Stephen Takes Roving Lemon's Challenge - Chipotle Porkchops & Ecudorian Potato & Cheese Patties

OK, so I dove in to Roving Lemon's Cookbook Challenge today and decided to further randomize my cooking experience by asking Lele (my better half) to select a recipe from my assigned cookbook (The All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook) for dinner tonight. He selected the Chipotle Marinated Pork Chops with Chimichurri Sauce (p. 346). I picked the Ecudorian Potato & Cheese Patties (page 528) to go with it. Lele refuses to eat anything with a beak so he reminded me that I would need to substitute the chicken broth for something else. I obediently used vegetable broth. I'm going to share the recipe below so you can try it at home. We both really enjoyed the meal and are happy we have some leftovers. I think that we were expecting the pork to have more of a chipotle taste but it really is overpowered by the chimichurri sauce. The recipe calls for raw shredded carrots and onions, but I ended up cooking them in olive oil for a few minutes before adding them to the chipotle sauce. I think I would stick to that method if I made this again. The other thing that is important to stress is the oil really needs to be very hot for the Ecudorian Potato and Cheese Patties to get a crispy exterior. I really enjoyed the chimichurri sauce over the pork. It's very flavorful and jazzes up what would be just a boring pork chop. I think that next time I would probably use more than just one chipotle pepper and might let the pork chops marinate a bit longer than the 2 hours. All and all, I'm happy I have this cookbook. Not all of the recipes are as light as you might think, but they are certainly healthier than some other choices and are never boring. So, thank you Roving Lemon, you've helped me discover a new favorite! I will be picking some more recipes from this cookbook during the rest of the month and will share them here.

Chipotle-Marinated Pork Chops with Chimichurri Sauce
(from The All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook)

• 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 4 (6 ounce) center-cut pork chops
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 2 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot (I cooked the carrot with the onions in olive oil)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh onion
• Cooking spray

1. Place 3/4 cup chicken broth and chipotle chile in a blender; process until smooth. Combine chile mixture and pork chops in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove chops from bag; discard marinade.
2. Prepare grill.
3. Place parsley and next 7 ingredients in a blender, process until smooth. Pour into a bowl; stir in carrot and onion.
4. Place chops on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with chimichurri sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1/4 cup sauce).

Calories: 311
Fiber: 1.6 g
Fat: 19.2 g

Ecuadorean Potato-and-Cheese Patties
(from The All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 medium peeled baking potatoes, quartered (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) of Monterey Jack cheese, queso fresco
• 2 tablespoons of minced green onions
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
• 1/2 cup julienne-cut red onion

1. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and potato in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Cool.
2. Add cheese, green onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to potato mixture, stirring well. Divide potato mixture into 6 balls (each about 1/2 cup per ball). Flatten balls into 1/2-inch thick patties (about 3 inches in diameter) Place on baking sheet; cover and refrigerate 20 minutes or until firm.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place potato-and-cheese patties in pan; cook 5 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Turn patties, cook 3 minutes. Remove patties from pan. top patties evenly with tomato and red onion. Yield: 6 servings (serving size 1 patty)

Calories: 157
Fat: 4.6 g
Fiber: 2.1 g

Roving Lemon's Cookbook Challenge!

Our dear friend and cooking compatriot Roving Lemon has issued a Cookbook Challenge in her wonderful blog Roving Lemon's Big Adventure. I can feel it in me waters...this is destined to be a great annual tradition! Are you up for it folks? Christine and I sure are. Check out her blog to read more about it. In a nutshell, this is how it works.

• Count up all of your cookbooks, recipe clippings and collections and assign them a number. If you have a stack of clippings and print outs you probably want to count them as one.

• Randomly pick a number, ask someone to pick a number, or cut up some paper, number it and draw it from a basket.

• Match the number you drew to your cookbook and you're ready to take the cookbook challenge. Here's mine (All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook - mmmmm, is someone trying to tell me something?)
  

• Roving Lemon says commit to cooking at least one new recipe from that resource in the next month. Five, if you want to really challenge yourself. Christine and I have decided to do three. Our final recipe will be shared with a group of friends when we are together in December to celebrate the holidays.

• Christine cheated. She has 70 cookbooks to choose from, so had Blue pick three numbers and selected one of the three cookbooks. The book she will be cooking from is The New England Table, by Lora Brady. She will commit to making three recipes this month. The book is sectioned by New England state. Perhaps she should draw a number and pick a state :)!

• Lastly, and most importantly, tell about what you discovered—send us an email, post about it yourself, or comment here. Did you discover a new favorite? Or is this cookbook just a pretty face with nothing in it you can see yourself cooking?

• We plan on sharing our recipes here and also commenting on Roving Lemon's Blog too. Happy cooking!
  

We put our lovely spaghetti squash from the food bank farm to use with this recipe from www.fabulousfoods.com
This is an old standby-Yumm! We particularly enjoyed the delicious and delectable company of our friends Tim and Eric.



