Apple and Rosemary Pork Roulade

Don't let the word 'roulade' scare you off of this recipe. Basically, that's a fancy way to say "a bunch of stuff rolled up in a big hunk of pork". But, roulade sounds so much nicer, right?

I found this recipe in a magazine and went to the store that day to buy the things I needed to make it. Gotta say, it ranked right up there as one of the best dinners I've made in a long time. All of us inhaled it. And inhaled it so quickly that I didn't even think to snap a picture of it until it was completely gone. Sorry, next time I'll be more proactive.

This dish screams fall to me. Pork, Apples, onion, garlic and served along side a big scoop of stuffing - oh man, I want to make it again tonight.

Here's what you do. (Note the things that I did differently in parenthesis out to the side of the recipe).

Apple and Rosemary Pork Roulade

1 tsp. Olive Oil (I used probably 1/2 TBSP)
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Fuji Apple, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 TBSP Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. Fresh chopped rosemary (I used dry and probably used 1/2 tsp)
1 (1-1.5 lb.) pork tenderloin, trimmed
Salt and pepper
Cooking Spray

For Sauce:
1/3 Cup chicken broth
3 TBSP Apple Cider (not vinegar)
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

Preheat oven to 425

Slice pork lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side. Open and lay flat and then place on saran wrap and pound out until it is all the same thickness. Salt and pepper meat and set aside.

Heat large oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Add onion, apple and garlic to pan and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add vinegar and rosemary; cook 1 minute.

Spread apple mixture evenly over meat and roll up from the long end. Securing with twine or toothpicks. Wipe pan clean and spray with cooking spray, heat back to medium high heat and brown meat well on all sides for about 4-5 minutes total. Place pan in oven and cook 15 minutes or until no longer pink (15 min was perfect for mine). Remove from pan, place on plate or cutting board and cover with foil. Let stand while making sauce.

Return pan to med-high heat and add, apple cider, chicken stock and mustard and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil and whisk pan drippings with sauce for 2 minutes. Serve over pork.

Photo Found Here


**I served it with chicken flavored Stove Top Stuffing and cooked green beans and sliced potatoes together as our veggie. Also, I made the sauce, but the pork was SO tender and flavorful that you could totally skip that step. If you love a light sauce, by all means, make it, but if you would prefer to not mess with it, you won't be missing much.

My Mexican Concoction

A couple nights ago I was talking to Mike and the girls about a dish at a local Mexican restaurant that seems to be a fan favorite. If I remember right it's called the Steven Special. It's rice, chicken and cheese sauce. Mike said he gets this same thing at another spot and it's called the Emily Special. I told him that I was sure I could make my own version and tonight I was on a mission to make the Chrissy Special.

I'm not a huge fan of the Spanish Rice that you make out of the box, but I thought it needed to be a little more seasoned than just regular old white or brown rice. So I whipped up my own rice, bought a rotisserie chicken and made some queso and I gotta say, the whole family loved it. Here's what I did:

For the rice:

2 Cups Brown (or white) Instant Rice - cooked according to box
Then stir in the following:

Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1-2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Garlic Powder

I then took the skin off a rotisserie chicken and used the white meat, chopped/shredded it up and placed it on top of the rice bowls.

For the queso, I bought the new White Velveeta cheese and used 16 oz. and 1 can of Rotel, heated them through and topped the rice bowls with a couple spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.

My husband heated up some soft taco shells and filled them with the mixture, I ate mine just as a rice bowl and had chips and queso on the side and my girls used tortilla chips to scoop up their mixture. All great options and I think this will be something we put in a regular rotation! So good and much healthier than what you get at the restaurants!

Summer Spinach Salad

If you are like me, salads and summertime just go together. They are light, cool and refreshing on those hot nights that you just don't feel like turning on the oven. This recipe is from a sweet lady that I workout with - she brought it to a potluck and it was a huge hit. It would be great alone for a simple lunch or dinner or as a side with a big meal.

Summer Spinach Salad

1 bag or tub of fresh baby spinach
Fresh Mushrooms, chopped (how ever much you prefer)
6 slices of bacon, crumbled (I used the fully cooked kind that you just have to heat through for a minute or two in the microwave)
Red Onion, finely diced

Dressing:

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Dry Mustard
Dash pepper

Mix dressing, shake well and chill for several hours. When ready to serve, combine salad ingredients, pour dressing over and toss well.

