Swiss Chard and Red Onion Mini-Quiche with Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs

While my garden has been lacking in certain areas (see measly carrot crop), I have had an incredible overabundance of swiss chard. I have made seared and steamed and creamed chard and chard in soup and on pizza, and when I thought of putting chard in a quiche I was incredibly excited-- and then I was kicking myself for not thinking of something so obviously delicious and easy earlier.

• 1 bunch swiss chard (it cooks down-- a LOT)
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• S& P
• fresh herbs of your choice. I used oregano and basil because I have them in abundance.
• 3 large eggs
• 1 oz. goat cheese
• 1 oz. parmesan
• pie crust for a mini-pie dish or ramekin

First I sauteed the red onion in the olive oil until just softened and then added in the chard. To speed up the wilting process, I added in 1/4 cup of water and let it boil out. Seasonings and herbs went in next. In a separate bowl, I whisked the eggs. And I prepared the mini-pie dish with the crust. I put the goat cheese in the bottom of the pie dish, added in the onions and chard, and poured the egg over. Sprinkled with parm, and popped in a 400 degree oven for just about 15 minutes.

This was a fast, easy, and super tasty dinner, and I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day! Other than the pie crust, it was super healthy as well.

*** so.... my memory card on my phone was deleted and I lost a ton of photos including this one. Whoops!

Shrimp, Scallop, and Veggie Kabobs with Mint Pesto

I'm tired of blogging. I need to stop procrastinating and just write about things when they are fresh in my mind! But, it's too late for that now. Last Wednesday I made some kabobs on the grill and they were pretty tasty.

I made shrimp, bay scallop, cherry tomato, and one with red onions and green peppers. I marinated the shrimp and scallops in a mint pesto (mint leaves, parsley leaves, almonds, water, olive oil, and garlic-- in food processor) which was surprisingly good. I would make it again-- especially on a lamb burger or something!

I served the Kabobs with a spinach and arugula salad with edamame, pecans, and goat cheese. It was kind of a weird combination, but all I had on hand. The dressing was balsamic vinegar mixed with some of the mint pesto. I saved the extra to drizzle on the Kabobs.

I have nothing else to say about this and feel like I sound like a robot. So.... I'm going to be done now.

Steak, Salad, and Sauce (I love alliteration)

I am actually up to date on blogging! It's a miracle! This is a meal I made just two days ago for Wednesday night date night with Tim. It wasn't the best meal ever, but I am pretty much obsessed with the poblano yogurt now.

Grilled Sirloin Steak and Red Onion Slices 
I put a dry rub on the steaks of cayenne, chili powder, minced garlic dried parsley, fresh cilantro, lime zest, cumin, S&P. It was very tasty, but the steaks were a bit tough. The onions just had canola oil, salt, and pepper and I grilled them for about five minutes. The thicker slices should have gone for a minute or two more but overall they were great!

Poblano Yogurt Sauce

• poblano pepper
• 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• garlic powder (better if it was fresh and also roasted but oh well)
• sea salt

Fiesta-Green Goddess Salad

• spinach and arugula leaves 
• avocado, diced
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (thawed or cooked or whatever)
• cilantro
• juice from half a lime
• 1/4 crumbled feta cheese
• 1 TBSP poblano yogurt dip

Everyone (I assume) has heard of Green Goddess salad. It's a delicious blended yogurt-y, green-y salad dressing over a delicious bed of greens and fresh veggies. After taking a bite of my poblano yogurt sauce, I realized that if I thinned it down just a bit (with the juice of a lime), it would make a fantastic salad dressing very similar to a green-goddess dressing. But, keeping with my spicy "fiesta" theme, my other toppings all somewhat resemble Mexican food (except the feta of course, but just go with me).

As with all salads, I toss the greens with the dressing first so each leaf is coated and I don't use too much dressing (yay low calorie), then I throw on half of the toppings, toss once or twice, and then put the rest of the toppings on before serving.

Quote of the night: "Is this Arugula?" -Tim  This may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but I am just so proud that my "picky eater" boyfriend can now successfully identify arugula. He's turning into a regular foodie!!

Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples

For the first time in my life, I didn't spend Easter with some portion of my family. I was just so rundown from being sick that I couldn't bear to dress up or put a smile on my face. And while I typically do not cook at all while I am sick, I was so hyper-vigilant about using hand sanitizer that I decided to make a quick but elegant Easter supper.

Pork tenderloin is my favorite thing to eat and to prepare, so that was a no-brainer, but I tried something new for a marinade and a side. I'm very excited to say that I used locally made bourbon for my marinade, and while I am no bourbon expert, I think it was very good. The end result on this dish was great. It was salty, sweet, spicy, and tangy all at once. Most of it I just made up as I went along, but I tried to keep track of what I was doing so I can re-create it some day!


Apple Bourbon marinade:

• 1 cup fresh apple juice (I used two granny smith apples and my neato juicer)
• 1 cup of Iowa bourbon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• a few whole cloves
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 TBSP light brown sugar

I rubbed the marinade onto a pork tenderloin that was just over a pound. I poured over the excess and let it sit for about 2 hours. The pork was on the grill for about 40 minutes (on medium high heat), and I turned it twice. After taking it off, I let it sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing it. While the pork was cooking, I turned the marinade into a sauce. Most importantly, I brought it to a ROLLING BOIL for several minutes to kill any raw-pork germs. Then, I just let it reduce. I added a few shakes of all the original spices b/c I felt like I couldn't taste them, but that's it.

Sauteed Apples

• 3 TBSP butter (well, I used smart balance)
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 granny smith apples, pealed, cored, and thinly sliced. 
• ground ginger, ground cloves, cumin, and sea salt to taste
• 1 TBSP brown sugar

Basically, I melted the butter in a large skillet and then threw in the onions and apples to caramelize. I kept everything on Med-low heat and just let it do it's thing for probably 30 minutes. I stirred occasionally. Right at the end, I felt like things weren't as caramel-y as I wanted, so I added in the bit of sugar to quickly melt.

To serve, I put the apple onion mixture down on a tray, and laid the pork slices over the top, and then poured the sauce over the whole thing.

This was unique, but a winner!!

And for dessert? EASTER CANDY!