Cranberry BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Hopefully you have some leftover cranberry sauce in the freezer like I did.  But if not it is no big deal to make some. Or you can buy the canned stuff, but use the whole berry not the jelly one.

If you want to make it just boil together:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water (or orange juice)
1  12 oz pkg fresh or frozen cranberries
ground ginger and pinch rosemary (are optional)

Cool before using.

So here's what you need:

1  1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 tbsps teriyaki (or any BBQ) sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of rosemary (mine was already in the cranberry sauce)
Montreal steak spice

Mix cranberry sauce, lemon juice, teriyaki, olive oil and rosemary together.  Reserve some for basting and and some for serving later. 
Lay the tenderloin on plastic wrap and pour the sauce over it.

Shake steak spice over top and wrap it up.

Marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge.
Preheat your BBQ to 350 F 
When ready, sear the pork for 5-10 minutes, then continue cooking on indirect heat for 25-30 minutes.

Baste last 5 minutes.
Rest meat 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Chicken Caesar Cups

A light dinner for those hot summer nights......they're coming!  Really !

First, take your tortillas and drape them over ramekins on a cookie sheet.  Spray with cooking spray and give them a little squeeze. Bake at 425 F for 6 minuites.

They should look like this

Set the cups aside and prepare the chicken.  Cut the thighs in quarters and toss with chopped garlic, oregano, lemon juice and caesar dressing.

Set aside in the fridge to marinate 1-2 hours.

When you are ready heat a frying pan and cook the bacon. 

Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and cook the chicken in the same pan. (You may want to remove some of the bacon fat first....but not all of it).
Fill cups with torn romaine and chicken.  Top it off with bacon and parmesan or romano cheese.

Serve it with extra caesar dressing on the table.

Ingredients:

5   6-inch tortillas
1 lb (6) boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsps lemon juice
4 chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsps caesar dressing, plus extra for serving
5 slices chopped bacon
Romaine lettuce, roughly torn
Parmesan or romano cheese

Lemony Green Bean Salad

Fresh green beans at the market are around the corner.  You can make this ahead of time for a cool side dish on a hot summer night.

Have ready:

1  lb. green beans
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced English cucumber
1 - 2 thinly sliced radishes

Cook the green beans and carrots to tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing:

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsps olive oil
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp parsley
salt & pepper to taste

The balsamic will darken the colour of the vegetables.  If you don't like the look of that, substitute balsamic with white wine vinegar.

Toss together about an hour before serving.

Cranberry Lime Cake Donuts

I never knew this.  The first Friday in June is National Donut Day!  Wikipedia says the event was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honour the men and women who served donuts to soldiers during the first world war.

So to recognize National Donut Day I made these citrusy cake donuts.

 Donut ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. lime juice
1  2/3 cups flour
1  1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh (or frozen) cranberries
zest of one lime (divided in half)

Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare donut pans with cooking spray.

Cream the margarine and sugar together in a bowl, then add vanilla, eggs and 1/2 the lime zest.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger together and alternatively add the milk and dry ingredients to the bowl, ending with milk. Now mix in the lime juice. Fold in cranberries.

Fill donut pan about 2/3 full.  (I might have filled them a little more than that)

Bake small donuts for 9 minutes and large for 12 minutes.

While waiting for them to cool, prepare the glaze.

Glaze ingredients:

3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tbsps lime juice
the other 1/2 of the lime zest
Red or pink food colouring

Sift the icing sugar and mix the lime juice in.  Set aside 2 tbsps of glaze in a small ziplok bag. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze and sit on a rack so the extra glaze can drip off. Sprinkle with remaining lime zest.
Add a little red food colouring to the reserved icing and squeeze it around in the ziplok to mix.  Snip a small corner off and drizzle over the donuts.

The glaze will set in a couple of hours.

This recipe makes 9 large and 12 small donuts.

Happy National Donut Day!

Adapted from http://www.laurenslatest.com/cranberry-orange-cake-doughnuts

Chocolate Yum Yum Cake

This one is even easier than the original Yum Yum Cake http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/05/yum-yum-cake.html 

because it uses a cake mix !

