Romaine and Apricot Salad

Yum

Memorial Day weekend is coming up and I'm already planning my menu!

Since the weather's been nice here we've been grilling quite a bit if different food lately, so I need to come up with a new main dish.  But one's things for sure is that THIS salad is going to be on the menu!

I first made this back at Easter but never got around to posting about it.  Well it's high time because this one is gonna knock your socks off.  It's gonna be your go-to summer salad!

ROMAINE AND APRICOT SALAD

A wonderfully light and delicious salad of romaine lettuce, broccoli slaw with an apricot dressing.  This attention-grabbing salad compliments any barbecue, grilled chicken or pork.  It's irresistible at a potluck or any backyard bash.  This will be a star at my Memorial Day cookout, for sure! 

This salad's success is in the flavors.  Apricots are light and sweet and are present in the dressing as well as in the salad.  The romaine and broccoli slaw are perfect together, giving the salad some texture and crunch.  You will also love the look of the salad.  The orange colors pop against the green and make for one beautiful salad.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, eat lots of yummy food, and include this salad!  You won't regret it!

Enjoy!





Romaine and Apricot Salad


Apricot Vinaigrette:
3 T apricot preserves
3 T white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Salad:
1 8 oz bag chopped romaine
1 12 oz bag broccoli slaw
1 cup cherry tomatoes, slice in half
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced

Prepare the vinaigrette.  Place all ingredients in a mason jar.  Tighten the lid and shake vigorously to combine.  Set aside.

Place the lettuce and slaw in a large bowl.  Toss to mix.  Add tomatoes and apricots.  Tossing to combine.  Add the vinaigrette right before serving and tossing to mix.  Serve at once.

If making ahead or traveling, keep lettuce and vegetable mix separate from the dressing.  Toss and dress right before serving.

French Chocolate Bark

Yum

Is everyone ready for Christmas?  

I'm as ready as I'm going to get this year.  Our tree's been up for a week or so, the presents are wrapped, the outside is decorated with lights, and the menu is planned....sort of!

So Monday night I made several batches of goodies for MGG to take to work and share with his staff of about 80 guys.  I usually make "The Fudge" which is the original type that you boil, but this year I made a quicker, faster, take on fudge.  I'll share that with you next.  I also made a chocolate bark.  I LOVE bark.  It's easy to make, you can add all sorts of toppings, and make a different flavor variation every time.  

FRENCH CHOCOLATE BARK

I just happened to be watching the Food Network on Sunday and watched Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) make a French Chocolate Bark.  Her version had a sweet salty thing going on with nuts and dried fruit PLUS it had TWO TYPES OF CHOCOLATE!  I new that was the bark I wanted to make this year.  Boy, the flavors did not disappoint!  What a heavenly combination.  Dried apricots, cranberries, and dried cranberries top a mixture of dark and semi-sweet chocolate.  Deep and rich with sweet, tart, and crunchy bites!  WOW!

So after taking a test taste, or two...I promptly stashed some of the bark for us, and packed the rest for the work crew.  It came out perfect, was really easy to make, and was the hit of the holiday treats.

Enjoy!!

French Chocolate Bark

adapted from Ina Garten's French Chocolate Bark

8 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole salted, roasted cashews
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

Place the semisweet chocolate and the bittersweet chocolate in a glass heatproof bowl over simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula constantly, until melted. Line a sheetpan with parchment paper.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into a 9x10" rectangle. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots, and cranberries over the chocolate. Set for 2 hours or until firm. Break bark into pieces and serve.

Apricot Lemon Chicken

I got a new cookbook!

Something I picked up at Home Goods.  I love that store!  As I was walking by browsing all the cool kitchen stuff this book was staring at me...it was.  And then it was calling me, "come over, buy me, buy me!"

I browsed through a couple of pages and I was hooked.  I know, it's not hard to do with me and cookbooks.  I already have a ton of them.  But one more won't hurt, will it?  What really grabbed me was all the pictures.  Don't you just love pictures in cookbook?  I don't want to buy a book if there aren't any pictures.  I like to ooohh, and aaahh over the pictures, and drool over what the finished product looks like.  They say we eat with our eyes, so putting pictures of wonderful food in a book only makes sense, right?  I know!

So "My Recipes America's Favorite Food" enters my life and BAM!  I open the book and land on a page with a killer recipe from Cooking Light.  Fast simple good food is what it's all about.  This chicken dish hits all the notes.  It cooks up in about 20 minutes so dinner's on the table in a flash.  The flavors are spectacular.  The curry powder lends a little heat to the chicken while the apricot and the lemon add sweetness add tang to the dish.  What a great compliment to each other.  

Once again MGG was "Mmmnnning" through the whole meal.  So I promptly told all my co-workers about this dish the next day at work.  Two of them made it and said their families just loved the flavors, and the cooks loved the quick and ease of the preparation.  

If you want to do yourself and your family a favor...make this!  You'll see!

I can't wait to make my next recipe from this book.

Apricot Lemon Chicken

by My Recipes America's Favorite Food - Cooking Light

4 servings - - Time 20 minutes

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Cooking spray

1/3 cup apricot spread (such as Polaner All Fruit)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 

Preparation

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; rub mixture over chicken.

2. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.

3. Add apricot spread, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water to pan, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with lemon rind.

Need a good quick weeknight meal?

Pork chops are a wonderful cut of meat.  They are lean and healthy.  A great alternative to chicken.  Growing up my mom made pork chops all the time.  I still eat them every once in a while.  If I must confess,  I actually like pork tenderloin better...but a good old "thin cut" pork chop is good for weeknight cooking.

To give the chops a little jazz I made a sauce to go with them.  Pork lends itself to fruit flavors really well, and since I had a jar of reduced sugar apricot jam, that was the perfect choice.  

This meal turns out moist and juicy, low in calories and fat, and carbs.  A winner in my book.  I can be made in under 30 minutes so it's on the table quickly.  Perfect for the winter weather, this dish is comforting and tasty.  It's sure to be a winner with the whole family!

So try a nice pork chop in this week's meal rotation.  Simple, easy, and oh so tasty!  What could be better than that? (sound like Ina Garten don't I? *wink*)

Enjoy!

Pork Chops in an Apricot Sauce

serves 4

8 thin cut pork chops
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup low sugar apricot jam
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook about 2 minutes per side until browned. Transfer chops to dish and set aside. 

Pour off any extra fat from skillet. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet . Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add apricot jam and continue to boil. Cook about 2 more minutes until whisking sauce, until thick. Add mustard and stir to combine.

Add pork chops back to the skillet and pour any juices back into the skillet for flavor. Turn pork chops several times in sauce to coat. Place chops on a plate spooning additional sauce over the top.