RECIPES

Last week I was at a Kiwanis meeting with some great folks from Stillwater - and a lovely lady shared these great recipes with me - I thought you might enjoy them!

Grilling Pork Chops
4-6 pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick
liquid smoke
'Mrs. Dash' Original Blend seasoning
salt

Lay the chops on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle 2-4 drops of Liquid smoke on each. Sprinkle the Original seasoning on as heavily or lightly as you wish. Sprinkle with salt, as the Mrs. Dash does not have salt in it. Let stand for 20-30 minutes for the seasonings to 'soak' onto the meat. Grill about 6 minutes on each side. No need to season the other side of the meat, unless you want to do so.

Teriyaki Pork Chops
4 Pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick
soy sauce
brown sugar
minced garlic
black pepper, optional

Mix 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup of brown sugar together. Add 1 tablespoon of garlic and mix again. Put pork in a plastic bag, then pour mixture over the pork. Allow the sauce to marinate on the pork for about 30 minutes. Grill, turning once. You may sprinkle pepper on one or both sides if you like.


Thanks, Arlene, for sharing these great recipes!

Just a bit of grilling

Today I was at the new Crest Foods store on the south side of Oklahoma City giving away coupons and free pork chop sandwiches - but more importantly... I was learning how to COOK pork chop sandwiches!

Thanks to the boss man - I think I'll be able to grill them on my own from now on. Look at that set up - it's the calm before the storm.

We were cooking pork chops that were cut about 1" thick and then ran through the tenderizer machine. The tenderizer gives the meat a textured look & does what it says - tenderizes the meat. (Also, those are not my hairy arms - I'm the one behind the camera in this picture)

Because we were cooking a large quantity the meat department did this part for us. If you're only cooking a few at home you can use that hammer your grandma keeps in the drawer by the stove. You know, the square one. :-)

We used Dales Marinade, which can be purchased at your local grocery store - or a marinade of your choice is fine. We let the meat soak in the marinade for about 15 minutes total.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in charcoal or preheat gas grill to medium high. Pat chops dry and grill over a medium-hot fire, turning once, until just done, about 8 to 11 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F.

Just look at those chops! You're hungry now aren't you?

We gave away 450 sandwiches to very hungry customers - all who walked away with coupons to purchase their own Hormel pork chops.

We had a few fine folks stop by today.

These guys took a whole bag of chops back to the fire station!

Here's the recipe recap:

1. Tenderize your pork chops. Either at home, or at the meat counter when your purchase your pork.

2. Marinate pork chops in a marinade of your choosing.

3. Grill over a medium - high heat for 8 - 11 minutes, or until internal temperature is 155 degrees F.

4. Put between 2 slices of bread.

5. Enjoy

I'm buying a crock-pot

Raise your hand if you gained the sophomore 10, found your first "big kid" job and gained 5 more... and then joined the gym?

Oh, just me? Liars.

Unfortunately, that statement is true. I ran my hiney off in highschool, gained a little bit in college, discovered every local establishment in the downtown Oklahoma City area - and now I'm a proud member of the local gym.

However, it must be stated that even though I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, if you're not eating healthy, you're in a lose-lose situation.

So I'm assembling a grocery list. Healthy items. Fresh Produce. Pork.

I'm buying a crock-pot.

The Basics.

Three hundred four emails, 14 phone messages and a lot of paper work later - I finally get to share with you the most basic cooking experience of my life. So you should note, we were sleep deprived, hot, and excited to be in Nicaragua. Here's the scenario, we had about 2 minutes to come up with 3 recipes. all using goat meat.

First. We washed our hands. As primary as this concept sounds, it's just as important to cook in sanitary conditions in rural Nicaragua as it is to cook in sanitary conditions in your own kitchen.

Also, you can disinfect your cutting board with a solution of one part vinegar and two parts water. Although, in the states most plastic cutting boards are dishwasher safe.

Back to the cooking. We picked fresh limes from a tree right outside of the agricultural center. [This center served as an agricultural extension office for demonstrations and classes for the community.] The meat was allowed to marinate in the freshly squeezed lime juice for a few hours.

Look at Kyla working so hard - while I'm taking a picture of a lime. Ha! Bet she wanted to kick me out of the kitchen!

For those of you (all 4 of you who publicly follow this blog, as well as the others who would rather send an email or text message to comment) who know how limited my cooking skills are right now, this may seem bazaar. I knew I was going to grill the meat; but I really wanted them [the lovely guinea pigs who didn't know I wasn't a cooking expert] to like it.

