Country Style Pork Ribs and Potato Salad

Pork Ribs

* I just put the ribs in the crock pot with a bottle of barbecue sauce and a can of pineapple... today I didn't have pineapple, so I added apricots.

Potato Salad

12 potatoes peeled and boiled for about 15 minutes

celery

green onion

1/2 cup mustard

1 - 1 1/2 cup mayo

1 cup relish

** Boil potatoes, after cooled, dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Mix the mustard, mayo and relish in a separate bowl. Dice up desired amount of celery and green onion. Add vegetables to bowl and mix well with mustard/mayo. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Biscuits and Gravy - Brett's Favorite

Gravy Recipe:

1 pkg of Jimmy Dean Sausage

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup flour

1 cup - 1 1/2 cup milk

1 cube butter

* Brown sausage in skillet. Add the cube of butter, then start with 1/2 cup flour. Add 1 cup milk and let the gravy thicken. Then add flour or milk as needed for desired consistency.

(I have gotten lazy with my biscuits and just buy some refrigerator biscuits, but my mom does the real baking powder biscuits.)

Southwestern Chicken

2- 15 oz. cans corn, drained

1- 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1- 16 oz can salsa

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup low-fat shredded cheese

** Combine corn, black beans, and 1/2 cup of salsa in slow cooker.

** Top with the chicken breasts. Pour remaining salsa over the top.

**Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours.

** Sprinkle with cheese just before ready to serve, cover and let melt.

Cookbook in 2011??

Okay,

I would like for each of the followers of this blog to help create a cookbook this coming year. So, I would like each post to be titled the name of the recipe, then like the recipe I posted today, list the ingredients and then the directions and if possible a picture! I think that if we each attempted to post one recipe every couple of weeks, we would have a very nice book at the end of the year!! Are you in?

Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 box (1 lb) elbow macaroni

1 lb hamburger

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp yellow mustard

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 can evaporated milk

3 cups shredded cheese

2 medium tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degreed. Coat a 2-quart oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, according to package directions. Drain.

3. While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat, breaking apart with wooden spoon. Cook 6 minutes, until no longer pink. Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in ketchup and mustard. Transfer to a bowl.

4. Return skillet to medium heat and add butter. Once melted, whisk in flour, then add milk in a thin stream. Bring to simmer and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 2 cups of the cheese. Stir in pasta. Pour into prepared dish. Top with meat mixture, remaining cheese, sliced tomatoes and bread crumbs. Spritz with nonstick cooking spray.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase heat to broil and broil for 2 minutes.

Well... Christmas breakfast actually!

Since I haven't posted for over two months, I thought I would post my menu for breakfast Christmas morning. Our tradition in for my parents to drive over from Tropic, have breakfast at my house and visit before heading to my brothers in St. George. This year I'm going to have "Baked Blueberry French Toast", "Bacon and Spinach Quiche", with fruit, bacon and sausage!! YUM!

Blueberry French Toast Bake

(8 servings) Printable Version

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 eggs
• 10 slices (1-inch thick) French bread -- cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese -- cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• powdered sugar
• blueberry or maple syrup

Generously grease a 2 1/2 quart casserole or 9/13 baking dish.

Beat flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs in a large bowl by hand until smooth. Stir in bread cubes until coated. Pour bread mixture into pan. top evenly with cream cheese, blueberries and nuts. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and sere with syrup.

EASY QUICHE

Ingredients

2 cups milk

4 eggs

3/4 cup biscuit baking mix

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained

1 cup cubed cooked ham

8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10 inch quiche dish.

In a large bowl, beat together milk, eggs, baking mix, butter and parmesan cheese. Batter will be lumpy. Stir in broccoli, ham and Cheddar cheese. Pour into prepared quiche dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, until eggs are set and top is golden brown.

Sick of the Same Recipes

Okay... since my friends are too busy to post recipes, I was in search of some new ideas. After searching the internet for 1/2 hour - I came up with a little variety for this week. A couple of good old favorites thrown in there for days that are too crazy and I shouldn't have to go shopping for 2 weeks!! YEAH! The following are my options, I will try to update with the recipes as the week progresses.

Monday: Apricot Pork Roast with fruit salad

Tuesday: Salisbury Steak and green beans

Wednesday: Crock Pot Potato soup and rolls

Thursday: Pizza Pockets

Friday through Monday we will be gone camping - eating mutton and dutch oven potatoes, roasted hot dogs, etc. Yum, Yum!

Tuesday: Baked Salmon Steaks with Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Wednesday: Spaghetti with Italian Cauliflower and Bruschetta

Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas and Green Salad

Friday: BBQ Hamburgers and sweet potato fries

Saturday: Brats and Sauerkrat Apples with Corn bread

Easy for Quick!

Last week I hate to admit, we ate out 4 days!!! Our life was on the run and it was either eat out or starve.  So I'm making a commitment again this week by setting up a meal plan to stick to.

