Roasted White Cabbage

The cabbage come out sweet and tender and is actually very good for you 9 Impressive Health Benefits of Cabbage

  • 1 small head of cabbage cut into 8 wedges
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Lemon

How

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

  • Brush both sides of each cabbage wedge with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper over each wedge. Arrange wedges on a baking sheet.
  • Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; flip cabbage and continue roasting until browned and charred in some areas, about 15 minutes more. Squeeze lemon over each wedge.
I forgot to take a picture so I borrowed this ione from www.seriouseats.com
I forgot to take a picture so I borrowed one from web at www.seriouseats.com
Air Fryer Parmesan Coated Pork Chops

Air Fryer Parmesan Coated Pork Chops

I love pork chops, bone in, boneless, stuffed, fried mostly like the taste of the crunchy fat…shhhh don’t tell Lyn she would not approve. Anyway, I wanted to try something different in the air fryer so I looked at a lot of recipes and came up with my take. My only complaint is that it was maybe a little too salty, Cooking Channel salty if you know what I mean. But parmesan cheese does have a lot of salt. Any suggestion on the salt let me know.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

How

  1. I like to quick brine pork especially if I’m grilling. Water, Honey and about a tablespoon of salt for about 15 minutes. Rinse when done with fresh water.
  2. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels, then coat both sides with oil.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine Parmesan and spices. Coat both sides of pork chops with Parmesan mixture.
  4. Place pork chops in basket of air fryer and cook at 375-400° for 9 minutes, flipping halfway through. Depending on the size you may need to adjust the time. I use an instant read thermometer about 145 degrees internal.

My new retirement office

Simple Meatloaf with Roasted cabbage

Simple Meatloaf with Roasted cabbage

This is another on my own recipes since Lyn was doing a fast and does not enjoy a simple meatloaf. She prefers these recipe Martha Stewarts Mom’s, Triple Play Meatloaf (gluten free) Spicy Southwestern Meatloaf Minis, there are some others but that’s enough for now. Anyway, I threw this together and enjoyed with some roasted white cabbage that Misfits sent.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef .
  • 1 clove garlic or substitute 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
  • 1 small red onion Note: any onion will do.
  • 1/2 cup of Italian flavored breadcrumbs Note: about 2 slices of bread with crust.
  • ¼ cup goat milk. Note: cow milk will do Lyn was on a non dairy kick.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried sage leaves. Note: If you are going to use fresh then 1 teaspoon chopped fresh.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mustard.
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
  • 1 large egg.
  • 1/3 cup ketchup. Note: chili sauce or barbecue sauce good sub.

How

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, break up the beef into small pieces, using a fork or spoon.
  3. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
  4. Peel the onion, and chop enough of the onion into small pieces to measure 3 tablespoons.
    1. Wrap remaining piece of onion, and refrigerate for another use.
  5. Add the garlic and onion to the beef.
  6. Add breadcrumbs to beef mixture.
  7. Add the goat milk, Worcestershire sauce, sage, salt, mustard, pepper and egg to the beef mixture. Mix with a fork, large spoon or your hands until the ingredients are well mixed.
  8. Place the beef mixture in an ungreased baking sheet pan.
    1. Shape into approximately 8×4-inch loaf on the sheet pan, then spread the ketchup over the top.
  9. Bake uncovered 50 to 60 minutes until meat and juices are no longer pink or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 160°F and center of loaf is no longer pink*. Let the loaf stand 5 minutes so it will be easier to remove from the pan. Remove loaf from pan and cut into slices.

Roasted White Cabbage

The cabbage come out sweet and tender and is actually very good for you 9 Impressive Health Benefits of Cabbage

  • 1 small head of cabbage cut into 8 wedges
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Lemon

How

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

  • Brush both sides of each cabbage wedge with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper over each wedge. Arrange wedges on a baking sheet.
  • Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; flip cabbage and continue roasting until browned and charred in some areas, about 15 minutes more. Squeeze lemon over each wedge.
I forgot to take a picture so I borrowed this ione from www.seriouseats.com
I forgot to take a picture so I borrowed one from web at www.seriouseats.com
Orange Juice and Honey Salad Dressing

Orange Juice and Honey Salad Dressing

Lyn found this online @ behealthful so I made a batch this morning and now I can’t wait until lunch.

What and How

Ingredient

  • 1/3 cup Orange Juice
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Raw Honey
  • 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Online it said to add to a jar and then shake like heck. we prefer the blender on dressing setting. it takes a while to settle but think it blends the flavors better. I made a double batch.

Now I watch the clock until Lunch!

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Porkchops with Roasted Veggies

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Porkchops with Roasted Veggies

Got some orange beets, butternut squash, red and orange peppers and red onions from Misfits and had just receive some pork chops from Butcher Box so I figured this would make a good meal.