So - I made a rub. From scratch. From the limited ingredients our interpreter bought at the market.

Salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and something..... greenish. (there wasn't a label) I really wish there was more to it, but there wasn't, it was simply basic.

And this is the only picture you get to see of the sweaty, makeupless, sanitized hands, Goat-Meat-Grilling-Fool. But, just look at that rub! I guess my time watching the grillers during tailgating season is paying off!

The meat was then slowly cooked using an open fire. The idea was to imitate living conditions outside of the ag center so that the participants would know these dishes could be made in their own home using limited resources.

I understand you're probably not going to harvest your own goat and grill over an open fire anytime soon; however, if you take one thing away from this post [and no, it's not that point-and-shoot cameras are horrible for food photography] I hope it's that you don't have to prepare fancy dishes with crazy ingredients to make delicious foods everyone will enjoy.

Oh, and have fun. And take pictures.

Back from Hiatus.

I'm back in the office. To conclude my Master's program in International Agriculture, I spent a week in Nicaragua.

I was a part of a 10 person agricultural team from Oklahoma State University, which was a part of a bigger team with Builders for Children: A project of Feed the Children. Our mini-team had the opportunity to work with small agricultural communities and their agricultural projects, while the others in our team [shout out to Arkansas, South Carolina, & Hawaii] helped build relationships with the people living in the community, by providing arts and crafts projects, vacation Bible school, and participating in Leadership Conferences.

The OSU team during a pit stop at the Pacific Ocean.

How does this fit into a Basics with Brooke post? Let me just skip right to it.

In rural Nicaragua, the need for sustainable agriculture is important, and the need to feed your family is even more important. We saw an opportunity to help the local communities in the latter by recognizing the availability of goats and their limited use of them.

We taught them how to make goat cheese, as well as, how to harvest "cabra" [goat] and cook 3 dishes with the meat. My job: grilling. Not only did they eat it - they asked for seconds!

During the cheese-making class, our interpreter skipped class.
So, we translated the class ourselves. This was team work at it's finest.

Don't get too excited - I've only been back in the office for 4 hours - I'll get that post up asap, though. Promise.

brooke.

Backyard Barbecue.

Dominated the Backyard Barbecue. Freddie's brought the most amazing pork chops I've ever sampled - ever.

This was my last one for the year - the Emporess will be representing OPC next week while I'm in Nicaragua.

Also - I lost my phone today. And then I had a flat tire. Did I mention I lost my cell phone.

At least I had great barbecue. :-)

My gravy is better than your gravy.

If you’re looking for a fool-proof way to know – for sure – that it’s summertime, you came to the right place.

Here's the test: If you stumble upon a weekend that includes [but is not limited to] sunburns, fried chicken, fried okra… and gravy – it is officially [one hundred percent, is-orange-sold-in-Stillwater] summertime.

The goal of summer is to learn the basics – and lose 15 pounds [ha – jokes on me, right?]. But, it’s also my firm responsibility to act my age. So I don’t regret missing out on the How-to of fried chicken – driving those Western Oklahoma roads were sure worth it.

BUT. [read as: extremely excited] We did get back in time for gravy – making.

So here's how it works.


First, you make fried chicken. (Or in this case, your manfriend's mom makes delicious fried chicken.)


Then, you remove the chicken from pan and firmly threaten all standbyers that if they don't wait until dinner time and if they even think about touching the chicken before seated at the table - they'll be waiting for scraps with the dogs.

::Laughing:: Donna didn't say that - but she should have.

Ok, seriously. After you remove the chicken from the pan - leave the heat on medium-ish. You save just a little bit of grease (Maybe 3 or 4 tablespoons). Don't worry about the crumbs - they add flavor and texture to the gravy!




Next, add flour. I can't give you percise measurments. You just add until it's not soupy looking. Add salt and pepper. (Maybe I'm vanilla in this aspect - but I never add salt or pepper unless I've tasted it - you can always add more later.)

Then, add milk. The milk/flour combo allows the gravy to thicken - just like your grandma made it. So the more milk, the thinner the gravy.


Then. It's like magic. But - don't forget to stir the WHOLE time or then it will burn, and no one appreaciates a house smelling like friend chicken and burnt gravy.


I've decided cooking isn't hard. It just requires you to put your A.D.D. on the back burner, follow directions and go with your gut.

