Sweet Cilantro Rice

the pictures are out of order because the internet stinks, but we can work through this together. this picture is of the finished product, which i remembered to photograph before i devoured it all.

ingrediants:

one bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (minus the stems)

one half of an onion, chopped

olive oil or butter, for sautee purposes

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

1 1/3 cups rice

procedure:

1. heat rice pot to medium and sautee onion with olive oil or butter until onions are opaque

2. add chopped cilantro, for a minute or so

3. add rice and sautee for 3-5 minutes

4. add chicken broth and sugar

5. bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

6. enjoy the best sweet rice ever!

everything is done in thirds of a cup, except for the chicken broth. lately i've been adding an extra third cup of rice and 2 cans of chicken broth, because 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth leaves my with half a can of broth. i should probably increase the sugar, too.

rice and sugar. pure magic!

Blackened Pork

I go to a blog to get recipes all the time and I love how she always takes a picture of all the ingredients you will need to make the recipe. So I will be doing this for you. Notice that the pork that I used has a lot of marbling. This keeps the pork moist, even though it seems like you cook it to death.

Ingredients:
Boneless pork ribs
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Onion, Mushrooms, Zuchini, Squash, and any other veggies you want to try. These are my favorite but they are all flexible.

Cut ribs into approximately 3oz portions. Wash pork. Coat with Montreal Steak Seasoning and Garlic Salt. I like to use the couse garlic salt, but you can use what ever you have. The Steak seasoning is what really gives it the good flavor. Pour olive oil in your skillet. I love my large skillet. I use it over 2 burners so I can cook everything at once. Heat up skillet. You will want to start the pork before you start the veggies. Raw pork and over cooked veggies, not a good combination. You will need to add more oil as you cook to keep things from sticking. Keep turning your meat till all sides are blackened, and the meat is done. Thick pieces may take a while. I use a sheet of tin foil to cover as everything cooks because you do get a lot of oil splatter, and it helps to keep everything moist. Add more seasoning if you need. Serve over rice.

Stuffed Pork Chops

This is one of my favorite pork recipes. It works best if you get really thick pork chops. Costco has really good ones. I got it off of "Everyday Italian" on the food network. (I so love the food network!) PS- Normally I won't have such exact recipes. I hope that isn't a problem. I just copied this one from the website.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
• 1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
• 4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. (Longer for thicker pork chops.) Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. (I, Amanda, put the pork chops in the oven to keep them really hot. The sauce takes a little while) Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving. (Also, the sauce is REALLY flavorful, so you don't need much at all. It should be intensely lemony. I usually add more lemon to it.)