Apple Pork Chops

Okay, I always seem to remember that I was supposed to post the morning after. At least I remember, right? I'll make up for it today by posting one of our family's most favorite dinners ever! And it is easily in my top five "Easiest Dinners to Make."

APPLE PORK CHOPS

4 pork chops
1 can apple pie filling
1 box pork stuffing

Brown pork chops in skillet, then place in the crock pot. Prepare stuffing according to box directions, then pour stuffing and pie filling over pork chops. Let cook about 6 hours on low (or until pork chops are cooked through-most of the time they start falling apart). Enjoy!

Who wants Easy Pizza!

PIZZA!!!


So this is a great mini pizza that you can throw together really easy.


Corn Tortillas you can also use flour tortillas
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzerella Cheese
(any pizza condements you would like pepperoni, sausage, olives, and pineapples)
ragu sauce


heat the oven to 375 degrees

put about 6 corn tortillas on a cookie sheet
spread ricotta cheese on each shell
then spoon sauce over the cheese
you then add any of the condiments you want
make sure you add the shredded cheese at the end cover it really well!

put it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, you want it to be incredibly done to over done.

then eat and enjoy!!! There also great as leftovers.

Italian roast beef over egg noodles

I like a good pot roast every so often, but sometimes I get tired of doing the whole "meat and potatoes with gravy" thing every time. My mom described this dish to me last week and I tried it out the other day. There's no set recipe, so this is just me sort of making it up based on what my mom tried and liked. It ended up being a perfect combination of flavors when serving it italian-style over noodles: garlic, tomatoes, and onion. Ryan and I both liked it a lot, and he said I could make it again which is always a good sign. :)

pot roast

1 can of italian tomatoes, stewed or diced

3-5 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic, but more is better for this dish)

white onion (as large or small as you want, depending on how much onion you like)

salt and pepper and/or any kind of italian seasonings

Cut your garlic cloves in half (ish) so they have a point to each piece. Then make holes in your roast with a sharp knife so that you can insert the pieces of garlic into the holes all over the meat. Do this as much as you want - it really added an awesome flavor to the meat!

Spray your crockpot with Pam. Cut the onion into wedges or slices (whatever you like), and put them on the bottom. Put your meat in and season it with salt and pepper or other seasonings. Pour your can of italian-style tomatoes over the top and around the sides. Cook on low for 7 hours.

We pulled the roast apart into smaller pieces once it was done cooking, and served it over whole wheat egg noodles with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It was yummy!

**One can of tomatoes was plenty, but the stewed tomatoes didn't have enough pieces of tomato once you serve it over noodles, in my opinion. Next time I'll try diced and see if that works better. I also added a tiny bit of water, but it was totally unnecessary since it ended up plenty liquidy. Or maybe you could try 2 cans of stewed tomatoes but drain one, so you get more tomato but not all the liquid.

Winter Squash Soup

Sorry to post another squash recipe but this is what we ate for dinner tonight. It's delicious.

Winter Squash Soup- Ina Garten (Straight from the cookbook-Barefoot in Paris)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small or one large)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks

3 cups Homemade chicken stock or canned broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half and half

Creme fraiche, grated Gruyere, or croutons for serving (optional)

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, butternut squash, chicken stock, salt and pepper. cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the butternut squash is very tenter. Process the mixture through the medium blade of a food mill. Return to the pot, ad the half-and-half, and heat slowly. If the soup needs more flavor, add another teaspoon of salt. Serve hot with garnishes, if desired.

Here's the way I do it:

- I never have unsalted butter- so I just taste as I go to make sure that it doesn't get too salty.

- I always used the Swanson's low sodium chicken broth- She has a recipe for homemade chicken stock in the book. If you want it- let me know and I'll post it.

- I didn't have half-and-half on hand tonight when I made this so I subbed whole milk. I couldn't tell the difference and I felt better about eating a second, okay, third bowl.

- Creme Fraiche is just a fancy way of saying sour cream in my book and the soup is so good with the optional garnishes.

- Instead of croutons I just serve it with a good piece of warm bread.

- I don't have a food mill. You could easily put it in your blender, in small batches and blend until smooth. I have a hand blender that I just stick in the pot and go to town until it's smooth.

