Fried Pork Chops

I feel like I have neglected this blog.  Not on purpose.  Just been busy.

But I am still cooking.  Well, mostly.  I haven't cooked dinner for the last two nights but that is because I have some other food projects going on.

However, the other night hubby was out of town, and I still cooked a real meal.

I think that should count for something...a gold star or a pat on the back at least.

Fried pork chops and roasted potatoes, rolls...

Yum.

I fry chicken on occasion but haven't fried pork much.

This week that changed.

I am pretty sure I went up like five notches in my oldest child's eyes...fried pork.  He was smiling from ear to ear.

This is the recipe I followed...

Note that the original author is cooking like 14 pork chops.

I cut that about in half.

Unfortunately I forgot to cut the rest of the recipe in half.

Not a big deal but I wasted some ingredients.

Oops.

So here is my recipe for 6 or 7 pork chops...

Ingredients:
6 or 7 thin boneless pork chops

2 eggs

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used a homemade version)

3/4 to 1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 Tbsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper (I used freshly ground peppercorns)

About 1 cup oil

Directions:

 Heat oil over medium high heat in a skillet.

Prepare egg wash by stirring eggs and Worcestershire sauce in a shallow bowl.

In another bowl, mix the flour and seasonings.

Dip pork chops in egg wash then coat both sides with flour mixture.

Place in skillet (do not crowd) and cook for 3-5 minutes on one side until it begins to brown.  Flip over and cook for another 3-5 minutes until gold brown.  You don't want to mess with them much; you will lose the coating.  And of course, the coating is the good stuff.

Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. 

Obviously, this is not something you want to eat frequently nor is it healthy.

But once in a while, it is a treat...

Enjoy!

Still Cooking...

I am still here, still cooking.  Just buried in schoolwork right now.

Hope to post a recipe in the next few days!

Reba

Month O' Menus

Here we are, halfway through October.  And I am now posting the menu for September.

Sigh.

It is just the way our life is right now...

The good news is I still do plan.  And I still do cook as much as is possible with our crazy schedules.

It may be the one thing keeping me sane...

Week of September 1

Sunday: Mostaccioli, Rhodes bread, salad, chess pie

Monday:  Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, green beans

Tuesday: OYO (On Your Own Night)

Wednesday: brisket (just brisket cooked in a crockpot with beef broth and homemade onion soup mix) on Rhodes rolls, chips

Thursday:  Korean Beef, rice, carrots/Ranch, cheese-stuffed rolls

Friday: Football game (snacks at the game)

Saturday: OYO (on your own)

Breakfast: banana nut bread

Week of September 8

Sunday: bacon wrapped shrimp, white potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls

Monday:  deep dish pizza

Tuesday: OYO

Wednesday: burrito casserole

Thursday:  Amish chicken, bowtie pasta, carrots, Rhodes rolls

Friday: Football game (snacks)

Saturday: hamburgers and fries

Breakfast: chocolate glazed donuts, peanut butter chocolate chip muffins

Week of September 15

Sunday: Out for dinner

Monday:  Waffles, bacon

Tuesday: OYO

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin, roasted potatoes, rolls, black eye peas

Thursday:  Teriyaki chicken and white rice

Friday: Shakes/Popcorn

Saturday: Grilled swai, angel hair pasta, carrots, French bread

Breakfast: cinnamon donuts (I used the cinnamon donut muffin recipe but cooked them in my donut pan), peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal bars

Week of September 22

Sunday: pizza (out)

Monday:  OYO

Tuesday: French Dip sandwiches

Wednesday: White chicken enchiladas

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday: Lasagna, rolls

Saturday: OYO

Breakfast: cinnamon rolls (no yeast), peanut butter/chocolate chip muffins

Now off to plan this week's menu...

Reba

Breakfast Bake

Not the best picture but considering the craziness of the week, I have to take what I can get...

So this past week I have been clipping recipes from the paper and then actually trying them instead of just sticking them in a pile to deal with later.

This recipe caught my eye because it is a breakfast casserole. Now I have another recipe that is actually similar. 

But with ONE major difference.

At least a major difference to me.

This recipe uses bacon.

Bacon.

Bacon.

Oink. Oink.

I LOVE bacon.

Most recipes I have seen use sausage.

I don't love sausage as much.

So I decided to give this a try.

And I loved it. 

In fact, I have been eating the leftovers for lunch.

Most of my family liked it, with the exception of one child who doesn't care for eggs (though she admitted this wasn't so bad) and another who won't touch a potato to save his life...

By the way, this is EASY to put together. It does take a while to cook though so plan ahead.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (or in my case, just cut into small pieces)
1 package frozen hash browns, thawed (I used Southern style)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 eggs
pinch paprika (optional...I left it out)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix the bacon crumbles, hashbrown potatoes, salt, and half the cheese.

Spread into a greased 9 x 13 dish.

Whisk the eggs and the milk together and pour over the top of the potato mixture.  Sprinkle paprika if desired. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes (mine took more like an hour).

Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Enjoy.

We actually ate it for dinner (we like "breakfast for dinner" around here) with fruit and toast.

Yum.

Enjoy!

Reba

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Blondies

 The other day a recipe in the paper caught my eye.  It looked easy enough and looked yummy enough, I decided to give it a try. 

This is a miracle in itself because I often clip recipes then forget that I clipped them. 

Thankfully this one was fresh on my mind (and on my counter).

Today we went for a hike which meant I had a whole bunch of extra calories to enjoy. :)

So tonight after dinner, I threw these together and baked them.

