Pork Loin

so tonight we had an apple bourbon pork loin with skin on mashed potatoes & canned corn (hello starch)


Pork Loin

i simply bought one of the pre-marinated (on $ale) ones from market basket & cooked it @ 400° for about 30min. it came out perfectly- i also think this flavor is my favorite so far!









Chunky Mashed Potatoes:

1 1/2- 2 lbs red skin potatoes
1 chicken bouilion cube
water
butter
salt, pepper, garlic to taste

leaving the skin on- cut up the potatoes & boil till tender (throw in the boulion cube for extra flavor) drain the potatoes and throw them back in the pot with butter, salt & pepper & some minced garlic (to tase) mash it all together with a masher until blended but still chunky!



finished product

tada! i always eat my pork with applesauce so throw a few scoops of that on your plate & you're good to go! i <3>

God Bless

butter noodles, dinner rolls

i made some butter noodles today:

very simple:
about 1/2 No Yolk Noodles-
about 4-6 tbls butter-
and seasonings (garlic, pepper, oinion powder, basil, etc)-

cook the noodles- drain them and toss them with the butter & seasonings. you can also toss in about 1/4 cup of feta cheese. yummy! we love pasta in this house. i also made some simple dinner rolls as well:

Simple Dinner Rolls

Butter, for greasing muffing tins

2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

4 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 350° degrees .
Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter.
In a large bowl, combine flour and milk, blending with a rubber spatula. Add the sugar and mayonnaise, and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

i also topped them with some butter & seasonings.
God Bless

perogies

we love perogies- and since i am usually too lazy or too busy to actually make them, Mrs. T's frozen ones work perfectly for us.




i usually cook them using the baking instructions. simply follow the directions on the package and enjoy!












if we're eating them with something else we usually boil them & eat them with butter. but if we're eating them alone, after baking them we eat them with sour cream (ketchup isn't bad either)

God Bless

Broiled Tuna Steaks

we found some marvelous fresh tuna when we went grocery shopping this past weekend- so i had them cut us two 1 inch steaks- $16.00 later...whew! but it was worth it because i broiled it tonight & it was FABULOUS!


tuna is perfect for grilling or broiling because it's a very sturdy fish. it's not mushy or runny- it's firm & perfect.









to cook: i simply rubbed olive oil onto each side of the tuna & sprinkled it with a Seafood Seasoning Rub for tuna that i found right in the seafood dept. then i broiled each side, 3 in. from the heat for about 5-7 min (until the center is no longer pink)
we had it with white rice & wax beans. it was awesome- it was also way too much- so we had an extra steak that i could cut in half & stll have enough for both lunch & dinner tomorrow (brandon won't be here)




and to finish off dinner- i had one of the delightful new treats from M&M! these cute little M&M ice cream bars- they're AWESOME! like a big, ice cream filled M&M!!!

that's all for now. God Bless

Mozzerella Sticks

on a whim, i decided to make mozzerella sticks- i just wanted them all of a sudden! they're super simple and super good!

Mozzerella Sticks

Ingredients:
4 mozzerella string cheese sticks
2 eggs
flour
italian bread crumbs
vegetable oil

cut the mozzerella stick in half
pour about 1-2 cups of oil into a pan- heat the oil up to about 350- medium/high heat
in a bowl- beat the eggs.
in a bowl- measure out about 1/2 flour
in a bowl- measure out about 2-3 cups of italian bread crumbs

Directions:
one at a time: dip each mozz. stick into the flour & coat. then coat with egg- then coat with bread crumbs- then repeat the egg & bread crumbs coating (re-dip in eggs & bread crums)- a double coat works the best when cooking
do this to each mozz. stick & lay them out on a cuting board or piece of wax paper. using tongs- place each stick into the oil and cook them on each side for about 30 sec- 1 min (until golden brown) keep turning till they are brown all the way around (shouldn't take anymore than 2 min or so) you might also see little spots of cheese starting to seep out- if you do then you know they're done!using the tongs- take them out and place them on a plate with paper towels. let them cool for about 1-2 minutes and enjoy! you can eat them plain or dip them in a marinara or garlic butter sauce! they're sooo good! nom nom nom!!!! brandon really liked these, as did i, they were gone in about 5 minutes!!
yes- i know i look like tool in this picture- it's been a long day!
that's it for now- God Bless!

