January 22, 2012: Thai Style Green Beans Recipe

At my house we eat a lot of Asian food and I’m always looking for new and creative side dishes. Thai food, in particular, is a favorite of mine so when I across a recipe for a “Wing Bean Salad”, I took the items I had on hand to turn it into this side dish perfect to go with any type of Asian food main dish.

Thai Style Green Beans served with pork stir fry and brown rice cooked in chicken broth.

Thai Style Green Beans

1 cup fresh green beans

1 shallot, minced

½ cup coconut milk

1 T. lime juice

1 T. peanut butter

2 t. fish sauce

2 t. Asian chili sauce

Pinch of brown sugar

1 can water chestnuts, drained

Clean green beans and snap into 2 – 3 pieces each. Place the coconut milk in a saucepan and add green beans and shallots. Cook over medium low until beans are softened, about 15 – 20 minutes (or less time for crisper beans).

Meanwhile, combine lime juice, peanut butter, fish sacue, chile sauce and brown sugar. When beans are done to your preference, add the sauce and the water chestnuts. Heat through.

Serves 3 – 4

January 15, 2012: Asian Sauced Pork Tenderloin Medallions Recipe

Here’s another recipe I devised based loosely on one I found in the current issue of Cooking Light magazine. My recipe makes it just a bit more diet-friendly and the best part? My husband absolutely loved this dish! He said it tasted as if I’d fried up sausage in the pan and then added the pork, which made him believe there were plenty of fat calories when it reality, it is quite healthy and low cal.

Asian Sauced Pork Tenderloin served with Whole Wheat Linguine with Vegetables and Slow Cooker Sesame Green Beans

Asian Sauced Pork Tenderloin Medallions

1 t. minced ginger

1 t. honey

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. rice wine vinegar

½ t. Asian red chili sauce

3/4 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced horizontally into 3 thick pieces

1 t. olive oil

Combine marinade ingredients in a glass dish and add pork loin pieces. Marinate, refrigerated, a minimum of two hours.

Heat a heavy skillet to medium high. Add olive oil. Remove pork tenderloin from marinade and carefully add to hot skillet, being careful not to splatter yourself with the hot oil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook medallions for about 3 – 5 minutes each side (depending on thickness) until cooked through. Add remaining marinade and about 1/3 cup of water to deglaze the hot pan and make a sauce. To serve, place one medallion on each plate and spoon about a tablespoon of sauce over each.

3 servings, 312 calories each

December 17, 2011: Christmas Party Hors d’oeuvres Ideas and Recipe

This year, the most popular appetizers for a party are served on a stick. Yep, they look cute and they’re easy to eat, to boot, which is especially important if your guests are encouraged to stand and mingle while eating.

The menu for my holiday party includes (items with asterisk denote recipes included here):

• Assorted Christmas cookies and candies
• Strawberry Pecan Cheese ball (seasoned with a mix) and Pringles honey wheat stix
• Tray of pickled jalapenos and okra (that I canned over the summer)
• Crackers topped with Alouette Spinach Artichoke soft cheese and slices of smoked sausage
• Meatball skewers (using my baked meatball recipe but made much smaller) with cheese cubes and olives
• Korean Pork skewers*
• Goat Cheese Phyllo cups* (look for recipe in tomorrow’s post)
• Spiced Apple Cider
• Hot Chocolate
• Egg Nog with Brandy

Photo courtesy of yourlife.usatoday.com

Korean Pork Skewers

This recipe courtesy of USA Weekend magazine

1 pound pork tenderloin

3 T. Asian chili sauce

2 T. each soy sauce and rice wine vinegar

1 T. each minced fresh ginger and garlic

½ t. hot red pepper flakes

Thinly slice the pork tenderloin into about 30 pieces (freeze it slightly to make slicing easier).

Combine remaining ingredients in zip-top bag. Add pork. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Thread pieces of pork onto small bamboo skewers. Place on grill rack over a broiler pan. Broil close to heat about 5 minutes, until cooked through. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions, if desired.

Makes 30 hors d’oeuvres

April 1, 2011: Easter Chickens, Spring Eggs and Chicken Satay Recipe

What came first: the chicken or the egg? It’s the age old question… now that spring has officially sprung and we are looking forward to the Easter holiday, it seemed appropriate that this month’s posts focus on chicken and egg dishes. Plus, with the cost of food rising dramatically every day, chicken is one of the few meats that is still reasonably priced (have you checked the price of beef and pork lately?). I know some of you readers are vegetarians but those who aren’t quite so strict may indulge in chicken once in a while – maybe one of this month’s recipe will tempt you to try it!

Personally, I love chicken. And because I’ve got three hens – and aim to get three more next month – I always have an abundance of eggs. While my favorite way to eat them is soft boiled or poached, there are lots more things that can be done to eggs – and many more ways to use them with other ingredients.

I’m also going to throw in the occasional side dish and dessert that would go nicely with this month’s chicken and egg recipes. You could put together a very elegant Easter dinner menu! Stay tuned for my suggestions.

So get ready to move beyond the ordinary fried chicken and scrambled eggs – welcome to April!

To start us out, I’m sharing my recipe for chicken satay – a favorite of both me and my husband.

The photo depicts chicken satay skewers with red bell peppers and a side dish of Pad Thai Noodles.
Chicken Satay

Marinade:
½ cup coconut milk
1 T. fish sauce
2 t. Chinese red chile sauce
1 t. curry powder
1 t. brown sugar
Seeds of 2 caramom pods
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients, except for chicken, in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the chicken into long, thin strips and add to the marinade. Coat chicken with marinade, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

While the chicken is marinating, soak several bamboo skewers in water.

When ready to cook, thread the chicken strips onto the skewers. Broil or grill about 7 to 10 minutes, turning them over once. Serve with Thai Peanut Sauce (find the Thai peanut sauce recipe here).