La Jolla Groves

A good friend was visiting from Texas so we had a girls night out to La Jolla Groves in Provo, Utah.  The ambiance of the restaurant is very inviting.  The service is top notch.  The food is so tasty!  Almost everyone chose a different meal and everyone was happy.  No one took food home!  And there wasn't any sharing going on!  No one wanted to give up a bite of her delicious dinner!  I had the blackened salmon salad.  I would go back for that any day.  But I also want to try most of the rest of the menu.  Check out their menu at:  http://lajollagroves.com/menu/

My rating:  5 stars!

Garlic Pork Roast

submitted by Chef Mike, allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 (10 pound) prime rib roast 10 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 2 teaspoons dried thyme

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place the roast in a roasting pan with the fatty side up. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread the mixture over the fatty layer of the roast, and let the roast sit out until it is at room temperature, no longer than 1 hour.
2.	Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
3.	Bake the roast for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C), and continue roasting for an additional 60 to 75 minutes. The internal temperature of the roast should be at 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) for medium rare.
4.	Allow the roast to rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving so the meat can retain its juices.

I used a 2-3 lb pork roast instead.  I put it in the crock pot with the garlic mixture.  I cooked this on high for 4 hours.  We served this with rice pilaf and asparagus.

Picture coming soon.

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

allrecipes.com, submitted by cmccreight

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast 1 cup barbeque sauce 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 extra large onion, chopped 2 large cloves garlic, crushed 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme 8 hamburger buns, split 2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.
2.	Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.
3.	Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter. Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

Husband Rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Steak Marinade

allrecipes.com, submitted by STEVESKAT

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard 1 onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, mustard, onion, and garlic. Mix together well, and use to marinate your favorite meat.

Husband Rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Chicken Florentine

allrecipes.com, submitted by mollykins

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil, or as needed 1 large sweet onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 8 chicken breast tenders

1/2 pound baby spinach, or more to taste 1 (20 ounce) jar marinara sauce 1 (16 ounce) package fettuccine 8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.	Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion in the hot oil until just fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 45 seconds. Mix chicken tenders into onion mixture; cook until chicken is browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
3.	Cover chicken mixture with spinach; pour marinara sauce over spinach layer. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and spinach is wilted, about 30 minutes.
5.	Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the fettuccine, bring back to a boil, and cook pasta over medium heat until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer fettuccine to serving plates.
6.	Top each plate with chicken-marinara mixture; garnish each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  mixed reviews

Angela's Awesome Enchiladas

lightly adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by MomSavedbyGrace

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cooked, cubed or shredded 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup 1 1/4 cups sour cream 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies 1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco

seasoning mix 1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided 1 cup water 1 teaspoon lime juice 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 5 (12 inch) flour tortillas 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2.	Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
3.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4.	Fill each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
5.	Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

To save time I bought a cooked chicken from Costco and pulled the meat off of that.  Everyone loved these!

Husband rating: 4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Teriyaki Tilapia

Place tilapia fillets in a glass or metal bowl/dish or even a plastic bag.  Add your favorite teriyaki sauce. Let marinade in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet (the kind with about a 1 inch side all around the pan) with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place tilapia fillets on cookie sheet and discard teriyaki sauce.  

Bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  

We had this with rice and a salad.  Easy, healthy and inexpensive.

Husband rating:  3.5 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

allrecipes.com, submitted by Sue, lightly adapted

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil 1 finely chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup sliced carrots 3/4 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour 6 cups chicken broth 2 cups cooked wild rice mix 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 tablespoons dry sherry or sherry cooking wine 2 cups half-and-half or almond milk

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt butter or coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for about five minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and stir well. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly, until all has been added. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer.
2.	Add the rice, chicken, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and sherry. Heat through. Pour in the half-and-half or almond milk. Let simmer for 1 to 2 hours. (Note: Do not boil or your roux will break.)

The only changes I made were to omit the mushrooms and use 2% milk instead of half-and-half.  

I cooked 1 c of wild rice mix in 3 c of water for 45 minutes or so and it was soft enough.  Sometimes wild rice mixes can be crunchy but this worked for me.  

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up