Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon and Apple Cider Dressing

So yesterday (Wednesday) I made individual pot pies and a spinach salad for my weekly get-together. While the chicken pot pies were good, it was the salad that everyone raved about. It’s a rare thing to hear an entire table say “Wow! This is amazing.” about a salad.

Most times I think of summer when I eat a salad, but the dressing on this one made me think of fall. It must be the apple cider…

It was surprisingly simple to make and very very tasty.

Spaghetti with Swiss Chard & Bacon

My mother came to visit this past weekend on her way to my sisters. Normally when she visits I make one of my standards. This time however I decided to try something new and slightly more healthier.

I’ve never cooked with ‘collard’ greens before and Swiss Chard is definitely in the ‘collard’ greens family. I have watched a couple of shows on FoodNetwork where the chef used Swiss Chard though so sorta knew what to expect.  When you get the Swiss Chard be sure to rinse it a couple of warm baths, draining the water each time. Aside from the particulates the water in the bowl turned a lovely shade of green as I rinsed the Swiss Chard.

There are surprisingly few actual ingredients in this recipe. Most of the flavor comes from the chicken stock and the bacon and pepper (Don’t forget the pepper!) While the recipe calls for you to use the stems I used very few of them. And the next time I make this (I was told this should go into rotation) I think I will cut back on the chicken stock as it seemed to be a bit much.

I really enjoyed the dish. Within 30 minutes I had a meal that would feed 6 people. I had the left overs the next day for lunch and it held up very well.

Roast Pork Loin and Potatoes

This last weekend I picked up a pork loin at the market.  I searched and searched for a pork loin recipe that wasn’t Bavarian in style and came across this Italian version.

I was skeptical at first, as I normally don’t make roasts this large for just two people. (It was a 4 lb pork loin) But it was surprisingly easy to prepare. I prepped the roast in the morning and left it in the fridge to chill until I needed to put it in the oven.

Now I will say right now that I didn’t have any sage on hand-I think my husband may have given my lone spice jar to a friend not too long ago and never went to retrieve it. (There is a hole in my spice rack where it should be.) And while I had rosemary I decided to substitute both the rosemary and sage  with 1 1/2 Tbsp of “Savory” spice blend.

I think I may have baked it a little too long (keeping it warm for my husband-who had decided that day to come home late from work and didn’t tell me ahead of time) and I felt it was a little on the dry side. And this roast has no reason to be dry with the method of cooking used. But the flavor was phenomenal. I really liked the way the potatoes turned out and the next time I make this I am going to increase the amount simply because I enjoyed them.

*Side Note- While the “white” meat portions of the roast were somewhat dry, the “dark” meat portions were amazingly moist, something I found out the next day when I cut some of the roast up for a quick “Apricot Pork and Rice” dish [Recipe will appear once I remember what the measurements were - hazards of not writing things down as you concoct stuff]

Roast Pork Loin With Potatoes

Roasted Potato Soup

I really enjoy soups. I’m one of those people who believe that you can have soup any time of the year. It doesn’t matter if it’s ridiculously hot outside. If you want soup have some! This past week I decided I wanted some potato soup. This is by far one my favorite soup recipes. It’s simple. Unlike most potato soups I’ve had this one has a really nice flavor to it, more than any other recipe I have tried in the past. It heats up wonderfully the next day as well, which is a bonus for my husband who tends to take left-overs to work the next day.

Roasted Potato Soup

Parmesan-Broccoli Timbales & Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard

Look at this! Some new recipes! It’s not that I haven’t been cooking, on the contrary, I have been cooking quite a bit. A lot of the same ol’ same ol’ actually. I tried something different last night. Noticing a lack of vegetables with out meals recently (somehow I tend to forget them when I cook…) I made a conscious effort to make certain veggies were included in last nights meal.

It was requested that I make Chicken Fingers (Anyone know why-other than the fact that they are like strips-that we call them ‘fingers’? ) They turned out really well for being as simple as they were. The Timbales were more work than the chicken…

The Parmesan-Broccoli Timbales were easy to make, I was actually quite surprised by this. I wasn’t what I was actually making until they were done. I’d made Parmesan-Broccoli Quiches…just without the crust. It’s the closet thing I know of to compare it to.

I admit that the idea of eating chicken fingers and ‘quiche’ was a little odd at first, but the combination was pretty good.

Parmesan-Broccoli Timbales and Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

Bandnudeln mit Rindfleish (Egg Noodles with Beef)

When I first saw this recipe I thought it looked like it would be relatively easy to make and sounded really yummy. It had an Asian flare to it with the use of soy sauce and slivered zucchini and carrots.
The dish was as I thought, easy to make. Most of the time was spent chopping, slicing; all of which I did before I actually started cooking.
The meal itself was a hit with friends as well as family. So much so that I was asked to write the recipe down. Per usual it was a recipe from a German Cookbook and I needed to take the time to translate it. The version of the recipe below contains my personal notes and suggestions I made while translating.

Not Your Traditional Meatloaf

A lot of the cooking I do doesn’t rely on recipes. I just throw things together and see if they work together. This is one of those recipes. It came about after having a discussion with a friend about what exactly meatloaf was as she had never had it before (at least that is what I gathered from the conversation-if I was wrong please correct me!) and I had mentioned that I was going to be making one today.

The most basic recipes for meatloaf consist of ground beef mixed with breadcrumbs, chopped celery, carrots, and onions which is then shaped into a loaf in a baking dish or a loaf pan. (Baking it in a loaf pan is actually not a very good way of making a meatloaf…)

I had intended on making this meatloaf relatively simple but when I went into my fridge I realized some key ingredients were actually missing. I didn’t have celery or onion. So I had to improvise using what I did have on hand : carrots, zucchini, roasted red peppers, and some dried chives. And because my husband requested it when I told him I was thinking about making meatloaf, I also had some Sambal Oelek to use.

I normally add recipes here after I’ve successfully made them, not while I am making them. The meatloaf is currently sitting in the oven baking and I am already adding it here even though I am not sure that it will turn out. (I have a pretty good idea that it will.)

7 Layer Salad

With the weather warming up I find that I make more salads. This 7 layer salad is great for bbq parties or summer pot-luck parties as it feeds a lot of people. It can also be assembled the day before (but not necessary) if you want.

I like the fact that the recipe uses both Boston lettuce and baby spinach-two of my favorite “salad” items. They hold up really well with all of the other ingredients.

The recipe comes from my mother and I am not sure where she found it originally. It is rather brand specific leading me to believe it came from a magazine. (The ones that provide recipes for whatever it is they are advertising and want you to buy.) I’ve kept the brands in the recipe as I saw no reason not too.

Hackbraten mit Speck und Kartoffelkruste

Okay, this is a recipe I found in one of the German cookbooks. (The recipe translates to: Meatloaf with Bacon and a Potato crust) The moment I saw it I knew that I had to make it. I mean really what is not to love about it? It’s meatloaf wrapped in bacon and topped with mashed potatoes.

As is my usual MO we had friends over for dinner the night I made it.

For all the translation that I had to do in my head the recipe was in fact fairly simple. I made the potatoes in advance and reheated them in the microwave just prior to topping the meatloaf. This allowed me to get around having to time everything just right.

Normally I make meatloaf with a bread crumb mixture but this one called for milk soaked slices of a day old baguette. I had never used this method before, but I must say that it worked wonderfully and I was pleased with the cohesion of the meatloaf as well as the amount of moisture it retained. Because the meatloaf was topped with mashed potatoes and I really didn’t need a starchy side to go along with it, I made some French-cut green beans to go along with it. They were a nice compliment to the mustard foam/sauce that I made just before serving.

Pork Tenderloin with Herb Crumb Crust

I don’t make pork tenderloin very often. It’s too much like a roast for me and I have yet to perfect that particular dish either. The balance between a moist and dry roast is sometimes rather elusive. I came across this recipe in Concert in the Kitchen. I thought that it was an interesting take on the Pork Tenderloin as I had never seen one that was breaded before. Surely the tenderloin would retain its moisture with a crumb crust. So I tried it.

As I gathered the ingredients I felt that the amount of bread crumbs was a bit much, but then again I chose a smaller tenderloin as it was just for two people so the amount could have been correct for an average sized tenderloin. And I used dried rosemary (1/2 tsp) instead of fresh rosemary. The entire process was quick and relatively easy to do. It was completely done within 20 minutes of putting it in the oven. I served it with mashed turnips and potatoes.