Tag Archives: grilled

I Can’t Believe That’s Not Butter!

Quick tip of the day: To save time and drastically cut back on calories, I use cooking spray instead of butter on grilled sandwiches. *GASP* No butter? Yes I say! And I don’t even miss it. I’ve been using this trick for so long now that although my love of butter runs deep, I don’t miss it at all on grilled samiches.

I always use canola oil cooking spray but I think coconut oil spray is a great choice too. Here’s the kicker though. When you look at the nutritional info on the can of canola cooking spray, it’s zeros all the way down baby! When you look at the nutritional info on butter, you’ll see some zeros there too. Just at the end of a three digit number! Plus, with cooking spray, the bread still gets golden, brown and toasty.

Just spray your bread (same as you would spread butter on it) and cook away. That easy. That fast. And that simple.

grilled cheese 3grilled cheese 2grilled cheeseTry it once and after your first bite, you’ll be saying “I can’t believe that’s not butter!”

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Dijon Grilled Pork Chops

pork chops 2Dijon mustard and pork chops make a happy couple. Add in some thyme and this trio makes a happy threesome that actually works!

For those of you who usually steer away from pork, don’t fear the pork! Embrace the pork! It’s very easy to cook and if you’re careful to not overcook it, a juicy pork chop is just as satisfying as a big steak.

This main dish works for a quick weeknight meal that is sure to please all those picky taste buds in your family. These chops alone have outstanding flavor. But my kids prefer to still use BBQ sauce as a dip. Your choice!

Dijon Grilled Pork Chops (makes 4-6 pork chops)

  • 4-6 pork chops, any cut (I used boneless thick cut ribeye chops)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. each of salt and ground black pepper

Place pork chops in a large dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and then squirt the Dijon mustard on top. Using your hands, rub the olive oil and mustard all over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the seasonings, making sure to coat both sides of chops. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. But the longer, the better.

Heat your outdoor grill on medium high (or an indoor grill pan). The temperature on my grill was almost 400 degrees. For thicker chops, cook 5-7 minutes on each side. For thin chops, 3-4 minutes on each side. Take off the grill and let chops rest on a plate, covered with foil, for about 10 minutes.

Serve with or without BBQ sauce.

pork chops 5pork chops 4pork chops 3pork chopsMy husband used to tell me that recipes that had 5 ingredients or less just weren’t flavorful enough. He now stands corrected.

Get to Grillin’!

asparagusIt’s a little cold out for most people right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grill. I live in Southern California, so we can pretty much fire up the BBQ any time of year. However, sometimes I like to use my grill pan indoors, and for those of you experiencing a frigid winter, take this tip and grill inside!

Grilled asparagus. Super easy, super simple, and so flavorful. My kids are not partial to asparagus because of the after effects….if you know what I’m saying. But they ate this! And I definitely like asparagus prepared this way much better over steaming.

Grilled Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus (the skinny kind), washed and trimmed
1- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
Parmesan cheese

Heat a grill pan (I used cast iron) on your stovetop over medium high heat. If using cast iron, they take a bit longer to heat up.

asparagus 2Sprinkle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the grill pan is hot, add the asparagus. When the asparagus gets nice grill marks, turn over and cook the other side. I kind of just move mine around a bit on the pan to make sure the asparagus gets evenly cooked. I like my asparagus crisp tender so I didn’t cook mine long, maybe 5 minutes total. The skinny kind cook up much quicker. Transfer asparagus to a plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. *You can use a microplane hand grater to grate your cheese. If you don’t have one, you can use a box grater or the parmesan cheese in a container is fine too!

asparagus 3Have fun grilling indoors!