Greek Marinated Pork Chops

The first time I had Greek food was in Chicago on a trip with a group from Lindsey Wilson College. I didn't like it. I can't remember what I ordered, but I remember not liking it. And if I recall correctly, nobody in the group really liked their food, either. The one exception was some kind of fried cheese that came to the table still flaming. That stuff was delicious. But something has happened as I've gotten older...I've found that I now enjoy Greek food. I love the flavors now and find that I use them a lot in my cooking. I've even found a fabulous Greek restaurant about two blocks from my office. Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was looking over some blogs for some ideas for dinner this week, and I came across a recipe for pork chops in a Greek marinade. I didn't need to buy anything (except for the pork chops, which were already on the list), so these went on the menu.

Oh my goodness! They were wonderful! They were so flavorful and moist. I absolutely loved the lemon flavor with the oregano and garlic. I usually grill four pork chops for the two of us so that there are leftovers, but we ate all four of these tonight! (They were small, though!) David and I both decided that this recipe will make it to our regular rotation, and that's saying a lot! If you're tired of having ho-hum pork chops, try these! They are delicious!

Greek-Seasoned Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon and Oregano

Amanda's Cookin'

4 boneless pork chops

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. dried Greek oregano (I don't know that my oregano was Greek, but it was good!)

2 tsp. minced garlic

fresh ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Greek oregano, garlic, and black pepper. Trim all visible fat from pork chops and place in large Ziplock bag or flat glass dish. Pour marinade over pork chops and marinate in refrigerator for 4-8 hours (I think I marinated mine for more like 11 hours), turning a few times if you're home.

To cook, remove pork chops from refrigerator and wipe off excess marinade. Dry chops with paper towels and let come to room temperature while grill heats up. Grill pork chops and enjoy!

Potato, Ham, and Spinach Soup

I've had designs on making this soup for well over a year. I used a recipe from the Louisville Courier-Journal as my starting point, but I made several changes along the way. I clipped the original recipe out of the paper sometime last fall or winter, and tucked it away in my recipe file, which grows larger by the week. I finally decided to rummage through it last Sunday and found this one. It's perfect for a chilly fall day, except those seem to have left Kentucky. Now, we've got highs in the mid-70s! Good grief...I thought we'd finally gotten rid of summer for awhile, but she's reared her ugly head again. Fall, please come back!
This soup is full of ham, potatoes, beans, and spinach. It's the perfect soup to make when it's time to use leftovers, because you could dump just about anything in here, and it would be good. The original recipe called for smoked sausage and kale. I used ham and spinach instead. I've really tried to like kale, but I just haven't seemed to acquire the tastebuds for it yet. I'm still willing to try it, though...maybe I just haven't had it the right way yet. Anyway, here's the recipe for this yummy, hearty soup. If fall hasn't fled your area, it would make a perfect dinner for those nights when you're snuggled up on the couch watching football! Enjoy!

Potato, Ham, and Spinach Soup

adapted from a recipe from the Louisville Courier-Journal

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 lb. ham

1 large onion, diced

6-8 large cloves garlic, minced

4 large potatoes, diced

1 large bunch spinach

2 quarts chicken stock (or a mixture of stock and water)

2 15oz. cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

salt and lots of black pepper

Heat olive oil in a wide, deep soup pot over medium heat. Add ham, chopping it into bite-sized pieces.

Add onion and garlic. Stir often, until softened, about 5-10 minutes.

Add diced potatoes. Wash and remove long stems from spinach. Cut into wide slivers. Add potatoes and spinach.

Add chicken stock and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the potoates are very soft. Use a potato masher to roughly mash the potatoes in order to thicken the broth. Add beans and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

Skillet Cabbage and Ham

I'm really a very predictable person. I like order, rules, and routine. My life is very regimented, and while lots of people would think that's really boring, it suits me just fine! But sometimes I wonder if I rely on my routine a little too much. After all, I'm the person who forgets to brush my teeth if my morning routine gets out of whack...really. That's happened on more than one occasion. Even my weekends have routines. Saturdays, I clean up the house and wash clothes. On Sunday, we go to church and I do my grocery shopping. But last night, I did something out of my routine, and tonight I was thanking myself for it!
Each Sunday before I go to the grocery, I make my menu for the week based on the leftovers in the fridge, what's on sale, and what sounds good. I knew that I had Skillet Cabbage and Ham on my list, as well as a soup (that you'll see later this week). Well, last night, instead of just shoving my produce in the fridge after coming home from the grocery, I "processed" it for some of my meals!
This delicious Skillet Cabbage and Ham started out as a small head of cabbage and two big ol' carrots, which were chopped and shredded--last night! It was so nice to not have to do that tonight after work! When I got home and started fixing supper, all I had to do was chop an apple, dice up some ham, sprinkle in some dry ingredients, and add some chicken stock and vinegar. Dinner was ready in no time, and with very minimal effort. David and I have had this meal before, but it was long before I started my blog. It's unlike most things we eat, which always makes for a nice change of pace. I really think of it as a fall meal, but you could certainly enjoy it any time of year. We added some roasted butternut squash and were quite happy with our little menu. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, and I'll put my changes in parenthesis. I hope you enjoy!

Skillet Cabbage and Ham

Family Circle Magazine, December 2008

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 large head of green cabbage, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup white wine (I used chicken broth)

10 oz. ham, cut into bite sized pieces

1 large apple, cored and diced (I used a Golden Delicious)

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and carrot and cook, covered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in wine (or broth) and simmer for 1 minute. Add ham, apple, vinegar, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, uncovered, stirring, until cabbage and apples are tender and most of the liquid has cooked off.