1 Devil's food chocolate cake mix

12 oz. fruit cocktail

1 egg

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.

Pour into an ungreased 9 inch cake pan or corning ware and bake at 350 F for 35 - 45  minutes.  Check the center with a toothpick.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 - 3 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

So it was  28 degrees Fahrenheit out yesterday and our pasta lover in the family wanted meat sauce. The flavours blend well when cooked for hours over the stove or in the oven, but who wants to do THAT?

This recipe only takes a few minutes stove top, then into the slow cooker for a few hours.  I can handle that.

You'll need:

1  1/2 lbs ground beef
2 large onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced (or 1 tsp celery seed)
4-5 garlic cloves, minced 
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps marg or butter
1-2 slices bacon, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/4 - 1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
28 oz canned tomatoes, drained
1  1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1 can tomato paste
1/3 cup 35 % cream
salt & pepper to taste 

In a frying pan add the olive oil and marg along with the onion, carrots and celery (or celery seed). Cook until onion is translucent then add the bacon.  When the bacon is cooked  toss in the minced garlic.  Cook 1 minute. Remove the vegetables to the slow cooker, then add your ground beef to the frying pan.

Break it up as it cooks and browns.
Mix the white wine and balsamic and use it to de-glaze your pan, scraping up all that flavour as you go.
Add the bay leaves and fennel seed.

Now add the meat, canned tomatoes, drained, broth and tomato paste to the vegetables in the slow cooker. (You can freeze the juice from the tomatoes to add to a soup sometime)
Take the cream and warm it alittle and you can add a spoon or 2 of the cooked mixture to it, before adding it to the sauce. Mix well.  Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook in the slow cooker for 20-30 minutes on high, then reduce to low and cook for 3-4 hours.

Remove the bay leaves.  Take 1  1/2 cups of sauce out and blend with an immersion blender.  Then add it back to the pot, leave uncovered and set on high for 15-20 minutes to thicken.

It was all worth it when the pasta lover walked into the house and said "it smells really good in here." 

Onion Rosemary Confiturra on Old Cheddar

I found this savoury jam about a year ago.  It goes so well with cooked meats, but has enough flavour to stand on it's own on a cracker.

 http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/seriously-italian-onion-and-rosemary-confiturra-recipe.html

SERIOUSLY ITALIAN: ONION AND ROSEMARY CONFITURRA

• 3 pounds peeled and trimmed onions (yellow, white, red, or a mix)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 ounce fresh rosemary, or about 6 long, full branches*
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 to 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sugar

Procedures

1. 1
   Cut the onions in half and slice them thinly crosswise; you should have about 10 heaping cups of onions.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a heavy 5 or 6-quart stock pot with a tight-fitting lid and add the onions, turning them over repeatedly in the oil to coat them. Add the rosemary and bay leaves, burying them in the onions. Season the onions with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook the onions for 15 to 20 minutes, until they have softened and released their liquid, and the rosemary has wilted.
3. 3
   Remove the lid and add the vinegars, wine, honey, and sugar, stirring well. Season the mixture with 1 more teaspoon of salt and a few more grinds of black pepper. Maintain the heat at a steady simmer and continue to cook the onions for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, stirring the mixture often with a wooden spoon.
4. 4
   When the liquid has reduced by about half, pick out and remove the rosemary stems and bay leaves and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Taste the confiturra and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
5. 5
   As the liquid continues to reduce, you must be careful to keep stirring to prevent the confiturra from scorching. Continue cooking the mixture until it is soft, sticky, and moves from the bottom of the pan as you stir Be careful not to let it caramelize.
6. 6
   Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then spoon it carefully into sterilized jars. Seal the jars and process in a water bath if you plan to store them, or keep the confiturra refrigerated for up to two months.
7. 7
   * Note: The rosemary will shed its leaves into the confiturra. If you prefer not to have the wilted leaves in your finished confiturra, tie the rosemary in cheesecloth to make a sachet.

This is the way I like to serve it.

Top a rusk with some strong old cheddar, a dollop of the confiturra with rosemary to garnish.
A jar makes a nice hostess gift as well.