Seasoned Pork Tenderloin Served with Tarragon Mustard Aioli

[ay-OH-lee; i-OH-lee] A strongly flavored garlic mayonnaise from the Provence region of southern France. It's a popular accompaniment for fish, meats and vegetables.
For traditional aioli the garlic is ground in a mortar while adding small amounts of olive oil, leading to a smooth and very strong tasting aioli. More commonly, egg yolks, garlic and Dijon mustard (if adding this as a common variation on the basic aioli) are combined first with a whisk, then the oil and the lemon juice are added slowly with whisking to create the emulsion. The additions of the dissimilar ingredients must be slow to start and then can be faster once the initial emulsion has formed.  Health concerns about the safety of raw egg yolks have many chefs starting with commercial mayonnaise, which is made from pasteurized egg yolks.
 
 

Tarragon Mustard Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 fresh garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Salt and pepper to taste


•In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.

•Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to blend the flavors.  Serve chilled.

Note: You can serve your aioli after chilling it for about 30 minutes, but it's better if you allow several hours for the flavors to meld and mellow. May be made up to two days in advance.

Herb Seasoned Pork Tenderloin

1 pound pork tenderloin
olive oil
3 tablespoons McCormick French Herb Roasting Rub
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 tablespoon ground thyme

  Pat tenderloins dry with a paper towel and place in baking dish coated with cooking spray.
 Combine herbs and mix well.  Set aside.
 Drizzle pork with olive oil; spread herb mixture on pork making sure to coat it completely.  Let it sit for       several hours so that it can absorb the flavors.
 Bake, uncovered, for about 35 to 45 minutes or until internal temperature is about 160°F.
 
 Remove from oven.  Slice and serve with the Tarragon Mustard Aioli.
 
Enjoy!!!



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How to Dry Rub Steak - Spicy Steak

It doesn't get any simpler than this:




Pull the steaks out of the refrigerator and let them sit on a clean plate or pan for an hour before grilling. An even meat temperature will make for more even cooking.



When the hour is up, rub the steak with cooking oil (do not spray cooking oil on your grill) and follow with one of the dry rub steak recipes below. Do not put the seasonings on before the coating of cooking oil as most dry rubs include salt and it is believed salt will draw moisture out of the meat.

Dry rubs for steak are very easy to make and can be customized to include your favorite flavors. Following is one of my  best dry rub steak recipes.

Spicy Steak Salad with Lemon Avocado Dressing

Steak Rub:

1 tablespoon Cayenne
3 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Thyme
1/8 cup Olive Oil


Mix all of these ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

Apply a thick layer on to each side of the steak, about 1/8th of an inch should be sufficient. We want the rub to infuse and cook into the meat. Too much more and it will fall off, burn and waste your rub.
Grill the steak to your taste. I find that 2 to 3 minutes per side works well, but that time can change a great deal, depending on the thickness of your steaks.
Let the steaks rest for at least 1 to 2 minutes before slicing.


Lemon Avocado Dressing:

This creamy lemon dressing is a refreshing change of pace. Try it on fruit or green salads or on coleslaw.


1 avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sour cream (low fat or non fat is acceptable)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

 Makes About 1 Cup

In a jar with a hand or immersion blender or in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine all the ingredients and process until well mixed. Cover and chill the dressing until you are ready to use it. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.
The dressing will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Place salad greens on plates, top with steak slices.  Drizzle dressing over the top and sprinkle with Peccorino Romano Cheese.

Enjoy!!

Strawberry Soup - Very Refreshing

Hello,

Strawberry Soup? Sounds a bit strange, doesn't it?

I thought so too, at first, but after trying the strawberry soup, I was delighted.

It is a fantastic way to begin your meal.  Try it with a Veggie Quiche and a salad.  This is a dish for kids and adults alike.   It is very refreshing on a hot summer day.  It also makes a great dessert.

The best thing about this easy recipe is, it'll work with fresh or frozen strawberries. You do not need to wait until strawberry season starts again.   Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

Strawberry Soup (Serves 3)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen strawberries

2 cups (75 g) french vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
 
Directions:


1.In a blender, combine the strawberries, yogurt, orange juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Puree until well mixed. Chill and serve.








 

Taking My Own Advice

So....my Birthday came and went last week, very uneventful, except for these nagging questions I have been plagued with since I returned home from vacation.  Why can't I get myself motivated?  What is it going to take to organize my life and my time?  What am I afraid of?

Last week I blogged about time management and how to attain your goals.  I went back and re-read what I had written and then decided, "Hey, what if I took my own advice"?  How could I organize myself and my day to get the most out of each and every minute?  I know, I think I will work on a "to do" list. 

There it begins.  I am working on prioritizing my list and setting my new goals.  I am trying not to expect miracles, I know it will take time but, it is a beginning.  I am starting out with small items on my list and checking them off as they are completed.  I will let you know how it is all working out as time goes on.

In the meantime, here is my recipe for making Pork Burritos.  For those of you that don't know how to roll a burrito, watch the video link below.  Ole!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4UdJoHWk80

Slow Cooker Pork Burritos

Ingredients:

1 boneless pork sirloin roast (3 pounds)

1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

14 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed

Optional toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped green pepper, guacamole, reduced-fat sour cream and shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese.

Directions:


Cut roast in half; place in a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the broth, taco seasoning, parsley, garlic, pepper and salt. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is very tender.

Remove pork from the slow cooker; cool slightly. Shred with two forks; set aside. Skim fat from the liquid; stir in beans and chilies. Return pork to the slow cooker; heat through. Spoon 1/2 cup pork mixture down the center of each tortilla; add toppings of your choice. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Yield: 14 servings.

Help!! I Need a Time Manager, Part 2

Time is the one commodity we all have in common. No matter how hard we try, we really can’t “save” time or “buy” time. Yet, we can learn to “spend” our time wisely to avoid “losing” time. Here’s a baker’s dozen of time management tips to help you “find” and keep track of your 24 hours today!

Use a To Do List — It’s not only a good reminder, but also a time management tool to help you see what you accomplish and how long it takes.

Get set in your ways — Good time management is synonymous with good organization. Put your daily routines into detail. While you don’t need to schedule every move you make, listing routine tasks helps you to remember each step you need to take to meet your goal, whether it’s getting to work or school on time or doing Saturday morning chores.

Break it up — Divide large tasks into small ones to get a better sense of accomplishment as you complete each step. In addition, when you’re interrupted in the middle of a task, it’s much easier to get back on track and regain your focus.

Be realistic — Don’t under or over estimate time. Over estimating time makes it difficult to fit all your tasks into your daily schedule, while under estimating “cuts your day short” and makes it impossible to complete your schedule. However, do be generous with your time allotments. It’s much easier to fit a small task into “extra” time than it is to try to make up for “lost” time.

Pick up a good habit — Try to keep something in hand going both to and from a destination. If you need to run copies, pick up some office supplies while you wait for the copy machine to finish.

Big messes start with little piles — Completely finish your circles. Put things away as you finish using them. Aside from keeping you out of clutter and giving you a big clean up at the end of a project, you’ll know where things are the next time you need to use them.
Start tomorrow tonight! — Get in the habit of preparing for the next day at the end of your day. Write out a “to do” list for tomorrow’s tasks. Leave keys, wallet (or purse), and your To Do List all in the same place. For optimum time management, you can even lay out tomorrow’s clothing before you go to bed.
Don’t forget — Write yourself a note (“Don’t forget your lunch”) or put reminders at the top of your to do list.

Round to-its — The easiest way to get “a round to-it” is to schedule a task. If the lawn needs mowing, put it on your to do list.

First things first – Prioritize your tasks and then schedule each one at the appropriate time. For instance, you may have to wait until after work to mow the lawn. Although it may be your “top priority” for the day, it needn’t be at the top of your list!

Learn to say no! — Frequently, we consider that saying “no” is discourteous, but you can be frank without being rude. “I can’t now, but I could (insert when) “or “I’m sorry, but I just can’t manage that today” is just good time management.

The pause that refreshes – Do make breaks a scheduled part of your day. A small break at the end of a large task or series of small tasks refreshes you and helps you to wind down and focus on “what’s next?”

Be flexible — Effective time management will take some time to get used to. No matter what you did or didn’t get done today, there is always tomorrow.

 

This is my goal, to follow my own advice and learn to manage my time.  How about you, are you willing to give it a try?

 
 
 

Classic Chicken Pot Pie (Serves 8)

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup celery

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2  10 3/4 cans Campbell's Creamy Chicken with Herbs

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1 egg white

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas and celery.  Add water to cover; add bouillon cubes and boil for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

3.  In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and celery seed.  Slowly stir in chicken broth, milk and soup.  Simmer over medium heat until thick.  Remove from heat and set aside.

4.Put the bottom crust in pie pan and brush with egg white;  cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Place the chicken mixture in bottom crust.  Pour hot liquid mixture over.  Cover with top crust, seal edges, brush with remaining egg white; cut away excess dough.  Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Help!! I Need a Time Manager

What is time management? Time management is a set of skills and habits that allow you to control your time better and more productively. Time management allows you to plan your time so that you're doing the most important thing at any given time.  This is not me.

We all have the same amount of time, so managing your time is the only way you can get "more."  Believe me, if I knew that I could take time from someone who did not have to use all of their hours in the day, I would be first in line to grab up the extra.

Don't fool yourself that you are using your time well just by staying busy.  I stay busy all day, blogging, cleaning, doing laundry, shopping, doing research for future articles, etc.  Still at the end of the day I look back and it feels as though I have accomplished nothing.

Your time is yours to give away. Don't blame others when you are the one responsible for your own time. Pay attention to where it goes.  How much time do you spend on the phone, checking e-mails or catching up on facebook?  If you are like me, too much.  Let's face it these things are so much more fun than getting down to business and doing what you need to do.

I think today's quote really hits the nail on the head for me. Whenever I read it, I realize, yes, I'm free of that worry because there's no point in worrying about something that will never happen.

Once you realize that you don't need to worry about anything being perfect, you can release all that negative self-talk and get busy using your skills and talents to achieve your goals.

Tomorrow we will look at some ways to better organize ourselves and our time.  In the meantime here is a quick and easy recipe that will give you a jump-start on tomorrow nights dinner.  Enjoy!

Cold Spaghetti Salad

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing
1 bottle Wishbone Italian dressing
1/2 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
2 tomatoes, cut up
1 red onion, diced
1 cucumber, diced
 
Prepare spaghetti according to package, drain and let cool.
Combine remaining ingredients and add to pasta.  Refrigerate 24 hours and serve.
 
 
 
 

Do You Build with Legos or Create with Them?

On a recent trip to California my 5 year old Grandson, Jordan, asked me to get a set of  Legos down from the closet, where my daughter has them very neatly organized each set in their own container.  I asked him what he was going to build to which he replied, "I am not going to build anything, I am going to create".

Wow!  I was sure put in my place.  I learned from a 5 year old that Legos are for creating not building and I knew that somewhere in there was a lesson for me, Nana.  Then it dawned on me, "I Create".  I don't just cook, I create wonderful new recipes and dishes for everyone to enjoy.  It also gave me an idea for this blog and how everyone can create and be creative if you just put your mind to it.

Do you ever get asked ‘Where did you get that idea from?’ in any of your projects or pieces of work and you couldn’t answer the question? Well, I have actually come across that a few times and it made me think to myself, where do I get my creativity? How do I get my creative juices flowing?  How do I boost my creativity?

I made a short list of where I usually got my ideas from and came down to two things I always did to get my creative juices flowing, that being mind mapping and finding inspiration.

Mind Mapping
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.  The key to perfect mind mapping is creating your own personal style.

For example, I might jot down several random ingrediants that I have in my kitchen then write down other key ingrediants that may go with them.  By combining all of this information I am able to sit down and create a new recipe.

Finding Inspiration
If you are really stuck for ideas (even after mindmapping), I have always found that by getting an idea of what other people have done and what has succeeded (or failed) is a great way to get your feet off the ground again.

Try looking in cookbooks and magazines to get ideas as well as on the internet at the various cooking sites that are available.

Now, go ahead get inspired and start creating a new meal for your family tonight, don't just build it from a kit in a box.

Tuna Salad Sandwich (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

•6 to 7 ounces white tuna, drained

•1 rib celery, finely chopped

•1 hard-cooked egg, peeled and chopped

•3 tablespoons mayonnaise

•1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickle

•salt and pepper, to taste

•1 to 2 tablespoons grated or finely chopped onion, optional


Preparation:

Combine all ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add a little grated or finely chopped onion. Spread on lettuce-lined toasted bread or fill rolls and garnish with sliced tomato and sprouts.

Fears at 50 Something

Many great ideas have been lost because people who had them could not stand being laughed at. -Anonymous

Fear is a natural response to any dangerous situation. Fear is something that children naturally possess. The fear of strangers, the fear of falling, and the fear of the dark are all fears that are routinely found in children. Being fearful can have a protective effect on a child’s well being. For example, being afraid of loud noises could prevent a child from fearlessly running into a dangerous situation. However, adults sometimes generalize this “protective intuition” into a fear of trying anything new because they do not want to fail or make a mistake.

Take me for example, next week I am turning 52 and I fear personal growth.  I feel as though I am the same person at 50 years of age that I was at 40 years old, I feel as if my life has gone nowhere.  Every day that I have wasted cannot be replaced.  I recently woke up and realized that I had wasted many years of my life!  Living in fear has prevented me from growing as a person.  I constantly second guess myself, focus on my mistakes and focus on the downside of trying anything new.  By doing this I have voluntarily chose not to move forward with my life.  It is difficult for me to be a "self-starter" because I am afraid of the potential negative outcome of my decision.

I have a lot of reasons why I should not take risks in my life - except for one thing I recently discovered.  Living in fear is not living at all!

So I have decided to live!!  Every year on my birthday I give myself a present, maybe a new pair of shoes I have had my eye on, a new purse or a dress and even finding family that I had lost touch with over the years.  This year I am giving myself something really special, "The Gift of Life".  For me that means that I will be putting my nose to the grind stone and working on my cookbook in hopes of having it completed by my next birthday.  I have been so caught up in the fear that it won't be good enough to be published that I have put it aside and given up.  Well no more, I am back at!

Happy Birthday to me and look out world, here I come!!!!

Mini White Pizza with Vegetables (Serves 4)

4   (6inch) whole wheat pitas

Olive-oil flavored cooking spray

1    medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1/4  cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings

2     sliced Roma Tomatoes

1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8  teaspoon salt

1/2  cup light garlic and herbs spreadable cheese

6      tablespoons Sargentos Italian Bistro Blend Cheese with Herbs

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Place pitas on a baking sheet; broil 3 minutes.

3. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat;  coat pan with cooking spray.  Add zucchini, onion, black pepper and salt; saute 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

4. Remove pitas from broiler and spread 2 tablespoons garlic and herb spreadable cheese over each pita.  Place tomato slices on each pita; top evenly with remaining vegetables and Italian cheese blend cheese.  Broil 3 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cheese is melted.