But here's the thing. I spent that last 19 years of my life in a classroom following directions and keeping my Abstract-Randomness at bay. Maybe they should have added "going with your gut" to the mix a little more.

::UPDATE:: They Boss's Boss (aka Melissa) sent over a Blogging Present! Check it out!

So a little note from the Cooking basics section:
"Cutting Boards: stock up on two. Reserve one soley for raw meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish and the other for ready-to-eat foods."

Did anyone else just wonder when they were ever going be cutting up shellfish?

Brooke
P.S. My apologies on the picture quality - I was so excited and the iphone was the closest camera.

Nic's Grill

It was a big week as a Coordinator of Promotional Programs. I've moved up all my print deadlines, worked with the Emperor of Communications on things on the "need-to-know" basis list, and have been frantically working on our new website - all in the name of "getting things done before the state fairs get here!"

So today, I ditched the Healthy Choice meal in the freezer for a non-healthy option - it was second to the idea of losing the work clothes for a suit and getting a tan on this beautiful day. But, seeing as how the later really wasn't an option - might as well indulge in something else!

Dallyn picked me up for lunch, and we headed to Big Truck Tacos. We had the most ideal location - and then we had an even better idea.

35 minutes of standing in the 143 degree weather, we made it into the the diner. Up until this point I didn't know if the food was going to be that great or if it was just the novelty of actually getting one of the 15 available seats.

It was worth it.

Stressed, anyone?

I'm not cooking today.

However, I will be eating some delicious pork of some sort from Freddie's Steakhouse. Oh, the perks of having a "big kid" job.

Today is Trav's Backyard Barbecue #4. We're heading to Owasso - and I wish it didn't make me a "fatkid" to be looking forward to that amazing food!

Today is not the day to be stressed - but I am. It's one of my favorite days of the week - due in large part to the Emperss of Communications because in the office today. We're gearing up for a conference call, our website deadline, complete communications makeover, preventative crisis communications, and there’s so much more that I’m afraid you’d have a panic attack if I continued.

Oh, and top of that – I’m blogging. Ha.

It’s said my generation is great at two things: entitlement and multitasking. On the first, I am not above the grunt work so I’m pretty sure I don’t fall into that category. On the second, absolutely – ringing affirmative – true statement. Guess I signed up for the right career!

Regarding the Backyard Barbecue - I'm considering discussing Nutrition today. Although I don’t have a lot of credibility in the kitchen (yet), I do know the nutritional content. Think I'm joking?

The tenderloin is the leanest cut of pork - a 3-ounce serving contains 120 calories and 2.98 grams of total fat – as lean as a skinless chicken breast. Other lean cuts (based on a 3-ounce cooked serving) include:- boneless loin roast with 147 calories and 5.3 grams of fat - boneless loin chops with 153 calories and 6.2 grams of fat - boneless ham (extra lean) with 123 calories and 4.7 grams of fat - A 2-ounce serving of Canadian-style bacon contains 86 calories and 3.9 grams of fat

Also - that's not from google. It's from the Nutrition Page on our NEW website (to be launched July 2)! Fine, I C&P'd it.

K. Back to work. Have a wonderful Thursday, and tune into the 6p news in Tulsa!

Travis with Brandi & Keith Sanders at Travs backyard barbecue, June 2.

The results are in.

Dallyn (my roomie) went to the Michael Buble concert last night. She left the kitchen in pristine condition. This is due in large part to her constant OCD. Bet she didn't think I could mess up her perfection in one night :-)

I walked into the kitchen, and for a second I could hear the title track to Titanic playing softly in the background. Don’t judge – that’s how big the kitchen seemed to me.

The Boss Man assured me bacon would taste horrible in the microwave. I was doubtful.

My official Hypothesis: Bacon cooked by microwave will taste better than if cooked on top of the stove or in the oven – if weighing in taste AS WELL AS convenience.

Microwave:
6 pieces of bacon.
Lots of Paper Towels.
time - 3 mintues.

Outcome: “ehh.”

Stovetop:
6 pieces of bacon.
Medium heat. (I guessed a 5 on the dial.)
1 barbie bandied.
Time - I didn’t look at the clock.

Outcome: “not worth it. But it Tasted Ok.”

Oven:
6 pieces of bacon.
Cookie sheet covered with foil.
Cookie drying rack on top of the cookie sheet.
Oven at 425 – thanks, google.
Time- 20 minutes.

Outcome: “Complete win.”

