garlic Archives • Serendipity by Sara Lynn

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Published on September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 by serendipitybysaralynn5 Comments

Do you have that one food that whenever you have it, you think of “home”. Mashed potatoes are “home” for me. Every holiday, every fall, every home-cooked, comfort-food meal involves mashed potatoes in the Hunt fam. Mashed potatoes are the equivalent of a food-blanket. They’re warm and soft and comfy and make me want to curl up on the couch and watch movies. Wrapped in mashed potatoes. Truly, I’m pretty sure that there is nothing better than homemade mashed potatoes.

With that said, I can confirm with full certainty that I am pretty sure I make the best mashed potatoes ever. Sure they have heart-stopping amounts of butter, cream, and salt in them, but it’s not like you’re eating them everyday, right?

Really though, my mashed potatoes are so good that, while making these for dinner while visiting my family in Vegas, my brother and I may have eaten a good serving or two with just our fingers long before dinner would be served.

A little uncivilized, yes, but totally worth it.

I have to warn you that when I said they have “heart-stopping amounts of butter, cream, and salt” in them, I really meant it. If you are not a fan of buttery, creamy, slightly lumpy mashed potatoes, you probably will not want these. (Although to be completely honest, I’m not sure why anyone would want dry, flavorless, starchy mashed potatoes, but to each their own). One of the best parts of mashed potatoes is that you get to put all kinds of fun things on top of them–like meat juice (gravy). Also, they get served with wonderful foods like pot roast and turkey and pork chops. Is anyone else hungry right now, too?

Please just do yourself a favor and make these potatoes at least once this fall. I know your mom says that she makes the best mashed potatoes ever, but I wholeheartedly believe that you have the power to prove her wrong with this recipe. (I know this because now every time I’m making dinner with my mom, she asks me to make the mashed potatoes. Coincidence? I think not).

Ingredients:

10 small russet potatoes, peeled

3/4 c. heavy cream or half and half*

6 Tbs. butter, softened**

Lots of salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1-2 tsp. garlic powder***

Bring a large pot of water to a boil at medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Drain potatoes and let cool slightly. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl, and begin mashing using a potato masher (alternatively, you can use a potato ricer or a hand/stand mixer, but it’s up to you). Add cream, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Continue mashing to desired consistency. If you like lumpier mashed potatoes, I would recommend stirring ingredients in to maintain consistency.

Taste and add more seasoning, if desired.

–Mashed potatoes can be made in advance. To reheat, I recommend putting them in a large pot on the stove on medium heat. Add a splash of cream and a couple more tablespoons of butter to keep them from drying out. Stir frequently to prevent burning.–

–Sometimes I add 1-2 Tbs. of finely chopped fresh rosemary. It tastes amazing, and it’s an easy way to make potatoes fancy!–

Serves 6-8.

*I know this is an ungodly amount, but just trust me.

**Remember what I said about trust?

***I highly recommend garlic powder over chopped fresh garlic. I like the consistency better with garlic powder, and it’s easier to season it. However, you can totally use fresh garlic if you prefer! I also recommend starting with 1 tsp. of garlic powder and adding more if necessary. I like mine very garlic-y, but some may not!

My little brother (A.K.A. my honorary photographer reflected in the spoon above) told me that mashed potatoes reminded him of mountains while photographing these for me. I told him that reminded me of the children’s book “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”.

Happy fall, friends.

*Song of the Day: Hold On–Alabama Shakes

Chicken Fajitas

Published on June 11, 2015June 11, 2015 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

It’s happened, guys. I finished my first summer class, and now my brain = alskbxlzkjcgqergldknblddzweksdjclxdssalskdj.

As in, I cannot find the motivation to do anything more than lay in bed watching Gossip Girl and drinking insane amounts of green tea. For the whole entire week. (Also, don’t judge the GG. It’s officially my guilty pleasure).

It is also this resignation of my cranium that has put me in a dark, uncharacteristic succession of intense procrastination that I cannot seem to shake off no matter how acute my anxiety becomes.

Side effects of my procrastination have resulted in me putting off shopping and packing for London until yesterday afternoon (I leave tomorrow) as well as clicking multiple “Read More” links on posts concerning Zodiac signs and guitar tuning (I don’t play guitar). (Yet).

Luckily, I was able to force myself into packing and getting my shit together yesterday/today, and I’m (almost) ready to leave for London tomorrow! Yay!

