November 18: Whole Grain Sesame Noodles Recipe

This simple recipe is a perfect accompaniment to Orange Sauced Pork Chops. Feel free to add other vegetables to this recipe, such as green onions, baby corn, red bell peppers, snow peas, etc.

Whole Grain Sesame Noodles

½ lbs whole grain, thin spaghetti noodles

1 t. sesame oil

1 t. vegetable oil

4 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced on the diagonal

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. toasted sesame seeds, optional

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.

In the same pan, heat oils to medium low. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté for a couple minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add remaining ingredients and heat through. Top with toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

November 17, 2011: Orange Sauced Pork Chops Recipe

As I shared with you earlier, I’m getting into extreme couponing and it’s changed the way I buy groceries. I now have quite a stockpile going and I keep a much keener eye out for bargains.

At our Safeway store, there are special featured $5 deals every Friday. One Friday recently it was a big bag of cutie oranges. Although they were very good and sweet, my husband and I just couldn’t eat the whole bag. Rather than see any of them go to waste, I juiced what was left and decided to use that fresh juice for the night’s meal. Here’s what I came up with.

Orange Sauced Pork Chops with Whole Grain Sesame Noodles and Baby Corn

Orange Sauced Pork Chops

4 bone-in or boneless pork chops

Garlic salt and pepper

1 T. vegetable oil

1/3 cup orange juice

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

Rinse and dry pork chops. Sprinkle both sides with garlic salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil to medium in large saucepan or electric skillet. Add pork chops and cook for about 5 minutes each side, until juices are no longer pink (total cooking time depends on how thick the chops are). Remove and set aside.

Add orange juice to hot skillet. Cook for a few minutes, until reduced by half. Add teriyaki sauce. Return chops to skillet and heat through just until warm. Serve pork chops with sauce spooned over the top.

Serves 4

April 13, 2011: Teriyaki Tuna Recipe

Here’s another recipe for your meatless Fridays during Lent. I know we’ve only got a couple more to go, but this recipe is also great for summer grilling. It’s perfect served with a fresh pineapple or mango salsa and skewers of grilled vegetables.

Teriyaki Tuna served with crispy asparagus rolls and slices of fresh tomato.

Teriyaki Tuna

2 tuna steaks (about 1 to 1 ¼ lbs.)
2 T. pineapple juice (reserve the juice from pineapple you prepare for salsa)
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. honey
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lime juice
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. finely minced ginger
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Rinse the tuna steaks and pat dry. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over the tuna and marinate for half an hour.

Prepare grill. Grill over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Do not overcook!

Tip: To determine if the tuna is done correctly, look at the sides of the steaks. You should be able to see a thin line of bright pink in the middle; tuna should never be cooked so that the meat is entirely “gray”.

April 12, 2011: Teriyaki Roasted Chicken Recipe

One of my favorite Sunday dinners is roasted chicken. While I normally use a combination of lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil, I wanted something a bit different so I came up with this recipe for a teriyaki sauced chicken.

The soy sauce in this recipe turns the chicken a nice dark brown color while the honey crisps up the skin. Because it is so flavorful, side dishes needn’t be anything fancy; some rice (or Asian noodles as pictured here) and crispy sautéed sugar snap peas work really well.

Teriyaki Roasted Chicken
One small whole fryer chicken
½ cup soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
1 T. olive oil
¼ cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. finely minced ginger (either fresh or bottled)

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Place it on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side down. Combine remaining ingredients and pour/rub over both sides of chicken. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half or until done. Periodically baste with sauce in the bottom of the pan. About 15 minutes before cooking is complete, turn chicken over to crisp the breast skin.