Crock Pot Pepper Steak

 I like this recipe a lot for the simple fact that like any good crock pot recipe, you  toss it all in the pot and leave it till it's done. And when it is done, you have a tasty home cooked dinner. 

(This is where the picture would go if I had one, sorry)

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1 Beef Roast, any cut, 3 - 4 lb.

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 beef bouillon cube, crushed

1 c. rice

Combine all the ingredients, except rice, in a crock pot. Cook on high until beef is done, 

usually between 4 1/2 - 6 hours. 

The bottom of the crock pot should have about an inch of liquid in it, if not, add water. 

Add the rice and re-cover crock pot.  Cook an additional 30 minutes. 

Stir to combine the veggies and rice and serve with the beef. 

I usually shred the beef before I add the rice.

Pumpkin Penuche Cinnamon Rolls

 
It's finally starting to cool down where I am. And by cool down I mean finally in the mid 80's. But it's nearing the end of September, so cool or not, out come the pumpkin recipes. Check the end of the post for links to some of my other pumpkin recipes, both sweet and savory.

2 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 milk, warm

3/4 c. warm water

1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin, divided

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

4 c. flour, Plus more as needed

Combine the warm milk, water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add half the can of pumpkin, eggs, and salt and stir to combine. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a dough. Add flour an knead until it is elastic. Return to bowl and let rise about 30 minutes in a warm place (it wont rise very much) Roll out into a large rectangle. Spread with

1 stick butter, softened

Other half of canned pumpkin leftover from the dough

brown sugar to cover

cinnamon

nutmeg

Roll up and slice about an inch thick. Place in a greased baking pan about 1/2 inch apart and let rise again. Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes. Let cool slightly and frost.

This made enough for a 9x13 and a 9x9

Penuche Frosting:

4 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

1 c. powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk, bring to a boil. Cool slightly. Beat into powdered sugar until smooth. Pour into a plastic bag, cut a hole in the side and drizzle over slightly cooled sweet rolls.

The dough is very orange, and the frosting is light enough that with a little food coloring it would also look orange, I thought it would be fun to put something green in to the top to make them look like little pumpkins themselves.

My Pumpkin Collection:

Pumpkin Enchiladas

Pumpkin Chili
 

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin Cream Pasta

Pumpkin Biscuits

Pumpkin and lots of Other Stuff Muffins

Pumpkin Chiffon

HH6 And Taco Soup

So this soup isn't really my recipe at all. I mean I make it all the time, but I didn't come up with it.

But when I got this months HH6 Cooking Club challenge and was thinking about it, this came to mind. The challenge itself I wasn't worried about sticking too, I usually keep a large pantry pretty well stocked, along with a large deep freeze full of meat and other frozen stuff, and a 2 year supply of all the basics, wheat, rice, sugar and such, plus Husband Man had just gotten back from Sams club. I was set. 

But then the next night I found myself needing to make something for dinner. And while I had all the essential, I didn't really feel like making a huge dinner. So I grabbed several things from the pantry and dinner was ready in a flash, using mostly pantry staples.Which really embodies the idea of the challenge. Which is

We all need to be prepared in the event of a disaster.  You have stuff in your pantry and fridge/freezer.  If a disaster should strike today and you have no access to going to a grocery store but your stove/grill is still working, what would you make with what you have on hand?

 

1 lb. ground turkey or hamburger
1 packet taco seasoning (About 2 Tbsp)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney or black beans
1 can chicken broth
1 c. Ketchup

Brown meat.

Add remaining ingredients. Simmer one hour or longer. Can be dumped in a crock pot for the afternoon.

This can also be made without the meat all together, just skip it and add an extra can of beans.

The next day I drained the soup and cooked rice in the liquid. Then I added it back to the mix, added some cheese, and used it as a filling for enchiladas. Just fill tortillas with the mix, roll and place in a casserole dish, top with enchilada sauce and bake until heated through. 

Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie

This is another recipe from my mom.
She used to make it in the summer when the peaches where ripe.

One time I didn't have the lemon jello on hand
(this is also good for people who avoid pre-processed stuff)
just make a lemon curd and toss the fruit with that.