My new goal is to motivate myself for the two more summer classes I start in London on Monday.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a sort of Mexican food kick lately. First it was Chinese food, and now it’s cilantro lime shredded chicken and burrito bowls.

As it turns out, I need to get as much Mexican food into my body as I can in the next day, because Europe has no authentic Mexican food.

There are many European people that have never even had real Mexican (or Tex-Mex for that matter).

It’s the sad truth, and I’m not quite sure what to do with my life except console myself with Indian food and conversations with cute British boys.

(Life is so hard, right?)

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c. olive oil

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2-1 tsp. onion powder (to taste)

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. oregano

Tabasco, to taste

1 lime, juiced

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Place chicken strips, peppers, and onions in a zipper plastic bag or plastic bowl with a lid. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.

Pour marinade over chicken, peppers, and onions. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24.

When ready to cook, heat 2 Tbs. cooking oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Remove chicken, peppers, and onions, and add to saute pan. Discard marinade.

Cook until chicken is cooked through and peppers and onions are soft, about 8 minutes.

Serve with tortillas, and other taco toppings.

Serves 4.

I <3 u Mexican food.

I’ll see you in a month.

Make sure to check in for my London posts in the coming weeks!

And while I’m gone, make sure to indulge in some tacos and cheeseburgers for me.

Song of the Day: Bear–The Antlers

Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken

Published on May 8, 2015May 21, 2015 by serendipitybysaralynn2 Comments

I can never really seem to keep up with the holidays.

AKA if I actually write a holiday-themed post before said holiday actually occurs, I’m pretty on top of my game.

Unfortunately, that oftentimes does not happen, and I lay in bed drinking caffeinated tea on a Thursday night at 11:30 p.m. writing a post on chicken. (In other words: Happy Cinco de Mayo).

Plus, it’s finals week(s). Also known as the week where I actually think that my brain is going to shut down in a quite literal sense and I will have to spend the rest of my life lying in bed petting a dog.

But that remains to be seen…

It’s weeks like this that make me have an actual mental breakdown including, but not limited to: crying, hyperventilation, having weird dreams about people, and panic attacks with symptoms that make me think I’m having a heart attack.

(And regardless of your age or health status, having a heart attack is a total logical solution when you’re in the midst of a stress-induced episode).

Really, it’s charming.

Luckily, I have been doing fairly well at keeping my shit together considering I always spend a good two weeks stressing about finals/studying until my eyes sting from exhaustion only to ace my exams and realize I could have slept at least twice as long as I did.

SOS. Please tell me you all do this too. (If you tell me you’re one of those people that can just pass a test without studying or trying, I’ll scream).

Anyways…

It’s these weeks where I really have to find my happiness in the little ways. Luckily for me, I find very great joy in small things like good coffee, hearing an old song I haven’t heard in a long time, and coming home to a crockpot filled with cilantro lime shredded chicken (because let me tell you…it smells amazing).

I’ve made this chicken two weeks in a row, so you know it’s good. I’ve used it for tacos and burrito bowls, but you could also do enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, etc. Whatever shredded chicken treat your little heart desires <3

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. ceyenne pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

Spray a crockpot with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to cover chicken with spices. Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

If you need me, I’ll be stuffing my face with chicken tacos to ease my worries. So far, it has seemed to work.

Except for the weird dreams about people. Those are (apparently) here to stay. On a side note: many people get uncomfortable when you tell them the details of your strange dreams involving them.

So maybe that’s something I’ll work on next.

But probably not.

Song of the Day: The Moon Song–Karen O and Ezra Koenig

(seriously though, best musical combo ever)

Not So College-y Ramen

Published on November 17, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynn2 Comments

This is not what normal college kids do. I’m aware of that.

I totally fathom that most kids (half) boil a pot of water, throw the noodles in for way past the recommended time until they’re soggy mush, and then accidentally drop the foil packet into the scalding water before dipping their fingers in, ripping it open, all while screaming a list of profanities and cursing corporate ramen companies worldwide.

I really understand that.

I’m just not a normal college kid.

For instance, my roommates and I had a huge Friendsgiving meal last night starting with crostini, roasted garlic, and truffle goat cheese appetizers, plenty of roasted chicken breasts (we couldn’t find turkey breasts oooops), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted multi-colored carrots, stuffing, and ending with homemade chocolate cream pie.

Oh yeah, and plenty of Frank Sinatra and old-fashioneds.

Like I said, not normal.