Monday: BBQ hamburger and macaroni salad with ice cream dessert!!!  (FHE at my house with all of the Hepworth's)

Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday: Navajo Tacos

Thursday: Grilled Fish 

Friday: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Saturday: Spaghetti

Sunday: Roast and Potatoes in the crock pot!

Meals on the Run!

Monday - Hamburgers and homemade fries

Tuesday - Tacos

Wednesday - Zucchini Casserole (First time all summer if you can believe it!  I'm kind of excited to have it.)

Thursday - Pepper Steak and Rice (Thrown in crock pot so family can eat while I'm at ESL class for 3 1/2 hours!)

Friday - Empanadas (Linda's birthday dinner)

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

8 cups cubed zucchini

1 small onion (chopped)

1 grated carrot

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small carton of sour cream

1 box stove top dressing

1 cube margarine

 

Directions:

1.)           Boil zucchini, onion, and carrot until tender, then drain.

2.)           Mix together in another bowl, cream of chicken soup and sour cream.

3.)           Mix together in a 3^rd bowl stove top dressing and margarine (no water)

4.)           Combine veggie mixture, creamy mixture and 3/4 of the dressing.

5.)           Place in a 9x13 pan.

6.)           Top with the rest of the dressing

7.)           Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

EMPANADAS

 

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 tsp yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp powdered milk

2 tsp salt

4 cups flour

4 Tbsp oil

Directions for Dough:

1.)           Mix yeast, sugar, and water.  Let it bubble, then mix in other ingredients.

2.)           Knead together, pull off lemon-size balls of dough to make empanada shell.

 

Filling:

1 pound of hamburger

garlic & oregano for seasoning

green onion (diced)

2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 can tomato sauce

grated cheese

sour cream

 

Directions:

1.)           Brown hamburger and onions on stove.  Add garlic and oregano for seasoning.

2.)           Add worchestershire sauce and tomato sauce to browned meat.

3.)           Roll out dough shell.

4.)           Fill shell with hamburger filling, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

5.)           Fold shell over, and make sure it is sealed.

6.)           Deep fry until golden brown.

Meal Plan for the week

Sunday: Italian Pork Roast and steamed squash, (recipe on blog earlier)

Monday: Pizza Pockets, (raise Rhodes rolls, roll out and fill with diced tomatoes, mozarella cheese, and pepperoni)

Tuesday:  Fritos Casserole

Wednesday:  Sweet Pork Burritos

Thursday:  Grilled Salmon

Friday:  BBQ Hamburgers, (going camping for the weekend, yeah!!)

First Week of School Meal Plan

** In order to fit it all in to our life... I decided one of my Sunday afternoon activities will be to look over the grocery situation and make a menu for the week.  So, here it is.  (And I don't even have to go to the grocery store again this week!  Brett will be so proud of me.)

Monday:  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with green salad

Tuesday:  Italian Pork Roast with steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Salsa Salmon with Salsa Pasta and Beans

Thursday: Pizza Pockets and green salad

Friday:  Pepper Steak with white rice

Oh boy!  Here we go!

Smoked Pork Ribs with Dutch Oven Potatoes and Squash

Smoked Pork Ribs

Directions:

Rub the following mixture on it the night before:

2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 Tbsp salt

1/4 Tbsp garlic powder

1/4 Tbsp cumin

1/4 Tbsp cajun

1/4 Tbsp mustard

1/4 Tbsp pepper

** SMoke in the smoker at 250 degrees for 5 hours or until ribs reach 170 degree internal temperature.  Apply BBQ sauce every 45 minutes.

Dutch Oven Potatoes - (in the house I use a nice deep baking dish with a lid)

4 large potatoes, cut

1 yellow crook-neck squash, cut

1 green pepper, diced

3 green onions, diced

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup Sprite

Combine all in baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours... cover with cheese to melt at the end.

Smoked Sausage with Vegetables

No, I'm not sick.... just no pics!

Ingredients:
1 package (19 oz) frozen vegetables
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced.

Directions:
Cook vegetables according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Stir in the next 11 ingredients. Add sausage
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened and sausage is heated through, stirring occasionally and turning sausage once. Serve with the vegetable medley.

Fresh Canadian Salmon & Cauliflower Tomato Medley

** Flexibility has to be one of my main character traits.  Brett wanted to cook up the Salmon his own way.  Brett's secret sauce is soooooo holy that he won't tell me what he's doing!!!  This was what he did at the "Salmon Bake" restaurant he worked at when he lived in Alaska.  (There is butter, brown sugar and lemon juice!)

Cauliflower Tomato Medley

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets

6 bacon strips, diced

1-1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 Tablespoons sliced green onion

1-1/2 teaspoons sniped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp salt

dash pepper

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Directions:

Place cauliflower in a large saucepan; add 1 in. of water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until crisp-tender

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels.  Drain, reserving 3 Tbsp drippings.  Toss bacon and bread crumbs with drippings and set aside.