That's it! It's a super easy one pot meal.

Mac & Cheese (with a hidden surprise)

...made with winter squash?!


I've been trying really hard to get Amelia to eat vegetables. She doesn't like them. Or rather, she just plain refuses to eat them whether or not she's even tasted it. She'll only eat green beans, and that's only if she's in the mood. It's not surprising because I'm pretty picky myself and will only eat a few different kinds of veggies, depending on if and how they're cooked. There are quite a few that I don't like at all. I found this recipe on food network in my search to "sneak" some veggies into Amelia's diet. She loves mac & cheese so I figured she'd eat it (she didn't). I made it for her today at lunch (although it's a little more effort than I want to spend on lunch) and I thought it turned out pretty good. I struggle and tend to make stupid mistakes when I'm cooking sometimes so it probably could have been even better...but such is my life.

While I'm on the subject...do any of you have any suggestions on how to get your little ones (or yourself for that matter) to eat vegetables? Or even any other recipes with veggies snuck in? She's too young to understand the "you'll eat what's in front of you" concept. Maybe she would eat carrot and celery sticks if she had enough teeth. We're just in an awkward age right now and I don't know what to do. I try to make sure we always have some kind of vegetable for dinner (usually a side salad - which Amelia won't eat - or green beans), but I myself don't even eat them throughout the day, I know I'm not getting as much as I should be, and if I'm not eating them Amelia's not going to eat them right? I'm not a salad person.  I like it okay as a side, but I have to really be in the mood for a salad to eat it for a meal. I ate a chicken wrap with lots of veggies on it for lunch today - I guess if I have to do that every day I can....

Sorry about the novel, here's the recipe:

Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

- Cooking spray
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
- 2 cups 1% lowfat milk
- 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 X 13 in. baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until deforsted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, sitrring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cheddar, jack cheese, rocotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Chicken Chili

Yes, another soup recipe from me - this time, with pictures! We love this chicken chili and it is the perfect meal for fall. I do, however, have to make beanless chili in our house (I substitute an extra bell pepper for the beans). Also, I make this in the crock pot, but I think it was actually written for the stove top - I do the first part on the stove, and instead of adding the remaining ingredients to the pot, I add them all into my crock pot.

Anyone else love these little crock pot liners? Saves so much clean-up time, and they're not too expensive at Walmart. Love them!

Yum! I apologize for the lack of presentation, however. Yes, those are styrofoam bowls, but we're leaving town for the weekend and didn't want to add more dishes!

3 chopped chicken breasts

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

Brown ingredients in olive oil on the stove top.

Add:

2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using fire roasted)

2 cans (drained) pinto beans (like I said, I have to go beanless, but you could also use other varieties of beans)

3/4 c. Pace picante sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

Simmer all day. I usually taste test after it's been simmering a while and see if I need to adjust the spices - I'm usually a little generous with them. I like to add a generous dollop of sour cream near the end to make it nice and smooth and creamy. Garnish with shredded cheese. My house has smelled wonderful today!

Easy Mango Chicken

• 4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, I use 3 large breasts)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups mango salsa 
• Cumin to taste
• Lemon Pepper to taste

1. Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add cumin and lemon pepper. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
2. Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
3. Serve over coconut jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.

Coconut Rice (rice cooker version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups good-quality coconut milk (not “lite”)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).
2. Cover and set to cook.
3. Once your rice cooker switches to “warm” mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish “steaming”. This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.
4. Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving. Serves 4

Coconut Rice (stovetop version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice*
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coconut oil, OR other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.
2. Place rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt in the pot and set over medium-high to high heat.
3. Stir until liquid comes to a gentle boil (stirring will keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning).
4. Once the coconut-water has begun to gently bubble, stop stirring and reduce heat to low (just above minimum). Cover tightly with a lid and let simmer about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice (to check, pull rice aside with a fork to see down to the bottom of the pot).
5. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the covered pot on the burner to steam another 5-10 minutes, or until you’re ready to eat. Tip: Your Coconut Rice will stay warm this way for up to 1 hour or more, great for when you’re expecting company!
6. When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks. Taste-test the rice for salt, adding a little more if needed. Serve right out of the pot, or place in another serving bowl.

YUM!!!