That’s why when I started watching The Mind of a Chef on Netflix, and got a whole history lesson on ramen, I knew I had to try a new approach to the little crinkly plastic wrapped package of noodles and MSG I normally pass in the store.

Hence “not so college-y ramen”.

Ingredients:

2 boneless pork chops

4 cups chicken broth

1 package ramen (get rid of that foil flavor packet!!!)

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced and divided

1 tsp. ginger, grated

3 Tbs. soy sauce, divided

1 Tbs. brown sugar

1 carrot, grated

1/4 c. frozen corn

1 Tbs. chives, chopped

Toppings: Thai Marinated cucumbers, Siracha, bean sprouts, seaweed, whatever you have (which is what I did).

*Please note that the sun going down at 4:30 means not so great pictures. I ask that you kindly understand.*

Place pork in a bag. Mix in 1 Tbs. soy sauce (or more, I kind of just eyeballed), 1 Tbs. brown sugar, 1 clove garlic, salt, and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes, or overnight if you prefer.

Cook your pork chop until nice and golden brown.

Uh, bad pic wow. But yeah, nice and golden brown is the point I’m trying to get across. Then slice it!

Grate your carrot. You can do it on a paper towel if you’re really fancy like me.

Heat a little bit of oil in your soup pot.

Brown your garlic and ginger.

Pour in your chicken broth. Get ready for some blurry pics. I just got a new camera so I’m still learning to use it!

Add your carrots, corn, and chives.

Add soy sauce (blurry pic ah!). Bring the liquid to a boil.

And your noodle square. And some salt and pepper, if you like. Cook according to package directions.

Serve with your desired toppings!

Much better than MSG ramen! Still not great for you, but still way healthier and much yummier! Enjoy college and non-college students, alike.

XO Sara

Song of the Day: Buddy Holly–Weezer

Thai Marinated Cucumbers and The World is a Beautiful Place (and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die)

Published on November 16, 2014November 17, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynn2 Comments

Does anybody (besides me) like the smell and idea of pickles but not actually like pickles themselves?

Because I’m finding that I have that kind of relationship with pickles. I want to like pickles, I just have a hard time with them for some reason.

Probably cause I’m a weirdo.

Which is coincidentally what my roommate thinks I am after I took him to see The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die (or to shorten it: The World is a Beautiful Place/TWIABP)

Oh, you don’t know who that is either?

I’m not surprised actually, but you should check them out. I’m a little bit in love with them <3

(ily TWIABP)

Uhhhhhh…back to the pickle thing now?

I’m not huge on pickles, although I am trying, but I looooove Thai marinated cucumbers. I don’t know how you couldn’t. They’re kind of sweet and vinegar-y and go great with chicken satay with peanut sauce or homemade ramen just sayin’. Also, they’re way healthier than pickles, so there’s that.

And you should try them about rightthisverysecond.

Okay?

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1/4 c. rice vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Red chili flakes, to taste

Slice your cucumber. I really like pickling cucumbers for these because they’re super crunchy, but I couldn’t find any at the store this time, so a regular one works just fine! (Also, this is like, half a cucumber because that’s just what happens sometimes).

Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers.

Mix together. Let marinate for about 20 minutes (or longer if you like it really strong) and then pour out extra vinegar.

“Hey Sara, you need to go get your nails done now”–you guys.

“I know, I’ll try to do better in the future”–me.

(Thank for loving me anyways) (Even when I enter weird made up commentary mid directions).

Put these on everything.

XO Sara

Song of the Day: Space Exploration to Solve Earthly Crises–TWIABP (fitting, yes?)

Also ft. Chris Zizzamia who does an awesome spoken word/poetry collab with the band which you will hear in this song! Cool, right?

Balsamic Marinated Steak with Roasted Vegetables

Published on November 7, 2014March 22, 2015 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

Midterms are over. I actually think I can hear angels singing right now…

It’s nice having a life after major tests are over.

To celebrate Halloween (and Nevada Day!) and the end of midterms, some of my family and I went to Disneyland. Which was super fun and amazing and Disneylandish.

Me and my mom’s Halloween costumes in Disneyland! Can you guess who I am?

…

Lately, my roommates and I have gotten into the bad habit where about once every week or two, we stay up too late drinking craft beer (or cranberry vodkas in my case) and doing ridiculous things. Last night we ended up getting nerf guns at Wal Mart at midnight so we can ignore our priorities and hide behind corners to shoot each other with little styrofoam darts.