Pie Filling

1 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. water

¼ c. lemon flavored gelatin powder

4 c. sliced peaches, peeled

¾ c. blueberries

Pastry Shell

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and translucent. Remove from heat, and add gelatin, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Cool.

Combine peaches and blueberries in a large bowl. Add gelatin mixture; toss gently.

Spoon into prepared pastry shell.

Cover and chill 1 hour or until set. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Pastry Shell

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. Salt

½ c. slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 to 4 Tbsp. Water

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Pizza Bites

 (They don't look like much, don't let that fool you)

These are simple little pizza bites that are great for a fun kids dinner, a picnic, or as an appetizer. We LOVED them. Feel free to play around with different toppings in the center. Whatever you normally like on your pizza will be good. Next time I am going to try meat lovers, and add sausage and bacon. 

I also want to freeze some and see how they do. I will update later with the results. If it works this would be a great treat to have on hand to pull out for quick snacks. UPDATE: They worked great frozen. I froze them overnight and then I microwaved one from frozen and it got hard as a rock. But I defrosted the rest, and that only took 30 minutes, and then microwaved it for 20 seconds and it was warm and soft. So it takes a little pre planning to eat them from frozen, but not too much.I just put them flat on a tray and froze them until they where solid, about 2hours, and then put them in a freezer safe plastic bag.

You can use whatever dough and sauce recipe you prefer but I have included mine as well, just in case. 

I don't remember the pkg size of the pepperoni, it said it had 90 pepperoni. After the 48 reserved, I think it was about 3/4 c. chopped.

1 batch pizza dough

1 Batch Sauce

1 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 1/4c. cheddar cheese, shredded

2 pkg pepperoni

1/4lb deli sliced turkey pastrami

 1/2 bell pepper, chopped

Reserve 48 pepperoni's. Chop remaining pepperoni and turkey pastrami. Mix the mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni, pastrami, and bell pepper. When the sauce is cooled add it to the cheese mix. 

Roll the dough out really thin and cut into 2 inch squares. Spray 4 mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press one dough square into each muffin cup. Fill with cheese and sauce mixture. Top each cup with one reserved pepperoni. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or just until the dough looks cooked. Let cool in pan ten minutes before removing.

Makes 4 dozen.

Souvlaki Kebabs

I love the way the vegetables don't get too soft or soggy in this, they stay very crisp/tender without being to far in either direction. If you grill just the vegetables without the meat they make a great side dish or vegetarian entree. For a side I like to use eggplant, zucchini, onions, and red bell peppers. Mushrooms and cherry tomatoes might be nice as well.

Sauce:
3/4 c. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. soy sauce

3/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 c. olive oil

1 Tbsp oregano

4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pork, cut into cubes
1 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 onion, cut into chunks

Combine all of the sauce ingredients. Remove 1/2 cup and refrigerate. Add the meat to the remaining marinade, cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. 


1 hour before cooking add the zucchini, pepper, and onion to the reserved marinade. 


Skewer the meat and vegetables. Throw away the meat marinade and reserve the vegetable marinade. Bake at 350 for 12 - 15, flip over and brush the meat with the marinade from the vegetables, bake an additional 10 - 12 minutes.

This is great with a quinoa or rice pilaf. I also like the meat tucked in a pita with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce.

Spiced Apple Rice Krispies

These where supposed to look like apples. I didn't really get that far cause I didn't have the right decorations and I was feeling a little lazy about it all.  

You can see what they are supposed to look like at "Everday Mom", since thats where I got the idea in the first place

4 Tbsp. Butter

10 oz marshmallows

8 oz. rice krispy cereal

3 packets Alpine Spiced Cider Mix (Or other powdered apple cider mix)

Red food coloring

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the apple packets and food coloring. Stir in the cereal and mix well.

Butter your hands and shape into balls. Decorate as desired and enjoy!

Juicy Herb Pot Roast

1 beef roast

oil

1 tsp. Granulated Garlic

1 onion, chopped (dehydrated work great)

1 Tbsp oregano

2 tsp. paprika

2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed

1 cup water

Heat oil in a large skillet. Sear the beef on both sides and place in a crock-pot. Sprinkle all the seasonings on top and drizzle slowly with the water. Don't pour it or it will wash the seasonings off the meat. 

