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Posts Tagged ‘main dish’

Quinoa Salad with Grapes, Celery, and Chicken

Posted in Chicken, Main Dish, Salads, tagged , , , , on May 30, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Quinoa Salad with Grapes, Celery, and Chicken~Kristine's Kitchen

Looking for healthy lunch ideas that will also keep your tastebuds happy? Quinoa Salad with Grapes, Celery, and Chicken is a great option. I made this for dinner one night and the leftovers were perfect to pack and take with me for lunches at work over the next few days. I added chicken to the salad to make it more substantial since I planned on serving it as a main dish. You can leave it out if you prefer a vegetarian meal. The quinoa itself is high in protein, which helps to fill you up and keep your energy level going strong for the next few hours.

I love how this salad keeps it simple. There aren’t too many ingredients or complicated steps, so that the flavors of each component can shine through. The grapes and celery provide a nice crunch to balance out the quinoa, and the orange dressing complements the salad really well. I will be making this again, and soon.

Quinoa Salad with Grapes, Celery, and Chicken

Printable Recipe

Makes 6 main dish servings

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
  • 2 cups red grape halves
  • 3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
  • 1 tsp. orange zest
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp. honey
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, grapes, and celery.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper. Pour over quinoa mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Add chicken to the bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
  3. Serve cold.  Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Rachel Cooks.

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Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Glaze

Posted in Main Dish, Meat, Pork, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2013 | 1 Comment »

chili-rubbed pork tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is a dish that I always seem to forget about, but then when I do remember to include it in my meal plan and discover a delicious recipe like this one, I wonder how I can forget about this great protein option. This version includes a spicy rub and a sweet-spicy glaze, and it is very much a keeper.

Not only is this pork full of flavor, it is also easy enough to prepare on a weeknight. You do have to plan ahead, as it requires at least 2 hours of marinating time with the spice rub, but other than that it comes together really easily.

This meal was a big hit with the kids too- I just removed a little of the outer meat with the spice rub before serving it to them so it wouldn’t be overly spicy. Julia loved the apricot glaze, and I couldn’t believe how much pork she ate on the two nights I served this for dinner. William is learning how to eat finger foods, and he seemed to enjoy his tiny bites of pork, too. He’s slowly reaching the stage where he can eat whatever it is we’re having for dinner, and I can’t wait until we’re fully there. Dinner preparations will be so much easier (although I’m sure I’ll still be cutting food into tiny bite-sized pieces for quite some time!).

This chili-rubbed pork with apricot glaze would be a wonderful meal to serve to company. It’s tasty enough to impress, but also easy enough that you won’t have to spend all day in the kitchen. Serve it with a vegetable and either mashed potatoes or brown rice, and enjoy!

Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Glaze

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 (1-pound each) pork tenderloins, trimmed of fat

For the Spice Rub:

  • 1 tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground black pepper

For the Apricot Glaze:

  • 1 cup apricot jam
  • 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
  • Juice of 1 medium lime

Directions:

  1. Combine the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub over the pork tenderloins. Lightly spray a foil-lined 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place the tenderloins in the dish, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
  2. Prior to cooking the pork, melt the apricot jam in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining glaze ingredients. Place half of the glaze in a serving bowl and set aside to serve with the pork tenderloins later.
  3. Roasting Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the pork tenderloins in the foil-lined pan for 15 minutes. Brush with the apricot glaze remaining in the pan. Bake for 15 more minutes. Again, brush with glaze. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until the pork reaches 160 degrees F. Remove the pork from the oven, tent with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
  4. Grilling Instructions: Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Grill the pork tenderloins for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 160 degrees F. When approximately 4 minutes of cooking time remains, brush pork with the apricot glaze remaining in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, turn the pork tenderloins and brush glaze on the other side. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove pork from the grill, tent with foil, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.
  5. Serve the sliced pork with the reserved apricot glaze.

Source: Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

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Honey Ginger Pork Tenderloin

Posted in Main Dish, Meat, Pork, tagged on April 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

If there’s a choice between pork chops and pork tenderloin in our house, the tenderloin almost always wins. Pork tenderloin stays much more moist- or maybe it’s just me who can’t cook a pork chop without drying it out?- and it’s so easy to prepare either with a simple marinade or dry rub.

In this recipe, the pork is marinated in a delicious combination of honey, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and a few other seasonings. The recipe calls for marinating the pork for at least 8 hours. Unfortunately, I didn’t read that part until about 3 hours before dinner time so my marinating time was much shorter. Even so, the pork was really flavorful, and I’m sure it would have been even better with a longer soak in the marinade.

One year ago:  Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Honey Ginger Pork Tenderloin

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. freshly minced ginger root
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 1/8 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 pork tenderloin (3/4-1 lb.)

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the pork. Place the pork in a shallow dish or ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the top. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to one day, turning occasionally.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Transfer the pork to the skillet, reserving the marinade. Brown the pork on all sides and then transfer to an oven-safe baking dish (or, brown the meat in an oven-safe skillet). Pour a little of the reserved marinade over the pork and bake in oven until pork registers 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. The baking time will depend on the size of the pork tenderloin, between 25-40 minutes. After removing from the oven, let pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing. (The internal temperature of the pork will continue to rise to 160 while it rests.)

Source: Adapted from Elly Says Opa!, originally from Gourmet.

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