Oh, yum.

Delicious.

Here is my version of the recipe. I followed it fairly closely though I adjusted the actual chocolate part.  The original recipe calls for 1 1/4 pounds of semisweet chocolate chunks. I used chocolate chips and only used about half that amount.  We agreed that any more than what I used would have been TOO much and too rich for us!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature (the original recipe calls for unsalted, I just had salted)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg white, room temperature (I just put three eggs out when I put the butter out)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (I think I used only about 1 cup)
9-12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used about 9 oz which was plenty for me)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease/flour a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer.  Mix on high for 3 minutes.  It should be fairly light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add vanilla.  Then add the eggs one at a time.  Add the egg white.  Mix well, scraping the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, sift together (or just stir in my case :) the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add to the butter mixture with the mixer on low. 

Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Spread/spoon the batter into the pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (no batter).  Don't overbake. 

Cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

French Dip on Homemade Sub Rolls

The other day I really wanted to make French Dip. And that is fairly easy.  But the hard part for us is finding the rolls for sandwiches that don't contain a lot of things we avoid (like preservatives).

So I did a quick search via Internet and found this recipe.  It had great reviews.  And it didn't look too hard.

So one night, after a long day of school and parent/teacher conferences, I threw them together.

A little while later I had this most amazing scent coming from my kitchen.

Homemade rolls.

When I took them out of the oven, I just had to have a little nibble.

Yum.

My teenager wandered in, ready to sample.  Or devour.  Whichever I would allow.

The next night we ate our French dips on these rolls.

And they were still delicious.

Here is the recipe for the rolls...
Ingredients:
2 packages (or 5 tsp) active yeast (I use instant)

3 cups warm water (divided...1/2 cup and 2 1/2 cups)

2 Tbsp sugar divided (1 and 1)

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil (I used olive because I LOVE olive :)

1 Tbsp salt

5-9 cups all purpose flour (I think I used close to 8 but I lost track)

sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:
 Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup water.  Add 1 Tbsp sugar.  Let it sit for about five minutes.  It should kind of "foam" up.

After a few minutes, add the remaining water and sugar.  Add in the oil and begin adding flour (about 4 cups).  Add in the salt.

Knead to make a soft dough, adding flour as needed until it is "not sticky", about 6-8 minutes.  Do NOT over-knead.

Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl (again, I used olive oil).

Cover and let rise, about 45 minutes.

Punch down the dough and divide the dough into small pieces.  The original recipe called for 18 pieces; I decided 16 was easier so my buns were just a bit bigger.  Shape the pieces into an oval.  I need to work on my shaping skills but thankfully that doesn't affect taste. :)  Place on a greased baking dish, about 2 inches apart.

Use scissors to cut a small slash across the top of the buns.

Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add sesame seeds if desired.

Bake for 12-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

They were my favorite "sub" roll that I have made so far.  The original recipe is A LOT so if you don't want that many, I would just halve the recipe. I ended up freezing our leftovers for future meals.

Onto the French dip.

I had a recipe I liked for French dip but with changes in diet around here, I had to re-think some recipes. That was one.  Thankfully one day a good friend of mine posted this recipe.   Perfect!  All things I could use or improvise.

So, here is my version based on her version. :)

French dip
Ingredients:
1 lb thin cut sirloin steak  (I actually use a bigger sirloin though I have never weighed it)
14 oz beef broth (though I add a whole container since I am using a bigger sirloin)
1 packet onion soup mix...this is where I have to improvise.  I make my own using the following recipe instead of using a packaged mix:
  8 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 

Directions:
Combine soup mix and beef broth and pour over the sirloin in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Shred meat with a fork.

I had provolone cheese on hand for those who wanted cheese.

We then ate it on our buns (which we toasted slightly in the oven).

And of course, we used the "au jus" from the crockpot for the dipping part.

Yum.

Easy and yum.

Enjoy!

Reba

Baked Pork Tenderloin

I just can't take pork pictures.

I know what you are thinking.

I just can't take food pictures at all.

And that is true.

But I really can't take pork pictures.

They just don't do the food justice.

So go to the original recipe site and ooh and ahh over their pictures.

Though my pictures didn't turn out quite right, I will say that this was delicious.

My kids LOVED it. 

And they aren't typically big pork eaters.

Even I horded the ONE small leftover piece for my lunch a couple days later, threatening anybody who suggested eating it.

And though it takes a little bit to cook (around 45 minutes), it was easy to assemble.  And worth every bite.

Ingredients:
1 package pork tenderloins (around 2 to 2 1/2 pounds).  I buy the Farmland which has two tenderloins together.

4 garlic cloves quartered/slivered/sliced

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp whole grain mustard (I used a spicy brown mustard because that is what I had...)

4 Tbsp honey (I HIGHLY recommend raw honey; I could eat it by the bowl full)

2 Tbsp fresh orange juice (with food sensitivities, we avoid orange so I used lemon juice)

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary or Herbs de Provence (I used rosemary)

3 Tbsp olive oil

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the pork tenderloins and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Use a paring knife to poke holes all over the pork.  Place the garlic slivers inside the holes.  I know, it looks funny but YUM, tastes really good.

Mix together the remaining ingredients for the marinade (add the olive oil last, whisking together). Pour over the top of the tenderloins.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.  Baste halfway through the baking process with the sauce.  I think I forgot that part.  Oops. :)

Let it rest about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Then enjoy.

The sauce/marinade is delicious.

We ate it with black eye peas, baked potato halves, and parkerhouse rolls.

Happy cooking!

Reba