Elegant and Simple Dinner Meals
I could honestly spend hours in the kitchen – I love cooking that much. However, my reality as a working mom doesn’t allow me to do that (except for on the weekends). I’ve realized, though, that lack of time doesn’t have to stop me from creating elegant weeknight meals. I LOVE shortcuts and I use them a lot to help create nice meals for us. Below are a couple Elegant and Simple Dinner Meals using some great shortcuts AND leftovers!
Herb Marinated Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions
Pork chops aren’t what I would consider elegant, but add some caramelized onions, fresh herbs, garlic – and it takes them to an entirely new and tasty level. These are seriously so good. James says this is one of his favorite things that I make.
Balsamic Roasted Brocollini and Cheesy Herbed Mashed Cauliflower
The pork chops alongside roasted balsamic brocollini and cheesy herbed mashed cauliflower makes this a perfect meal! Bonus: I had some leftover gravy from a roast I made earlier in the week. I added it to the pork chops and mashed cauliflower! I used a frozen bag of Trader Joe’s mashed cauliflower! If you’re entertaining in the near future and don’t want to spend hours in kitchen, but wow your guests – this is the menu! All together – this took about 20 minutes to prep!
Pasta Bolognese and A Spring Grilled Caesar Salad
Bolognese is one of my favorite things to make! It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients, time or money to make this. But I think it’s such an Elegant Dish. I recently made a chuck roast for Sunday dinner and instead of tossing all of the drippings, such as the carrots, garlic, herbs, and celery. I kept it all and repurposed to make bolognese (since those are the key ingredients in that sauce). It was so good and such a great short cut! It’s a good reminder for me to think twice before getting rid of the “scraps”.
A Spring Grilled Caesar Salad
Okay, so have you ever grilled your lettuce? If not, pretty pretty please give it a whirl! It will change your life! Okay, maybe a little extreme but for real it’s that good! This spring version of Caesar salad uses what’s in season such as asparagus and zucchini, again both grilled! I also used buttermilk biscuit croutons because I had some homemade ones on hand that were going stale. Of course, you can use traditional croutons, too.
Herb Marinated Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
For the Herb Marinade
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh chives chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tsp fresh parsley chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 bone in pork chops
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
For the Caramelized Onions
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small shallot minced
- 1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients together and pour over the pork chops. Make sure each pork chop is covered well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
- To prepare the pork chops, grill is best. You can also pan fry. Cook time on each side depends on the thickness of the meat. It’s easy to dry pork chops out so be sure to pay close attention whether or grilling or pan frying.
- Before you begin cooking the pork chops, prepare the onions. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the butter, lemon zest, and onions. Cook, stirring often and making sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 5-7 minutes or until caramelized. Serve a bit of onions on each pork chop before serving. Enjoy.
Balsamic Roasted Brocollini
Ingredients
- 2 large handfuls of Brocollini
- 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the brocollini on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Serve with fresh parmesean.
Cheesy Herbed Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head Cauliflower Or a bag of frozen cauliflower from Trader Joe’s
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 3 cloves roasted garlic
- 2 tbsp greek yogurt or sour cream
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil and add the cauliflower (or frozen bag if using that). Strain and return the cooked cauliflower to the pan.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the cooked cauliflower and mix well. Seasons to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with some more fresh chives as garnish.
Bolognese Sauce from Bon Appétit
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 small carrot peeled, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef chuck 20% fat, patted dry
- Kosher salt
- 3 oz. thinly sliced pancetta finely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of finely grated nutmeg
- 2 cups or more homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 lb. fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle or dry rigatoni
- 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan about ½ cup, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Pulse onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Break beef into small clumps (about 1½”) and add to pot; season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally but not breaking meat apart, until beef is lightly browned but not crisp, 6–8 minutes. It may be gray in spots (that’s okay!) and still a little pink in the center. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a medium bowl.
- Wipe out pot. Cook pancetta in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pancetta has released some of its fat and is crisp, 6–8 minutes. Add onion mixture to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and beginning to stick to surface, 6–8 minutes.
- Return beef to pot and pour in wine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, smashing down on beef with a wooden spoon, until wine is evaporated, surface of pot is almost dry, and meat is finely ground, 12–15 minutes. (The meat should be reduced to what looks like little bits. It takes a bit of effort, but you can take breaks.) Add tomato paste, bay leaf, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally and still pressing down on meat, until tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 5 minutes.
- Pour stock and milk into pot; add a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until meat is very, very tender, 2–2½ hours. There shouldn’t be any rapid bubbles at this stage. Instead, the sauce should release the occasional small bubble or two. When finished, the sauce should have the texture of and look like a sloppy joe mixture. If the liquid reduces before the meat is completely tender, add an extra ½ cup stock and continue cooking. Discard bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning with salt; keep warm.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.
- Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and ½ cup Parmesan. Increase heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer pasta to a platter and top with more Parmesan.
A Spring Grilled Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
For the Vinaigrette
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 live juiced, approximately 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Salad
- 2 heads of romaine lettuce tops and bottoms trimmed, cut lengthwise
- 1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and cleaned
- 1 zucchini sliced lengthwise in thirds
- 2 ears of sweet corn stalk removed
- 1 cup of homemade croutons bake stale bread drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper at 375 for 10-15 minutes
Instructions
For Dressing:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
Mix all of the vinaigrette ingredients together and brush over the lettuce and all the vegetables.
- Grill the lettuce for only 2-4 minutes. Don’t let the lettuce wilt. You just want a nice char. Time will vary depending on your grill.
- Grill the remaining vegetables until tender.
- Transfer the lettuce and vegetable to a cutting board and chop everything. Transfer to a bowl, add the croutons and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately.
Leave a Comment