Peach-Dijon Pork Chops

I try not to cook beef more than once per week, and we get tired of having chicken a lot, so I try to find really tasty ways of serving other types of meat.  These pork chops are moist and delicious and because they are grilled, they are perfect to serve on a hot summer day.  Also, they are completely ready to serve in less than 30 minutes!

This is another recipe I got from the marinades, rubs, and sauces recipe booklet I found near the checkout stand at the market.  Even though my husband isn't a big pork chop lover, he gives this recipe an 8 and my boys give it 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

I apologize, my picture of making the sauce is missing.  Basically, in a small saucepan, I combined the peach preserves, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and dried marjoram leaves, stirring to combine.  I cooked this mixture over low heat until the preserves were melted, stirring frequently.

When ready to grill, I added salt and pepper to both sides of the pork chops and placed them on a heated grill.  I covered them and cooked them over medium heat for 12 minutes, turning once during cooking.  

I then brushed the sauce on one side of the chops, covered them again and cooked for about 2 minutes.  I turned them over and repeated the process.

After removing them from the grill, I let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving so that the juice wouldn't all run out when they were cut.

What a tasty way to serve "the other white meat!"  Enjoy!

Peach-Dijon Pork Chops

½ cup peach preserves, large pieces cut up

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons soy sauce

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

4 (6 oz.) pork loin chops (3/4-inch thick)

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat grill.  In small saucepan, combine preserves, mustard, soy sauce and marjoram; mix well.  Cook over low heat until preserves are melted, stirring frequently.

When ready to grill, sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper.  Place chops on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals; cover grill.  Cook 12 to 15 minutes or until pork is no loner pink in center, turning once and brushing with preserves mixture during last 2 minutes of cooking time.

To serve, bring any remaining preserves mixture to a boil.  Serve with pork chops.

Speedy Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup

There are days when I need to put a hot meal on the table, but it seems as though I will have no time at all to do so.  This tomato soup recipe is one where the ingredients are heated in a saucepan and the soup is ready to serve!

When I received my October/November 2012 issue of Taste of Home, I knew this recipe would come in handy at some point on a busy day, so I made sure I had all of the ingredients in my cupboard.  This soup is not quite as good as the Roasted Tomato Bisque (previously posted), but it still got 7's and 8's on the Melnarik rating scale.

In a large saucepan, I combined two cans of tomato soup, two cans of evaporated milk (one 12 oz. and one 5 oz.), and 1 can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes.  Once heated though, I served it with a bit of sour cream, some shredded cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon that was left over from a meal earlier in the week (I planned ahead on that one!).  That's all there is to it.  I paired the soup with some grilled cheese sandwiches.  It can't get any easier than that!  Enjoy!

Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup

2 (10-3/4 oz.) cans undiluted condensed tomato soup

2 cans (one 12 oz. and one 5 oz.) evaporated milk

1 (14-1/2 oz.) can undrained fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Optional toppings:

Sour cream

Shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon bits

In a large saucepan, combine and heat tomato soup, evaporated milk, and fire-roasted tomatoes until hot.  Serve with sour cream, cheddar cheese and/or bacon bits.

Beef Fajita Pizza

The is the next in the series of pizzas I make.  Although the BBQ Chicken Pizza is the favorite in my house, this comes in a close second.  This is another easy dish to put together because I use frozen bell pepper strips and pre-sliced stir-fry beef strips.  Also, using the Boboli Pizza Shell means I don't have to prepare pizza dough.  Because there is little prep work, this dish is on the table in under half an hour!  I originally saw Sandra Lee demonstrate this recipe on her Semi-Homemade show on the Food Network and printed it from their website.

I think food is more appealing when it looks good, and this colorful pizza is something anyone would want to try!  It gets 8's on the Melnarik rating scale!

Of course, I use my Pampered Chef baking stone to bake it in the oven.  There is no preparation necessary, I just place the pizza shell on the stone.

Because it is a fajita pizza, I add salsa in lieu of pizza sauce.

I top that with pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese (Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses).

The beef and pepper strips get tossed with a little olive oil and taco seasoning and cooked in a skillet for a few minutes before adding them to the pizza, and into the oven it goes.

It smells great coming out of the oven and the cheese is all melted.  I'm getting hungry as I type this!

The last step is to add some fresh cilantro and serve.  Isn't it pretty?  It is best to let it rest for about 5 minutes after taking it out of the oven before cutting so the cheese doesn't run onto the baking dish when you remove the first slice.  Enjoy!

