Balsamic Green Bean Salad ala ~DKBB~
(original recipe from www.tasteofhome.com)

photo from tasteofhome.com

2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1½ inch pieces
¼ cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground mustard
½ tsp. white pepper
1 large red onion, chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved
crumbled feta cheese

• Place beans in a 6-qt. stockpot; add water to cover; bring to a boil; cook, covered, 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and immediately place in ice water; drain and pat dry.
• In a small bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, mustard and pepper; drizzle over beans; add onion; toss to coat.
• Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour (but the longer, the better).
• Mix tomatoes, feta cheese, salt, and cracked black pepper to taste into individual servings to taste.

Lime, Soy, and Maple Drizzle for Pork Chops ala ~CHB~

Lime, Soy, and Maple Drizzle for Pork Chops ala ~CHB~

(original recipe in October 2016 edition of Cooking Light)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. lime juice (fresh, if you’ve got it)

2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup

1½ Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar (a hot one works good)

Dash of crushed red pepper

1 tsp. water

½ tsp. cornstarch

2 pork chops

• Melt butter in small, heavy saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned (about 30 seconds).
• Add lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper; stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
• Stir together water and cornstarch in small bowl; add to sauce.
• Cook, stirring often, until sauce thickens (about 2 minutes).
• Grill pork chops, basting the chops with some of the sauce.
• Drizzle remaining sauce over chops to serve.

Pork Chops w/Honey-Balsamic Glaze ala ~DKBB~

Pork Chops with Honey-Balsamic Glaze ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Nicole Clayton on tasteofhome.com)

4 bone-in pork loin chops

½ tsp. crushed red pepper

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

Glaze

½ cup balsamic vinegar (Wildly Delicious Fine Foods Black Heat Hot Spice Balsamic Vinegar)

½ cup honey

2 tsp. dried minced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or ¼ tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

⅛ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. pepper

¼ cup butter, cubed

• Sprinkle pork chops with crushed pepper flakes, salt, and pepper (both sides).
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add pork chops; cook for 5 -7 minutes per side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium, a meat thermometer should read 160°). Remove from pan and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, whisk the vinegar, honey, minced onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 6 – 8 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and whisk in butter until melted.

Sausage & Polenta

Sausage and Polenta with Balsamic Vinaigrette ala ~DKBB~
(original recipe from Better Homes & Gardens)

1/2 of a 16-oz. tube of refrigerated cooked polenta

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 to 6 uncooked sausage links, each cut into 4 to 6 pieces (original recipe called for sweet Italian sausage, but I use combinations such as 2 to 3 sweet and 2 to 3 hot Italian sausages, or any such mixture of sweet/mild and hot/bold sausages)

1/2 c. apple juice

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. snipped dried tomatoes

1 8-oz. package mixed salad greens (a spinach mix works great)

• Preheat oven to 400° F; cut polenta into 1/4-inch slices, then cut each slice in half; brush polenta with oil; arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking pan; bake approximately 15 minutes or until light brown, turning once.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sausage over medium heat for 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly; remove sausage from skillet; drain off fat; wipe skillet with paper towels.
• Return sausage to skillet; add apple juice, balsamic vinegar, and dried tomatoes; bring to boiling; reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until sausage is thoroughly cooked (no longer pink).
• To serve, divide salad greens among four dinner plates; arrange polenta slices and sausage pieces next to greens; drizzle remaining warm balsamic mixture over greens, polenta, and sausage. Makes 4 servings.

I had purchased some polenta at Trader Joe's in Lincoln when we were there around New Year's. I didn't have a clue what to make with it and came across this recipe on Yahoo Shine. I made it for Chuck's "welcome back from Alaska Study Away trip" last night and it was a huge hit. I wish I would have thought to take a photo before we ate, but we were both pretty hungry and I forgot.