Tangy Tomatillo Salsa Verde

It's summer time here in Alaska and one of my husband's and I's favorite sunny day snack is homemade salsa verde with tortilla chips! I'm a bit of a sissy when it comes to spice, so this is my tangy take on a tomatillo salsa that is bound to satisfy everyone! 

This salsa verde is not only great by itself, but makes a great companion to tacos (my favorite is with tequila lime pulled pork tacos with goat cheese, recipe coming soon!)

It could also go well with a Mexican chicken dish or fajitas

*I usually buy a little over a pound of tomatillos due to the lack of availability of fresh produce in Alaska, a few of the tomatillos are bound to be not as high quality as desired*

Husk, inspect, and wash the tomatillos thoroughly then chop in half and add to the food processor.
Dice the pablano and bell pepper removing any seeds and imperfections then add into the food processor.
Add the chopped cilantro and garlic cloves along with the juice of the lime, cumin, and salt.

Blend in the food processor until it becomes the consistency of a finely blended salsa; you may need to scrap the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula to fully incorporate the ingredients.

Pour the contents of the food processor into a medium size sauce pan and bring to a boil over a medium high heat.
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened to a desired consistency.
Pour into a glass container to cool.
Serve immediately or store in your fridge for up to one month.
Enjoy!

Tangy Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
-1 lb tomatillos, husked and washed
-1 pablano pepper
-1/2 Green bell pepper
-1/2 C. chopped cilantro
-2 cloves garlic
-1 lime
-1 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp salt


Directions

- Husk and wash the tomatillos, then slice in half and add into a food processor.
- chop up the pablano and half of the bell pepper, dis-guarding any seeds, then add into the food processor, along with the cloves of garlic.
-Roll the lime on the counter to loosen up the juice, slice in half and squeeze the juice into the food processor.
-Add the cumin and salt, and blend well, stopping the blending once to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, then finish blending until it reaches a smooth consistency. It will be a bit watery.
-Add the mixture into a medium size sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
-Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until the salsa verde thickens a bit.
-Pour into a glass container to cool.
-Serve fresh or store in your fridge for up to one month.


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Mariahs Famous Pork Chop Dinner

If you're anything like me, you have experienced eating dry pork chops, which are bad enough to drive most people way from eating them; I have played with and tweaked this recipe over the years and have finally found the perfect recipe for juicy, succulent breaded pork chops that have made quite the impression on everyone who has had them (I've been told they're the best people have had!

If I have the extra time I will always take the opportunity to marinade my pork chops in milk for up to 2 hours. Milk contains latic acid that gently tenderizes the pork chops where as a normal vinegar or citrus based marinade will turn the meat slightly mushy instead of tender. 

       

Rinse the pork chops under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large ziploc bag or container and pour in enough milk to cover. I like to spice up my marinade a bit so I add Dales steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, Lawry's seasoned salt, rosemary and pepper. 

For best results allow the pork chops to soak in the milk marinade for up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the potatoes and carrots. (I usually use baby reds, and those you won't need to peel, I just had russets on hand).

Cut the potatoes into uniform bite sizes pieces along with the carrots. Mince the garlic.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat along with butter and white truffle olive oil (yes it makes a HUGE difference!)

Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir until the garlic becomes translucent and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrots, parsley, tarragon, white pepper and Lawry's. 

Saute vegetables for 10 minutes and transfer to a roasting pan (Set aside the saute pan, you will need it again). Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

While the vegetables are in the oven start preparing the pork chops.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Prepare a shallow dish and pour in the bread crumbs. 

Alright, I know I may catch a few of you off guard with this but bear with me, coat the pork chops with mayo....yes mayonnaise. For those of you mayo haters I promise you won't even be able to taste it! It locks in the moisture better than a traditional egg wash and acts as a better bond for the bread crumbs.

After all sides of the pork chops have been covered with mayo, place the chops into the bread crumbs to coat.

Reheat the saute pan you used for the vegetables and add more truffle oil.

Sear one side of the pork chops until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes (if you check the bottoms too soon, or if the pan isn't hot enough the breading will fall off the bottoms.

After all of the pork chops have been seared on one side, the vegetables should be just about ready to take out of the oven.