College, right?

Luckily, I still do things that most college kids don’t do. Like voting, caring about important issues, making nice meals…

I haven’t given up yet guys.

However, let me tell you now: It gets dark around Reno at about 5 starting in October, so the prep pictures are pretty dark, and this meal is not the prettiest.

However, it does look very comfy and winter-y and I promise you, it’s so good. And it only takes about 30 minutes of actual work. The rest is marinating/cooking time. It’s worth it. I swear.

Serves 2

Marinade:

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1-2 tsp. Dijon, to taste

2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 Tbs. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

Salt, to taste

Ingredients:

2 thinly cut sirloin steaks (or whatever steak you prefer)

1 zucchini, cut in larger chunks

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2 red potatoes, thinly sliced

Olive oil

Garlic powder and Onion powder, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients.

Add 4 Tablespoons to steaks. I put my thin steaks in ziplocs with 2 Tbs. of marinade each, and let them marinate for 2 hours. You can do overnight if you like, but definitely do at least a couple hours!

Cut zucchini into larger chunks. I cut them into four spheres and then cut those into fourths. If that makes sense?

Slice red bell pepper. Remove seeds!

Mix veggies in a bowl with remaining marinade. Let marinate for a couple hours also.

When you’re ready to prepare dinner, dice potatoes into thin chunks.

Preheat oven to 400* F. Place potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. *The reason I did not marinate the potatoes with the rest of the vegetables is because they did not get crispy when I marinated them. You could try to mix them with marinade to make it easier. Totally up to you!*

Remove veggies from marinade and place on baking sheet. Discard remaining marinade. Bake veggies for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.

About 8 minutes before veggies are done, pan fry your steaks to desired doneness. This is for thinly cut sirloin steaks. If you use regular steaks, allow yourself more time to make steaks. Alternatively, you can grill them. Which I would have done if it wasn’t 45* outside.

Serve steaks over roasted vegetables. You can cut the steak into strips if you want pretty steak, or you can just leave it whole to make it easy.

Balsamic + Steak + Roasted Vegetables = So good and so healthy. I was a happy Sara.

Until next time, my friends.

XO Sara

*Song of the Day*: Low Light Assembly–The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

(Crockpot) Light Zuppa Toscana

Published on September 7, 2014September 7, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

I have been surprisingly social all weekend. I went to a football game on Friday (we won!) (Go Wolfpack!) and then my roommates and I spent the rest of the night with Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen and Cards Against Humanity. If you have never played Cards Against Humanity, let’s just introduce you to their slogan : A party game for horrible people.

And that it is.

Just take a look at their website. Or check out this and this.

I also spent my Saturday night bar hopping with one of my best friends/pseudo cousin. Except that I had to drive home so my bar hopping experience was mostly just me getting leaned on by a bunch of drunk people.

Good times right?

The whole drinking and Cards Against Humanity thing ties together because:

1. Most of the time, if you’re playing Cards Against Humanity, you are simultaneously drinking.

And 2. When I told my roommate, “The only two games I know how to play are beer pong and Cards Against Humanity. What does that say about me?”, his response was, “You’re an evil alcoholic.”

So there’s that.

And now about Zuppa Toscana. It is that delicious soup at Olive Garden with sausage, potatoes, and kale. The broth is lightly creamy and a little spicy.

It is also 220 calories for a bowl of it at Olive Garden. That doesn’t seem tooooo bad, until you consider that it has 15 g of fat and 990 mg of sodium in it. And when you consider that you’re going to have another bowl of it. And a glass (or two) of wine. And probably some type of pasta. And that salad, which also doesn’t seem too bad until you see that there are 150 calories, 10 g of fat, and 760 mg of sodium in it. Also, don’t forget that you’re going to eat like, 4 of those bread sticks (140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 460 mg sodium)

Holy shit, what is in this stuff?

Anyways, I definitely recreated the recipe and lightened it up quite a bit. I calculated it all up and it was about 350 calories per serving. The recipe serves 4, so you get quite a big serving of soup for less than 400 calories. Also, you just throw it in a crockpot. So easy guys.

Ahem.

*thunderous applause*

*The recipe was originally from Fix it and Forget it, but has been changed dramatically*

Ingredients:

6 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 c. whole milk or half and half

2 carrots, grated

3 russet potatoes, sliced

4 cups kale, chopped slightly

1 lb. turkey Italian sausage

Dash salt and pepper

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Sprinkle onion powder

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Grate 2 carrots into your crockpot.

