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I recently found a wonderful recipe in “Southern Living Magazine” for Three-Bean Beef Chili. The recipe leans toward more beans and less beef. For the recipe, you’ll need olive oil, yellow onions, poblano chiles, ground sirloin, ancho chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, kosher salt, ground coriander, dried oregano, no-salt tomato paste, fresh garlic, no salt added beans (black, pinto and dark red), fire-roasted tomatoes and water. For toppings, they suggest whole-milk yogurt, shredded cheese, cilantro leaves, sliced radishes and lime wedges. For the beef, I opted for grass-fed instead of 90/10 ground beef, which is a bit more expensive and a splurge for us.
 
The chili, from start to finish, takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare. I made sure I measured out all my dry ingredients, opened all cans and chopped all the vegetables before starting. It made the process easier and I didn’t forget any ingredients. ​
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​Sunday’s, I spend planning my meals for the week based on what I have on hand and what needs to be purchased.  Lately, I have been purchasing family packs of pork tenderloin, boneless, skinless chicken breast and bone-in split chicken breasts then breaking them down into smaller packages.
 
I have approximately a dozen cook books, and lots of recipes either clipped from magazines, newspapers or found on the internet from other food bloggers or cooking shows. Last week’s recipes came from three different cookbooks. The first recipe, Sautéed Spice Beef Cutlets,  was from “Lidia’s Italy,” by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. For the recipe you’ll need a 2-1/2-pound slab of top round or other lean boneless beef, coarse sea salt or kosher salt, softened butter, fresh Italian parsley, all-purpose flour, eggs, fresh garlic, freshly ground black pepper, cinnamon, ground cloves and extra-virgin olive oil.
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It’s been a busy week baking healthy muffins with my three-year-old granddaughter, delicious one pot meals, and another recipe for baked oatmeal.
 
My granddaughter was glued to an iPad when I arrived the other morning. In order to direct her attention to something else, she was agreeable to help me bake some Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins, a recipe my daughter found on the website Yummy Toddler Food. Both she and her sister love the packaged mini muffins, but these are a healthier version. Instead of white flour we used whole wheat, swapped butter for applesauce (recipe calls for butter) and added Greek yogurt. Also, for the recipe you’ll need baking powder, baking soda, salt, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips

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Back in 2008, if you wanted to elicit a wedding proposal from someone, you’d make them a Roast Chicken. Apparently late last year, there was a buzz on TikTok for a recipe called “Marry Me Chicken.” In 2016, an editor at the website “Delish” was videotaped creating a recipe for Tuscan-style chicken. At the end of the video her producer says, “I’d marry you for that chicken;” hence the Tuscan dish had a new name. The Italian food importer Delallo thinks the name comes from how well the ingredients “marry together” when incorporated into this dish. There are quite a few versions of this recipe on line, but I decided to follow a recipe by Naz Deravian from The New York Times.  
 
For Marry Me Chicken you’ll need boneless skinless, chicken breasts, kosher salt, black pepper, all-purpose flour, extra-virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, fresh garlic, tomato paste, dried oregano, red-pepper flakes, chicken stock, heavy cream, grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese,  sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil and fresh basil for serving. ​
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​This week’s cooking adventures offered some delicious one pot/one pan meals. First was a recipe from the website “The Modern Proper” for Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Skillet. My husband thought we had this dish before, however, it’s a similar concept done by Sarah DiGregorio of The New York Times/Here to Help column for her recipe Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Chicken Stew.
 
For the recipe you’ll need boneless, skinless chicken breasts, kosher salt, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, salted butter, all-purpose flour, chicken stock, whole milk, cream cheese, fresh spinach, fresh or dried  basil, can of artichoke hearts and Parmesan cheese.
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Recently I was at a local food store when I spotted in their meat case a small pork shoulder perfect size for pulled pork for two people. While I have a vinegar based slow cooker recipe that I’ve been making for years, I found a recipe on the New York Times Cooking app for Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork by Margaux Laskey. She says she’s viewed pulled pork recipes online that call for a dark cola such as Dr. Pepper or root beer. This is the first that I’ve heard of this, but apparently it’s added because as it cooks infuses the pork with sweetness through caramelization. So, would you prefer a pulled pork with sweetness or tartness?
 
