TENDER &YUMMY PORK CHOPS & GRAVY

I came up with this recipe from a combination of 2 different yet similar recipes in an old Church cookbook, and a little bit of my own tweaking.   These chops came out fork tender, and the gravy is sooooo yummy with mashed potatoes!  My family loved this one, and I'm sure yours will too!

Tender & Yummy Pork Chops & Gravy:
(This Recipe From: Angie's Kitchen)

1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
4-6 boneless or bone-in pork chops (I used bone-in)
1 1/2 cups Italian Style bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1 pkg Italian Salad Dressing mix
1 (14 1/2 oz) can beef broth

Beat egg and milk together.  Set aside.  Combine bread crumbs, flour, and dressing mix.  Dip pork chops in egg mixture, then into flour mixture.  Repeat.  Brown on both sides in a large skillet, use a little olive oil if needed.  Pour beef broth over browned pork chops; bring to a boil, and let simmer until fork tender, about an hour.

KIELBASA & BOWTIE PASTA

(This Recipe From: Mommy's Kitchen Blog)

8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta

1 lb fully cooked kielbasa, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 jar 4 1/2oz sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbs butter
1 tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the sausages mushrooms and garlic in butter. Combine cornstarch and milk until smooth; gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta; add to sausage mixture. Stir in the peas and cheese; cook until cheese is melted.

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

Oh how I love soup on a cold winter day!  Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, so I decided to make a pot of soup, but I wanted something different and new.  I found this recipe on the blog RECIPE SHOEBOX.   I made a few adjustments to suit my family's taste....I added cooked chicken, and instead of 1/2 lb of Velveeta cheese, I used 1 lb. we like things cheesy at our house, and I think it makes the soup a little thicker which we also like.  I am posting the original recipe from RECIPE SHOEBOX, but I will put my additions and adjustments in parenthesis.  Hope you give this one a try!

Broccoli Cheese Soup
(Recipe from: Recipe Shoebox blog)

1 tbs oil (I used olive oil)
3 cups water
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 pkg (10oz) chopped broccoli, thawed
3 cups milk
1 medium onion, chopped
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed ( I used 1 lb.)
pepper and garlic powder to taste ( I used 1/2 tsp minced garlic)
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded ( this is my addition)

Heat oil, add onions.  Saute 3 minutes.  Add water.  Heat to boiling. Stir in bouillon cubes until dissolved.  Add noodles and salt gradually so mixture continues to boil.  Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broccoli and garlic, cook 3 minutes more.  Add milk, pepper, and cheese (this is where I added my chicken).  Stir until cheese melts.  Serves 6.

APPLE CRUMBLE PIE

Have you ever had one of those days where NOTHING turns out the way you had planned?  It seems the older I get the more of these days I have.  I had not planned on making this pie, I started out excited about making a French Pecan Pie.  I had purchased all of the ingredients needed to make it, but after mixing up the first layer and pouring it into my two pie shells, that there was not enough room for the other 3 layers!  Here I was with 2 sticky pie shells that I could not use.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I would NEVER waste a good pie crust!  So I poured the sticky pecan layer out of the pie shells, and scraped the bottom easily so not to tear them.  Now, what am I gonna do with these pie shells?  When all else fails.....just ask Paula Deen.  So I pulled out all of my Paula Deen cookbooks, and found a recipe for Apple Crumble Pie.  This sounded great, but the only problem was, I didn't have all of the ingredients for the filling!  Luckily, I had canned my own homemade pie filling back in the Fall.  So I improvised and used it.  So I thought my problems were over.....not exactly.  I misread the recipe, and put the "crumble" on top of the filling instead of the crust!  What a day!!!  Well, I just improvised again, and sprayed the lattice top with spray butter, and sprinkled it with a cinnamon-sugar mixture.  How did it turn out?  YUMMY!  Oh, and you are probably wondering about the French Pecan Pie.....I just sent my sweet hubby to the store for 2 deep dish pie crusts!  So I ended up with 4 pies instead of two, but I didn't waste anything!  I am posting Paula's version of this recipe and mine.  I hope you give them both a try!

PAULA'S VERSION:


Dough for a double crust 9 inch pie (homemade, frozen, or refrigerated)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tb all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples
1 16-ounce jar applesauce
1 tb lemon juice
2 tbs butter, chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping:

3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tb sugar
Dash of salt
1 tb butter, at room temp.

