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Favorite {food & entertainment} Apps

favorite apps2

It’s no secret that I’d rather spend hours in a kitchen store than five minutes in a jewelry store. {Lucky for my husband – he gets to reap the benefits AND it’s so much cheaper… in the long run!} I used to be a bit of a kitchen-gadget addict, but our remodel gave me the opportunity to purge anything that good knife skills could replicate. Now, several of my favorite kitchen tools don’t take up any drawer space at all – they’re all on my iPhone. Here are my current favorite food and entertainment apps: Continue Reading →

Fig & Chile-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

pork tenderloin - platter copy

My niece Katie had an assignment for food class last week where she had to prepare a meat dish and submit pics of the process.  She’s not a huge fan of the kitchen (yet!) so I suggested this recipe.  I’m proud to say she did a beautiful job.  (A takeaway here is that you could put your teenager in charge of this and it’ll turn out!)

This Fig and Chile Glazed Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite versatile go-tos.  Whether serving a large crowd at a casual buffet, making a special dinner, or just needing an easy weeknight meal, this tasty tenderloin is a great choice.  Tonight I’m serving it with Brussels sprouts and roasted butternut squash.

And don’t just file this recipe under “main dishes.”  You can slice the pork super thin and serve it on crostini topped with a little soft cheese and some fig spread – or perhaps a chunk of pear – as an appetizer.  Leftovers are great as an addition to a fried rice or other stir fry.

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Pear & Fig & Caramelized Onion Flatbread

pear fig flatbread

We are getting a little anxious for spring and summer to arrive here in Minnesota…  When it does, we fire up the Weber regularly.  When I got over my fear of the grill (I was sure I’d blow up the house) I started grilling everything!

Our favorite go-to griller?   It’s flatbread, hands down!

{First, a note about grilling:  If you’re a charcoal purist, forgive me, but for “Grilling 101” I needed the heat control of gas.  Speaking of heat control, you’ve probably already figured out not to get too close to your subject to peek for doneness.  I’ve been known to melt my mascara just enough to threaten sealing my eyes shut.  Anyway, I hope to move up to charcoal someday, but right now, I just light a charcoal-scented candle to create the ambiance.  I’m kidding about the candle.  Kind of.*}

Back to the pear & fig flatbread…

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My Spice Drawer {or, I wonder if I have OCD…}

spice drawer

When I show my spice drawer to people, they have one of two reactions — either envy, or horror.  If the picture above makes you lean toward envy, read on.  If not, perhaps you’d enjoy another post better.

When we remodeled last year, I went into heavy purge and organize mode.  (BLISS!)  The result is a kitchen in which, after 17 years, there’s a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

(I can’t say the same about my closet, or sock drawer.  Apparently, I have “selective OCD”.)

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Super easy and healthy(er!) potato chips…

 

So these happened today!

If you had told me that I could have fabulous, crunchy, salty chips without frying them… and from the MICROWAVE no less… I would have accused you of having what Diane Sawyer had on election night.

Anyway…

While I’m far from perfecting them, here’s the recipe, and a few lessons learned! Continue Reading →