Vegetable & Beef Stir Fry

  During the weekend, I made carrot cake muffins with a cream cheese filling for church. The recipe can be found here. They were good, but my favorite carrot cake recipe has to be these whoopie pies.

Orange bell pepper & Bok Choy strips.

  I've been hungry for a stir fry recently and I decided that I would experiment to make another recipe since we don't have any take-out near us. I've already made a Baby Bok Choy & Pork Stir Fry and a simple Beef Stir Fry so I wanted something a little different.I like the idea of making Chinese meals (& other meals) at home since you can keep track of the amount of oil, salt, and the quality of products that are going into your dinner. Most places that serve Chinese food that I've been to usually give you a big plate of thick, salty sauce and very little of the actual meat & veggies.

Sunday Spaghetti Dinner

     This past weekend Twister and his girlfriend (the mare next door) got into a little lover's quarrel.
     The mare's mom didn't seem to care and was a good model for me.
     Since we had good weather I decided to take Hedgie outside for the first time and he seemed to enjoy his little adventure.
 
  This past weekend we had  family out at our house for Sunday Dinner. We expected about 15 1/2 (the 1/2 is for a 6 month old baby), but my cousin had to work so that cut out 2 people and then my dad's cousin and her family couldn't either so it was only 9.

Oven-Fried Chicken

Magazines.
Food Magazines.
I have a good amount of them.I also have a folder with pages from magazines and print outs of recipes to try. I actually have been trying to put together a binder of recipes that I have tried, liked, or created; so it would be like my own little cookbook. I recently found a recipe for oven fried chicken in a Better Homes and Gardens Anyone Can Cook magazine.

With this being the new year, everyone is trying to eat healthier and that usually means giving up the food you enjoy. Well, my dad isn't able to get out of the house much due to his sickness and he has been craving fried chicken. We did own a little fryer, but we got rid of it because we stopped using it a few years ago. While flipping through the magazine I found a recipe for oven-fried chicken that was simple and looked easy enough so I made it. And it was a hit. I've made this recipe twice and each time I tweeked it a little to try and get the perfect (or nearly perfect) results and I think each time it gets a little better. My dad said that If he didn't know that I baked it, he would have thought it was fried. The cornflakes gave a good crunch, the chicken was juicy, and the leftovers tasted even better the next day.

Stove Top Chicken skillet

   I found this recipe in a magazine a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure which magazine it was since I ripped out the page.Oops.I do remember that all of the recipes had at least 1 brand name product that was incorportated in the dishes. This recipe was by Stove Top. I love Stove Top stuffing mix. It was what I made for Thanksgiving. Its the only stuffing that I like; the homemade stuff just doesn't hit the spot like Stove Top's.  Picky? Maybe a little.

  

Stove Top Chicken Skillet

Adapted from: Food & Family magazine 2009

serves: 6

1 1/2 cp hot water
1/4 cp butter, melted
1 pkg (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2lbs)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
black pepper & salt
1/4 cp sour cream*

In a Skillet:
1. Mix together the water, butter, and stuffing mix in a medium bowl. It may look too loose,but it thickens up. set aside. Season the chicken with some black pepper and salt.
2. In a skillet cook the chicken on medium-high heat for 5 minutes per side. Mix together the soup and sour cream; pour over the chicken. Top with the stuffing mixture; cover.
3. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until the chicken is done (165F).
 > I put the skillet under the broiler for 5-7 minutes to get the stuffing slightly crunchy.

For the Oven:
1. Heat the oven to 375F. Prepare everything as directed above.
2. Place the chicken in 9x13 baking dish. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken and top with the stuffing mix.
3.Bake for 35 minutes or until the chicken is done.
>Broil for a few minutes to get a crunchy topping if desired.

*The recipe called for 1/3 of a cup of sour cream, but the end product which was good-was a little too saucey for our liking. You could also maybe just forget the sour cream and loosen the soup with a few tablespoons of hot water.

Weekend Adventures and Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Weekends are usually at time to relax, but not around here.
        First, I had an eye doctor's appointment and it turns out that my vision has improved in the last 2 years so my prescription was cut into half. Then he put some drops in my eyes to dilate my pupils to get a base line for my other doctors on my vision since some of the medication and my lupus can affect my eyes.Have you ever had your pupils dilated by your eye doctor? Its weird. you vision kinda gets fuzzy and your eyes freak people out. It freaked me out, but they only stayed that way for a few hours. Then I got a new pair of  regular glasses and I got a pair of prescription sunglasses. And everything seems so much clearer!

   
    Sunday started out different.
1st-We got an extra hour of sleep
2nd-My mom didn't rush us out of the house like she normally does because she didn't have to teach Sunday school so we got to lag behind alittle. I even got some laundry started and clipped coupons all before getting dressed and getting to church before the main service. I then found out that I would be making breakfast for the next sunday school class since it was my mom's turn to bring breakfast and then I decided if I was going to make something that I would also make something for my class too. If I get an excuse to cook and cook alot I usually take it. Then we decided that we are going to make 2 hams for the holiday dinner and that I would make a few dessserts. Again, I get to bake for a crowd and reap the reward of people liking something I made. Plus, the dessert table is usually the first that gets attacked when we have lunch-ins and seeing as we are having a lot of people, there can never be too many desserts.

Around our house we usually don't eat pork chops a whole bunch. We like them, but usually only buy them when they are on sale and then freeze 'em. Most of the time, we eat them italian style, but I wanted something a little different this time. I used only black pepper, parmesan cheese, and plain bread crumbs. The parmesan gives these pork chops a slightly salty and crunchy texture.

