Teriyaki Pork Chops

As I've told just about everyone, I have an ulcer. Because of this, I have to be careful. Luckily, this was perfect. I prefer to make my own teriyaki sauce, but bottled is just fine, too.

To make my teriyaki sauce, combine about a cup of soy sauce, a small can of pineapple juice, about two Tablespoons of crystallized ginger, a pinch of arrowroot powder, and the juice of half a lemon. Cook this on medium-high heat until the sauce has a syrupy consistency. Pour it over the top of your meat, in this case pork chops, and let it marinate at least three hours.

Heat your grill, pour some of the marinade over the top of the pork, and cook until the pork is cooked through, about five minutes per side.

I served this with mashed potatoes I made with cream, unsweetened almond milk, butter, garlic powder, salt, and rosemary, and corn. Will and I both loved the pork chops, and the mashed potatoes were perfect. The meat was marinated just long enough that the fat pretty much dissolved.

Fettuccine With Grilled Vegetables: Good, But I Made a Mistake

Since it's summer, I decided it would be time to grill some vegetables. This recipe is a good one, but I made a mistake that made it taste less than great. I will explain below.

First, chop up an eggplant and a bell pepper and skewer the pieces in a pattern along with eight ounces of crimini mushrooms. Set this aside.

Combine half a cup of dry white wine, a quarter cup of water, a Tablespoon of arrowroot, tarragon, and dried basil. Put this on high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Cook a minute or two longer and remove from the heat. Brush the skewers with the sauce you just made and cover the rest to keep it warm.

Put the skewers on a heated grill and cook until it's browned on all sides. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine according to the package directions.

Once everything is ready, put the pasta on a plate, toss the sauce you set aside with the pasta, add the vegetables, and top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

The mistake I made was in tossing the pasta in the sauce too soon; needless to say, the pasta absorbed the sauce and glombed together. I added olive oil to help un-stick the pasta, but that made it taste really funky because evidently, the sauce I used mixed with the vegan pasta I used and the olive oil resulted in an odd flavor. However, other than that, it was decent enough for my liking.

Dairy Free Pancakes: Unusual Flavor, But Easy to Make

As I said before, I have a duodenal ulcer. I discovered that eating dairy gives me heartburn, so I decided that it would be a good idea to give my stomach a break by eating something I know my body can handle: pancakes. I converted a recipe from The Antoinette Pope School Cookbook to be dairy free and low fat.

Sift together a cup of flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, one Tablespoon of sugar, and three quarters of a teaspoon salt. In another bowl, combine one large beaten egg, a cup of room temperature almond milk, and two Tablespoons safflower oil. Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry and combine only until the ingredients are moist but slightly lumpy. If you can't combine all the ingredients, add a little more almond milk.

Put a nonstick skillet on medium heat and test by sprinkling a drop of water on the skillet; if it forms tiny bubbles or bounces, it's ready. Pour the batter in the pan to form the pancakes using a spoon that will give them the desired size. Flip the pancakes like you would any normal pancake.

The pancakes tasted a bit like toasted nut butter, but once you put a bit of grade B maple syrup on it, they taste like any other pancake. Otherwise, the consistency and texture was the same as the full dairy ones.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers: Small Changes, Big Difference

I found out that I have a duodenal ulcer, which means that cooking has been a little bit complicated. Needless to say, I've been having a heck of a time finding food that doesn't hurt to eat in the end. Luckily, a little innovation goes a long way with me, and I won't let an ulcer keep me down.

I stuffed the peppers like in my last post (thawed frozen spinach, 2 ounces of Neufchatel cheese cooked rice, salt, and mozzarella cheese on top), but I omitted the tomatoes and Parmesan cheese from the filling. I cooked them the same way all the same (35-40 minutes on 375).

Again, Will loved them. Better yet, they didn't bother my stomach at all, so I now know I can make this when my ulcer is irritated.

Chicken Marsala: Classic, But So Tasty

I haven't made this in almost a year, and I'm glad I did, because I found out that this is one of Will's favorite chicken recipes out of my culinary repertoire.

First, brown a half pound of sliced mushrooms in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, pound out two chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness and bread by dipping them in two eggs followed by a mixture of flour and seasoned salt.

Once the mushrooms are done, put them on a plate and set them aside. Using the same pan as you cooked the mushrooms, brown the breasts until they are no longer pink in the center and set them aside.

Return the mushrooms to the pan and add about a half cup of marsala wine; cook this until it reduces down to a glossy state.

Put one breast on each plate and spoon the sauce and mushrooms over the top and serve. I served this with blanched asparagus and Will's famous mashed potatoes, but any vegetable and starch will work just fine.

Will told me that out of all the chicken dishes I make and have made, this is by far his favorite. I love this because of how low maintenance it really is and how easy it is. I will have to remember to make it more often for him.

Not a big fan of meat? This works pretty well with tofu as well; just don't bread it.

Potato Leek Soup: Delicious and Easy

A former friend of mine made a potato leek soup with kielbasa. I loved the concept and decided to make it meatless.

First, wash and cut up five potatoes and one leek, put it into a pan, and cover it with coconut milk and water and add seasoned salt to taste; add less than you think because it will get stronger as it simmers. Let this simmer for an hour or until the leeks are tender and clear and the potatoes practically fall apart.

This was fantastic; Will didn't use as many crackers as he normally does, which I would say is a pretty big win for me. It was more flavorful than said former friend because I added more seasoning and had a richer flavor because I let it simmer longer and added the coconut milk sooner.

Stuffed Acorn Squash: A Twist on the Original

A couple months back, I made vegan stuffed acorn squash. I had procured two acorn squashes from a family friend and thought, why don't I add browned homemade sausage to the stuffing mix and see how it works out?

First, prepare the recipe like you otherwise would, just add sausage made with marjoram, sage, ginger, and salt that you browned in a pan. When you fill the squash with the filling, do not sprinkle brown sugar over the top of them.

This recipe turned out fantastic! Will and I were both pleased with how it turned out, and I will definitely make this again.