Marinated Baked Pork Chops

This recipe and the photo are from allrecipes.com. 

These were pretty good.  I like the balance of tangy and sweet. 

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 servings.        

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1 tablespoon soy sauce                                                                     

2 tablespoons vegetable oil                                                                     

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce                                                                     

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

6 pork chops

 

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup.
3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce.
4. Bake pork chops 30 minutes* in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

 

*I amended the baking times to suit the thickness of my chops.

Shepherd's Pie

I'm finally posting again...and it's for shepherd's pie.  My teenage self would find that comical as I loathed Shepherds Pie growing up.  I like it more now (acquired taste?), and as a mom I also like that it recycles leftover mashed potatoes and is made with things I typically keep on hand.

This recipe and photo are from About.com and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/lhgg4yb

Both the image and (most) of the text will be borrowed from there.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic

1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups refrigerated mashed potatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In heavy skillet cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and onion is tender, stirring to break up meat, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Stir in vegetables and soup and cook until hot, about 4 minutes, then add marjoram and salt and pepper to taste.
Place in 9 inch pie plate. Spoon mashed potatoes over hot meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and pie is bubbling.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My SIL made these when they came over one holiday and they earned their name.  They will be one of Cookie Monsters cookies at the upcoming birthday party my husband loved them so much.

The recipe and photo are straight off the package of Quaker Oats and can also be found here: http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/content/recipes/recipe-detail.aspx?recipeid=474

Ingredients:

1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2  cup granulated sugar

2  eggs

1  teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon baking soda

1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)

3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1  cup raisins

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

 

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time Time: 8 min

Variations:

Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS.

VARIATIONS: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit. HIGH

ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

Ordered his birthday cake!

The cake was ordered from the Second Street Baking Co in Turners Falls, MA.  It will basically be this cake, except with Grover and blue writing. 

Link to the FB page where I got this from: https://www.facebook.com/pages/2nd-Street-Baking-Co/114697713555

Easy Sesame Chicken

photo and recipe from
http://oneorganicmama.blogspot.com/2013/07/easy-sesame-chicken.html?showComment=1373970853394#c8418702116586923226
 

Chicken: 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs 1 cup of flour ½ tsp paprika Salt and pepper 1 tsp sesame oil Olive oil to coat the pan Sauce: ¼ cup of honey 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp sesame seeds ½ tsp paprika Sprinkle of red pepper flake Salt and pepper

Chop up chicken thighs into even small, half inch pieces.  Mix flour with paprika and salt and pepper.  Coat chicken.  Fry in pan with oil at medium heat.  When chicken is browned and deliciously crispy, drain oil from pan and set pan aside. Mix up the sauce. Scrape sauce into pan, put back on the burner, and just heat through and coat chicken. Serve sprinkled with a bit more sesame seeds. No MSG, no mystery meat, just delicious sesame chicken!

Patriotic Cheesecake Parfaits

We live about a bazillion miles from family right now, and I'm getting excited about my brother visiting for Independence Day.  Here is a dessert idea for his visit.



Recipe and photo are from here:
http://www.becomingmartha.com/2013/05/patriotic-cheesecake-and-meringue.html

To make this, you will need...

• 2 pkg. of cream cheese (8 oz)
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pkg fat free vanilla instant pudding (4 serving size)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• meringues (buy them already made, or follow a recipe like this one)
• berries (I used strawberries for Canada Day and added blueberries for 4th of July)

Start my beating the cream cheese.  Then, slowly beat in the milk.  Add the pudding mix.  Then, transfer to another bowl (if you are using a stand mixer, or grab a new bowl if you are using a hand mixer), and whip your cream.  Once the cream is whipped, reserve about 3/4 cup for garnishing and then carefully FOLD the remainder into the cream cheese mixture.  Make sure to fold, and not stir or beat, because you don't want to lose the air you just whipped into your cream.

To layer, I started with cream cheese mixture, then crumbled meringues, then berries.  I added another layer of meringue and cream cheese mixture, and then topped it with a dollop of whipped cream. I added some berries to garnish the top as well.

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

Credit to Martha Stewart, see link below

I'm starting a new label (see below and sidebar).  It's called, "ones to try when he's deployed".  You see, my husband likes fish...but can't stand the smell of it in the house.  Sooo, I can't so much as sauté shrimp without hearing about it.  I LOVE salmon though and the sweet zing of this one sounds interesting.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 side salmon (about 3 pounds), skin removed, cut into 8 fillets
• 1 bunch watercress (about 3/4 pound), thick stems trimmed
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Heat broiler, with rack in top position. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add shallot and cook, stirring often until softened, 3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until slightly evaporated, 1 minute. Add mustard and brown sugar; stir until warm and combined, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. (To store, refrigerate cooled glaze in an airtight container, up to 1 day.)
2. Place salmon fillets on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/2 cup glaze to a small dish and brush on top of salmon. Broil salmon until glaze is bubbling and fish is opaque throughout, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness; brush remaining glaze over fillets. Serve salmon along with watercress and lemon wedges.

Both the image and this recipe are from Martha Stewart and can be found here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/344987/salmon-with-brown-sugar-and-mustard-glaz?czone=food%252Fdinner-tonight-center%252Fdinner-tonight-main-courses&crlt.pid=camp.6YisakUb4kTu