Spaghetti Squash With Vegetables and Mozzarella

Servings: 6
Author Notes: This recipe makes a veggie rich, cheesy casserole, almost like a lasagna. Spaghetti Squash substitutes for the role traditionally taken by pasta in such dishes for a delicious, lower calorie, low carb alternative.
Ingredients: 1 spaghetti squash, cooked by your favorite method and separated into strands (click here for instructions)
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the cheeses together, set aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the onion, pepper and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, basil, and crushed red pepper (if using). Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Mix squash well with the cooked vegetables and put half in the bottom of a large (13 x 9 inch) baking dish. Top with half the cheese mixture, followed by the other half of the squash mixture, then the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving

Obama Family Linguine with Shrimp

Blue and I celebrated Obama's victory with our NH canvassing friends. We enjoyed a delicious meal and fine company. This recipe is easy and tasty. Enjoy!

OBAMA FAMILY LINGUINE AND SHRIMP RECIPE

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh shrimp (shell on)
Several garlic cloves
Sun-dried tomatoes (sliced in olive oil)
Chicken broth
1 box linguini
Fresh basil (julienned)
1 tbsp olive oil
Cooking Instructions

Clean, de-vein shrimp. Remove shells and let soak in hot chicken broth.

Thinly slice garlic. (The more garlic, the better the flavor of the dish).

Cook pasta and set aside. (Important not to over cook pasta)

In large sauté pan, heat olive oil on high heat and sauté garlic cloves until they begin to brown slightly.

Add fresh shrimp and cook until just beginning to turn pick. Add salt and pepper to flavor shrimp.

Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook for another minute.

Add pasta. Mix pasta into the garlic, shrimp and sun-dried tomato mixture until pasta coated entirely with mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly add a bit of the shrimp shell and chicken broth liquid to remove reserves from bottom of pan.

Remove pan from heat and let sit for a few moments.

Add basil over top of dish before serving.

Recipe Notes

Maple-Hazelnut Oatmeal

As a continuation to my previous post about my romance with my slow cooker I have a recipe for a wonderful Maple-Hazelnut Oatmeal. The weather is starting to get chilly and this is a wonderful thing to wake up to on a cold morning. It's even possible on a work day when you have to rush out the door. The recipe calls for steel-cut oats, which is sometimes referred to as Irish Oatmeal. These are a bit chewier than the more common rolled oats, take longer to cook, and are a nutritional powerhouse! Give this a try, you won't be disappointed!

• 1 1/2 cups of fat-free milk
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 1/3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of chopped hazelnuts, toasted

1. Bring milk and water to a boil in a sacuepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
2. Place hot milk mixture, apple, and next 5 ingredients into a 3-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray, stir well.
3. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender.
4. Ladle oatmeal into individual bowls; top with maple syrup and hazelnuts.
   

Yield: 4 Servings (serving size is 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal, 1 tablespoon of syrup, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of hazelnuts). Calories - 341, Fat 9.2g, Fiber 5.5 g - This is very filling and 1/2 serving was enough for me for a hearty breakfast!

My Romance with My Slow Cooker

There is something about the advent of fall that quickens the beat of my heart. The colors, the chill in the air, donning a sweater and the first fire in the fireplace. All of this goes hand in hand with stews and roasts. I recently bought a slow cooker and have had so much fun trying some new recipes. The slow cooker is truly a miracle appliance. My experience with it until now has been the joy of just chopping up a bunch of things, mixing it up, and enjoying a fabulous meal a few hours later. To me, the slowness of the cooking is a benefit. By the time the food is ready, I've almost forgotten the labor, the kitchen has been cleaned, and it feels like someone else has made me dinner. Over the next couple of days I'm going to post some of the new recipes that I've tried in my slow cooker. I'll start tonight with a wonderful pork roast, perfect for a chilly fall night. Once again, the picture doesn't do it any justice. My photographer wasn't available at the time.

Christine - I know the air is a bit nippier up there than it is here. What are you doing with your slow cooker these days?

Pork with Dried Fruit and Squash
(from Cooking Light Slow Cooker - 2006)

• 1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
• 1/3 cup, packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup bite-sized pitted dried plums
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• Rosemary sprigs (for garnish)
  

1. Cut pork roast in half, crosswise. (If necessary, my slow cooker is oval and the roast fit perfectly).
   
2. Combine brown sugar and next 4 ingredients in a bowl and rub pork evenly with sugar mixture.
3. Place pork in 4 1/2 quart slow cooker and arrange dried fruit and squash around pork.
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
5. Reduce heat and cook on LOW 6-7 hours until pork fruit and squash are tender.
6. Cut pork into thin slices and serve with butternut squash and fruit mixture.
7. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

OBAMA Food

Can you tell your political leanings by the food you eat? According to an article in the New York Times you can. See the article What's for Dinner? This Pollster wants to know.

I also found out a little bit about the tastes of Obama. Breakfast usually consists of eggs, potatoes and toast. He has a favorite chili recipe he makes that you can find on-line. I'll be trying his favorite soup from Topolobampo in Chicago-Sopa Azteca-if I can find the ingredients. His favorite veggies are spinach and broccoli. Alas, he is not a fan of asparagus.

I'm sure once he is elected president, we will learn more about his food tastes.