Bold new recipes to try this spring

By Susan McClanahan

Do you ever get into a cooking rut and need a few new recipes to try? If so, you might take a look at the recipes I am sharing with you today. All of these recipes are family friendly, flavorful and economical. Now is the time to break out of that rut and try some new entree recipes for springtime cooking.

Velvet Pork Chops

• 4 boneless pork chops (loin chops preferred)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops with salt and pepper on top of them. Cook until browned, then flip and salt and pepper again. Continue cooking until opposite side is brown.

Pour in chicken broth, reduce heat to medium and cook until broth is mostly evaporated, about 10 minutes. Once broth has cooked down, remove chops from pan and turn off heat, but leave pan on the stove eye. Have a wooden spoon handy and pour the cream into pan. Immediately start stirring and continue until the pan remnants are fully blended in with the cream and cream is warm and thick, just a few minutes. Serve chops with delicious cream sauce spooned over them.

Ranch Fried Chicken Tenders with Come-Back Sauce

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package (1 ounce) dry ranch dressing mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Pour oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch and place over medium to medium-high heat while you prepare the chicken.

Stir flour and ranch dressing mix together in a shallow bowl. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and beat well with a fork. Dip each piece of chicken into eggs to coat, then dredge in flour mixture on both sides. Check the oil to see if it is hot enough and reduce heat to medium.

Place breaded chicken pieces into the oil a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook until browned on both sides and no longer pink in the center, turning as needed. Serve piping hot with Come-Back Sauce.

Come-Back Sauce

The nice thing about this sauce is that you can make as much or as little as you need. It is equal parts of mayonnaise and ketchup and a heavy dose of ground black pepper.

• 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup ketchup
• Ground black pepper to cover the top of this mixture in the bowl

Place equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl. For this recipe we are using 4 tablespoons of each. Stir together until well blended. Sprinkle enough black pepper on top to cover the mixture in the bowl. Stir that in. Sprinkle black pepper to cover once more; stir until well blended.

Enjoy with fries, chicken tenders, etc.

Note: Despite the amount of black pepper in this, it is not a spicy sauce. The best part of this sauce is that you can make as little or as much as you want, from two tablespoons to two gallons.

Honey-Soy Grilled Chicken Thighs

• 3 pounds skin-on chicken thighs (legs or breasts can be used)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon olive or sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• Pepper to taste
• Green onions, garnish

In a shallow baking dish, combine the garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, olive oil, ginger and pepper. Mix well to combine all the ingredients. Add the chicken thighs and marinate at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, or in a gallon-size plastic zip-top bag. If possible, marinate longer because that is even better.

Remove chicken from marinade and discard the marinade.

Heat gas or charcoal grill. When grill is heated, place chicken on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals. Cook covered about 20 minutes or until juice is clear when center of thickest part is cut. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 1 teaspoon Simply Asia sweet ginger-garlic seasoning
• 1/2 cup Mr. Yoshida's Gourmet Sweet & Savory, or you can use teriyaki sauce, hoison sauce or pineapple juice if you cannot find Mr. Yoshida's sauce, which is usually available at Sam's Club
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

Microwave the limes in the microwave for about 25 seconds to make them easier to juice, then juice to make 1/4 cup juice. In a resealable plastic gallon-size zip-top bag or shallow glass container, combine the honey, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger garlic seasoning and Mr. Yoshida's sauce; mix well.

Rinse and clean your chicken and cut off any fat. Make sure you wash your hands when you are finished handling the chicken. Add chicken to bag and turn to coat, leaving a couple halves of the limes in the marinade. Seal bag or cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken uncovered over medium heat until chicken is cooked and juices run clear.

Any leftover chicken can be sliced and served on a salad or in a flour tortilla with romaine lettuce and Caesar dressing, as well as other uses.

No Peek Beef Tips

• 2 pounds beef tenderloin tips, stew meat, chuck roast or chuck eye, cubed
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 packet (0.87 ounces) brown gravy mix
• 1 packet (1.25 ounces) Lipton dry onion soup mix
• 1 can (4 ounces) mushrooms, drained or fresh
• 1 cup water

Add cubed meat to a 9x13-inch pan. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the meat. Add mushrooms and stir to coat. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Do not remove foil until done.

Serve over rice, mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

A Twist on Shrimp and Grits

When making the grits, try adding cheese, salt and garlic powder; you won't be disappointed.

• 6 servings of grits according to package directions, cooked and chilled in a buttered loaf pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Chicken broth
• 20 large peeled shrimp (or more as desired)
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• Cayenne pepper or Louisiana Hot Sauce to serve at the table

Cook grits according to the package directions, making the 6-serving amount. Pour into a buttered loaf pan, cover and refrigerate until set.

Cut desired number of slices off the loaf of chilled grits. Season with salt and pepper and pan-fry in butter; remove from skillet and keep warm.

Melt butter in saute pan and cook bell pepper, onion and garlic until soft. Whisk flour in pan with veggies. When browned, thin with chicken broth until sauce is desired thickness. Add shrimp to pan and cook until shrimp are pink and done, but no longer than 3 minutes. Put fried grits on plates and top with shrimp sauce. Have cayenne pepper, Louisiana Hot Sauce or your favorite hot seasoning on hand for individuals to use as desired.

Have a great week and, until next time, happy cooking.