Pork Chops with Rice & Beans

This is another Food Network recipe they I tried the other nite.  It's very easy and yummy, although I did have to do some modifications.  First I cut the recipe in half and I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I made my own by taking 1 part tomato paste to 1 part water.  Also, my chops were a little thicker than the recipe called so I broiled them until the internal temp reached 145 degrees F.  Also, my chops didn't have any juices left in the pain, it burned off.  I used leftover brown rice too.  The beans and rice were really good and I will definitely make them again.  I added a few drops of Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce to the beans and that added a nice kick. The chops were good, but nothing special.  I really don't think the addition of the cider vinegar or the tomato sauce added anything to the chops.  Anyway, give the dish a try or at least the beans and rice.  It's healthy and Good Eats.

Tex Mex Beef & Saffron Rice

You've seen variations of this dish several times, but I like to try different things, so you will continue to see it in the future until I get it exactly the way I want it. Typically when I make the rice for this dish I use Turmeric, but tonight I wanted something different, so I used Saffron. If you don't what Saffron is, its the stigmas of the Crocus Sativus Flower. It has a strong flavor and should be used sparingly. It also gives a beautiful golden hue to dishes. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices and that is also a good reason to use sparingly. Tonight I added a pinch of Saffron to the Jasmine rice while it cooked in chicken stock. I also added a pinch of kosher salt to rice while it cooked. My Tex Mex beef consisted of using 1 lb of lean ground beef, chopped garlic, green pepper, jalapeño pepper, shallots, corn, 1 can of rinsed & drained low sodium black beans, 1 8oz can no salt tomato sauce, no salt added chicken stock and my Tex Mex seasoning blend. First thing I chopped my veggies. I had some corn on the cob leftover and I cut kernels off. I added my veggies to a large skillet with 1 tbs of EVOO and sauted it for about 10 minutes. I added the ground beef and broke it up while cooking. I then added the beans and sauce along with 3 tbs of my seasonings and 1 C of the stock. The season mix has cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, coriander, cayenne, chili powder and corn starch. I use more cumin and paprika because those are my favorite spices.  When you make your spice mix, just play with it, you will figure out what you like best. I let the meat mix cook down and served it over the rice with avocado, cilantro and low fat sour cream. This dish took about 30 minutes to make. I really didn't like the tomato sauce addition, a little too acidic. I added 1 tsp of sugar to smooth it out, but it was still acidic. I didn't add more, because I didn't want it to be sweet. Next time less or no tomato sauce. Let me know what you think.

Dressed Up Zataran's Red Beans & Rice

A lot going on since my last post.  My dad has been in the hospital, we've been doing some rehab our circa 1822 home and my honey had to go to the ER because he fell off the roof.  With all that's been going on cooking has been put on the back burner, but tonight I decided lets get into again, but in an instant kind of way.  Tonight we took a box of low sodium Zataran's Red Beans & Rice, 1lb of 85/15 organic ground beef, 1 can red beans rinsed and drained, 1 bell pepper diced, 1 small onion diced and 1tsp of cumin.  I started the meal by browning my ground beef with the pepper and onion and cumin in a large pan.  After the meat was browned I added the package of the Zataran's and the red beans to the pan and added 3 C of water.  I brought it to a boil, covered and reduced and simmered for 25 minutes.  I then removed it from the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.  We served the dish with some shredded Colby Jack  cheese, a dollop of reduced fat sour cream and few dashes of Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce.  That's all their was to it.  Not difficult and really tasty when just want something quick.  Total time to prepare and cook about 45 minutes, but during the cook time I was able to finish up some laundry.  Good times!!!