Beef Fajita Pizza 

¾ lb. stir-fry beef strips

1 pound frozen pepper stir-fry, thawed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix

1 Boboli Pizza Shell

¾ cup prepared salsa

2 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Sour cream and guacamole (optional), for serving

Preheat oven to 425°.  In a large bowl, combine beef strips, peppers, oil and taco seasoning.  Cook in a skillet over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is cooked and vegetables are crisp-tender.

Place pizza shell on a baking stone or cookie sheet.  Top with salsa, cheese, and beef and pepper mixture.  Bake in the oven at 425° for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Liza's Stuffed Quesadillas

For several years now, my oldest son's schedule (school and church) has caused me to have to come up with several dinner options that can be eaten by him at least an hour before the rest of the family.  My repertoire includes meal-type salads, sandwiches, soups, and things like this recipe I call Stuffed Quesadillas (because they are so thick).  Once I've combined the "stuffing" mixture, it can be kept in Tupperware in the refrigerator for several days (if it lasts that long) for a quick snack.  I try to always have the ingredients available in case I'm feeding extra teenagers without much notice.  I always have boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer, which can be boiled (keeps the meat moist) and chopped in no time, or I use already-cooked chicken breast strips, which are available in most stores now.  You're not going to believe how simple this is to put together.

I begin by chopping my cooked chicken breast into small pieces and put them in a medium-size bowl.

Then, I toss in some rinsed and drained black beans.

Next, I add the salsa.  This can be any salsa or picante sauce of your choice.  The heat level is up to you, too.  Cha Chi's Pico de Gallo salsa (medium heat) is the favorite of my family.

Last in is the corn.  I've used both frozen and canned corn in this recipe.  When using frozen corn, it's best to defrost it in the microwave, otherwise it may add a cold element to an otherwise hot quesadilla.  You may have noticed the tool that I used to toss the ingredients; I call it a spoontula because it acts like a spoon for stirring, but it's also a spatula which scrapes the sides of the bowl well when combining ingredients.  This type of product can be found most places that sell kitchen tools, but mine is from Pampered Chef.  I'm putting in a plug for theirs because I feel it's the best one available. They call a Mix 'N Scraper and it now comes in three sizes.  What I like most about it is that it never stains and it's heat resistant to over 500 degrees, so I can use it in a saucepan when melting chocolate, etc.  This tool is a necessity in my kitchen, next to a good set of knives.

On a medium-low heated griddle or frying pan, I place a fajita-size tortilla.  Most of the time I use flour tortillas, but just found these whole wheat tortillas recently, so I decided to use them for the first time.  I then add the grated cheese.  Most of my family members prefer medium cheddar in this one, but I treat myself to sharp cheddar as it is my preference.

Then I spoon the chicken mixture onto one-half of the tortilla.  When I first started making these, I would put the "stuffing" over the entire tortilla, add more cheese and another tortilla.  However, because there was so much stuffing, it was so hard to flip to get the cheese melted on the top tortilla without a lot of the chicken mixture falling out.  It didn't take me too long to figure out how to solve that problem by making a half quesadilla each time!

I usually cover it with a saucepan lid so that it steams as well as getting heated from below.  I think it makes the cheese melt faster, which is what you need to wait for.  While waiting, I usually start building the next quesadillas on a cutting board so they're ready to put on the griddle when there is available space.

 Once the cheese is completely melted, using a large spatula, I flip the cheese side over the stuffing side.

Then I flip the whole thing over to the other side for about 10 seconds, just to make sure the stuffing is imbedded in the melted cheese on that side also.  This helps prevent everything from falling out while eating it.

I put it on a plate and it's ready to eat.  Yes, it looks like a large soft taco, and that's the easiest way to eat it.  My husband and I find one of these quesadillas quite filling, but if, like me, you have teenage boys in the house, they may require more!  Enjoy!

Liza's Stuffed Quesadillas

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup salsa

1 cup corn

6 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese

6 fajita size tortillas

Place chopped chicken breast pieces in a medium size bowl.  Toss in beans, salsa and corn.  Place tortilla on a griddle or pan over medium-low heat.  Add 1 cup of shredded cheese, covering tortilla almost to the edge.  Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chicken mixture to one-half of the tortilla.  Once the cheese melts, flip the cheese side over the chicken side and flip the whole thing over for about 10 seconds to make sure the chicken mixture adheres to both sides.  Plate and serve hot.