Drain cauliflower.  Arrange the tomatoes ina greased shallow 2 qt. baking dish.  Sprinkle with onion, dill, salt and pepper.  Top with cauliflower and bacon mixture.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle cheese on top and bake another 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Steak Sandwiches, and Crunchy Romaine Salad

STEAK SANDWICHES

Ingredients;
2 ½ - 3 lbs beef sirloin tips roast

2 cups water

½ cup soy sauce

several clove garlic

Directions:

*  Cut several slits into roast.  Push loves of garlic into the slits.  Place roast, water and soy sauce into the crock pot.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.  Remove roast and use atwo forks to shred roast.  Return to crock pot to keep warm.  Serve on French rolls or Bolio bread

CRUNCHY ROMAINE STRAWBERRY SALAD

Ingredients:

1 package ramen noodles

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp soy sauce

8 cups torn romaine

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:

* Discard seasoning packet from ramen noodles or save for another use.  Break noodles into small pieces.  In a skillet, saute noodles and walnuts in butter for 8-10 minutes or until golden; cool.

For dressing, in a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the oil, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce; shake well.  Just before serving, combine the romaine, onions, strawberries, and noodle mixture in a large bowl.  Drizzle with dressing and toss gently.

This week's meal plan

Sunday:  Zesty Pork Chops with Creamy Fruit Salad and fresh garden veggies

Monday: Steak Sandwiches, (just like French Dips) with Homemade baked fries and Crunchy Romaine Strawberry Salad

Tuesday:  Basil Salmon with Cauliflower Tomato Medley

Wednesday:  Smoked Sausage with Vegetables

Thursday:  Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Pepper vegetables

Friday:  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Mexican Cilantro Salad

** My goal is to include the recipe and a PHOTO, of course, each evening this week.  My cooking flame has been lit!  

Zesty Grilled Chops, rolls with homemade jelly & Creamy Fruit Salad

I needed a man to cook for!!

So, after 10 days of just quick mac & cheese for the girls and salads for me... it was a celebration worth cooking for when Brett got home from his 10 day fishing adventure.

ZESTY GRILLED CHOPS

Ingredients:

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp chili sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

4-6 pork chops

Directions: 

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, chili sauce and garlic powder.  Remove 1/4 cup for basting  and refrigerate.  Add pork chops to the bag; seal bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight, turning once.

Drain and discard marinade from the pork chops.  Grill.

CREAMY FRUIT SALAD

Ingredients:

2 medium apple, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups chopped, peeled mango  (I substitute for fresh pineapple which I already had)

2 cups halved, seedless grapes

1/4 cup sour cream

3 Tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine apples, mango, grapes and sour cream.  Refrigerate until serving.  Just before serving, stir in walnuts.

Overnight Maple French Toast

For somebody who loves breakfast, I rarely have the energy to pull myself out of bed early enough to fix something good let alone great. If I even get breakfast, it is usually a packet of oatmeal or maybe a piece of toast. I was committed this year to make sure I made breakfast for Jaron for Father's Day. As it got closer I began to doubt my ability to get up before my husband and then I came across this recipe. It was perfect.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon margarine
10 slices French bread (1 inch thick)
1 and 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (or more) sliced strawberries
Dash of powder sugar

Directions:

1. Combine brown sugar, syrup, and margarine in saucepan. Bring to boil stirring continuously and boil 1 minute.
2. Pour syrup mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9 inch sprayed pan.
3. Arrange bread slices evenly over syrup mixture.
4. In new bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Beat with wire whisk until smooth and pour over bread in pan.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 8 hours).
6. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes.
7. Serve with strawberries and sprinkle powder sugar.

I would highly recommend serving with bacon and eggs because this sugary sweetness needs something salty to offset it.

Pasta Salad Dinner - light and yummy!

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 - 12 oz. package of rainbow pasta

1 – 12 oz package of bow tie pasta

1 – lb seedless red grapes, halved

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 package craisens

1 can whole cashews

1 bottle Kraft coleslaw dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

·      Cook pasta according to package, drain and run under cold water

·      Add all fruits to cooled pasta

·      Mix coleslaw dressing and mayo together in a separate bowl

·      Add dressing and cashews.  Serve

·      (You may add diced chicken or ham to make a main dish)

Cheese Spinach Bake

Ingredients:

3 medium eggs, beaten.
20 oz of frozen chopped spinach.
4 oz of cheddar cheese, grated.
1 cup of cottage cheese.
¼ cup of butter, softened.
2 teaspoons of flour.
Salt and pepper.

Preparation Instructions:

Cook the spinach as directed on its packaging, then drain.

Mix the spinach, cottage cheese, cheddar, butter, eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix throughly.

Spoon into a greased baking dish and Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 50-60 minutes.