This is a great way to use any leftover parmesan cheese. I know when I buy a container of it for a recipe, I always have alot left over since most recipes I have only call for 1/4-1/2 cup of cheese.

 I served these pork chops with baked potatoes and some sauteed bok choy.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
Created by Rayna of Curious Country Cook

serves: 4

• 4- 1/2inch boneless pork chops (5 ounces each)
• 1/2 cp. plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cp. parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cp. flour
• 2 eggs
• salt & pepper

1. Heat oven to 375 F. Cover a broiler pan with foil and spray with non stick spray.
2. In a shallow dish, combine the flour with 1/2 tsp. salt and some pepper. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with some salt and pepper. In another dish, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
3. Dread the pork chops in the flour, then the egg, and finally the bread crumb mixture.
4. Bake the pork chops for 20 minutes, flip them over, and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Switch the oven to broil and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Lila Mae's Taco Soup

Well the family came out tonight and we ate taco soup.

Lila Mae is my grandma.
She has a soup recipe.
Its called Taco Soup.
Its Amazing.
Even people who aren't big soup fans (me being one) crave it.
End of Story.

Every year, just as Autumn begins my Grandma makes her famous Taco Soup.
Well its famous in our family.
We love it!
Its kind of sad how much we enjoy this soup. What makes it better, it that it freezes well so we can eat it anytime.

Taco Soup

Serves: 12-16 serving

·         2 lbs. ground sirloin

·         1 large onion, diced

·         2 tsp. salt

·         Ground Cumin (starts with 1 teaspoon)

·         Chili Powder (starts with 1 teaspoon*)

·         3 cans Whole Kernel Corn

·         3 cans Pinto Beans (I use Ranch-style)

·         3 cans Ortega diced green chilis

·         3 cans Stewed diced tomatoes (use small diced tomatoes)

·         3 pkg. Hidden Valley original Ranch mix

·         3 pkg. Lawry’s Taco Mix (mild or medium heat)

·         6-8 cp. water

1.      Brown the sirloin and onion in a large skillet. (I soak up any leftover grease with paper towels)

2.      Transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.

3.      Add in the corn, beans, chilies, and tomatoes.

4.      Add the salt, cumin, and chili powder to taste.

5.      Add in the Lawry’s and Ranch packages and 6 cups of water.

6.      Let simmer for several hours, stirring every so often so nothing sticks to the bottom.

7.      As it cooks down, taste it to see if it needs more salt, cumin, or chili powder.

We top our soup with tortilla chips and shredded cheese, but you could add sour cream or jalapenos.

*If you have people who do not like their food hot then 1 tsp. in enough, but if they do enjoy their food hotter, then you could add more.

-- Usually my grandma doubles the recipe so we can have 1 big family dinner together(usually 9-12 people) and then 3 households (each house has less than 4 people) can freeze the leftovers to eat whenever.

Simple Beef Stir Fry

Have you ever had a craving for something, but there were no places around that cooked that particular food or dish?

    Well that is basically the answer for just about every craving I ever have. Living in a small town, we don't have much. Yes, we have a McD's, Sonic(yuck!), and Denny's(double yuck!),a few pizza places, an itty-bitty teeny-tiny italian restraunt and a Soulman's BBQ, but that's it. No sushi, no Chick-fa-la, no Starbucks, no  french bistros, no amazing mexican restraunts. NaDa! They are all in the neighboring towns. (we actually have a small chinese place that opened recently, but the "food" is mostly sauce, not meat or veg; so we only went once.)
    Recently, I have been wanting Chinese food. Stir fry to be exact. Beef and veggie stir fry to be even more exact. Well after looking online for several different recipes, I did what I usually do. I combined a few recipes and made it my own by changing some things.

Mix together everything for the sauce and cut the onion and pepper(s) 

I actually had some assorted peppers already sliced and frozen; so I measured what I thought would equal 1 pepper

Italian Pork Chops & Crashed Potatoes

What's for dinner tonight?

This...

salt, pepper, and lemon zest in flour..

Broccoli, Leek, and Aspargus Soup

When we were at store, I decided that i wanted to make a leek and cauliflower soup. Well I ended up buying broccoli and asparagus and forgot all about the cauliflower that I swore I put in the basket.

Rince the leek under running water to remove any grit. Noone wants sand in their soup.

Roughly chop the onion and garlic; its gonna be pureed in the end

Its like a roasted forest in your oven

Creamed Chicken with Biscuits (It is so easy!)

Want a recipe that is simple,but at the same time looks good and tastes like something that your grandma would make when you visited? Well here it is.....

Creamed Chicken with Biscuits

serves about 6 adults who also ate a small salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large onion or 1 small onion
• 1 tbsp. butter
• About 3-4 cups of chicken, cooked
• 1 (10 3/4  ounce) can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 cp. Sour Cream
• 1/2 cp. milk
• 4-6 Tbsp. of mild diced tomatoes & green Chilis
• 1 cp. shredded Mild, Cheddar cheese, Divided
• 6 frozen biscuits(if big) or 9 small biscuits if using a 9x9 pan
• >>>You could also maybe use canned biscuits which i almost did, but i decided to try this way first.
• Tip: if you want it to have some heat, add 1 or 2 jalapenos (your decision to de-seed them or not; I do)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. If using Big biscuits use an 11x9 pan, but i only had a 9x9 pan so I used a 9x9; Grease the pan.
2. Chop the onion. Melt the butter in a medium-large sauce pan, add the onion, add salt and pepper. Saute the until the onion are transparent,about 5-8 minutes if on medium-high. Add the diced tomato and chili's into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.