Chipotle Crusted Pork Tenderloin

These were very yummy, but very spicy. I did not have a whole loin, but I did have some loin chops, so I just marinated those instead and cooked them in a skillet. Next time I will definitely cut the amount of chipotle powder in half and maybe add a touch more brown sugar. Also, I used real garlic. I prefer it to the powder. But I just love garlic anyway.
This is a good recipe for adults, but I would not recommend it for kids. My husband yummed them up, but he was sweeting. LOL
Yield
6 servings

Active Time
15 Min

Total Time
35 Min

Ingredients
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons chipotle chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 (3/4 pound) pork tenderloins


Instructions
1.Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
2.In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle chile powder, salt, and brown sugar. Place tenderloins in bag and shake, coating meat evenly. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.
3.Lightly oil grill grate, and arrange meat on grate. Cook for 20 minutes, turning meat every 5 minutes. Remove from grill, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nuts

Here is this week's recipe. I would give it 3 stars. Good, but not fantastic, as all the fancy ingredients might imply. When you get a real good bite of chicken and the stuffing, it really does taste good. But you only get one or two good bites towards the middle of the chicken breast. Also the outside of the chicken,does not have much flavor. Not gross, just bland. I think when I try this recipe, I will be seasoning the outside with perhaps garlic. I had some left over filling and I put it in the middle of some crescent rolls, now that was yummy.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed chicken breast half)


Ingredients
5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350°.
2.Heat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly. Place spinach in a colander; press until barely moist. Wipe pan clean.
3.Combine spinach, cheese, nuts, thyme, juice, and garlic. Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 3 tablespoons filling into each pocket. Seal with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
4.Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until brown. Add broth, and cover pan. Place pan in oven. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until done.

Friend Reccomended...

http://www.pepperplate.com/sharedrecipe.aspx?id=bc4a5b6d-45b0-49d7-b6ff-7f1d6b101cb9

Looks good!

Ways to stretch 2 chicken breasts...

Courtesy of Marilyn Montero Carruth...

• cut up 2 chicken breasts into small pieces, about the size of a small walnut
  dredge in flour, season with salt, pepper or whatever
  
  dice fresh tomatoes, about 4 (I use Roma)
  dice fresh garlic, 1 clove
  olive oil
  1 tsp oregano or basil
  
  in skillet, add olive and garlic oil to heat
  add floured chicken pieces, cook and stir till done and crispy
  add oregano or basil, then tomatoes
  stir and remove from heat
  
  serve with rice.

Easy Quiche

I like this quiche recipe because you don't have to heat the egg/milk mixture before pouring it over everything.
I prefer to use chicken and broccoli instead of ham and cheddar instead of swiss but you can change this recipe up to be whatever you like!

(Stolen from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cooked ham, diced
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers, garnish

Directions

1. In medium bowl, toss 4 teaspoons flour with the grated cheese. Sprinkle mixture into the pie shell. On top of cheese, sprinkle 1/2 cup of diced ham.
2. In medium bowl, combine eggs, milk or cream, and then add salt and mustard powder. Beat until smooth and pour over cheese and ham.
3. Put piece of plastic wrap large enough to overlap sides over top of quiche, then a piece of foil, and seal well around the edges. (plastic keeps the foil from sticking to the food). Place prepared quiche in freezer.
4. When ready to prepare, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.) Remove foil and plastic wrap. Put foil around edge of crust to protect it.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. Garnish with parsley and pimiento if desired 

Spinach Pesto

Alright, I know our blog has seen better days but figured I would share this super easy, super yummy recipe with you since all of my kiddos gobbled it down last night - and my hubby, which is a miracle.

Spinach Pesto
2 cups fresh baby spinach
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup grated Romano cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 cup olive oil

Place the first six ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped.  Add the walnuts, lemon juice, and peel; cover and process until blended.  While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream to desired consistency.  Serve with pasta or transfer sauce to clean ice cube trays.  cover and freeze for up to 1 month.  To thaw frozen pesto, put cube in the refrigerator for 3 hours.  Serve with pasta.

I loved this recipe because it got my boys to eat spinach - they still aren't convinced that it's yummy.  I didn't toast the nuts in the recipe, and I used pecans instead of walnuts because that is what I had on hand.  I used the pesto on the following recipe.

Pesto Ravioli with chicken
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb chicken, sliced into strips
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 (9 oz) package ravioli
3 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pesto
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, if desired.

Heat oil in skillet and cook chicken for about 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown.  Remove chicken from skillet and place in an oven safe dish.  (Put chicken in warm oven and let set until ready to add to the rest of the recipe.)  Add broth and ravioli to skillet.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 4 minutes or until ravioli are tender.  Stir zucchini, bell pepper, and chicken into ravioli.  Cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink in center.  Toss with pesto and sprinkle with cheese.

I used a tomato instead of red bell peppers in this recipe because my kids aren't too fond of peppers.  The tomato tasted so yummy.  I also tried out a new brand of ravioli from Safeway and was pretty pleased. - Open Nature Spinach and Cheese Whole Wheat ravioli.  It's organic and whole wheat and had decent flavor.  The boys loved them!  Enjoy!

Repurposing...

I love the idea of recipe clubs and of this recipe blog so much that I'm having a tough time letting go of it. I miss Oly2 a LOT LOT but since no one over there has picked up the torch of this blog I'm thinking of re-purposing it as a cyber recipe exchange so that people from all over can participate and all us ex-Oly2-gals can get our fix of that wonderful ward :)

Any objections?