flour and set aside.
• Place a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in canola oil. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned.
• Place catfish fillets in pan and cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.
• Turn fillets over and cook 1 minute more.
• Add sherry and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
• Place fillets on serving plates.
• Add butter to sauce in skillet. Stir until blended and pour over catfish.

Asparagus and cheddar-stuffed chicken breast

Now, I can't take credit for this recipe, but I definitely can pass it on. My boyfriend and I were shopping at our local grocery store and passed by the poultry. I found a delicious, IC-safe dinner option, asparagus and cheddar-stuffed chicken breast. While we just popped it in the oven when we got home, it looks very easy to make.

Asparagus and cheddar-stuffed chicken breast
serves 2

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 stalks of asparagus
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
herbs of your choice

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Fold each chicken breast around 3 stalks of asparagus
• Sprinkle 1/8 cup of cheddar cheese with asparagus in each chicken breast
• To help the chicken stay in place, consider tightly tying each chicken breast with a piece of string while baking. Remove string before serving.
• Season chicken with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice.
• Bake for 30 minutes.

Meatloaf

This is a great recipe even for those without IC. My boyfriend has always hated meatloaf, but I made it this way for him once and I completely changed his mind. Best of all, it tastes delicious without the tomatoes!

Meatloaf
serves 4-6

1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cups toasted wheat germ
1/2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs
3 egg whites
6 Tbsp. low fat milk
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray.
• Mix all ingredients thoroughly and shape to fill pan.
• Bake for one 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until loaf is done.