easy recipes Archives - The Midnight Baker

Pan Roasted Bourbon Pork Chops

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 23:00:24 +0000

The juiciest pork chops you’ll ever eat topped off with a delicious bourbon sauce!

Make Pork Chops Even Better

You can make pork chops even better each time you make them.

Brining is the key to great pork chops. It makes them extra juicy and the addition of herbs and spices add tons of flavor too,

This recipe uses nothing but a basic brining solution. However, you could really go to town here with additions of your own.

My favorite ideas for additions to the basic brine would be thyme or sage because those herbs go so well with pork. If you plan to make any herb flavor additions, I strongly recommend the use of fresh herbs. With fresh, the oils will readily infuse in the brining solution and produce a much brighter flavor.

Plan Ahead

When you brine any meat, the key is planning ahead. Basically, this process takes time for most meats.

While the pork chops in this recipe require only a short brining period, the solution is prepared with hot water and you have to wait until it cools to room temperature to use on the chops. However, if you make the brine ahead of time, you don’t have to add the 30 or so minutes that the solution will take to cool.

I tend to make this on the morning I am making this recipe or even the night before. You don’t have to refrigerate under those circumstances and the brining solution can just sit out on the counter. The recipe for the basic brine is in the “Notes” section on the recipe card,

Don’t Have Bourbon Or Don’t Drink?

These pork chops will still be delicious either way,

If you don’t have bourbon on hand, then I’d substitute any whiskey or brandy for it. In a pinch, a medium white wine will do nicely.

Now if you don’t use alcoholic products at all, there’s no problem either. Simply substitute the small amount of bourbon with beef stock.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Pan Roasted Bourbon Pork Chops

These are the juiciest pan roasted pork chops you will ever eat! The bourbon sauce on top is amazing!

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bourbon sauce, pork chops, roasted pork chops

Servings: 4

Calories: 441kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 thick pork chops about 1-inch, brined (see NOTES)
1 tbs Flour for dusting chops
1 Pinch black pepper
2 tbs olive oil divided
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced shallot OR onion
1.5 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup bourbon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Season chops with a pinch of pepper then dust lightly with flour.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large heavy oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chops on one side only. Turn, cover the pan and place in preheated oven for about 10 minutes.
Remove the chops to a warm platter and tent with foil. Drain pan of any liquid that accumulated.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and shallot/onion until soft.
Deglaze the pan with the bourbon and stock. Add the sugar and vinegar. Reduce the liquid to half.
Add the cream and stir well to blend then add the pork chops and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until sauce is thick.

Notes

To brine chops—add 1/4 cup of kosher salt and 1/4 cup sugar to 1 quart of very hot water; stir to dissolve. Let this come to room temperature then pour over the pork chops. Let the chops sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and pat chops dry.

Nutrition

The post Pan Roasted Bourbon Pork Chops appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Caramelized Sirloin and Mushrooms

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 23:00:41 +0000

A quick and easy mid-week meal that makes a sirloin steak go a long way!

It Doesn’t Take Much

If your family loves sirloin steak, but you find the cost a little steep to serve a reasonable portion to each person, this recipe is a good solution to that problem.

The mushrooms take on a great flavor and there’s lots of them too. Mushrooms pair nicely with meats and sometimes they can even substitute for it–much like portabella “burgers.”

Served over rice, this really stretches a pricy steak. And the best part is, the family is going to love it!

High Heat Always

The key to coaxing delicious flavor out of any mushroom is to sear it.

High heat is a necessity with mushrooms. The pan has to be so hot that it smokes. This means cooking over the highest heat a burner on your stove can get. It’s also necessary to keep the mushrooms moving in the pan–either by shaking or stirring constantly so they sear and do not burn.

Mushrooms will give off some liquid when they cook. I call this “giving.” That’s not a technical or cooking term at all; just mine. That’s when you know they are almost done. When they “give” keep on cooking for about a minute until all the liquid has evaporated and voila, they are done to perfection.

Marinate For Best Flavor

I like a lot of flavor in my meat in these kind of dishes, so I tend to marinate it.

The marinating period is only an hour, but I feel it’s worth it. I have time to do this but I do realize that many people do not, so if you want to skip that step, it’s really not essential. Since sirloin is a tender cut, the marinating is merely for flavor and not to tenderize the meat.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Caramelized Sirloin Steak and Mushrooms

Sirloin steak smothered with tender mushrooms. Steak dinners don't get much better than this!

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: mushrooms, sirloin steak recipe, steak recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 204kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb sirloin steak cut in 1-inch cubes
10 oz fresh mushrooms cut in half (white or crimini)
1 clove garlic finely minced
3 tbs olive oil divided
1/2 cup dry white wine or beef stock
Salt & pepper to taste

Marinade:

2 tbs cooking sherry or dry sherry
4 tbs low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place meat in a plastic zipper bag and pour marinade over it. Seal bag and turn it several times to coat the meat. Marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Drain meat and brown very well on all sides; remove from pan.
Add the remaining oil to the same skillet and turn the heat to high. Sear mushrooms until they begin to caramelize around the edges. Deglaze pan with the white wine.
Place the meat back in the pan and add the garlic. Reduce heat to medium and stir frequently until garlic is fragrant and meat is hot.