Remove the foil and place the pork chops, seared side down, on top of the vegetables.

Bake uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes , until the pork chops are no longer pink on the inside or when they reach an internal temperature of 160.

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Remove from the oven and voila! you have nice juicy pork chops to indulge in, enjoy!

Ingredients: 

Milk Marinade:

-2 C whole milk

-1 Tbsp Dales Steak Seasoning

-1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

-2 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
-1 Tsp Rosemary

-1/4 tsp Ground white pepper

cracked pepper to taste

Mariah's Famous Pork Chop Dinner

-4 Boneless pork chops

-5 large russet potatoes or 8 baby reds, cut into bite size uniform pieces

-5 large carrots, cut into uniform pieces

-3 cloves of garlic, Minced

-1 Tbsp Butter

-2 Tbsp White Truffle oil, divided

-1 Tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt

-1 Tbsp Parsley

-2 tsp Tarragon

-Salt and pepper to taste

-2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs

-Mayonnaise

Directions
-Assemble the marinade ingredients into a large ziploc bag and marinade the pork chops for up to 2 hours ahead of time in the refriderator.

-Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

-In a saute pan, melt butter and add add the olive oil. Add the vegetables and seasoning down to the salt and pepper.

-Saute the vegetables for 10 minutes and transfer to a roasting pan and cover with foil.

-Bake for 15 minutes.

-While the vegetables are cooking, cover the pork chops with mayo and coat in Italian bread crumbs.

-In the same saute pan, sear the breaded pork chops on one side for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

-When the vegetables are done remove from the oven and take off the tin foil.

-Place the pork chops seared side down onto the veggies.

-Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the pork chops are no longer pink in the middle.

-Let rest for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Sous Vide stuffed Cornish game hens

If you have never had the pleasure of enjoying a Cornish game then you have been missing something special! These tender, juicy little birds are not actually a game bird which the name suggests, but are a cross between Cornish chickens and the white Plymouth rock chickens. The result of this combination is big breasted birds with a shorter maturity time, which makes them very readily available and easy to find!  They are also relativity inexpensive depending on where you live and make for a very impressive and easy meal. I have prepared them in a few different ways but this one is definitely my husband's favorite. For this method i will be using a sous vide (if you have never heard of it or never used one i highly recommend it!). It is possible to make this without the sous vide, you just need to extend the oven cook time. Let's get to it!

 First preheat your sous vide water bath to 150 degrees so the water can warm up while you prep!

 Make sure your game hens are completely thawed and make sure to remove the giblets if they came with the hens, pat dry.

Next, gather all of your seasoning ingredients. I used freshly ground salt and pepper, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh oregano, lemon pepper, poultry magic, and butter.

 Cut a small slit in the top of each breast and stuff with pieces of butter and a small amount of each of the herbs, and stuff the body cavity as well.

 Rub the hens with butter and add the salt, pepper, lemon pepper and poultry magic, and then put each one in a one gallon zip lock bag, you can add more fresh herbs and a few tablespoon of dry white wine if desired.

 Remove all of the air from the bags using the water emulsion method or if you choose you can use a food saver to seal the bags, then place in the preheated hot water bath for 4 hours.

After the 4 hours are up, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, turn off the sous vide and remove the hens and let rest in the bags for 10 minutes. In the meantime start preparing your favorite stuffing according to the package directions (I used a 1/2 C of the reserved liquid as well as water to make my stuffing, this is completely optional.

Remove the hens from their bags and reserve all of the juice in a bowl or measuring cup, and let them drain on a cutting board in the sink.

While the hens and stuffing are cooling prepare some aromatics for the bottom of and 9x13 baking dish. I used some onion i have left in the fridge, but you could also have some fun with it and add some carrots and celery as well. I also added a few cloves of crushed garlic and some more of the fresh herbs left over from stuffing.

Space out your aromatics evenly so the hens are raised above the bottom of the pan. When the hens and stuffing have cooled off, remove the herbs from the body cavity and stuff the hens. Tie up the legs with cooking twine as pictured below so the stuffing doesn't fall out during cooking. Place the hens in the prepared pan and pour the reserved liquid over them. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes covered.

