Bruschetta Pork Chop

Recipe found here! I'm a weird person. I don't like tomatoes, but throw them in a bruschetta mix with balsamic, onions and garlic i'll eat them right up! Made this last night for dinner and it was very good. Nice change to a pork chop meal. This was really easy and quick to make. 


4 boneless pork chops
2 large, very firm, tomatoes, diced 
½ large red onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for basting
1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar, plus more for drizzle
½ tsp salt
fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or thinly sliced, whatever you prefer)
salt to taste
pepper to taste


Preheat your grill or BBQ. Make your bruschetta topping by gently tossing together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and basil leaves. Set aside. Season your pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill for 3+ minutes per side depending on the thickness of your chops. Remove from BBQ and transfer to an oven safe dish. Top chops with mozzarella cheese and place under your broiler for about one minute, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Let rest for at least 5 minutes to redistribute juices. Top with a heaping spoonful of the brushetta mixture, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Grilled Fish Tacos

Inspired by the recipe from chow.com  :

Who am I even? If someone asked me if I liked fish, I'd say no.... but I'm trying! Fish and Chips last week and now Grilled Fish Tacos! I don't think I've ever had so much fish in such a short time span... maybe even ever! Just kidding. I've probably eaten it a handful of times. Today I made healthy Grilled Fish Tacos (quite an opposite to the not so healthy deep fried fish from last week). They were surprisingly good! Nice flavour and easy to make. Will make them again or some rendition of them!

We dressed our tacos with homemade guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream! 

Makes 5 tacos
Ingredients:
3 Tiliapia fillets (or any other fresh firm white fish)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tbs vegetable oil (plus more for grill)
Salt & Pepper
3 limes
3 gloves of garlic, chopped or crushed individually
1/2 white onion
1 tomato
1/2 jalapeno (depending on how hot it is!)
small handful of cilantro (bad measurement, sorry)
1 tsp olive oil
1 ripe avocado
5 flour or corn tortillas (we used corn)
Sour Cream

1. Place fish fillets in a bowl or deep dish. Squeeze 1 lime (or 1/2 depending on how big your limes are... mine were small) over it.  Add 1 clove of garlic, cumin, chili powder and vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn fish in marinade until evenly coated. Put in fridge and let marinate for 15-30 minutes. 
2. While the fish is marinating, prepare the guacamole and pico de gallo.  

• Guacamole: cut the avocado in half, take out the pit and remove the skin. In a bowl, mash the avocado until smooth (you can have little chunks.. this isn't fancy guac!). Squeeze in 1 lime. Add 1 clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together.  
• Pico de gallo: dice the tomato and put in a bowl. Dice half an onion and add it to the bowl. Chop up cilantro and add to the polo. Squeeze 1 lime in the bowl. Add one clove of garlic. Add chopped up jalapeno. I got my brother to test the jalapeno before I added it because sometimes they're crazy hot and other times they're not. Mix it all together!

3. Warm the tortillas by heating a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tortilla at a time, flipping to warm both sides, about 5 minutes total. Wrap the warm tortillas in a clean dishcloth and set aside while you prepare the fish.
4. Brush the grates of a grill pan or outdoor grill with oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the grill.
5. Cook without moving until the underside of the fish has grill marks and is white and opaque on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and grill the other side until white and opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes more. (It’s OK if it breaks apart while you’re flipping.) Transfer to a cutting board or plate. Break up the fish.
6. Prepare the taco!  Take the warm tortilla and top with guacamole, fish, pico de gallo, sour cream and a little fresh cilantro. And maybe some hot sauce too!

Beef and Bean Burritos

Happy Cinco de Mayo! We had burritos planned for Tuesday until I realized today was Cinco de Mayo and thought it be more appropriate today. These were muy delicioso!! I was full after one but craving more and my brother helped himself to a second one.

Recipe below makes 4-5 burritos.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 white onion, chopped
1 can (246 ml) red enchilada sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 can refried beans
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 package mexican rice (its a thing... from old el paso)
1 avocado (either made into guacamole or chopped if not ready for guac)
Shredded (chopped) lettuce
Source cream
Cilantro
Flour tortillas

Start the rice and follow the instructions on the box. The rice takes approximately 20 minutes to cook. Brown the beef in a frying pan over medium high heat. Once the meat begins to brown, add chopped onions. Cook for a few minutes and then add the cumin, oregano, chili and garlic powder. Cook for a minute. Add 1/2 the can of sauce. Reduce heat to low. Heat up refried beans in a pot. Add 1/3 of the cheese to the beans. Prepare your burrito... I did mine in this order: refried beans, rice, beef, cheese, avocado, lettuce. Fold the burrito closed and place in a baking pan, seam side down. Once you've prepared the 4-5 burritos, pour the remained on the enchilada sauce over top and sprinkle the remaining cheese. Cook under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

Beer Battered Fish and Homemade Fries

I have a deep fryer I've never used so my brother and I decided to try out making our own homemade beer battered fish and chips! It was pretty delicious except it wasn't crispy enough (even though the picture makes it look pretty crispy). Next time I'll probably add some baking soda to the batter and increase the heat of the deep fryer.

Batter:
5 pieces of Tilapia (or any other white fish - halibut)
1 cup all-purpose flour + a little extra
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 egg, beaten,
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle of beer

Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F. Rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with pepper and cover with the extra flour.

Combine 1 cup of flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir egg into dry ingredients. Gradually mix in beer until a thin batter is formed. Dip fish fillet into the batter, then drop one at a time into hot oil. Fry fish for approximately 4 minutes until it is golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve warm.

Orecchiette Carbonara with Charred Brussel Sprouts

I will admit I was a little disappointed in this dish because it had so many things I loved in it, but it was still good! I ate a big bowl and ate the left lovers happily. I just expected more!

½ lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed, cut into 1/4 or leaves separated
12 oz. fresh or dried orecchiette (or other small pasta)

2 oz. pancetta (Italian bacon), finely chopped (about ¼ cup)

½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into piece

1 large clove of garlic

⅓ cup grated Pecorino plus more

2 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
Squirt of dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Add pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from pan. 
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
• Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium heat. Working in batches (or all at once depending on how big your pan is), add brussels sprout leaves (and small pieces) and cook in the oil and pancetta grease. Add a squirt of dijon mustard and toss the brussel sprouts occasionally until charred in spots and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate and set aside. 

Add the pancetta back to the pan. Let heat back up.  Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to keep; reduce heat to low and gradually add butter, swirling skillet and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until a thick, glossy sauce forms. (Taste as you go and switch to hot water once sauce is adequately seasoned.)Add pasta to skillet and toss to coat. Add Pecorino; toss to combine. Remove from heat; mix in egg yolks. Add reserved brussels sprout leaves; toss, adding pasta cooking liquid (or hot water) as needed to thin sauce.

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• Serve pasta topped with more Pecorino.

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