Baked Crab Rangoon

Is anyone out there still even following my blog?! :) I am back from a 2 month blogging drought - well, mainly I've just been too busy to try new recipes the past couple of months. I've been making a lot of meals that are either quick and easy or meals that I have made so many times that I don't have to even think about it while I'm cooking. But, this week, I finally feel like life has slowed down enough to search out and try some new recipes and I made these baked crab rangoon tonight with my Sweet and Sour Chicken and boy, were they GOOD!!! You are saving calories by not deep frying these yummy little appetizers and could even save more by using light cream cheese. But, what person in their right mind would want to do that?!

These would be great as a side with homemade Chinese or even as an appetizer for a party or get-together with friends. We dipped ours in the extra sweet and sour sauce from the main course. Absolutely delish.

Baked Crab Rangoon

2 tablespoons sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened (reduced fat is fine)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup crab meat, drained
wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, scallion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sugar together until well combined. Fold in the crab meat.

Lay a wonton wrapper on your work surface. Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling mixture in the center of the wrapper, then brush sides with an egg wash (egg beaten with a small amount of water) and fold over on the diagonal. Press around the filling to remove air pockets, then press the sides to seal the wrapper tightly. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Spray the tops of the wonton wrappers lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crisp.

Makes 20-24

Cake Mix Apple Cobbler

I shared this recipe with a friend of mine today and thought it would be a great one to add to my blog. If you love cobbler, or apple crisp-type desserts, this one is a must try! It's so simple and uses very few ingredients. I threw it together on Sunday morning, baked it while we were getting ready for church and took it to Sunday School fresh out of the oven. If apple isn't your thing, switch it up and use peach or cherry pie filling. That's what makes this so great - the recipe is the same and all you do to mix it up is buy a different pie filling! Serve with vanilla ice cream for an extra special treat! Enjoy!!

Cake Mix Apple Cobbler

1 Yellow Cake Mix
2 Cans Apple Pie Filling
4-6 Tbsp. Butter, Melted
2 Tbsp. Sugar plus 1 tsp. Cinnamon, Combined

Preheat oven to 375

In a 9x13 pan, pour pie filling all over bottom. Sprinkle cake mix on top of pie filling. Drizzle melted butter over cake mix and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over that. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Cheeseburger Soup

I was chatting on the phone with my mom today debating on what I was going to make for dinner tonight and she told me about this soup. She said that she and several of her friends have made it recently and that they all really enjoyed it. I jotted down the few things I needed and ran to the store. It was kind of rainy and a little cool here today, so this sounded great. Now, a couple things:
1. Not sure why it's called cheeseburger soup. Besides the fact that it has cheese and hamburger in it. But it also has potatoes, carrots, green chilies and bell peppers, which are not ingredients I think of when I think "cheeseburger". Regardless, it was awesome, so maybe I need to rethink my cheeseburger toppings.

2. I am trying to cook things that are healthy and usually milk based soups aren't high on any health food lists. But, I cut corners where I could and I think that overall, this probably wasn't too high in fat. I used 1% milk instead of whole milk so that cuts a ton of fat and calories right there and it was still nice and rich tasting.

I served it with Jiffy Corn Bread muffins and all 3 of my girls scarfed it right up. This will stay on my menu rotation for sure. Thanks, mom!

Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups diced potatoes (I used canned potatoes)
1 cup diced carrots (I used sliced canned carrots)
1/2 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced green peppers
4 oz can chopped green chilies
2 beef bouillion cubes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 cups milk, divided
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cubed american cheese
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I omitted this)

In a large saucepan, combine browned hamburger, water, potatoes, carrots, onion, pepper, chilies, garlic powder, and bouillion. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Stir in 2 cups milk. Mix 1/2 cup milk and flour; gradually stir into
soup. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat, stir
in cheese and cayenne. Let simmer until ready to serve. Yield 6-8 servings

Baked Tilapia

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a fish person. Basically the only seafood/fish I really eat is shrimp. But, in an effort to start eating healthier and get in shape, and because eating chicken day in and day out is getting old, I decided to try out this fish recipe that my sister sent me a long time ago. She promised that tilapia was a very mild, flaky fish and that this was really good. I thought I'd just get over it and give the recipe a try. Much to my surprise, I really, really liked it! It didn't taste too "fishy" and served over Rice-a-Roni Chicken Flavored rice was just a great combination. All of us enjoyed this meal (Macie and Maddie ate it, it wasn't their favorite, but they didn't complain). I'm looking forward to cooking with tilapia again. I know it's so good for us and it's a nice change from chicken all the time. Plus, it cooks SO fast! Like in 10 minutes fast. That I can handle!

Baked Tilapia

3/4 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
4 Tilapia Filets (thawed or fresh - about 4 oz. each)

Preheat oven to 425.
On a plate, blend first 4 ingredients. Dredge tilapia filets in mixture and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until fish flakes apart easily with a fork.