My hypothesis was wrong. And, boss man, the sky in my world is the color of bacon – thanks for asking.

Our house now smells like the bacon. All 18 peices of it. But - now I know, for sure, I can cook bacon. :-)

I love Bacon.

I love all things bacon. Except the icecream – that just creeps me out. (Sorry bacon enthusiasts – I’ll make it up to you, promise.)

Bacon is a phenomenon. EVERYONE loves bacon. Bar-S Foods had a bacon mustache contest and people ate that up. Literally.

Have you seen the colored bacon? It was featured on BaconToday.com. It amazes me there is such a large presence in the social media world. My TweetDeck has a special column just for #bacon!

Photo from BaconToday.com
Hope you guys didn't mind :-)

Tonight I’m conducting an experiment. Which is better – oven, skillet or microwave?

I’m non-secretly hoping the microwave wins. It will be one small victory for all of us non-domestic types.

I’ll be leaving the office at 5 day. You have until then to text, tweet, email, snailmail or comment your suggestions. Ready. Go.

I'm hungry. Nice to mee you!

I'm a nerd who loves all things design - CS4, books about layout, websites (yes, that killed me a little to write website instead of Web site - thanks AP). So at work day I've been working on our new website and it's basically like Christmas.

Seriously - ask my boss or Nikki. (Editors Note: I really want to refer to her as preggos. She's the cutest Pregnant woman I've ever seen but the name may take away from her position of Emperor of Communications)

Sorry to digress. Anyway, I've been working on our new website, specifically the recipe section. And I've decided I'm going to make pork this week!

What do you think about Hoppin' Havanero and Honey Pork Chops?

Or maybe Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Wraps?

I'm salavating just thinking about these. I don't know if I can wait to go to Homeland after work - I might have to sneak out of the office and find that Hot Dog Cart!

Wish me luck!

Brooke

Google saves the day.

I've been on the road a lot lately. First in Des Moines at the World Pork Expo, where thinking back I regret not trying the Bacon Ice cream. Then, to Cincinnati for the Operation Main Street Program.

Although we talked a lot about food, and we ate a lot of Pork, there wasn't time for cooking.

So - last night. I was going to make a salad. After considering trotting to Mazzios and making to-go salad, I realized I wouldn’t have much to blog about.

Yes, I’m taking this blog seriously. I would say more seriously than my fifth grade boyfriend and a bit less seriously than buying my first house.

I had baby Romaine lettuce in the fridge, leftover grilled chicken (no, I did not make the chicken… baby steps people) and a carton of eggs.

Please excuse what I’m about to say, as I realize just how ridiculous this is about to sound. But, remember I’m being completely honest on this blog. It’s possible my self-professed undomesticness won’t catch me a husband anytime soon – but at 23 that’s not the goal. I just want to be able to make dinner and have credibility at work. Here it is – I’ve never boiled an egg.

After a few text messages and a short stint on Google, I found that you should boil an egg for about 15 minutes? Apparently this isn’t rocket science.

My salad was delicious. If only it could hang on my mom’s fridge. She’d probably be proud.

Brooke

Hi, my name is Brooke... and I can't cook.

I have two degrees (Five if you count kindergarten, eighth grade and high school graduations). I've also been to Scotland, England, France, Argentina and I'm going to Nicaragua in a few weeks. Oh - and I have a "real job" as the Coordinator of Promotional Programs at the Oklahoma Pork Council.

Whew. Ok. Now that I've overcompensated - I can tell you that I have no idea how to cook. I mean, I can make an amazing dish of Spaghettios with a side of Ramen Noodles.

I'll just skip right to it. About 3 weeks ago at our first Backyard Barbecue with Tulsa's News on 6 Travis Meyer, I was preparing for my first on-air interview. We were discussing questions he may or may not ask me on air.

Travis: "Is pulled pork easy to make?"

Me: ::silent::

Travis: "Is pulled pork easy to make?"

Me: Oh, right. Um. Can you not ask me that?

Travis looked at me like I was a twenty-three-year-old moron.

It was then I knew I had to take this cooking thing seriously. If not for my job's sake - for the sake of earning instant street-cred by having a kitchenaid mixer on my counter top. (A girl can dream, right?)

So, this is an official invitation. I need help. Send me easy recipes, I'll make them, I'll let you know how it goes. Tell your friends, aunts, Uncle Jerry, Cousin Steve, grandma... recruit the troops. I'm going to need it.

Brooke