After 20 minutes remove the foil so the hens can brown and the skin gets nice and crispy! Bake for another 15-25 minutes until the hens are golden brow. times may vary depending on your ovens efficiency.

When the hens are a beautiful golden brown remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!!

Ingredients:
-2 Cornish game hens, thawed and giblets removed
-Fresh herbs (rosemary, time, oregano, or sage)
-1/4 C good quality butter
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Lemon pepper
-Your favorite poultry seasoning ( I use poultry magic)
-A few tablespoons of dry white wine (optional)
-Aromatics of your choosing i.e. onion, garlic, herbs, carrot, and celery
-A box of your favorite stuffing (feel free to use home made!)


Directions:
-Preheat your sous vide water bath to 150 degrees.
-Remove the thawed hens from packaging, remove giblets if included and pat dry.
-Make a small incision in the top of each breast with a sharp pairing knife, be careful not to cut into the meat.
-Run your finger under the skin where you made the incision to pull the skin from the meat to create pockets.
-Stuff each breast with a pad of butter and some of your fresh herbs.
-Rub butter in the body cavity of the hens and stuff with more of the fresh herbs.
-Rub the dry hens with butter and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and your favorite poultry seasoning.
-Place each hen in their own zip lock or food saver bag and add a few tablespoons of white wine into each and more herbs if desired.
-Remove all of the air from the bags using the water emulsion method and seal.
-Place in the preheated hot water bath and let sit for 4 hours.

-After 4 hours preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
-Turn off the sous vide and remove the bags from the water and let rest for 10 minutes.
-Drain the liquid from the bags into a bowl or measuring cup and reserve.
-Place a cutting board in the sink and let the hens drain all of the reserved liquid.
-Make the stuffing according to the directions on the package (I used a 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid in place of some of the water to give the stuffing a bit more flavor) when the stuffing is done, set aside to cool.
-Butter the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and layer your aromatics evenly, so the hens don't touch the bottom of the pan.
- When the hens and stuffing have cooled, remove the herbs from the body cavities and replace with the stuffing.
-Tie up the legs with cooking twine so the stuffing cant fall out and place in the dish over the aromatics.

-Pour the reserved liquid over the hens and into the pan.
-Cover the pan with tin foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
-Remove the tin foil and bake for an additional 15-25 minutes until the hens are crispy and golden brown.
-Remove the hens from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
-Serve and Enjoy!

Biscuit and Gravy Breakfast Lasagna

So I'm sure many of you have scanned Pintrest, or other sites on ideas for a new breakfast item, that is not only simple, but you can make with  some of the things that you have on hand (that is if you keep breakfast items handy). I have done this myself many a morning! I am always looking for a new spin on breakfast, and I came up with a brilliant idea to feed a few people; wait for it..... Breakfast lasagna! It sounds a bit weird but it was the best term i could use for "breakfast casserole with specific layers" The first thought that I had was "what could I do without the noodles, noodles would be weird in breakfast, but I want to make a lasagna type creation" so I considered a spin on biscuits since I could layer them (but after trail and error I ended up using croissants). My husband is one of those guys who appreciates a hearty meal... and also appreciates his meat, especially bacon, so I also figured out a way to include that into his breakfast, and vola! The biscuit and gravy breakfast lasagna was born! I am going to say that at first glance this recipe will look difficult because of all of the working parts and steps, but if you manage your cooking time wisely, you can cook all of the items intermittently, but if you're uncomfortable with that, I did use the term "pre made" on several of the ingredients so you can make them before hand, the gravy can also be made before. I hope that you enjoy this recipe, and if you do please like and comment; But if you come up with any improvements of you're own feel free to let me know!

I started with a glass casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray and laid down a layer of prepackaged croissants.

After that I used some good quality melted butter and brushed it over the first layer. (any butter will do though)

After the butter brushing, I put the croissant layer into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes, just to get the dough cooking a bit before it was smothered in other ingredients.

when it comes out it should look slightly puffy and a light amber color.

Next came half of the layers of most peoples favorite breakfast meat.... crispy BACON!

Then came the roux (flour and oil starter for gravy, you can use the grease from the breakfast sausage as substitute)

After I added the milk and salt and pepper and let it thicken, I had a beautiful gravy. (In the background you can see that I had already started the hash browns and I have some extra bacon set aside for another layer!)