ANGIE'S VERSION:

2 regular 9-inch pie crusts
1 box refrigerated pie crust
1 jar Angie's canned apple pie filling (or any canned pie filling)
Paula's recipe for crunch topping

 PAULA'S VERSION:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over tip of pie. For crunch topping, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.


ANGIE'S VERSION:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide pie filling evenly between the two pie crusts. Make crumb topping as directed above, and sprinkle over top of pie filling. Then cut pie crusts into strips and place over top of crumble. Spray top of lattice crust with spray butter, and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake as directed above.

CAST IRON SKILLET CORN BREAD

This corn bread recipe is soooo good! If you like moist, slightly sweet corn bread this recipe is definitely for you. I got this recipe from Food Network, it was listed under Paula Deen....duh of course it's good! Give this one a try, I know you won't regret it!

Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread:
(Food Network, Paula Deen)

1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
8 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tbs for the skillet later on. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temp. to 375 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes.

FAVORITE PORK SANDWICHES

I got the idea for this recipe from a Taste of Home Slow Cooker cookbook.  In the original recipe, you add the sauce with the fully cooked pork.  For me, this is way too much sauce, and I didn't care for the taste of the sauce.  So I used our favorite bottled BBQ sauce, and just added it to my sandwich.  If you like a lot of sauce, you could just add in your favorite homemade or bottled sauce at the end and heat through, or just add your favorite sauce to the sandwich like I did.  Regardless, this is a must try recipe.  The root beer gives the pork a surprising flavor!  Enjoy!

Favorite Pork Sandwiches:
(From: Taste of Home Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes 2010)

1 boneless pork loin roast (about 2 lbs)
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tbs minced garlic
3 cups Root beer, divided
1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

Place roast in a 3qt slow cooker.  Add the onion, garlic and 1 cup of the root beer.  Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until meat is tender.  In a small saucepan, combine the chili sauce, hot pepper sauce and remaining root beer.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until thickened.  Remove meat from slow cooker; cool slightly.  Discard cooking juices.  Shred pork and return to slow cooker.  Stir in barbecue sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through.  Serve on buns or kaiser rolls.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE BREAKFAST CRESCENT

1 roll maple flavored breakfast sausage (or flavor of your choice)
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
2 cans crescent rolls
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Unroll 1 roll crescent roll dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Spread cream cheese on dough, leaving 1/2 inch all the way around.  Cook and drain sausage and sprinkle on top of cream cheese.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, and top with remaining crescent roll dough pressing seams to seal.  With a fork seal top and bottom dough all the way around.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until dough is golden brown.  Cut into squares and serve.

QUICK AND EASY BREAD BOWLS

Do you like soups, stews, or chili's in a bread bowl, but never have the time to make them from scratch?  Well this post is for you!  Rhodes has a line of frozen bread dough that you can buy in rolls or loaves.  You can use either for this recipe, but I use the loaves.

To make your bread bowls, place your loaves on a greased baking sheet.  Each loaf will make 2 bread bowls.  Follow the thawing directions on the bag.  When the loaves are thawed completely, use a knife and cut each one in half.  Round each piece of dough into a ball.  Place back on your greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Mmmmmmm......Potato soup!!!!  These bread bowls can also be used for dips.  you can make them any size you want, just cut the dough as big or little as you like.  For more ideas using Rhodes frozen dough you can go to their website www.rhodesbread.com .  Hope you try this one out!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hey everybody!  Hope you all had a safe and wonderful New Year.  Now is the time for resolutions, and I have a BIG one.....get back to cooking at home!  2010 was a rough year for me and my family.  My Dad passed away in May, and with that came a lot of adjustments for us all.  My Mother who just turned 72, had not driven in almost 15 years!  Luckily, she had kept up her licence, and did not have to take a new test.....well, not an official test anyway.  Yes, I was the lucky one who had to ride with her for the first time, and I must say, she surprised me!  She has surprised me in so many ways, her strength through all of this is so amazing to me.  My parents were married for almost 53 years, and to suddenly and unexpectedly lose someone you have been with and loved for that long.....all I can say is, with God's love strength you can get through anything!  Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Things are now slowing down and getting back to as normal as they can be after losing someone.  I hope to get back to cooking at home again, and posting the recipes more regularly.  I actually have several photos of things I did have time to make, but just never found the time to post them.  I will try to get those posted today or tomorrow.  I hope you come back and check them out, and again....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!