Cook on low for 6 hours, until cooked, but not falling apart. Shred with a fork, this should be a little hard to do, don't wait until the meat is falling apart on its own.

Cook, shredded, for 2 hours on low until the meat is very tender and the liquid is coating the mat enough to make it sorta saucy.

Red Beans and Brown Rice

I started my first blog , Bean Basics, in July of 2009, long before I started this blog. It was pretty specific though, it had to be a bean recipe. But since I was cooking with mostly beans, as a meat replacement at the time, it wasn't a huge deal. In fact it was really fun to write down all the creative things I came up with. This was the first recipe I posted there, it wasn't something I came up with on my own by any means, but it was one of my favorite recipes ever. My mom used to make it all the time when I was a kid. It's cheap to make, really simple to throw together fast, and it tastes like bacon. Don't let the simplicity of it not intrigue you, this is really fantastic, nothing else tastes quite like it.

What's not to love?

1 lb bacon

2 cans red beans

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 heaping tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Dash Mortons Natures seasons (optional)

Dash Tabasco sauce

3 or 4 c. cooked brown rice

Cook bacon until nice and crispy and then remove from pan. Saute the onion in the bacon grease until tender. Whisk in the flour and cook until thickened. 

Combine the liquid from beans and enough water to make 2 cups, add to the pan and whisk in. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add the beans and remaining ingredients and simmer 10 minutes. Top with reserved crumbled bacon and serve over brown rice.

Since beans have a lot of protein on their own I don't actually crumble the bacon on top like my mom did. We have BLT's for lunch and reserve just the drippings for dinner.

Perfect Brown Rice

I have a hard time with brown rice. It usually starts getting sticky and burning on the bottom of the pan before it's done, which I can never get it, it always stays crunchy in the middle. Either way it doesn't taste good. If you don't have this particular problem crongrats! You can continue on your merry way without having to read this post. If you CAN'T get it to work though, this is for you. And it's really simple too. 

2 c. brown rice

4 c. water

Salt to taste

Pour into a casserole dish, the water should be about an inch deep. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 until rice is tender. This takes about 40 minutes.

You can season it any way you want, chicken broth, onions, carrots, herbs, any other flavorings you want before you bake.

Pecan Crusted Chicken - SRC

So this in only my second month in the Secret Recipe Club. For those of you who missed it last month, I am assigned a blog, and I get to pick any recipe from said blog. I then make the recipe and blog about it myself. Someone returns the favor and I get to see which of my recipes was enjoyed by someone else.

So I was given the blog "Everyday Mom".  One recipe really stood out to me a lot, the Pecan Crusted Chicken. Usually when I try out new recipes I don't stick exactly to the recipe, I tweak it a bit. But this was something I hadn't ever tried before, and I wanted to try it exactly as she meant it to be.

Next time I make it though I am going to make a few small changes. I am going to add a lot more mustard to the egg mix and use 4 shallots instead of the just the one. I still can't decide my stance on the lemon zest, I loved it! But it also felt a little out of place at the same time. It was juicy and tender and I liked it. I also only used 2 chicken breasts here, because I always cut mine in half lengthwise first, that change made it so I only needed 2 eggs. I'm also toying with the idea of making something with a bacon crust...

I served it with Packard Potatoes, and buttered peas. 

Pecan Crusted Chicken

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. Roughly chopped pecans
4 Tbs. Butter
1 Shallot, minced
1 c. Panko
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
3 Eggs
3 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Ground black pepper
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 c. All-purpose flour

"Using a fork to prick chicken several times then sprinkle with salt.  Place on wire rack set over baking sheet, refrigerate while preparing coating.

In a food processor, chop nuts until they resemble a coarse meal.  Over medium heat, melt butter, swirling pan constantly until butter is golden brown.  Add shallot and a pinch of kosher salt.  Cook shallots until light brown, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat, add Panko and nuts.  Stirring frequently cook until golden brown about 10-12 minutes.  Transfer mixture to shallow dish or coating plate.  Add lemon zest, thyme and cayenne, stir to combine.   

In second shallow dish beat eggs, mustard and black pepper. 

 In third shallow dish mix together flour and seasoned salt.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, pat dry with a paper towel.  Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then egg mixture,  allow extra to drip off.  Coat each side of chicken in panko nut mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere.  Transfer coated chicken to wire rack, set in baking sheet.  Repeat until all chicken is coated.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. "

Her recipe for Apple Rice Krispies also stood out to me, I will be trying it out this week and then let you know how it turns out later. And for Halloween I want to make some orange pumpkin ones as well.

And this recipe for hash was a close second for being my test recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I love chocolate chip cookies. I mean who doesn't? But I hate dropping them into cookies, baking, cooking, lifting them off the tray, trying not to eat them all as they come out of the oven, and then shaping more for the next tray. It's all a hassle. So that's why I like cookie bars. You dump them all in the pan, spread it out and bake. It's even better if someone else makes them for you.

These are perfectly crumbly without being dry and hard, and chewy without sticking to your teeth and being too gluey. Thats cause of the addition of cor syrup. I know what you are thinking, "CORN SYRUP??? Do you know how bad that stuff is for you??" But come one people, it's a dessert!! It's not going to be good for you no matter WHAT you do to it. So add a little, it makes them perfect. The recipe looks really familiar to me, I think it might be the Neslte chocolate chip cookie recipe with corn syrup added baked in bar form.

2 1/4 c. all- purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. corn syrup
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup oats (or nuts)

Cream together the butter and corn syrup. Next beat in the white sugar and the brown sugar. Then add the eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat into the butter mixture.

When combined beat in the chocolate chips and oats. Dump into a 11x13 casserole dish and spread out so it's even. Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes.

They are darker in color than a chocolate chip cookie, I thought they were burned, or at the very least going to be too dry to eat. Not so! Just take it from me but don't ask how I know, eating half the pan in one sitting will give you a stomach ache. 

Tzatziki Sauce

This is great with slouvaki, falafel, or even just sliced roast beef in pitas. It's also good with corn chips for a snack.

For a simple dinner sprinkle chicken with Greek Seasoning and pan sear, serve with tzatziki sauce and a side of Mediterranean seasoned orzo or quinoa. I like it on sunny side up eggs for breakfast.

I also like to serve it on a "Veggie Delight Platter" similar to what the local cafe serves. Arrange pita wedges, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions rings, alfalfa sprouts, kalamata olives, tzatziki sauce and hummus on a platter. This makes nice light and tasty party food.

For a simple lunch throw all the things from the platter idea into a tortilla for a simple wrap.

1 c. greek yogurt, plain yogurt or sour cream

1 tsp. lemon juice

Dash Tabasco

1 tsp dried dill

3 cloves garlic, miced

1/2 large cucumber

Salt to taste

Peel the cucumber and cut into quarters lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and grate the cucumber. 

Stir everything together and taste, adding more dill or garlic, etc. depending on your tastes. Go really easy on the seasonings at first, they tend to "develop" as they sit. So let it sit for a couple hours and then see if it still needs more spices.

Packard Potatoes

I have a cookbook my grandma gave me, one that the ladies she went to church with compiled. It's something that has been around as long as I can remember, the book with the pink gingham cover. This book in fact:

Fast forward 20 years. I'm at a friends house and she pulls out the exact same book! It turns out, our Grandparents where friends. They are both in the cookbook. So with renewed interest in what it contained, I flipped through and found a great looking recipe. And guess who submitted it? That's right, Friends grandpa. It look me a little while but I finally got around to making them. I'm sorry I waited. Everyone in my house loved them. 

And in my usual fashion, I had to change them a little based on what I had on hand and to tailor it to our tastes.

Here is the Original

Mashed Potatoes Deluxe

2 1/2 qt. chicken broth

8 russet potatoes

6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 large onion, cut into quarters

1 tsp dill (dried or fresh)

6 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp parsley

2 Tsp. salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

In a large pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add potatoes; cover. Lower heat. Boil 15 minutes. Add carrots and onions; boil 20 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Drain potatoes and carrots in a colander; cool 5 minutes and peel.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onions, dill and butter. Mash with potatoes masher. Add parsley, salt, and pepper; mash again. Heat and serve warm.

So here's what I did to it:

I used Yukon Gold potatoes and chopped them up a bit first because I was in a hurry and I wanted them to cook faster. I also didn't want to carrots to get too soft cause I wanted orange streaks in my potatoes. Since the potatoes where now smaller, I boiled the carrots and onions first, for about 5 minutes, them I added the potatoes and boiled until tender. And I used chicken bouillon cubes instead of broth. 

So I boiled everything and drained it like the original. Mashed them, leaving the carrots in streaks. I left out the dills cause Husband Man doesn't like dill except in tzatziki, reduced the parsley about half and added 1/4 - 1/2 cup (I think the technical term is "big glob") of sour cream.

We all LOVED them. They had a great, no, a perfect, texture and flavor without being too heavy or too thin. Just that perfect balance in the middle.

So in conclusion, I want to add a really big "Thank you" to Roger Packard for this great recipe.

Chicken an Dumplin's

I have my good friend Mary to thank for this recipe. I changed it a little, but the dumplings are her grandmothers recipe, and they are amazing. I had been looking around on the internet and found some other recipes that looked complicated and fussy. These where so simple and yet still tasted wonderful.

I usually clean my chicken of fat and such before I cook with it but not here, that helps flavor the broth, esp since I don't start with a whole chicken, I cheat with just the breasts.

5 large chicken breasts

3 large carrots, cut in half

3 stalks celery, cut in half

1 large onion, cut in quarters

4 chicken bouillon cubes

10 c. water

1 family size can cream of chicken soup

2 c. flour, plus more for dusting

Combine the chicken breasts, carrots, celery, onions, chicken cubes, and water in a large stock pot. Simmer until the chicken is just tender. Remove from heat and strain, reserving the cooking liquid. 

Place the chicken an vegetables in the fridge to cool down.

Simmer the chicken stock on medium-low for about and hour to reduce it a bit.  Taste at this point, if it's good leave it alone, if it tastes weak add chicken bouillon cubes, one at a time, until it taste right.

In a separate bowl combine the flour and just enough of the chicken stock to make a dough, leaving it slightly on the sticky side.  Dust it quite heavily with flour and place between wax paper. Roll out to less than 1/4 inch thickness, but not too thin. Cut into strips, about 3/4 inch wide but 1 1/2 inches long.

Meanwhile combine the chicken stock and cream of chicken soup, whisking until smooth. Add the dumplings, stirring as going so they don't stick together. 

Take the chicken and vegetables from the fridge, chop up the carrots, celery, and onion into pieces and add to the dumpling and sauce. Shred the chicken and add to the pan. Continue cooking until heated through and serve.

You can also add some peas to yours if you wish though I'm not sure how traditional that is. If using frozen, I recommend putting them in a bowl covered with water and cooking them in the microwave until bright green and then adding them after the chicken.

Zucchini Garlic Pasta

I wish I had double, or even tripled, the zucchini in this recipe, so while the picture doesn't look like it has all that much zucchini in it (it doesn't) I added more to the written recipe to reflect that change

3 large or 6 medium zucchini

8 large cloves garlic, minced

6 Tbsp butter

2 chicken bouillon cubes

6 oz. fettuccine pasta

2 Tbsp half-an-half (or cream)

Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)

Large pinch marjoram, oregano, and cayenne pepper

Cook the pasta in 4 c. water with the chicken bouillon cubes. 

Meanwhile melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the garlic. You are not sauteing the garlic yet, cook over low for 7 or 8 minutes. 

Chop the zucchini pretty fine, a food processor is great here, and add to the garlic. Turn the heat up to medium high to saute the zucchini. Add the seasonings, and 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add the half-an-half and cheese.

Drain the pasta and immediately toss with the butter garlic sauce in the pan.

S'more Cake

1 (9x13) baked chocolate cake or brownies, marble cake might be nice

2 c. mini marshmallows

2 c. chocolate chips

1 c. Graham crackers, crushed

Combine the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham crackers.

Immedietly after you take the cake out of the oven top with the marshmallow and chocolate mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes, until the cake is starting to cool and you can touch the pan with your hands.

Position an oven rack on the second to top notch. 

Place the pan under the broiler and broil for a few seconds until the marshmallows are golden. Watch this very carefully, it only takes a few seconds to cook, and just a few seconds longer to burn.

