Eat, Drink & Be Maggie

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops | Good Housekeeping

Holy cow, this recipe took no time at all and it was so good! I made this recipe for 4 pork chops where the recipe calls for 8, but kept the sauce the same. And thank goodness I did because it was out of this world!

Here's what you need...

8 boneless pork chops - 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp EVOO - used a little more, about 2-3 times around the pan with your bottle
3 tbsp shallot or onion chopped fine
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Here's how you do it...

Pat pork dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat until hot. Cook pork 4 minutes on one side; turn and cook for 3 minutes on second side. Transfer pork to platter and keep warm - I just put it on the eye of the stove close to other things I was cooking.

Then, increase heat to high and toss in shallot/onion into pan juices. Cook 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and brown sugar. Cook 1 minute longer. Pour sauce immediately over pork and serve!

Needless to say, there are no leftovers. I could probably eat that sauce on anything!

Happy Eating!
Maggie

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Easy Tomato Basil Sauce

New recipe that I made tonight...

2 ripe tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 clove garlic, chopped, plus jarred garlic (or fresh if you please)
3ish tablespoons EVOO
salt and pepper
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drain halfway
white wine
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
any type of pasta, I used spaghetti rigati, the ridges on this type of pasta hold the sauce perfectly!
fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, put sliced tomatoes on a nonstick pan or do as I did, foil lined plus Pam. Lay out tomatoes in an even layer, distribute garlic cloves over tomatoes, then drizzle EVOO over them, as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the tomatoes for about 25 minutes, or until they have lost some moisture and the skin begins to dry up a little bit.

Boil the pasta.

Saute onions and jarred garlic (about a tablespoon) until onions are transparent, add the can of tomatoes, and bring to a bubble. When the oven roasted tomatoes have finished, add them to the saute pan. I used a potato masher to make it more of a sauce consistency. I also added about a 1/2 cup pasta water to the sauce to thin it out, along with the 1/4 cup of white wine. Let this reduce for about 5 minutes to burn off some of the alcohol taste.

After the sauce has reduced and the pasta is al dente, add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Plate the pasta and put desired amount of fresh basil on top.

Fresh. Simple. SO GOOD!

No picture unfortunately...took hardly any time to make and this girl was hungry!

Happy Tuesday!
Maggie

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Happy New Year!

Apparently one of the numero uno resolutions needs to be BLOG MORE! It seriously is up there on my list but here are a few others:

* Be a better listener
* Go to church more
* Cook more!
* Study more, if that is even possible
* Stay in touch with friends

What are some of your resolutions for 2012?

E Tells Tales had an amazing post the other day that kept me coming back to read every few hours. E asked folks to post anonymously if they chose and the resolutions posted were touching. It really is amazing how many people have so much going on in their lives that are so similar to mine and I'm sure a lot of other's.

What I'm pinning:
Lately I have been all about some chevron stripes and actually have taken on a few pinterest projects! When I was planning out my curtain project I really wanted some cream/black chevron fabric however, when I couldnt find that I had to settle for green linen,~~which was 30% off of $8 and I'm on a budget~~ which is fine, but if I ever do find that fabric, it will get replaced ASAP! This was my inspiration:

Here are mine:

I also found some super cute, super thick fabric that was on sale at hobby lobby, so I plan to make pillow slip covers, only thing is I need to find another print to put on the reverse of them.

What I'm eating:
Poached eggs! I recently made eggs benedict for the first time and found a ridicuously easy recipe that makes hollandaise sauce in a blender...so much faster!

I am also trying to eat a lot better than I have been over the holidays, which leads me to this wrap I created, it's nothing pretty but it's actually really good! I use a whole wheat wrap, a smear of roasted garlic hummus, half a cucumber sliced thin, and a generous amount of alfalfa sprouts.

My friend Kristen, my go to gal for health food info, gave me this green smoothie recipe I tried for the first time yesterday, and it's reallllllly good...
2 handfuls kale
1/4-1/2 bag of frozen mango
1 8oz can of pineapple chunks in its juice, not syrup
about 4oz of water
2 sprigs of parsley

Don't let the picture fool you, try it, it tastes great and it's great for you!

What I'm planning:
Hopefully to figure Photoshop Elements out! Talk about complicated...and it didn't come with a manual of any kind! AHH! This picture sums up my fav christmas gifts this year..my amazing photoshop and the eagerly awaited 50mm lens!!

I also have BIG plans with the kitchenaid mixer this week...homemade pasta with my attachments!!

What I'm listening to:
Anything that gets me moving at the gym! This week it's been a little 90s pop and a LOT of rap...it's the only thing that I like to ~~jog quickly until I feel like passing out~~ run to.

What I'm watching:
I used to be sick to death of watching House, but marathons have been on like crazy lately so, it has sucked me in.
When I remember that Grey's comes on Lifetime, I watch it, but my memory...not great.
I bought The Help over break and have already watched it 3 times. LOVE IT!

I also bought Soul Surfer, it's so pretty in high def and the soundtrack is pretty awesome. Carrie Underwood is NOT good at acting but the rest of the movie makes up for her shortcomings.

Here's to blogging more! Happy New Year everyone! xo
Maggie

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Long Time No Blog!

Hello strangers! I have been swamped with school this semester so I will do a sort of wrap up of what I have been eating/cooking/doing lately!

The main thing I want to share is this recipe for roasted broccoli, it is simply amazing and so easy to do! I followed how this blogger did hers, and I am obsessed. I found this recipe among hundreds of others on Pinterest, my new obsession.

I borrowed the picture from her as well, because I was too busy eating for a photo shoot :), trust me, if you love garlic and broccoli as much as I do, you will LOVE this.

I have also made a couple of batches of roasted pumpkin seeds, on my seeds I put EVOO, garlic powder, a little onion powder, Lawry's season salt, celery salt and paprika and toss it all together, I roast them on a baking sheet on 400 degrees until desired brownness - like mine pretty dark and that's about 20 minutes.

credit

I am also currently loving Port Salut cheese. It's creamy, and has a unique taste, almost like a provolone-goat cheese, but that still doesn't do it justice. I made a quesadilla with a few slices the other night and it melts perfectly! It's almost the identical texture as the cheese in the quesadillas at a Mexican restaurant!

Hopefully someone I know will have a kitchen shower or get a new house because I am dying to make one of these "kitchen cakes," how cute is this!?

I have had a few photoshoots since I have blogged too! I love it, especially with the babies! Here are a few of my faves :)

The last photo is of my cousin and my aunt, the girl has the greatest facial expressions!

Last night I went to one of my best friend's weddings and it was beautiful, she was beautiful and was the happiest I have ever seen her, I love weddings! I had my hair done, because I am incapable of making it look good, by my friend Martha, she is amazing.