Cooking · Dinner · main dish · Main entree

Perfect Pork Tostadas

I love to take the leftovers from a great entree and turn them into something completely different – you know hide the fact that we’re eating leftovers!

I found a great way to use pork tenderloin this week that was so delicious and so different from the way it was originally served, that there’s almost no way someone would have know that Sunday dinner was being revisited (isn’t that better than saying, “leftovers?!”).

Enter the Pork Tostada!  I ask you – does this look like boring leftovers?

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Grilled Pork Tostadas

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 Cups Chopped Pork Tenderloin, cooked
1 cup peppers, multi-colored, chopped
1/2 Cup Red onion, chopped
Tortillas
1 1/2 Cup Mexican cheese
Toppings – lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado

Combine oil, cumin and salt.  Pour half of mixture over vegetables to coat.  Pour  the other half over the meat, stir to coat.
Cook vegetables in small amount of oil until tender.  Add meat, cook until meat is warmed.
Brush tortillas with olive oil and place on baking sheet. Toast tortillas in 400 degree oven until crisp.  Top with vegetables, meat, cheese and return to oven and allow cheese to melt.

Serve immediately.  Serve with added toppings.

I served this with Spanish rice and fresh fruit and it was sooo good!!

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Roast a tenderloin and grab the remains so you can make these!

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Cooking · Dinner · grilling · main dish · Main entree

(L)Oven Monday – Grilled Chicken With Strawberry Salsa

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Everything about the recipe I’m going to share with you today is just right.  Grilled chicken with crispy, charred edges and flavorful strawberry salsa on top – it’s just perfect!  This was one of the new recipes I found while culling through magazines for inspiration for my menu last week.  This one did not disappoint!  This is from Kraft foods.  The only tweak I made was that I didn’t purchase a vinaigrette; I made my own, and the recipe will follow.

Now on to that gorgeous chicken!

Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Vinaigrette 

1/2 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb.)
2 cups small strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Pour 1/4 cup dressing over chicken in shallow dish; turn to evenly coat both sides of each breast with dressing. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate. Meanwhile, combine strawberries and remaining dressing. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat grill to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Grill chicken 6 to 8 min. on each side or until done (165ºF).
Transfer chicken to platter; sprinkle with cheese and basil. Serve with strawberry salsa.
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Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar.
  2. 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional* (See Cook’s Note)
  3. 1 tablespoon chopped garlic.
  4. 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  5. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
  6. 3/4 cup olive oil.

Mix well in jar.  Refrigerate leftover dressing.

Get a good meat thermometer to check the chicken to see that it’s cooked properly.  If the breasts are thick, butterflying them will help reduce the cooking time.

I love grilling!  Everything just tastes better with the added flavor and the charred ridges! Mmm! Any other grill fans out there?

Enjoy!

Denise Signature 150 px

Cooking · Dinner · Home making · main dish · Main entree · Side dish

(L)Oven Monday – “Grilled” Chicken Tenders that Taste Like Cracker Barrel’s

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I love it when a restaurant has healthy food that’s so good you don’t feel like you’re missing out when you choose to order wisely!  That’s how I feel about Cracker Barrel’s Grilled Chicken Tenders!  They’re so juicy and flavorful that every bite is like an indulgence.  Recently I found This Copycat recipe on Southern Plate that reminds me so much of that delicious entree!  They’re not really grilled, but they have the taste of it!  Let me show you how simple this recipe is!

“Grilled” Chicken Tenderloins

Ingredients
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips.
  • 1 cup zesty Italian dressing
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 3 teaspoons honey
Instructions:
  1. Place chicken in gallon ziplock bag. Combine all other ingredients and pour over. Seal and marinate for at least an hour. Doing this step the night before would make supper a breeze!
  2. Pour all ingredients into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until liquid evaporates and remaining marinade becomes thick and caramelized. This can take from 30-40 minutes.
  3. Coat each piece of chicken in marinade by rubbing it around on the bottom of the pan before removing it.

Here’s what it looked like about half way through the cooking process:

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I cooked my chicken in my electric skillet and it took about 30 minutes, so just keep an eye on the your pan to tell when it’s done.  This is so delicious!  I used the leftovers later in the week for wraps for our lunch and it was delicious cold!  This would be a great staple to keep in the freezer!

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If you need a super-simple and fast side to go with a meal, here’s something we love:

Canned Potatoes with Rosemary and Tomatoes

Canned potatoes, drained
1 Tbl. Butter
Grape Tomatoes, halved
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper

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Melt butter in small skillet.  Cube the potatoes and add them to the skillet.  Let them get brown and a little “crispy.”  Add herbs and Grape tomatoes. Let cook until tomatoes are warm.

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This is a super-easy and yummy meal!  I hope you’ll put it on your menu and then let me know how you like it!

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Do you have a favorite Copycat recipe you make?

With love from my country kitchen,

Denise Signature 150 px

baking · Cooking · dessert · Dinner · Family life · grilling · main dish · salad · Side dish · Sunday Dinner

(L)Oven Monday – Summer Menu Family Favorites

Hello friends!  I trust you had a great weekend.  We sure did!  On top of the wonderful church service on Sunday (I’m so thankful for my church!), getting to go hear Chonda Pierce Friday night (hilarious!), and a fun day on Saturday, my cup was just running over!

