Saturday, March 7, 2015

Cook It Up Cookbook Challenge - February Edition
















Today I'm linking up with Trish's Cook It Up!  Cookbook Challenge over at Love, Laughter and a Touch on Insanity and Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads


After a rather failed attempt with a French cookbook I decided it was time to go for a bit more streamlined route.  I'd gotten a couple of years ago from paperbackswap.com but never used it.  After insanely complicated and expensive meals a cookbook full of quick and simple meals looked very appealing!

On my first flip through I was definitely intrigued.  These are primarily main dishes with a dash of sides, starters and desserts.  Each recipe is proceeded by a quick little explanation and frequently a serving suggestion.  What really appealed to me was that not only were the meals simple and quick but the flavor combinations were unusual enough to be interesting but still okay to put in front of my (now gun-shy thanks to the French cookbook) family.  I've made Pan-Grilled Chicken with Orange-Ginger Sauce, Roasted Chicken with Buttery Chipotle, Cumin and Cilantro, and Lemon-Roesmary Pork Loin to name a few.  All were delicious and as simple as promised.  I loved that these all feel healthy without sacrificing flavors.

Our very favorite was Pork Chops with Mustard-Sage Sauce
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
4 boneless pork loin chops
salt and pepper
Mustard-Sage Sauce
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper.  Add the chops to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

In a medium bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients until the cornstarch dissolves.  Add to the skillet, and simmer until the pork is just cooked through (still slightly pink in the center) and the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

I served this with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies and it was a quick and yummy dinner!

Another thing that I like about this book is that each recipe also has directions to make it ahead, make it and freeze and a few other suggestions.  This is definitely a book that won't be going to the back of the shelf to gather more dust.  I can see this being in regular rotation!

17 comments:

  1. Yay for this one going off better than the last! I love that it includes the notes on how to freeze and make ahead. I live alone and have been trying that lately so that I have some nice things on hand all the time.

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  2. We are big fans of the pork chop, glad you posted this recipe and highlighted this cookbook. Sometimes French cookbooks can e daunting but I love those too 😀

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  3. That roasted chicken with cumin and cilantro sounds good too. I will have to check out this cookbook. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. This looks really good. I am kind of in a chicken rut where I keep finding recipes that call for it... no worries, I always said I can eat chicken every day and it is so versatile!

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  5. I am glad that this one went better. I made a recipe from the other book also-it was ok not awesome.

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  6. I love Robin Miller and get her recipes off of foodnetwork.com fairly often. She's so great at healthy and simple. The cumin, chipotle, cilantro chicken sounds right up my alley!

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  7. I love that this has freezing and make-ahead tips. I'm all for fresh and simple -- yet flavorful -- during the week. I've not heard of this cookbook before. I'll have to see if my library has it.

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  8. This cookbook sounds good, and so does that pork chop dinner!

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  9. Now on my library list,thanks! Cheers from Carole's Chatter!

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  10. Like that mustard-sage sauce idea for pork chops. Thanks!

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  11. I have one of Robin's cookbooks and I have gotten some good recipes out of them.

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  12. Here's another new one for me. Not having cable or foodnetwork I'd never heard of Robin, but simple and quick is good.

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  13. I love all the different flavours in the recipes you've already tried! This sounds like a very versatile cookbook.

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  14. I'm not familiar with Robin or her cookbooks, but this sounds like one I need to borrow from the library!

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  15. Oh I love the sound of this! I have a pork chop recipe that sounds fairly similar (I add mushrooms...for the adults) and we all love it. I haven't heard of Robin but will check if my library has a copy.

    I'm impressed by all the cookbooks you have! Maybe a future weekend cooking will give us a peek at your shelves? ;)

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  16. I hope your husband has since recovered from the egg whites. ;)

    These pork chops sound divine!

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  17. Sometimes I need a cookbook that can shake it up around here. This one sounds promising.

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