Pour in chicken broth.

And the whole milk/half and half.

Slice up your potatoes.

Add them to your broth.

Brown the sausage.

Add it to your broth.

Sprinkle your spices!

Cook for 3-4 hours on high, stirring every once in a while.

1 hour, I REPEAT, 1 HOUR before serving, stir in kale. If you do it any earlier, it will be grossly soggy. Do you want soggy kale? Do you?!

No. You really don’t.

Serve with a light homemade salad and some whole wheat rolls. Sprinkle it with a little parm.

Yum yum yum. This is definitely going to be my fall favorite.

Bonus: It’s gluten free naturally!

It doesn’t taste exactly like the Olive Garden version, but it’s pretty damn close for a light version. Sometime (when you feel really naughty) go ahead and use regular chicken broth, cream, and pork Italian sausage. Or just go to Olive Garden and really go all out. I’m normally not a fan of chains, but I still love Olive Garden every once in a while.

But just make this, okay?

XO Sara

Black Bean and Corn Guacamole

Published on August 14, 2014August 14, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

“Hey, Sara. Why are you taking pictures of that guacamole?”

“Errrrrrr, uhhhhhm, weeeeelllllllll…..”

I feel like that just summed up my life in two sentences.

That was a quote from one of my roommates. Sometimes it takes a while to openly admit that you’re a food blogger. Not that I’m ashamed. Just that it’s not something that just comes up all the time.

Until your roommate walks in, practically smacking you in the head with the front door while you “rap squat” with a camera pointing directly at a bowl of guac. Don’t know what the “rap squat” is? Check this out here. That should sum it up for you/give you a good laugh.

Anyways, yeah, guac. I’m pretty sure that I’m allergic to avocados considering I never feel all that great after eating them, but I don’t care. Because they’re worth it. Why are they so good?!

This guac has corn and black beans in it, like that really great salsa, except that it’s in guacamole! Yes, please and thank you.

But Sara, doesn’t regular guacamole have tomatoes and onions in it?

Uhm, don’t you have something better to do? Shouldn’t you be watching Netflix or something? I recommend It’s Always Sunny. (No, Netflix is not compensating me for that comment. But I am interested Netflix. Need a cute little redheaded spokesgirl? Sorry, was that conceited?).

But for real, the answer is yes. But I hate raw onions and I forgot tomatoes at the store. You may add them if you want. I just did not have the necessary ingredients with me. Sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

1 avocado

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

1/4 tsp. onion powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 drops Tobasco, or to taste

1/4 c. corn (fresh, frozen, canned, your choice)

1/4 c. black beans (I used canned. Make sure to drain and rinse!)

Cut your avocado in half, around the pit. Jam your knife into the pit and yank it out. Just twist a little, it’ll come out. Don’t cut your hand! You can do this guys.

Put the avocado in a good mashing bowl with your garlic, lime juice, onion powder, salt and pepper, and Tobasco.

Smash it with a fork!

Screw the fork, this is taking to long. Use a potato masher.

Oh yeah, I don’t have a potato masher.

The fork works.

Stir in black beans and corn!

Serve with these! They’re way healthier than regular corn chips and they’re way more delicious!

Again, not being compensated. Again, interested.

This should serve 4 regular, healthy sized portions. But we all know you’re going to eat half of it like me. Don’t be like me, kids. Do yourself a favor. Learn portion control.

You know what, avocados are really good for you, eat however much you want.

And let me know how that goes.

Tips:

1. To find a good avocado, take the little stem off. If it’s green, it’s ripe! If it’s creamy white/tan, it’s not ripe. If it’s dark brown or black, it’s bad!

2. To keep guacamole from going brown and goopy, cover it with water. Then just dump it out and stir whenever you want to eat it. Kind of sounds gross, but it’s not (it’s just water) and it’s better than brown clumpy guac. The reason it works is because food can’t oxidize in water! Yeah, science bitch! (Breaking Bad, anyone?)

XO Sara

Song of the Day: Honestly?–American Football

Healthy Dirty Rice

Published on May 27, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

I know, it’s been like, a month.

But on the bright side, I got great grades from all of the finals I was studying for. When I say that, I mean that somehow I got a full 100 on my calculus exam. If you’re sitting here stunned, just know that I have been feeling that way since I found out two weeks ago.

I seriously don’t know how that happened.

Another plus is that I’m doing great in my three week mini class.