Then came browning of the breakfast sausage for the country gravy (you can do this first if you don't want to use oil).

 
Then you add the sausage to the gravy, look at all that meaty-creamy breakfast goodness!

The next big step was a few fried eggs, I prefer over easy, but my husband prefers over hard, what can I say, he's spoiled and that's what we ended up with, over hard eggs.

Add half those eggs on top of you bacon for an already appetizing looking meal! (yes I know one is over easy.. I cant spoil him that much) and I did add a about a 1/4 of the cheese before the eggs.

Then add a layer of that delicious homemade gravy! about a half inch. After that you add all of your previous layers in order again, (except for a second layer of biscuits)  just like a lasagna!

After the second portion of layering has been added, here's where those hash browns in the gravy photo make an appearance, add those crispy morsels right on top of your gravy layer!

and then add cheese.... LOTS OF CHEESE! I hope you saw this coming, and I apologize in advance to those of you who are lactose intolerant, but I cook with cheese... a bunch of it!

Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until your cheese is melted and the croissants on the bottom are browned.

And there you go! A delicious... not so healthy breakfast for those of you who appreciate meaty, cheesey, and a creamy gravy breakfast with a bit of a hash brown crunch on top!

Ingredients:
-Cooking spray, butter, or crisco, something to "grease" the casserole dish with
-1 packages of premade croissants (may need more depending on the size of your dish)
-1 Tbsp melted butter
-14-15 pieces of premade bacon
-2 or so cups country gravy (recipe follows)
-1 lb pre cooked breakfast sausage (you can make you're own, or buy premade from the store)
-8 eggs cooked how you like them (pre made) (over easy, over hard, or im sure you could even use scrambled)
- Hash browns (pre made and crispy) (I'm somewhat unsure on how to measure these, I just make a single layer on a medium size skillet)
-1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
-1/2 cup Monterrey jack cheese (shredded)

Gravy Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp oil, I use either corn or vegetable (you can also use the fat from the breakfast sausage)
- 2 Tbsp flour
-1/4 tsp seasoned salt ( I use Lawry's) or you can use regular table salt.
-1/4 tsp fine fresh ground pepper (I use a bit more since my husband loves pepper)

Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
-"Grease" a 9x8 casserole dish.
- Lay down a layer of pre packaged croissants ( I did use food grade scissors on a few pieces that wouldn't fit, don't be afraid to improvise) It should be around 1 package with a bit extra.
- Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a small dish.
-Brush half of the melted butter on top of the first layer of croissants.
-Bake in the pre heated oven for 7-10 minutes until the croissants are puffy and a light amber color.
-Start the gravy while the croissant starter is in the oven.

-For the gravy add 2 Tbsp of oil to a skillet over med-high heat until hot.
-Add the flour and whisk constantly until a light golden brown color.
-When the roux is golden brown add the milk and whisk constantly until bubbly and thick (if it's too thick you can add a Tbsp of milk at a time and stir until you reach the desired consistency).
-When the gravy is finished add the breakfast sausage to the mix.

 -Add half of the cooked bacon on top of the pre cooked croissants when they are out of the oven.
-Add about a 1/4 of the cheese.
-Then add half of the pre cooked eggs to the bacon and croissants mix.
-Layer about a half inch of the gravy mix on top of the eggs.

-After the first layer of gravy is laid, repeat the layers of the rest of the ingredients that we've used so far: bacon, 1/4 of the cheese, eggs, and gravy.

-When the layers have been doubled add the crispy hash browns on top of the second layer of gravy.
 -After the hash browns add the rest of the shredded cheese.
-Put the "lasagna" into the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is bubbly and the croissants on the bottom (if you're using a clear dish) are browned.
-If you have any gravy left over a nice drizzle over the top when it's out oven never hurt!
-And the last step: ENJOY!!!

Disclaimer: I haven't made this recipe in almost a year, I had all of the photos saved, but not the recipe I made, so if any of the cooking times or measurements are off please let me know (the gravy shouldn't be as I make that quite often) I apologize for any inconveniences but you're feedback will help me correct anything that's off.