We had a delicious Sunday dinner at home. I know, it was Mother’s Day, and mom’s aren’t supposed to cook, but I was glad to help. My husband did steaks on the grill for us and I happily contributed all the other parts of the menu.  Everything on the menu is literally a family favorite for summertime cuisine!  This menu is perfect in every way in our house!  I’ve shared them all in times past, but let me tell you about it –

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I usually always make a Teriyaki Marinade for our steaks because it makes them THE BEST EVER!  Spinach Salad has a crunchy element of Water Chestnuts, some boiled eggs, bacon pieces and is then topped with a dressing that is a cross between Catalina and French dressing.  Yum. Every now and then we step into the unhealthy realm and make our family’s favorite Golden Onion Rings.  Again, they’re just the most delicious recipe ever, yet very easy to make.  Lastly, dessert consisted of another family favorite – Fresh Strawberry Pie.  In case you haven’t made any of these, or if you haven’t made these recipes in a while, let me share the links so you can put them on your menu soon!!

Teriyaki Marinated Steaks
Golden Onion Rings
Spinach Salad
Fresh Strawberry Pie

I was too involved with the guests to get good pictures of the food,
but here’s a little peek…

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Dessert’s grand appearance was the Pie!

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My “centerpiece” may seem a little odd to you, but let me explain – I wanted all three of my girls represented on the table.  The Yankee Candle has a label on it with my oldest and youngest daughters pictures on it!  A sweet friend gave that to me for a Mother’s Day gift and it touched my heart so much!  Not only did it represent the girls, it gave a pretty ambiance to the table and it smells wonderful!  Then the little pink rose in the bud vase and the porcelain baby shoes were to represent our second daughter, Ashley.  She’s rejoicing in heaven, and we’ll join her before long!!

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Our youngest daughter and her husband were here with us for supper, and I got to talk to my oldest daughter and my mom on the phone, so that was wonderful!  Even though we had some of our favorite foods, the people we got to be with were the best part of the meal!

What was the best part of your weekend?

With love,

Denise Signature 150 px

Bread · breakfast · cakes · Cooking · dessert · Dinner · Easter · entertaining · main dish · memories · Side dish · Sunday Dinner

(L)Oven Monday – Easter Dinner 2017 Recap

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If you’ve been reading my blog more than a week, you know how I treasure Sunday dinner.  It makes my heart sooo happy! But how does Sunday dinner get even better?  It’s when Sunday dinner is Easter Sunday dinner.  On top of good food, there’s the blessing of remembering Christ’s resurrection from the dead and celebrating that truth that He lives!

So, yesterday, we did indeed have a big Sunday meal, but we started with a wonderful church service where Christ was exalted! We sang of His resurrection and heard God’s truth about how to be sure you can have eternal life!  Then we came home for dinner and included our daughter and son-in-law and a couple of other special people.  We also incorporated a few family traditions, which brings memories and makes memories.  It was a great day!

Here’s the menu:

 Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
Ruth’s Chris’ Sweet Potato Casserole
Tarragon Asparagus – New recipe
Deviled Eggs
Caesar Salad in Parmesan Bowls
Bunny-Shaped Breadsticks – New recipe
Coconut Cake with Lemon Filling

Let me roll the pictures so you can have a peek into our day and see that I also incorporated all the principles I’ve recently shared about Sunday dinner!

I worked early in the week and got the Coconut Cake baked and layers put in the freezer.  Then at the end of the week, I made the lemon curd and the icing.  It simplifies the process so much!  By Saturday night here’s what was already prepped:

The cake, the rolls, the Sweet potato Casserole, Deviled eggs, and the salad ingredients were totally ready. The table was all set, too.  I also had the roasting pan for the ham set out and ready to bake the main entree.

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When I got home from church it only required to put the finishing touches on everything and bake the casserole.

Here’s how things turned out on Sunday~

Caesar Salad in Parmesan Cups –

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Sweet Potato Casserole – The best in my book!

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Terragon Asparagus – This was new, and it was pretty good.  My asparagus wasn’t as fresh as I’ve ever gotten, so I’m going to try this again before giving it a final verdict!

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Bunny Breadsticks – Another new recipe.  These were fantastic on Saturday when I made them, but they don’t really do well the next day.  Sooo, I won’t make these for Sunday any more, but I sure will use this recipe for other days when I have time to make them for that day.  They were delicious right out of the oven!!  And how cute are they???? They can be baked into regular bread sticks if you want to make them other times of the year!

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Coconut Cake

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One tradition that we’ve had for years is Easter sunrise service outside at home.  That was a challenge (and very cold) when we lived in Indiana, but we would don our coats and head to the tree house where we would have our own Sunrise service!  Then we would come inside and have Cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs.  Now that it’s just my husband and me, we simply eat breakfast on the patio and read Scripture together.  It’s usually warm enough that we don’t shiver, thank the Lord!  Here’s what we had yesterday:

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We had Fresh farm eggs, Prosciutto, Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, Fresh fruit and Coffee.
It was a great way to start Easter Sunday!  This is a reminder that traditions aren’t just for when your kids are at home.  Keep those traditions going even when they’re gone.  It will continue to build strong home ties, and will also give your grown kids the security of knowing that you’re still making the most of your marriage!

So, another Easter dinner is in the (memory) books, and I’ll have to say, it’s a memorable chapter!  I thank the Lord for the blessing of celebrating our Savior’s life and getting to do it at church AND at home around the Sunday dinner table.

Did you have Easter dinner?  Did you cook?  What made it special for your family?

With love from my country kitchen,

Denise Signature 150 px