About Me

I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where I also attended college and met the love of my life. I lived in NYC for five years with my husband and Westie, Mack Brown before recently moving all the way across the country to Los Angeles. I'm an amateur chef, total foodie, lover of Westies, sports fanatic and self-proclaimed book worm. You'll find a little bit of all these things I love on this blog. And...most importantly, I'm a new mom to the most precious baby boy, Austn Robert, born this past October.

Amanda

Amanda

Brad

Brad

Austin Robert

Austin Robert

Mack Brown

Mack Brown

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage & Applesauce


Remember this pork tenderloin one pot meal that I made a couple of months ago?  This recipe is the fall version, with red cabbage in place of the asparagus and applesauce instead of potatoes on the side.  It is just as delicious, and even easier to make.

I cooked one {1 lb.} pork tenderloin for two {with some leftovers for lunch the next day}.  To increase the recipe to feed four, add a second 1 lb. pork tenderloin.  There's no need to increase the amount of red cabbage, it makes plenty!

Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage & Applesauce


1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 pork tenderloin {about 1 lb.}
salt and pepper
1 small head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
applesauce {as much or as little as you like}

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper.  Cook the pork tenderloin in the skillet for 8 to 10 minutes, or until all sides are nicely browned.

Turn off the heat, and remove the pork from the skillet and add the red cabbage.  Toss the cabbage gently, coating it all evenly with the pork juices from the pan.  Lightly salt and pepper the cabbage.  Add the pork tenderloin back into the pan on top of the red cabbage.  

Put the skillet into the oven, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  Once the pork is cooked, remove the tenderloin from the pan, and allow it to set for 5 minutes before slicing.

In the meantime, add the red wine vinegar and parsley to the red cabbage.  Toss to combine.

Serve the sliced pork and cabbage with applesauce on the side.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple

Monday, December 3, 2012

Menu Monday


Happy Monday everyone! It's been a rainy past couple of days here in SoCal, but I think we are finally through the storms, and we couldn't be happier!  I won't be taking that beautiful California sun for granted again anytime soon.  Monday night's dinner is actually leftovers from what I made for dinner last night.  It's a total comfort food meal {which we don't eat very often around here}, but after 5 days of cold and rain, it was just what the doctor ordered.  What are you making this week?

Monday
Three Cheese Baked Macaroni & Cheese
with Green Salad

Tuesday
Chicken Picatta 
with Lemony Asparagus

Wednesday
Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

Thursday

Friday
Leftovers


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Green Beans with Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette


This might be THE BEST green bean recipe of all time.  Seriously.  It is sinfully delicious.  I made these with our Thanksgiving meal and they were my favorite thing on the plate.  The balsamic vinegar adds the perfect sweetness to the bacon and shallots making the perfect side dish for any meat dish you might be cooking.  I'm making this again for Christmas with prime rib, and I can't wait!

Green Beans with Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 6-8 people


2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
4 slices of bacon, crumbled
2 large shallots, minced
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Cook the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, or until they just turn green.  Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, and set them aside while you get the bacon-balsamic vinaigrette ready.

Cook the bacon in frying pan until crispy.  Lay the bacon on a plate covered with a paper towel to cool and soak up the grease.  You can use the grease leftover from the bacon in the pan to cook the shallots (which would be de-licious) OR you can opt for the slightly healthier option, pour off the bacon grease and add 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil to the pan.  I did the second option when I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious.  I didn't miss the bacon grease at all.

Cook the shallots in the pan with either the bacon grease or olive oil for 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Remove the pan from the heat.  Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  

Pour the bacon-balsamic vinaigrette over the green beans and you're ready to serve.