Garlic & Rosemary Lamb Lollipop Chops

Yesterday, I caught up on a ton of blogging, sorry about the delay!  I feel like I have not cooked a truly delicious, elegant meal in a while and have been wanting to try a new dish with lamb.  So our Saturday night consisted of my first lamb dish!  DELISH!  Tender and full of flavor!  What a great date night meal:)

Ingredients:

• 1.4 pound rack of lamb
• 1 fist of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup rosemary, leaves removed from stems
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to bake at 425.
2. In a mini food processor, pulse the olive oil, orange juice, pineapple juice, rosemary and garlic until finely minced. 
3. Cut rack of lamb into individual chops.
4. In a dish or ziploc bag, marinate the chops with the rosemary and garlic marinade.
5. Heat an oven safe skillet, I used a cast iron pan, over medium high heat, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
6. Sprinkle both sides of the chops with salt and pepper (in addition to the marinade).
7. Sear chops 1-2 minutes on each side.
8. Bake for 3 minutes, remove from oven and serve.

Sides: Orange Cinnamon Moroccan Couscous and Roasted Asparagus.  Place asparagus (with olive oil, salt and pepper) in oven when getting chops ready to cook in pan. When I made the couscous, I added 1/4 cup of orange juice and boiled the water and OJ with a cinnamon stick. These were the perfect sides to the lamb chops!

Slow-Cooker Asian Baby-Back Ribs

I found this yummy recipe in Real Simple magazine...definitely a keeper!  SO GOOD!  I know...another crock pot meal....who would've thunk?

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds baby-back ribs (2 to 3 racks), cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 scallions, sliced

Directions

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, oil, ginger, and cayenne. Add the ribs and turn to coat.

Cover and cook until the ribs are tender, on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).

Twenty minutes before serving, heat broiler. Place the ribs, meaty-side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Strain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a medium bowl. Brush the meaty side of the ribs with half of the cooking liquid and broil, basting twice with the pan juices, until shiny and glazed, 3 to 4 minutes.

I get this magazine in the mail, but here is the link. Check it out! Slow-Cooker Asian Baby-Back Ribs with Udon Salad  The salad looked yummy as well, but wanted to stay away from extra carbs at least one night in the week!  But this is a great weeknight meal.

I paired the ribs with roasted sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and sugar snap peas sauteed with scallions and some of the sauce from the ribs.  Turned out very tasty!

Herb Stuffing

Ingredients

2 cups finely chopped onions

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1 cup finely chopped celery with leaves

1 package (12 ounces) unseasoned bread cubes

1 teaspoon each dried basil, thyme and savory

salt and pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth

Additional butter, melted

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute onions and celery in butter until tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the bread cubes, basil, thyme, savory, salt, pepper and broth; toss to mix. Just before baking, loosely stuff turkey. Place remaining stuffing in a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish; refrigerate.
• Skewer openings of turkey; tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Brush with melted butter. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180° for turkey and 165° for stuffing. Bake additional stuffing, covered, for 45-60 minutes or until heated through.
• When the turkey begins to brown, baste with drippings (if turkey browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil). Cover turkey and let stand for 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving. If desired, thicken pan drippings for gravy. Yield: 6-8 servings (10 cups stuffing).

Simple Thanksgiving Turkey

Who says you can't have a Thanksgiving feast in the middle of March?  Jason LOVES a good Thanksgiving garbage plate and think its a good way to put a smile on his face this tax season.  I also need to practice cooking this big meal if I ever want to host Thanksgiving!

I wanted to stay as close to a traditional simple turkey as possible.  Of course I  turned to my mom and food network for some guidance, but so far it smells delish!

For the Bird:  

Turkey

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Poultry Seasoning

Thyme

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Pull the neck and giblets out of the cavity; ditch the liver and save the rest of the giblets for gravy. Dry the turkey with paper towels, then season inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill the turkey with aromatics like chopped onions,carrots, apples and/or herbs, then place breast-side up in a roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Tent with foil and roast for 2 hours (for a 10- to 12-pound turkey; add an extra 15 minutes per pound for larger birds). Remove the foil, baste with more melted butter and crank the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast for another hour or until the meat at the thigh registers 165 degrees F. 

For the broth:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion or leek, or 2 shallots, sliced
• Neck and giblets from your turkey (discard the liver)
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 sprigs thyme, parsley, rosemary and/or sage
• 1 bay leaf

For the gravy:

• Turkey drippings from your roasting pan
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 

Directions

When your turkey goes into the oven, start the broth: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and turkey neck and giblets; cook, stirring, until the giblets are browned, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken broth, herb sprigs and bay leaf; cover and simmer while the turkey roasts, about 2 hours. Strain the broth and keep warm; reserve the neck and giblets, if desired.

When your turkey is done, transfer it to a cutting board and pour all the pan drippings into a degreasing cup. Add 1/2 cup of the prepared broth to the roasting pan and scrape up the browned bits with a spoon. (If the bits are stuck, put the pan over a low burner to loosen them.) Add the bits and liquid to the degreasing cup.

Let the fat rise to the top of the degreasing cup, then spoon off 1/2 cup fat and transfer to a large saucepan over medium heat. Make a roux: Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the flour browns slightly, about 4 minutes.

Gradually add the hot broth to the roux, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Pour the dark roasting juices from the degreasing cup into the gravy, discarding any remaining fat. If desired, chop the giblets and shred the neck meat; add to the gravy. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Here is Jason's Thanksgiving garbage plate!

I have completed my very first Thanksgiving meal...I now feel I can someday host Thanksgiving!  My freezer is now stocked with a few Thanksgiving meals to pull out for a quick and easy meal!

Pot Roast

I think I am getting the hang of the crock pot....the pot roast turned out great!

• 1 chuck roast
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 1 onion, sliced
• carrots
• celery
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 cups of drinkable red wine, divided 
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh ground pepper

Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper.  Sear all sides in a skillet.  Place all ingredients in  the crock pot.  Set on low for 6-7 hours.   When ready, remove the roast, bay leaf and half of the veggies.  use a emulsion blender to thicken the gravy and  pour over meat and veggies.  YUM!