Here’s what I discovered on the website “Eat This, Not That” in their article “The 6 Types of Southern Barbecue in the US-and What Exactly Makes Them Different.” There’s the Eastern North Carolina style which is basting the meat in a vinegar-based sauce. Western North Carolina likes a barbecue sauce that has tomato or ketchup mixed in. South Carolina is the same as Eastern North Carolina but adds black pepper, salt and cayenne to their vinegar mixture. East Texas prefers barbecue marinated in a sweet tomato-based sauce, with South Texas using molasses in theirs. Alabama, uses a white mayonnaise sauce with a bit of tang. ​
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I’m just getting under the wire for Valentine’s Day recipes. Luckily, the ones I’ve made that I recently made take very little time and a bit of shopping.
 
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and what better way to start off the morning than with an easy to prepare Dutch Baby pancake.  You could make the batter the night before and remix Wednesday morning while you’re preheating the oven.  For this recipe you’ll need eggs, flour, milk, granulated sugar, nutmeg, unsalted butter and to bring it over the top, Woodford Reserve Bourbon cherries. I ordered mine from Walmart, but discovered that Total Wine in Eatontown, NJ as well as Amazon carries it. Contact or visit your favorite liquor store to see if they carry them.
 
The batter goes into a preheated oven proof pan (I used a cast iron fry pan) for 15-20 minutes. Before serving I dusted the pancake with powdered sugar and several cherries with bourbon syrup, delicious!
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This past weekend we finally celebrated both my and my son’s January birthday. My son requested dark chocolate chips with sea salt. After a bit of internet searching, I found a recipe on “Smitten Kitchen” website for Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies. For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, granulated sugar, turbinado (Sugar in the Raw), light or dark brown sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, fine sea salt or table salt, all-purpose flour, semi- or bittersweet chocolate and flaky sea salt to finish.
 
All the ingredients are mixed in a large bowl beginning by creaming the butter and sugars. Next in are the wet ingredients, egg and vanilla. Salt and baking soda follow with the flour last. I used Ghirardelli’s Premium Baking Bar Bittersweet Chocolate 60% Cacao that I chopped into small chunks and mixed in by hand. I used a scooped that was roughly 1-1/2 tablespoons to form the cookies. I flattened them slightly so that the Fleur del Sel salt would not slide off and baked them for approximately 11 to 12 minutes. ​
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Recently I’ve prepared some familiar recipes, but different versions. My last soup for the month of January was a Lentil Soup with Pasta, Bacon and Garlic by Marcella Hazan. Ms. Hazan was born in a fishing village on the Adriatic in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Her recipe is made with extra-virgin olive oil, chopped bacon, onion, garlic, celery, parsley, fresh ripe tomato, lentils, salt, pepper, short tubular pasta and Romano cheese.
 
Unlike the lentil soup with fennel and sun-dried tomatoes recipe which is on my website, this version uses a minimal amount of ingredients, but is very flavorful.  You’ll notice that the recipe calls for bacon, not pancetta or guanciale. The bacon is cooked in olive oil along with the onion, garlic, celery and parsley until a rich brown color. Then the tomato is added and cooked for a few minutes before adding the lentils and enough water covering the lentils by 1-inch. The soup simmers for 25 to 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Lastly, pasta is added along with salt and freshly ground pepper and cooked until the pasta is al dente. The soup should be on the thick side rather than thin. To finish the soup, adjust the seasonings and add grated cheese and some olive oil.
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​Pork is like chicken, a blank slate waiting for you to turn it into a delicious meal. In “Southern Living Magazine,” I found  a recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Apples. While I have an assortment of pork and apple recipes, this one seemed interesting with a fennel and apple combination. For the recipe you’ll need kosher salt , freshly ground black pepper, ground fennel, one pound pork tenderloin, butter, 2 Honeycrisp apples, a shallot, apple cider, orange zest and fresh thyme.
 
Place a 12-inch cast iron frying pan in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Next, combine the pepper and ground fennel in a bowl. Dust all sides of the pork with the mixture and let it rest while the oven heats up. Slice the apples and shallots. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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