I think this would be really tasty if you mixed just marshmallows and graham crackers and them added small dollops of hot fudge around the cake before broiling so the chocolate stays gooey.


You could also try and make this more interesting looking by making it as cupcakes or individual brownies, topping with ganache and pipe marshmallow cream swirls on top.

Asian Soba Soup

1 small chicken breast

slash oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3 green onions, sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 carrot, julienned

1 c. bean sprouts

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce

dash sesame oil

Sambal oelek to taste (I used 2 tsp)

3 oz. soba noodles

Cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook in oil on both sides until done. Remove from pan and set aside. When cool slice really thin.

Add the celery and onions to the pan and saute a few seconds until the bottom of the pan is starting to brown. Add 1/2 c. water and let it bubble. Add 2 1/2 more cups of water and the garlic, carrots, bean sprouts, chicken cubes, sesame oil, and sambal oelek. Simmer until the celery and carrots are tender.

Add the soba and simmer jut until the are tender. Remove the pot from the heat and add soy sauce and chicken. Serve immediately.

Corn Stuffed Pork Chops

This is a recipe from my mom. It was one of my favorites growing up. Such a great flavor without much work, it's really simple to prepare.

My husband and children just confirmed that they love it as well. 

6 pork chops

1/4 c. prepared yellow mustard

3 Tbsp butter or oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

5 slices of bread (I like the flavor of whole wheat)

1 egg, beaten

1 (12 oz.) can creamed corn

1 bottle pimentos

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Spread the pork chops with the mustard and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp. of the black pepper. Set aside

In a large skillet saute the onion and green pepper until tender.

Tear the bread into little pieces. Combine the bread, cooked peppers and onions, egg, corn, pimentos, and remaining salt and pepper. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.

In the same pan you cooked the peppers and onions in, cook the pork chops on both sides until browned. 

Place pork chops on top of the corn mixture in the casserole dish and press into stuffing. 

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 45 minutes.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

I really, really, like hot wings. So much so that learning to make them was a must. A "must" I have been not bothering to figure out for months. That was until I saw the same delicious looking hot wing post show up at various linking parties I frequent. They just looked too good to pass up, and she only likes the boneless ones too.

As to bottled buffalo sauce, whatever brand you prefer will work. I actually like the Krogers store brand better than the Franks, but that's what I had, and it's not bad. So anyway, here's how it went:

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle Franks Buffalo Sauce

2 eggs

dash Tabasco

2 c. flour

2 Tbsp 5th Season Seasoned meat tenderizer

1 Tbsp. McCormick fried chicken seasoning

1/2 tsp onion powder

Oil for frying

Remove fat from the chicken. Cut in half lengthwise and then into 1 inch cubes. 

In a large bowl combine eggs, 1 Tbsp water, dash tabasco, and 1/4 c. Franks sauce.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, tenderizer, chicken seasoning, and onion powder.

Heat the oil.

Dip the chicken into the egg and hot sauce mix and then coat with flour. 

Fry in hot oil until lightly browned. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. While still hot drizzle generously with more Buffalo sauce and toss to coat.

Eat with your favorite dip (mine is ranch)

Taco Shell Pasta

I cooked the pasta shells and the hamburger and then let my 6 year old daughter and her friend fill the shells. They had a lot of fun, and helped me make dinner.

Presto Pasta Nights 229 is being hosted by Ruth, at Once Upon a Feast

1 (12 oz) box. Jumbo pasta shells (about 35) 

1 can refried beans

1 lb hamburger

2 Tbsp Taco seasoning

12 oz. cheddar cheese

1 can enchilada sauce

Cook Pasta shells in lightly salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with a little butter or olive oil.

Heat hamburger with 1 Tbsp of the taco seasoning. Cook, crumbling, until no longer pink and cooked throughout. Add 1/2 cup of water and remaining taco seasoning and simmer over medium heat until most of the liquid is gone. 

Divide between the shells a scoop of beans, filling each shells about halfway, then a sprinkling of cheese and top with hamburger. Place in a 9x13. Pour the can of enchilada sauce over the shells. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, uncover and bake just until cheese is starting to melt. 

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. 

Serve over a bed of lettuce, top with fresh tomatoes and ranch.