Nutrition

The post Caramelized Sirloin and Mushrooms appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Shrimp In Mushroom Cream Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 23:00:43 +0000

This easy shrimp in a mushroom cream sauce is sure to become a family favorite.

Simple Shrimp

I love shrimp practically any way you can serve it up. It only gets better when it cooks in a jiffy and looks extra fancy.

This is one of those recipes that not only tastes great but is worthy of company! This is adapted from a real oldie from The Campbell’s people.

Maybe the fact that Kate Beckinsale was preparing this in a movie makes it special. It’s just one of those meals where you can’t mess it up, no matter what you do.

To Reduce Or Not To Reduce

The sauce should be thick enough without reducing it because it uses heavy cream.

If you want to substitute something lower in fat, I’d recommend using undiluted evaporated milk–but not the skimmed variety. You can also substitute regular whole milk–again no fat-free because some fat is necessary for flavor.

Substituting regular milk will make the sauce thinner. You have a couple of options here.

One option is to simmer the sauce until it’s reduced by half or to thicken with a little flour or cornstarch. Unless you’re in a huge rush, I recommend reduction because it intensifies flavor.

Choose Flavorful Mushrooms

In this creamy shrimp dish, you sear the mushrooms in butter over a high heat. That adds tons of flavor even to ordinary white mushrooms–the ones that are always on sale!

However, if you want to get really fancy, you can use baby bellas, creminis or wild mushrooms. These varieties will add even more flavor and I’d definitely think of those if I were serving this to guests since it makes this meal even more special.

Finally when searing the mushrooms, remember to stir or shake the pan constantly. This promotes even browning and prevent the butter from burning.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Shrimp In Mushroom Cream Sauce

This easy shrimp in a mushroom cream sauce is sure to become a family favorite.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cream sauce, shrimp, shrimp recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb small shrimp peeled uncooked
3 tbs unsalted butter divided
10 oz condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 large button mushrooms chopped
1 clove garlic finely minced
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbs grated Parmesan -OR- Romano cheese
cooked basmati rice

Instructions

Melt 2 tbs of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until it’s pink and opaque on both sides; remove from pan and set aside.
Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan. Turn the heat up to hight. Add the chopped mushrooms and garlic, cooking until the mushrooms begin to sear.
Mix the soup and cream in a small bowl, then pour into the pan. Add the cheese and heat until the soup mixture just begins to boil. Place the shrimp back in the skillet and heat through. Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Serve immediately over basmati rice.

Nutrition

The post Shrimp In Mushroom Cream Sauce appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Parmesan Mushroom Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 00:00:08 +0000

Your family is sure to love this Parmesan mushroom chicken and so will you because it’s so easy!

Simple Is Delicious

I can always count on my friend Maria for recipes that are not only quick and easy, but totally delicious too. If you haven’t visited her site, Maria’s Mixing Bowl, you are really missing out on some great recipes. She and hubby Rob are total foodies, but much like me, don’t want to complicate their lives with fussing over a recipe.

This recipe for Parmesan mushroom chicken is from her site and I only tweaked it a little bit. That’s the great thing–her recipes are so good you don’t have to change a thing!

Start With Basic Ingredients

I’ll bet you have everything you need to make this right in your pantry and freezer.

My freezer is always well stocked with boneless skinless chicken breast because I buy it in bulk when it’s at ridiculously low prices then I vacuum seal it in my Foodsaver. Therefore, I always have this on hand.

But if you are lucky enough to have some chicken tenders in your freezer, they are perfect for this recipe. Tenders are already cut into serving-sized portions so slicing is eliminated. Standard breast halves will require slicing, however that’s no big deal really.

I didn’t have any fresh mushrooms on hand–which is strange–but I did have canned so I used them. As for the parsley, I definitely have a jar of the dried variety, but I prefer fresh so you will often find a bunch of Italian flat leaf in my crisper. This is an ingredient I find pretty basic so it’s on my weekly shopping list.

And seriously, who doesn’t have some grated Parmesan or Romano in the fridge? I always do and that’s one tweak I gave this recipe. I used half Romano and half Parmesan because I like the depth of flavor Romano gives a recipe.

It’s A Skillet Dinner Too

You have the option of doing this dinner totally in the skillet. All you have to do is cook the chicken a bit longer to make sure it’s done instead of just browning it. Then, you’ll have to reduce the sauce slightly so it sticks to the chicken.

If you do it in the oven, the chicken will finish cooking in there, the sauce will reduce by itself and the cheese topping will get to be a lovely golden brown color, and to me, that’s a lot more appetizing. However, if you’re pressed for time, go with the skillet method since it’s a bit quicker.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Parmesan Mushroom Chicken

Your family is sure to love this Parmesan mushroom chicken and so will you because it’s so easy to make! If you're in a big hurry, it can be a skillet chicken dinner, too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken recipe, mushroom chicken, skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 410kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts sliced into strips - see NOTES
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs minced fresh parsley see NOTES
2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz sliced mushrooms if using canned, drain them
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese or parmesan/romano combo, plus more for topping
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly spray a 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Salt and pepper chicken . Cook chicken about 2 minutes on either side. Add garlic, mushrooms, parsley, and saute for a few minutes.
Add cream and cheese. Cook for a few minutes and turn off heat.
Transfer to the prepared baking dish and add a bit more grated cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes