Happy Hump day all!  Hopefully you had a nice holiday weekend and are ready to get back to the grind.  The fall is creeping up and routines will soon be created.  One routine that we want to work on this year is more family time at the dinner table.  So we can talk about the day, share our stories, and have some really quality time.  It is easy to forget about this stuff when things get hectic.

For a nice sit down meal give this one below a try.  It uses simple flavors and the good quality ingredients to make you feel like you are at a fancy restaurant.  The method is simple but involves some time.  For the beef, you have a couple of options to make it melt in your mouth.  You can throw it in the slow cooker in the morning and let it ride the whole day through, or you can toss it in the oven for 3 hours at 250 F and get similar results.

The ultimate key to great beef is the time you give it to break down and cook and how you season the cut.  I chose for a spicy barbecue based sauce with some onion and garlic.  Below are all the details on how to recreate this dish.

Ingredients

• 4 Sirloin Steaks
• 1 Head of Cauliflower
• 2 Large Sweet potatoes

Beef Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. Onion flakes or powder
• 1 Tbsp. Black pepper
• 1/4 Cup Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Barbecue sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Dry mustard
• 1 Tsp. Seasoning salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. Coriander
• Splash of water

Cauliflower Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• Black Pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. Honey
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. In a large bowl combine all the beef sauce ingredients and mix together.  Lay the beef in a large baking dish and cover with sauce liberally.  Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 3 hours at 250 F
2. In another bowl combine the cauliflower sauce ingredients and give a stir.  On a cookie sheet, lay some parchment paper down and drop the cauliflower on the paper.  Drizzle the sauce over and coat the cauliflower.  Let sit for about 30 minutes.  Roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown, tunring a couple times.  I let them go about 30-40 minutes.  I also finished them off in the broiler to crisp up some edges and keep the cauliflower crunchy.
3. For the sweet potatoes, pierce for a fork all over and drop in the oven for about an hour or so.
4. When the beef is cook, let rest for a minute and serve.  I topped it with fresh baby arugula and spinach for some crunch.
5. ENJOY!

Ok, I am heading out to put junior on the bus for day 2 of school.  I will definitely be back in action on Friday for something tasty I hope.  Have a great rest of the week and if you have any questions by all means let me know.  Before I go, I have a question for you?

What is one routine you want try and get into for the remainder of this year?

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Friday!  I hope you are having a great day and in the mood for a quick pork dish. You can whip these rosemary mustard pork chops when you are in rush or if you’re really unsure about what to make for dinner.

For this dish I decided to use a simple sauce to enhance the pork flavor.  From there, the pork chops will sit on a large dollop of mashed sweet potatoes.  Can you really beat that?

I started off with a simple sear of the pork chops with a little oil and salt and pepper.  From there I de-glazed the pan with the base of the sauce and then continued to add flavor.  To finish, I jazzed up some sweet potatoes with nutmeg, milk, butter and a dash of brown sugar.  Oh dear  – I love sweet potatoes!!

Ingredients

• 4 Pork chops
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. French’s mustard
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/4 Cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. rosemary (dried)
• 1 Tsp. black pepper
• 1 Tsp. salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Preheat saute pan/frying pan to medium high heat and dry the pork chops with a paper towel.
3. Combine  soy sauce, mustard, paprika, brown sugar and rosemary in a bowl; mix together.
4. Season pork with salt and pepper.
5. Add pork to pan and begin to sear on one side, about 3-4 minutes.  Once complete on one side, flip and do the same on other side.
6. Remove pork chops and place on plate.
7. De-glaze the pan by adding the chicken stock and scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pan.
8. Add the sauce mixture from step 3 and let thicken for 2 minutes.
9. Add pork back on the pan and place into the oven to finish the cooking process; about 12 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, baste with sauce.



11. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When trying to caramelize meat and/or fish, it is essential that you pat it dry (with a paper towel) to remove any excess moisture on top of the meat.  This will eliminate the steaming process and let the meat/fish sear and caramelize more effectively.

I thought I would be somewhat balanced and add some green frozen peas to the plating dish along with a huge serving of garlic mashed sweet potatoes.  I hope you enjoy the day and I will see you all Monday.

Question of the day:  What are your Christmas cooking traditions?

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

I cannot really believe I wrote that as a title and actually prepared this dish with these ingredients. part of me thinks it is genius and the other part of me thinks that maybe I just ruined a perfectly healthy vegetable and moved it to the dark side. Either way – these sweet potatoes were amazing!

Let me know what you think of stuffed sweet potatoes?  Taking the original stuffed potato to a new level – you cannot go wrong.  Throw whatever flavors in you like and experiment.  Let the power of the sweet potato carry the dish.

Ingredients

• Sweet Potatoes ( medium-large )
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/4 Tsp. Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheese ( cheddar/mozzarella )
• 4 Slices Bacon (Fried and crumbled)
• 3 Green Onions (Chopped for Garnish)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400, place sweet potatoes on a sheet and rub with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake for 30-35 minutes.
2. Half sweet potatoes length wise and scoop out most of the flesh into a mixing bowl.
3. Mash until smooth; add nutmeg, salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Stuff sweet potatoes will filling and top with shredded cheese
5. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until lightly brown around the edges and the cheese is melted at 400 degrees (about 25-30 minutes).
6. Garnish with bacon, sour cream and green onion.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: In step one, we don’t want to bake the sweet potatoes to much.  We want the sweet potato to still be somewhat firm and you must allow them to cool before cutting and scooping out the flesh.  This will ensure the case ( peel)  will stay in tact.

I hope you have a great Wednesday and for all that it is worth – you have to give this recipe a try.  I am more than confident that you will be happy with the results.  The combination of flavors really enhances the sweet potato and the bacon gives it a nice crunch and saltiness to balance the sweetness.

Along the same lines, here is another post on stuffed baked potatoes.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty