Asparagus Chicken

I saw this at the grocery store, and bought one, but it wasn't that great.  So I made my own...and it was much more delicious.

• Pound out however many chicken breasts you need
• Lay one side in a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic salt, and whatever herbs you feel like
• On the other side put a layer of mozzarella cheese, and 3-4 asparagus stalks
• Roll up the chicken so the bread crumbs are on the outside, and put a couple of toothpicks through to close it
• I sprinkled it with a little bit of Italian dressing and put another slice of cheese on top
• Bake for about 30-35 min. on 350.
• oh, and I also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on after it was cooked. (I like cheese)

Nuoc Cham

Dallas and I really like going to this Vietnamese place called Gossip down by his work every now and then.  It's so good, because of this lovely little bowl of orange colored sauce they bring you to pour or spread over everything.  We looked up this sauce last night, and made it for ourselves.  We made it a little too hot, I won't be doing that next time.  But here's what our dinner ended up looking like:

Here is the recipe that we used, although we(Dallas) forgot to seed the peppers we got...thus very spicy!
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (Viet Huong Three Crabs brand)
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 of a lime, juiced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic , minced
• 2-3 Thai chili pepper, minced
• I also added a little bit of rice vinegar

Directions:
1) In a small sealable jar, combine water and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice and mix. Adjust flavors to taste.
2) Add garlic and chili pepper.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes before serving. The sauce can be stored at room temperature, if served the same day. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Mom's Raspberry Dessert

Best treat in the summer.

Crust:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Mix and bake in a 9x13 pan for 15 min. at 350 degrees. Cool. Remove from pan and crumble. Press back into the bottom of the pan, saving some for topping.

Filling:
1 c. sugar
2 egg whites
2 c. raspberries
1 envelope dream whip - prepared

Pour filling onto crust and sprinkle with remaining crust crumbs. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving.

Awesome pork chops

This whole thing is copied from http://www.food-fire.com/index.php/2010/08/24/brined-pork-chops/

We've made them twice, and mmmm... They're really good.

Brined Pork Chops

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Dave

Yet another excellent recipe I adapted from Adam Perry Lang’s BBQ 25: The World’s Most Flavorful Recipes-Now Made Fool-Proof. I cut these 1-inch thick chops from the rib end of a whole pork loin. Brining the chops adds a ton of flavor and keeps them very juicy.

The Brine
6 pork chops
Juice of 1 orange (about 1/3 cup)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic
3 green onions, chopped
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil

Put the garlic, salt, and onions in a food processor and pulse until the garlic and onions are minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chops, and give them a whirl until everything is well-combined.

Put the chops in a zip-top bag and cover with the marinade. Toss to coat. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it, and put it in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.

The Baste
Combine in a foil pan or heatproof pan and warm on the side of the grill:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
5 crushed garlic cloves
4 tablespoons finely chopped savory herbs such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano and/or sage

The Cook
Set up your grill for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat.

Remove the chops from the brine and put them on the grill. Grill the chops 5 minutes on one side. Then flip, baste, and grill another 5 minutes on the second side. Flip again, baste, and grill for 5 more minutes. Flip one last time, baste, and grill another 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork hits 140°F.

Remove the chops from the grill. Baste one last time, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

4th of July Favorites

Sorry, this is a double from my blog, but I guess I have to contribute here sometimes. No instructions because I think they're pretty self-explanatory. Six layers would have been nicer on the jello, but when I looked at the clock and it was 4:30 and I only had three, I decided that was good enough...

Salt and Vinegar potatoes

Rob made these for father's day, and they were DELICIOUS!
Just follow the link below:

http://noblepig.com/2011/06/05/salt-and-vinegar-potatoes.aspx

Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

You will need:
About 4 med. sized sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced (1/8" slices)
1/4 c. canola oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. taco seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large bowl combine oil and seasonings, and drizzle over potatoes.  Toss to coat.
Arrange in a single layer in two ungreased baking pans.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, turning once.

I used a thinner pan for these...shouldn't have done that. 

Chicken Panini

We had these the other night and they were pretty stinkin good! 

Spread:
3 Tbs. Mayo
4 1/2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. pesto
1/4 tsp grated lemon peel
Dash pepper

We also put on the sourdough sandwich:
Broiled chicken
bacon
mozzarella cheese
sliced red onion
avacado
and we would have done tomato, but it turns out they had already gone bad.  oops.

Thanks Erica!

Erica gave me a great and easy recipe for dinner.  I used it today, and it was real good!  Here's what you do.

• Slice up enough potatoes to cover the bottom of your sprayed pan
• Layer on some pork chops
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and what ever else you feel like
• Spread 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup ontop
• Cover with shredded cheese
• Bake in the oven on 350 for about an hour...at least that's how long I did it for mine.

Yep, it's pretty good.  So I was happy about it.  Thanks again!

Lumpia

I got daring and tried something from our international cookbook. I think we all liked it.

Lumpia
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2Tbsp oil
8 oz cooked pork, diced
1/2 c cooked garbanzos
1/4 c chopped cooked ham
2 carrots, cut into julienne strips
1/2 c frozen green beans, thawed
1 14-oz can hearts of palm, drained and chopped
2 c shredded cabbage
18 egg roll skins
Lettuce leaves
Brown Sauce

Cook onion and garlic in hot oil till tender. Add pork, garbanzos, and ham. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Add carrots, green beans, hearts of palm, and 1/4 c water. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Stir in cabbage and 1 tsp salt and cook covered for 7 minutes or until vegetables are done. Cool. Brush a little cooking oil in a large shallow skillet. Cook eg roll skins, on one side only for 30-45 seconds until they are light brown. Turn onto paper towels. Top egg roll wrappers with lettuce and 1/3 c vegetable mixture. Roll up, folding in one end of the egg roll skin and leaving the other end open. Serve with brown sauce.

Brown Sauce
In a saucepan, stir together 1/4 c sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 c chicken broth, and 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Cook until the mixture thickens. Stir in 1 clove minced garlic.

Yum!

This was our dinner the other night...it was good. Perhaps I will post the recipe sometime.

Friday Festivities in Iowa

I was just going to post the same request as Ad did. We're definitely going to try the jello drinks. I'm excited to go full fledged this year and to also make everyone eat with weird utensils, etc. like mom used to do. AND I'm going to invite Barbara. She'll either think we're crazy or she'll love it.

Here's what our meatloaf cupcakes looked like a couple years ago.

I'd like to get some other ideas, though, if anyone has some.

Festivites on Friday

Attention everyone who is cooking on this Friday April the first!  I would like for everyone to think of some fun food that can fool the family...or just Dallas.  Someone once gave me a good idea...I think it was Joce, but I have promptly forgotten.  Here's the ideas so far:

Jell-o drinks
Cupcake meatloaf

but I already  did this last year...very funny as I recall, so if anyone has any new ideas that would be fantastic!  Thanks!

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Saint Patrick's Day Dinner

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Romaine Lettuce & Spinach Salad

Green Jello Squares (supposed to be shamrocks, but my cookie cutter got lost in the toy tornado since it's been used for play dough more than for cooking)

Four-leaf Clover Rolls

Sauteed Spinach & Onions

Any recipes available upon request.

It was so good J.C. wanted to stuff everything in his mouth at once.

Oh, wait. J.C. does that every meal.

Really, it was nothing special. Just something fun for St. Patrick's Day.

Fun in the Crock Pot!

We go through a lot of yogurt at our house, and someone in the ward recently told me how to make it in the crock pot. I made my second batch this week. It’s surprisingly easy and tastes great.

Crock Pot Yogurt

1. Pour ½ gallon milk into the crock pot. Turn to low setting and heat for 2 ½ hours.
2. Turn the crock pot off and cool for 3 hours.
3. Mix one 6-oz carton (or ½ c) plain yogurt with 1 to 2 cups of the warm milk, then mix it in with the rest of the warm milk. I usually add about 1/3 c powdered milk at this time too. Helps thicken the yogurt.
4. Wrap the crock pot in bath towels to insulate it, and let it sit for 8 to 12 hours.
5. Strain for about 3 hours in the fridge in a strainer lined with paper towels or coffee filters.
6. The end.

The “drippings” (whey) from the yogurt when you strain it can be used as a substitute for buttermilk. I usually mix a raspberry pie filling or something similar with the yogurt to flavor it.

I also made applesauce in the crock pot this week. It worked, but I used Gala, so it tasted awful.

Meal Plans

Here are some meal plans for Adrianne (or other interested parties.... or interesting parties.... whatever).

We do this breakfast schedule every week:
Monday: hot cereal
Tuesday: Eggs/toast/fruit
Wed.: Pancakes or waffles
Thur.: Cold Cereal
Fri.: Eggs/Toast/Fruit
Sat.: Whatever--the goal is to try and make something I don't have time to make during the weekdays, like baking muffins or German pancakes, but lots of times it's just, well... whatever. Or breakfast leftovers, should there be some.
Sun.: Whatever
(I vary the types of things frequently. For example, cream of wheat, oatmeal w/ raisins, oatmeal with strawberries, etc. Poached eggs, scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes bagels instead of bread; lots of different kinds of pancakes...)
For lunch, we alternate between something simple (burritoes, sandwiches, soup, tostadas) and leftovers.
Dinners (here are 3 weeks worth from a few weeks ago...)
MONDAY: 1)Beans & Rice, cabbage salad, quesadillas; 2) BLT's w/ carrot salad; 3) Salmon (Chipotle Honey from Sam's--splurge for Valentine's Day), strawberry-spinach salad, breadsticks, broccoli
TUESDAY:1) Taco Salad; 2) Shredded Chicken Tacos, salad, cherries; 3) Shepherd's Pie, fruit salad
WEDNESDAY: 1)Honey Dijon Chicken w/ Rice, salad; 2) Lentil soup w/ baked sweet potatoes, salad; 3) Clam chowder, cabbage salad
THURSDAY: 1) Fish (I'm sure I had something else w/ it, but no notes); 2) Navajo tacos at the scout banquet--I never make those...but maybe I should, they were good; 3)Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad
FRIDAY: 1) Chili & salad & bread; 2)Lasagne w/ garlic bread & salad; 3) Cookout--Hamburgers/ hot dogs, carrot sticks, grapes
SATURDAY: So my past 3 Saturdays don't look so good... I meant to make posole for 3+ weekends now, and I haven't, but I didn't write down what I did make, so... I'll just fill in some ideas from other weeks. 1) Hoagie sandwiches; 2) Pizza with carrots & grapes & "Dilly Cucumber" salad; 3) Turkey casserole
SUNDAY: As a disclaimer/confession, my Saturdays are usually so busy that I don't get a lot of meal prep done for Sunday. Unless I buy a roast or something, our Sunday meals are nothing special... especially since we've sometimes gone 5 hrs. or so without eating, I don't go for fancy. Maybe I'll get it together and change that someday, but for now, this is what you get... 1) Creamy Vege. soup w/ salad & breadsticks; 2) Mashed potatoes, cooked vegetable, salad; 3) Stew & cabbage salad & "cheesebread"
SO FAR THIS WEEK, we'ved done tomato soup, fish sticks, and chicken gumbo soup. And if I forget to soak the beans one more time, we might end off the week with eating hangnails with toejam. Just kidding. That was disgusting.

Trying New Things

Pauline recently gave me some Taste of Home magazines, and they had tons of very delicious looking recipes in them.  So I thought I would try some this week.  So far, we've had a little luck and one not so good one. 

Bow Ties with Asparagus and Prosciutto

• 1 pkg. bow tie pasta
• 1 1/2 c. whipping cream
• 1 lb. fresh asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces. 
• 3 Tbs. water
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
• 6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto or deli ham, cut into strips

1. Cook the pastas according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring cream to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 6-7 min.  or until slightly thickened.  (I added a little cornstarch, some garlic salt, and Italian spices too.)
2. Place asparagus and water in a microwave safe dish.  Cover; microwave on high for  3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain.
3. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Add the cream, asparagus, Parmesan cheese and prosciutto.  Toss to coat. 

Pork Chops with Pears

• 1 can (15 oz.) pear halves
• 6 pork chops (3/4 inches thick)....it says bone in chops, but ya know.
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard

1. Drain pears, reserving the juice; cut pears into slices ans set aside.  In a large skillet, brown the pork chops in butter.  Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and reserved pear juice.  Pour over chops; top with pear slices.
3. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 40-45 min or until meat thermometer reads 160.

Included in the picture above, are the maple-orange vegetable ribbons.  They looked really good, but we didn't appreciate them as much after eating them.  :)

Don't Buy!

I wanted egg rolls with dinner last night, and I couldn't find the brand I usually buy, so I bought Tai Pei chicken egg rolls. They tasted like they had been cooked with chicken nuggets and breaded in the same mixture. Unfortunately they only sold them in an 8-pack, so goodbye $6; I'm throwing them in the garbage. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Also, you should avoid buying WalMart brand cheetos.




This week's menu:
Quiche
Turkey soup and bread
Meatballs and fried rice
Chicken alfredo
Black beans and sausage (from Isaac's world adventures recipes)
Stromboli
Sloppy joes and sweet potato fries


I'm attempting to make homemade yogurt today. I'll post the recipe if it turns out.

Birthday Dinner Week

This week is Dallas' birthday, so I figured that I should probably ask him what he wants to eat on his birthday.  Well, he told me that he wanted a ward picnic...like the one we had this summer.  I didn't know what kinds of food that meant, so he told me...hot dogs, chips, and potato salad.  So if anyone needed an idea for dinner this week, there you go.  But here's the other days:

Mon:  Taco's
Tues: Spaghetti
Wed: Birthday Dinner/Picnic
Thurs: Fend for yourself
Fri: I was going to make cayenne chicken, but it might just be me home...so in that case, grilled cheese
Sat: Pizza
Sun: Au Gratin Potatoes, ham, rolls, and salad

And who will help me eat the bread?

Recipe:
Freshly hand-ground wheat flour
One husband
One superhero
Milk
Water
Yeast, and so on

Start making bread at 6:30 pm. Let your husband and superhero grind the wheat in their new grinder for 1 hour, and then put the superhero to bed. Mix the remaining ingredients until a beautiful smooth dough forms. Let rise until double. Punch down and form into loaves. Let loaves rise until double. Take a shower. Tell your husband to put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn the oven on to 375 degrees and set the timer for 30 minutes. Go to bed. Take the bread out of the oven when the baby wakes you up in the middle of the night (about 2 1/2 hours). This will fill the house with the aroma of baking bread and will produce bread with the consistency of marble.

This bread is great for playing with, sawing with a wooden knife or butter knife, or finding the real king in the house (i.e. whomsoever can pull the butter knife from the bread). It entertained Ghent for 2 whole days. Much cheaper and less annoying than those talking toys. Ghent also enjoyed eating it, but I think if I made it again, I would tell the husband to turn on the oven.