Teriyaki Tenderloin Salad

This week I found some delicious Pork Tenderloins on sale so I bought a bunch. The next thing I had to do was to come up with a lot of different ways to fix them.




Sometimes it is hard to come up with dishes that the whole family will like but this was one that everyone seemed to love. Not just the first time, but The Fly Rod Gawd loved this salad made from the leftovers.

The first night I seasoned the pork loins, then I coated them with a quick and easy teriyaki sauce, roasted them in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes and served them with some steamed rice and some sauted green beans.

There are always 2 pork loins in every package so I always make them both so I can have another dinner partially made for the middle of the week. This week I decided to get a little creative and use up some of the fresh veggies that were hanging around. What I came up with is this great salad with a toasted sesame sweet and sour dressing that went pefectly with the leftover pork loins. Even though we are getting some colder days here in Florida this salad is still quite tasty!

Teriyaki Roasted Pork Loins

and

Toasted Sesame Sweet and Sour Salad

1 package pork loins
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon 5 pice powder
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Season the pork loins with salt, pepper and 5 spice powder. Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof skillet. When the oil is hot sear the pork loins on all sides, place in the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

Remove the pork loins from the oven and pour the sauce over the pork loins. Return to medium heat to reduce the sauce. Serve with steamed rice.

Toasted Sesame Sweet and Sour Salad

1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 minced garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
1 yellow squash slice thin
1 small yellow onion sliced thin
1 zucchini sliced thin
1/2 cup snow peas coasly chopped
1 red bell pepper julienned
1 10 ounce bag baby spinach

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar, shaking to combine. Add the vegetables to a large bowl cover with the dressing and toss to combine. Arrange the salad on a serving platter, slice the leftover teriyaki tenderloin and arrange on top. Enjoy!

Potato Crisp Chicken Tenders

When our local Grocery Store has boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for 1.79 lb. I always stock up. Sometimes I think I buy to much but the price is so cheap that I just can't resist. I package them up into smaller portions, freeze them and always have chicken in the freezer.

This week I had a major craving for fried chicken. I've tried making oven fried chicken as a healthier alternative but every one knows fried chicken just isn't fried chicken if it doesn't have that great crispy skin.



Thanks to my friends Tony and Maria for this great recipe that will satisfy any fried chicken craving. The potato buds that they use in the crust is really crispy and I used olive oil to fry it in so it is a least fried in a good for you fat.

It's not as healthy as oven fried chicken, but really do we have to be healthy all the time?

Potato Crisp Chicken Tenders

Or

TFC (Tony's Fried Chicken)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups flour
2 cups Betty Crocker Potato Buds
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons hot paprika
Olive oil for frying
Kosher Salt

Slice chicken breasts into strips, set aside

In a large bowl mix together all dry ingriedients. Remove half of the mixture to a large plastic bag.

Stir water into the bowl, a little at a time, until it has the consistency of thin oatmeal.

Dip the chicken strips into the wet mixture one at a time, add to the bag of dry mix and shake to coat. Place in a single layer onto a clean plate and repeat the process until all chicken pieces are coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pour olive oil into a large heavy frying pan to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat to 365 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain and season with kosher salt.

Serve hot with a honey mustard dipping sauce if desired.

Messy-dillia's

I had what I thought was a great idea for a tasty football snack, so I whipped up some quesadilla's for Saturday's college football games. We don't watch Pro ball that much but The Fly Rod Gawd is glued to the t.v. on Saturday's during college football season.

I always try to make snack food so that we can eat in front of the t.v. and watch every game we can find.

Quesadilla's always seem to make it on to the scene on Saturday's, but I was getting tired of making the same old thing so I decided to jazz them up a little.

Well--------they were really good, and I do mean really good, but not the sort of thing that you could eat while cheering on Penn State!

I'm not sure how I could change them to make them suitable for a football snack, but I would definetly make them for a knife and fork dinner sometime.

WE ARE-----PENN STATE!!!

Messy Dilla's

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 (small can) green chilles

1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernals

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 or 2 chipotle peppers, chopped

6 10 inch flour tortilla's

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 rotiserre chicken, skined, boned and shredded

1 cup prepared smokey bbq sauce

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup prepared buttermilk ranch dressing

Heat a the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the chilles, beans, corn, red bell pepper and chipotle peppers. Cook over medium heat until corn begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from the skillet.

Reduce the heat to medium low, add a tortilla then layer with some of the cheese, corn mixture, chicken, bbq sauce, spinach, ranch dressing and a little more cheese. Top with another tortilla. Cook about 3 minutes until bottom tortilla is browned then flip and cook until browned.

Slide from the pan, let cool 2 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.

Red Beans and Rice Soup

Fall in the mountains is such a beautiful time, especially if your from Florida. I love the fall and look forward to our September trip to Blue Ridge. It's an early taste of the fall colors and the cool crisp air of the blue ridge mountains. The Fly Rod Gawd loves the fall fishing, it reminds him of his childhood in Pennsylvania.

This year we took one of our best friends and her really cute dog. Her puppy is only 12 weeks old and she is soooo cute.

Here she is with The Fly Rod Gawd ready to go fishing.

We loved her so much that we are going to get one of her puppies. So meet Splash the mother of my dog!

Another thing that I love about fall is the great soups that seem to just hit the spot. We always make a big pot of soup when we go to the mountains. It's always ready to heat up for a quick lunch and what is better on a cool crisp day than a bowl of hot soup and a piece of crusty bread?

This trip we made Emerils Creole Red Beans and Rice Soup. It's delicious and hit the spot!

Emerils Creole Red Beans and Rice Soup

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 whole chicken, (about 4 pounds) cut into 8 pieces and skin removed
Emeril's Essence
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
Pinch cayenne
1 pound dried red beans, rinsed, picked over, soaked overnight and drained
1 gallon chicken stock
1/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (green tops only)

In a large heavy stockpot, heat the oil. Season the chicken with Emeril's Essence. When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pot and sear on each side until light brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the pot and season to taste with Emeril's Essence. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft, about for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves, cayenne and red beans and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until the beans are tender, about 2 hours.

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove the chicken pieces from the pot and separate the meat from the bones with two forks, or a knife and fork. Discard the bones and return the meat to the pot, stirring to incorporate the meat into the soup.

Add the rice to the pot and cook until tender, about 15 - 20 minutes. Re-season the soup as needed and ladle into soup bowls, garnishing each serving with green onions. Serve with hot French bread.