Phenomenal Pork Roast

On a recent trip to the local grocery store I noticed the pork shoulder was on sale. Now, typically I've been playing it fairly safe and only buying cuts of meat that I'm used to ie: chicken breast, ground beef, pork cutlets - we're talking basic, basic stuff here. So I thought I'd give something new a try - and it paid off! Not only was the pork juicy and tender it was packed with flavour. For a first attempt at pork roast I'm calling this one an exceptional success! 


*Note*  My camera is currently out of order and both pictures featured were taken on an iPhone.


Hubby Approval Rating:    5/5


Why? "It was well cooked, very tender and juicy. The sauce wasn't over powering but complimented the meat well. It was just really good." 

Herb Roasted Pork


1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack.
3. Bake in the preheated oven approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), depending upon your desired doneness.
4. Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, and serve.

I think you'll enjoy the unexpected tanginess of this fabulous pork roast. I encourage you to try something new, outside of your comfort zone - it just might be worth it :)

Garlic and Soy Sauce,

Dani

Comfort Food with a Kick: Chicken Florentine Casserole

With it's cold weather and dreary days, October seems to be the month for comfort food. I've been wanting to try something a little different with chicken breast and this florentine casserole hit the nail on the head for me! It's a creamy, flavourful dish that is all in all WAY too filling to eat every night. 
I'd like to take a minute to tell you how I find most of the recipes I try. Because I am only new to living on my own and cooking for two, I don't actually have any cook books so I do what most modern people do when trying to learn something new: I hit the internet! 
Quite some time ago I came across the website: www.allrecipes.com, originally I used it to find recipes for cookies, cupcakes, any kind of baking really... nothing practical that one would make on an everyday basis. Now I rely on it most nights to help me whip up dinner! The great thing about this website is that you can search for specific recipes or by the ingredients you want and don't want - very useful when you have a picky eater in the house! When searching for a specific recipe, I find the best way to utilize this website is to pick based on high ratings and number of ratings. Also, READ the comments, often you'll find several people making the same suggestions to make the dish even better!

Chicken Florentine Casserole*

4 Chicken breast halves                1/4 cup butter
3 teaspoons minced garlic            1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 can cream of mushroom soup   1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup half-and-half                       1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach              1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup bacon bits                          1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a medium frying pan, saute spinach and mushrooms with 1 tablespoon butter

Melt the rest of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and parmesan cheese. 

Arrange the spinach and mushrooms over the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. 

Cover with half of the sauce mixture.

Arrange chicken breasts on top of the spinach and mushrooms, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture. 

Sprinkle with bacon bits.

Bake for 45 minutes, then sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for another 10 minutes

* this recipe has been altered from the original at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-florentine-casserole/detail.aspx

 Hubby Approval Rating      4.5/5

Why? "It was good but there was too much spinach"

Based on Jason's review I'll probably use half of the spinach next time and throw in some diced artichoke heart!

Chicken and Bacon Bits,
Dani

Playing Catch Up! The Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Life has been hectic as of late and I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog - but rest assured, I'm still cooking, baking, etc. I have a whole arsenal of recipes to share with you that I haven't had a chance to write about yet!

Recently I have decided to look back at my favourite foods from when I was a kid and attempt a few of them. An all-time fave of mine is one that most people cringe and turn their noses up to - Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and if you haven't tried it before I know what you're thinking - ew. It's a moist, flavourful chocolate cake that DOESN'T taste like vegetables. Seriously, this isn't a lie like those commercials that tell you that all you can taste is the fruit in their fruit and veggie juice.

Looking back at my childhood I can remember my mom growing zucchini in the garden. Once they were HUGE my mom would pick the zucchini, my brother and I would groan in distaste knowing we would soon be eating them and within days we would magically be eating delicious chocolate cake wondering where the nasty old zucchini went. Yeah, she pulled a fast one on us.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I asked my mom for this recipe a few weeks ago and she couldn't remember which recipe I was talking about - this cake was such a memorable part of my childhood and she had no idea the impact it had on me.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Thank you Ancsineni)

1/2 cup butter                         1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup white sugar              2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla                            1/2 cup sour milk  (or sub. 1/2 cup milk and 1 tsp white vinegar)

2 1/2 cup flour                         4 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder              1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon                     1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 cups finely diced* zucchini     1/4 chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan
Cream butter, oil and sugar
Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk
Mix together all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) and add to creamed mixture. Beat well with mixer
Stir in diced zucchini
Pour into baking pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean


* When I made this I was in a particularly lazy mood and decided to grate the zucchini with my cheese grater - it worked great!!


No hubby approval rating on this cake because lets put it this way - there's only 2 of us in this house and the cake was gone in a few days - 'nuff said.
I'd love to get some feedback on this recipe, so if you do get a chance to try it let me know what you think!


Zucchini and Cinnamon,
Dani