Dinner Recap: Diamond Burgers

I made incredible sliders yesterday, and they were a MAJOR win. I just wanted to share them here on the blog so I could find them again, because I'm probably going to turn these into a staple in our house. They turned out way better than I imagined... even the kiddos loved them.

They aren't clean or healthy, but you could make a few adjustments to improve them:

• Use ground turkey instead of beef
• Avoid the glaze (but it's the best part, so I'm willing to just eat more salad the next day to keep the glaze)
• Serve open-faced (1/2 the roll)
• Replace with vegan cheese, or even just nix the cheese and swirl some hot sauce over the top. The filling was delicious!

Ingredients:

• Dinner Rolls (I used these, but any dinner rolls would work)
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 2 cups of diced onion
• Garlic
• 1 can of Ro-Tel
• Sharp cheddar

I made my sliders ahead of time, then took them to my friend's house to bake. I was worried that the bottom of the sliders would get soggy, but they didn't. I drained off the beef, and drained the Ro-Tel, so there really isn't much liquid. I took off the aluminum for the last 5 minutes, and the glaze on the top, was SO good. 

Original and full-version of the recipe is here. Thanks for an incredible meal, Kevin & Amanda!

Quick Dinner: Brown Sugar Spiced Salmon

This brown sugar spiced salmon was so delicious and will become a staple in our weekly/monthly. Such a great way to get the family to eat fish: thanks to Katie Lee for yet another simple & amazing dinner inspiration.

Just mix a 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar, a tablespoon of chili powder, sea salt and pepper together in a bowl. Pat the rub generously into each filet and bake in the oven on 400° for 10-15 minutes.  The sugars caramelize and whenever that happens, it's like a party on my plate.

So, so good- Porter loved the "chicky" too ;)

Quick Weeknight Dinner (Trust Me, You Want This Recipe On Hand)

Make this next time it's 5pm and you realized you forgot to plan anything for dinner. (Like, daily for me)

Korean Beef & Rice

I just made it for lunch because I had everything on hand, and omg... it was so good.

Some healthy substitutions I did:

• Use coconut aminos or organic tamari instead of soy
• Use less brown sugar. I did barely 1/4 cup; some versions of this recipe call for up to 1/2 cup... just don't, it's too sweet (in my opinion).
• Use ground turkey instead of beef

Maple Dijon Pork Chops In The Crockpot

This was seriously the easiest dinner!

• Boneless pork chops (how many ever you want- I used my whole pack of small, boneless pork chops and then doubled the recipe I was following)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3-4 tbl of pure maple syrup
• 4 tbl of dijon mustard
• 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Salt & Pepper

To thicken your sauce:
• 2-3 tbl of real butter
• 1/2 cup flour

I seared a bunch of boneless pork chops in a hot pan. They were pretty small, so I think I did like 12 of them, haha- the whole pack I got at the store. The original recipe I was following called for two large bone-in chops, so I adjusted the recipe a bit to accommodate my massive pot of chops.

Season each chop with sea salt and cracked pepper. I seared them about 2 minutes per side. As they're done, add them to an empty crockpot.

Then, in the same skillet, chop 1 yellow onion and saute until it starts to soften. Add salt, pepper, about 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, pure maple syrup (not the sugary breakfast Mrs. Butterworth kind) and dijon mustard. Stir it up, and cook for about 2 minutes. Taste the sauce and see if it needs more of anything: a little more maple syrup to make it sweeter, a little more dijon for bite, etc. Once the sauce is mixed and heated up a bit, pour the sauce over the pork chops in the crock pot.

I cooked the sauce/chops on high for like 2-3 hours, or until they fall apart when you take a fork to them. SO TENDER!

I removed the chops when they were done, and then melted my butter and added that to the flour in a little bowl, and mixed it all up until it was smooth. I added that to my sauce to thicken it up a bit. (To thicken, add the flour/butter mixture to your sauce in the crock pot once you've removed the pork chops, cover the crockpot and turn up the heat to high until the liquid comes to a slight boil, then it's done!)

Serve over mashed potatoes (fresh!), brown rice, or brown rice pasta. It felt like a cheat meal, but it really wasn't!

Adapted from Eat Live Run.

Currently In The Oven

This:

Roasted Pepper & Eggplant Marinara

It's way, way, waaaay too hot to be roasting vegetables and garlic and eating pasta, right?

Wrong. Shame on you. It's NEVER too hot for pasta. NEVER.

I watched Rachael Ray make this this morning as I was getting ready for church, and I was sold. So, currently, I'm waiting for my garlic and eggplant to finish roasting, sweating like... something that sweats a lot (the only thing I could think of was an inappropriate example).

Review coming soon!

Lemon & Thyme BBQ Salmon with Truffled Balsamic Caprese Salad

Paul and I are on the second round of the 21 Day Fix, which has been amazing. But frankly, on Sunday evening we were a little tired of chicken, ground turkey, tacos, quinoa, wraps, salads and steaks. I was wanting something totally different tonight for dinner to mix it up, so we ran out and grabbed some Sockeye Salmon to throw on the BBQ.

It was a gorgeous spring day in Washington; clear blue skies and 70 degrees. Perfect grilling weather.

We seasoned the fish with a little EVOO, some sea salt and cracked pepper, fresh thyme and sliced lemon. Grill (skin side down) for 10-15 minutes - or until the meat becomes flakey and the fatty/white stuff surfaces. (I'm not a professional, clearly... if you know salmon, you know what I'm talking about). The skin will be crispy and delicious, just how it should be - and fresh thyme is seriously the best part of the whole dish.

We paired the fish it with our own Caprese salad: sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh low-moisture mozzarella, and locally grown basil (they were the largest leaves I've ever seen, with such a true flavor. I love shopping local!!).

The best part? Instead of spending time slaving over the stove on my own balsamic reduction (ugh, takes foreverrrrrrrr), I decided to check the aisle for a pre-made reduction. I'd seen friends use these reductions before, and I wanted to check the ingredients to see if it could work for us tonight... I needed clean and basic. I found one that got me really excited: all-natural truffle balsamic glaze. No added anything. I'm a sucker for all things truffle, so into the cart it went.

Doesn't this just look perfect!? It was delicious, too. We put the iPod on John Mayer and enjoyed ourselves a little candlelight dinner on the back porch. :) Such a great day!

Add this to your line-up, friends! You won't be disappointed.

Pan Seared Chicken With Olives. Except Not With Olives.

I made this dish last night, and it was delicious! So much flavor!

Pan Seared Chicken With Olives

My modifications: 

• I didn't use olives. Instead, I used mushrooms.
• I didn't have any chicken broth, so I omitted that from the sauce as well. I just used the juice from the rested, cooked chicken.
• I didn't pound out my chicken, I just cheated and bought the thin-cut boneless/skinless breasts.
• I didn't let them marinate for 30 minutes. I mixed up the marinade and poured over the chicken, then flipped the chicken around a few times to be sure they were evenly coated. Then they sat for a minute while I prepped the ingredients for the pan sauce, and then heated up the oil in the skillet.
• I didn't use dijon mustard, I just used plain ol' yellow mustard and it was still good.

Other than that, I followed the recipe perfectly, and it turned out so well. Of course, I had a major recipe win when hubby is out of town all week. I'll be making this again upon his return so he can ooh and ahh over my domesticatedness. ;)