Cover and let stand a few minutes before serving.

Tomato Spinach Pasta Toss

Geeze Louise...it's been a tough week. Since last Friday, I've had work on my mind, and it's been nearly impossible to get it out of there! It's just been emotionally draining, and I'm ready for a little break that David and I will be taking later this month. In the meantime, I've just been trying to focus on getting through this week and weekend. When I get really stressed and overwhelmed, it sometimes seems like nothing will do except a little comfort food. Tonight, what sounded really good to me was sausage and pasta. Pork and carbs...what could be better?!
Anyway, this is a tasty little dish that takes no time to put together. It used to be on our regular rotation around here, but after we adopted a little healthier style of eating, I stopped making it. It hit the spot tonight.
I originally found this recipe in one of the Kraft Food and Family magazines...it's probably been a couple of years ago now. Some of you might think it's salty (thanks to the Italian sausage and canned tomatoes), but I like things a little on the salty side (I think that's a part of the comfort food thing, too). You could always use no salt added tomatoes. The ingredient list is minimal, it takes a matter of minutes to prepare, and the most difficult thing is browning the sausage. It's a perfect recipe for a hectic night when you just want something good to eat!

Tomato Spinach Pasta Toss

Adapted from Kraft Food and Family

2 cups whole wheat pasta

1 lb Italian sausage

14.5 oz. Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

6 oz. baby spinach

1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, crumble meat into a large, deep skillet. Cook on medium-high heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Add spinach and tomatoes; cook until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

Drain pasta; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture and cheeses; mix lightly.

Honey-Glazed Spiced Pork Tenderloin

Pork is my very favorite meat. I love pork in just about every variety (but bacon's my favorite). But sometimes I get stuck in a rut and poor David just eats pork chop after pork chop. Not tonight! I found a delicious little recipe in a cookbook that Theresa, my stepmom, gave me about a year ago, and I can't believe I hadn't tried this recipe until now! You'll need about 1 1/4 pounds of pork tenderloin for this recipe...which I happened to have in the freezer!
You also need honey, garlic, and some spices...all of which are pretty common in a well-stocked pantry. I don't know why, but I always think that pork tenderloin takes forever to cook. Not this recipe. Total cook time is about 25 minutes, plus some resting. Easy peasy!

Honey-Glazed Spiced Pork Tenderloin

Devin Alexander

2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. chili powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne (I left this out)

1 1/4 lb. trimmed pork tenderloin

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. honey

1 Tbs. freshly minced garlic

olive oil spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a fork to mix the paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, chili powder, and cayenne in a small bowl.

Rub the tenderloin evenly with teh olive oil, then rub the spice mixture evenly over it until the tenderloin is thoroughly coated. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the honey and garlic in a small bowl.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, lightly mist it with spray. Cook the tenderloin for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until just browned on all sides.

Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan or ovenproof skillet. (If one end is much thinner than the other, tuck it under to create a similar thickness throughout.) Use a pastry or basting brush to evenly coat the tenderloin with the honey mixture. Roast, uncovered, for 16 to 18 minutes, or until it is just barely pink inside or a meat thermometer inserted in the center reaches 155 degrees (the temperature will rise another 5 degrees while standing).

Remove from the oven, loosely cover the tenderloin (not the whole pan) with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board. Holding your knife at a 45-degree angle, slice the tenderloin into thin slices. Serve immediately.

Yummy Pork Kabobs

I usually go to Costco about once a month to stock up on some bulk items, and I usually buy enough meat there to last for the month, too. I bought a bunch of pork loin chops at the beginning of this month, but as much as I love pork chops, I was getting a little tired of them. I wanted to do something else, but I couldn't think of anything...until I thought of pork kabobs! I decided we'd have them this past Saturday, since we didn't have any plans for the day. I checked out Recipezaar for a good marinade, and I found a great one! The recipe will be at the bottom of the post, or you can just click on the link there.

I marinated the pork cubes for about 6 hours, and they were delicious! The marinade recipe suggests allowing the meat to marinate for 8 hours, but I was hungry, so I got started a little early. Along with the pork kabobs, I grilled a bunch of veggies (and a fruit!). I had zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, and pineapple. I planned on grilling some onion wedges, too, but I forgot them until we sat down to eat! Oh, well. I had also hoped for some yellowneck squash, but Shirley's wasn't ready yet, and the ones at Kroger were kinda gross. Our grill was FULL:

Overall, everything came together really quickly. It took some time to spear the pork and cut up all the veggies, but I did that early in the day. I served the pork and veggies over some brown rice, and we had some roasted asparagus with parmesan cheese. I drizzled some sesame oil, soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce over the meat/veggie/rice mixture, and it was delicious! Definitely a keeper! The Best Marinade for Kabobs (from Kittencal)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes
fresh ground black pepper (I use about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or to taste)
1/3 cup store-bought teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey (do NOT use any subsitutions use only honey)
2 small green onions, chopped (optional)
Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender (except the green onions, if using add them in after blending).
Blend for 30-40 seconds.
Mix in in green onions.
This recipe makes 3-1/2 cups of marinade, but may be stored in the refrigerator tightly covered in a glass container for up to 3 weeks.
Use with beef, pork, lamb or chicken.

*NOTE* marinate the beef, pork or lamb for 8 hours or up to 24 hours chicken up to 8 hours.