Porkchops

I like to do a quick brine soaking in salt, sugar and water for about 15-20 minutes. Keeps the meat moist especially if grilling outdoors. Then I take a preheated cast in pan and pan sear one side for about 4-6 minutes flip and finish in the oven. Make sure you dry the pork chops with paper towel then salt and pepper before you place in the pan. if you don’t do this you will end up streaming the meat rather searing. This time I had some red wine left over from a nice basket off goodies I got from my retirement party at work. So when I placed in oven I poured the remaining about a cup in the pan and roasted for about 4-6 minutes until done. Hey it was either have a second glass of wine or try something new. My theory was it would braise but silly me braising is done on low heat so the wine quickly evaporated. However, the taste of the wine did come through so it was not a total maitake.

I had already roasted the veggie in a 425 oven.

The veggies as mentioned above,  were tossed in oil and spices but I added 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and roasted until done turning  half way through total time about 25 minutes. Really like the addition of vinegar.

Retired

You can tell I retired as of Jan 3 this year and I’m starting to post things again. Been working since I was 12 or 13 thought it was about time to take a break.

Avocado Tuna Melt

All this talk about Mike and we made a tuna melt today based on a receipt he gave us a long time ago. it’s very simple you make it the same way you do regular tuna except substitute avocado instead of mayo. Spread on bread of choice top with cheese and place under broiler until cheese is melted and i like it slightly burned.

Cats come for a visit.

Cats come for a visit.

Mike was moving in with Gail and we volunteered to watch the cats to make the move easier. They quickly settled in but being cats, curiosity was top on their list. They knew where to hide when I went out for the mail so many escape attempts were just that attempts. Lyn did say that if they got out all we had to do was open a can of food and boy do they come running, begging and demanding. If you listen to them, we never fed them and there was never a bowl of dried food always at their ready night and day.

I took to preparing their wet food behind closed doors and Lyn said that they would try to push the door open. Anyway I was preparing a cauliflower crust pizza last Wednesday and had to take extreme measures. See picture below

Another cook from the frig recipe. This time I had some delicata  squash, red, green and yellow peppers, made some red onion relish, goat cheese, grape tomatoes earlier so I decided to roast the squash and add the rest sorry no pictures of the finished product. 

I like this sqaush, no peeling you can eat the skin like acorn squash.
I like this no peeling you can eat the skin like acorn squash.

Roasting the Squash

Preheat oven to 425° convection. Cut ends off of squash, then cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Cut squash into ½” half-moons.

On a large baking sheet toss squash with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread single layer on pan and sprinkle with cinnamon (not the sugared kind but I suppose you could)

Roast until golden and soft on the inside, about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Meanwhile I thinly slice the peppers, diced some fresh mushrooms, and prepared a small hand full of fresh baby spinach, grape tomatoes in half and goat cheese

For the cauliflower crust, Lyn’s been into the paleo version, I spread pizza sauce the topped with all the above. As Colbert likes to say meanwhile I spun out my dough which is Portland Pie Company Beer dough, my store bought favorite. And topped with everything except the goat cheese, instead I used three types of Italian cheeses. I then baked for about 10 minutes each. Will vary depending on oven.

Anyway, to make this long story short I was forced to use what I joking call the cat guard to protect my cooking area from the curious duo.

Oh they are in their new home now and enjoying it.

EASY CHICKEN STIR FRY

EASY CHICKEN STIR FRY

I’m not sure where Lyn was but she must have had other plans because I will generally whip something like this up if cooking for myself. This is a cook from the gut and largely depends on what in the frig.  I like the addition of honey gave it a sweeter taste. Sorry my picture did not come out that great, probably did not have my glasses on, but the taste made up for it.  Remember cooking is a lot of tweaking to your tastes as well as what you have on hand.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
  • Optional:  flour or cornstarch
    • Coat or dredge chicken pieces
    • Cornstarch is for gluten free
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbs olive oil divided (1 Tbs)
  • 1 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 cups asparagus
  • 1/2 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
    • I only had red bell pepper but would be nice with yellow and green mix.
  • Handful of raw or roasted cashews
  • Handful of sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp minced ginger
  • 1-2 garlic cloves minced
  • Optional depends on what you have in frig for veggies, i.e. carrots, broccoli florets etc.
  • Note: remember you want everything to be bite size

Stir Fry Sauce

  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 2 tbsp cold water
  • 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

How

Stir Fry Sauce

In a medium size bowl, whisk together corn starch and water. Add remaining ingredients (chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, and toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes) and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Chicken

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet or wok and heat over medium high heat.

Add chicken floured or not (in batches if necessary) and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet.

Add broccoli, bell pepper, and asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, just until crisp tender. Add ginger and garlic and cook for an additional minute or until you smell the garlic.

Add chicken back into the skillet and stir to combine.

Whisk stir fry sauce and pour over chicken and vegetables and stir gently to combine.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, stir in cashew and let boil for one minute or thickness you like.

When done top with sesame seeds.

Serve with rice if desired.