Scalloped Poatatoes With Crème fraîche And Gruyere

follow up: this is the recipe i found online...
Scalloped Poatatoes With Crème fraîche And Gruyere

INGREDIENTS:

Butter to grease baking dish
2 pounds baking potatoes, such as russet
Fresh ground black pepper
1 c Crème fraîche
4 ounces Gruyere, shredded (or sharp white cheddar)




DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375° degrees with rack in center.
POTATOES
Butter a 2 quart, shallow baking dish
Peall potatoes and cut into 1/8 in thick slices
Spread half the slices over the bottom of prepared dish
Salt and pepper slices generously
using a rubber spatula, spread half of the crème fraîche over potatoes, then sprinkle half the cheese over the crème fraîche
Add another layer of each, in the same order
Bake for 10 minutes
Lower heat to 350° and continue to bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and golden brown crust has formed on top, 35-40 minutes

this ended up coming out AWESOME! we had it with the chicken i marinated last night & some cauliflower that i steamed with salt & pepper. brandon really liked the potatoes!

i am pleased- now i'm making a double batch of the lemon curd cake (recipe is in April's posts) one of my co-workers is graduating from nursing school tomorrow & we're throwing her a party. our place smells like lemons & lilacs (thanks to my MIL) right now- it's quite nice!

that's all- God Bless!

chewy chocolate chip cookies/ marinating chicken

Thick, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar object
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)




Preparation:

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough in 2-tablespoon (1/8-cup) portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. (i hate washing pans so i use the Reynolds Heavy Duty No Stick Foil)
4. Bake in a 400° oven until cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center (break one open to check), 8-10 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.
5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.


i made two batches- 1 using semi sweet chocolate chunks & 1 using milk chocolate chips. yum.











i also started marinating the chicken we're going to have with our yummy potatoes tomorrow night. i simply trimmed off all the fat- cut 1 inch slits into each breast- and threw them in a bowl with a little bit of the following:

vinegar
vermouth
water
vegetable oil
sea salt
pepper
white pepper
parsley
basil
onion powder
allspice
red pepper flakes
paprika &
minced garlic

you throw it all into the bowl with the chicken, shake it all up & let it marinate for at least 12 hours or so. we'll use it tomorrow night so it'll get to marinate all day long! woo hoo! i'm stoked to see how dinner comes out tomorrow!
God Bless

easy pasta salad

super easy pasta salad:
1 package of Good Seasoning salad dressing mix (Garlic&Herb is the best)
1/2 lb pasta (wheel, macaroni, pene- etc)
1 container fresh mozzerella balls or 1/2 feta cheese
1 package Perdue Shortcut grilled chicken (pre cooked)









make the salad dressing & pop it in the fridge.
cut up the chicken into smaller pieces and throw in a saucepan with a little minced garlic. cook it on high heat for about 5 minutes (until it gets a little toasty/brown) take it off the heat & pop it in the fridge to cool
boil the pasta & rinse it well
cut up the mozzerella into bite sized pieces (i get the mini balls & halve them) or crumble the feta
throw everything together in a big bowl (or the pot you cooked the pasta in) and either pop it in the fridge for 1/2 to cool or eat it warm. it's good either way





this is what we're eating for dinner tonight because i'm too tired to really cook. we have this, probably, at least once a week or so. it's so simple and it does the job! you can also mix it up, use turkey or ham- or throw in a handful of pine-nuts or almond slivers. sometimes i throw in some cut up veggies- whatever you feel like!

God Bless

Crème Fraîche

so i picked up a nice wedge of Gruyere at Shaws the other day and i'm really itching to use it. so i found this recipe online: Potatoes With Crème Fraîche And Gruyere Recipe

now, finding crème fraîche around is here is near impossible so i'm making my own- you can either use heavy cream & sour cream whisked together, or heavy cream & buttermilk whisked together.

once it's whisked you let it sit at room temperature anywhere from 24-36 hours (until it's thickened up) it gets a nice sour/nutty flavor and it's cream for use in deserts or cheese dishes. yum!

i put mine together last night around 6, and as you can see from the picture, it's thickening up quite nicely! i used the cream/sour cream method- i'm going to try it with buttermilk next time and see which one i like better.

i'm going to leave it out till 6 tonight & then pop it in the fridge. i'll use it tomorrow to make the scalloped potatoes. i'll post the recipe & picture then!

Crème Fraîche

1 cup whipping cream, room temperature

1 tablespoon buttermilk or 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

In a jar with a lid, place whipping cream and buttermilk (or sour cream); cover securely and shake 15 seconds (or whisk together in non-reactive bowl)

Set aside at room temperature for 24 hours or until very thick.

Stir once or twice during that time.

NOTE: Cream will thicken faster if the room is warm.
Stir thickened creme fraiche well.

Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

homemade chewy granola bars

Chewy Granola Bars Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. Oats - quick rolled oats
1/2 c. Rice Krispies
1/4 c. coconut (i left this out- but it's your choice)
1/2 c. M&M minis(i used regular ones since the minis don't seem to exist anymore)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into an ungreased square 8×8 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars. For thinner bars, press mix into a 9×13 pan.ok- can we talk about

HOW GOOD THESE WERE?! OMG! i LOVED THEM! and so did everyone at my & my husband's work. they're just- awesome. sooo easy to make too- i totally suggest you try them! wow. i also made brownies but those are bad for you....but i had one anyway. ok- sorry.
God Bless