Three weeks, three credits. No biggie.

(Kind of a biggie).

On the bright side, I have definitely not forgotten all about the blog. I actually have a bunch of great stuff coming up for you guys. And in approximately a week and a half, I will be completely off of school and lots of great stuff will be coming your way!

But first, let’s start off with dirty rice. I can recall a few times when I was little where my mom made the boxed Zattaran’s stuff on super busy nights, but we realized pretty soon after that we were not huge fans of the boxed dinners.

Luckily, dirty rice is super easy to make at home and tastes 10x better than Zattaran’s. This is easily a 30 minute meal (excluding the rice prep but still…). And, if you didn’t already expect this, the recipe is healthy. Shocker right?

*Disclaimer: This is NOT traditional dirty rice. Traditional stuff uses chicken gizzards and livers and other leftover chicken parts. Now, I know that they’re just some chicken parts, but they are just chicken parts I can not wrap my head around eating. So therefore, I went the Zattaran’s route and used ground beef. Also, this recipe was created completely according to taste/whatever I had in my kitchen so the spices may or may not be traditional. End of disclaimer.*

Ingredients:

2 c. cooked long grain brown rice

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp. ceyenne pepper, or to taste

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. dried mustard

1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in 1/4 c. hot water

Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside when finished.

Chop up veggies! Yes, those are dried onions. Yes, I forgot to buy a real onion.

Saute the veggies until soft.

Brown the beef. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. (Blurry picture alert. Whoops!)

Oh yeah, and dissolve that little guy.

Add rice and spices to the mixture.

Mix it all together and add beef bouillon mixture. Let simmer until the liquid is absorbed!

Serve to a group of very happy peeps.

Also, please note that you should adjust spices as needed for your tastes. I decided to not use much salt since I used a beef bouillon cube. Just taste and adjust accordingly.

Serve this with a nice little side salad and you have a delicious dinner that will make the whole family happy!

*Vegetarian/Vegan: Replace ground beef with zucchini, tofu, eggplant, and other veggies. Replace beef broth with veggie broth.

*Gluten Free: This recipe is gluten free

*Paleo: Replace rice with cauliflower “rice”.

XOXO Sara

Garlic Herb Pork Tenderloin

Published on March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 by serendipitybysaralynnLeave a comment

I am soooo tired today.

I seriously could have slept all day. The worst part is that I don’t think it’s even because of Daylight Savings. I think it’s just called being a college student.

Although it is fun to blame my sleep deprivation on something besides homework, exercising, cooking, cleaning, and the list goes on and on.

Excuse me while I count down the days until Spring Break (5!!!)

A few weekends ago I had my boyfriend over for dinner. Typically for nice dinners, I like to do steak but lately I’ve been a little steak-ed out. I know, is there such a thing?

(There is).

And the perfect part about pork tenderloin is that it is affordable and seems fancy. Which is awesome if you’re having a ton of people over or something.

The best thing about this meal is that the actual prep time is only about 30 minutes, but it comes out so nicely that people might actually think you spent all day in the kitchen.

I won’t tell them you didn’t.

It’ll be our little secret.

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin (I bought one of those packages of 2 and froze the other)

1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. fresh thyme

2 Tbs. fresh rosemary

2 Tbs. fresh parsley

2 Tbs. fresh tarragon

1 Tbs. lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2-1 Tbs. honey (depending on how sweet you like things)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Trim fat off of pork. Place pork tenderloin in a freezer bag. Whisk the other ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over pork tenderloin. Marinate for 4 hours-overnight. I prefer overnight to really let the flavors meld.

Preheat oven to 350* F. In a large skillet, heat about 2 Tbs. olive oil until it is rippling and slightly smoking. Remove pork tenderloin from the marinade, leaving on herbs that cling. Sear pork tenderloin on all sides until it develops a slight brown crust.

Place in a greased casserole dish. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 145* F, about 30 minutes.

Let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve! Serves about 4.

I just love how pretty the herbs are. Fresh herbs are the best, especially mixed together with some garlic.

And it makes great leftovers too!

(Another bonus: pork tenderloin is a very lean meat! Healthy, easy, and fancy? I’m so in.)

Vegetarian/Vegan Option: Although this is definitely not a vegetarian/vegan dish, the marinade would be very good on veggies such as zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, and peppers.
Paleo: This recipe is paleo.
Gluten Free: This recipe is gluten free.

XOXO Sara