Sweet and Sour Pork

2lbs pork boneless top loin
vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks in syrup, drained and syrup reserved
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 medium carrots, cut into thin diagonal slices
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 3/4in pieces
hot cooked rice

1. Remove fat from pork. Cut pork into 3/4in pieces. Heat 1 inch oil in deep fryer or deep pan.

2. Beat flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup cold water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the egg in large bowl with hand beater until smooth. Stir in pork until well coated.

3. Add pork pieces, one at a time, to oil. Fry about 20 pieces at a time, turning 2 or 3 times, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

4. Add enough water to reserved pineapple syrup to measure 1 cup. Heat syrup mixture, brown sugar, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the soy sauce, carrots and garlic to boiling in large pan. Cover and simmer about 6 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender. (I didn't have any carrots at the time, but I added some red cabbage.)

5. Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water; stir into sauce. Add pork, pineapple and bell pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, Boil and stir 1 minute. Serve with rice.

We loved loved loved this--new favorite!

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

3/4lb chicken breast cutlets
olive oil
2 tsp grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 pizza dough
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 Tbs hot sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

Place chicken on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Season it with grill seasoning. Cook on grill pan or pan until it is cooked through.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce.

Remove chicken from pan and slice it thin. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir to coat. Cover the pizza dough with the saucy buffalo chicken and cheeses. Bake until crisp.

*Note: I have never used the blue cheese before--too afraid. But we love this!

Upside-Down Pizza Casserole

Yay! I finally have a picture!!

1 1/2lbs ground beef
1 15-oz can Italian-style tomato sauce
1 4oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup sliced pitted black olives (optional)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
15-20 slices pepperoni
1 12-oz pkg refrigerated biscuits (10)
basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. In large skillet, cook meat over medium heat until brown. Drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce, mushrooms, and olives; heat through. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 2-qt baking dish. Cover with pepperoni slices. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.

Flatten each biscuit slightly with your hands. Arrange the biscuits on top of meat mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and, if desired, basil.

Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 17 minutes or until mixture is heated through and biscuits are golden. Makes 5 servings.

*I could only find huge biscuits, so only 4 would fit on mine, and they took longer to bake. I actually had to flip them over to cook the under part because they were still doughy.
*This recipe is SO easy and the kids LOVED it!!

Cranberry-Mustard Pork Tenderloin (for crockpot)

1 16oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
3 Tbs. lemon juice
4 Tbs. Dijon mustard
3 Tbs. brown sugar
2lbs of pork tenderloins

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, lemon juice, mustard and brown sugar. Place pork tenderloins in crockpot and pour cranberry mixture on top. Cover; cook on low 8-10 hours (or on high for 4-5 hours).

*I buy four small thick cut tenderloins (it equals about 2lbs), and never have to cook them for the full amount of time. It is soooooo good! We usually eat them with stuffing and a vegetable.

Floating Tacos

(I forgot a picture again! Photo taken from www.mylittleredkitchen.blogspot.com)

Some friends and I do a freezer meal swap once a month, and so I made this. It froze/unfroze perfectly and was SO good! It easily feeds a family of 4, plus leftovers.

1 lb hamburger
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans kidney beans
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup uncooked rice
3 cups water

1 T. sugar
1 T. cumin
1 T. oregano
1 T. chili powder
*Fritos and taco toppings

Saute meat, onion, and garlic in large pot until onion is tender. Add tomato sauce, paste, water, beans, rice, and taco seasoning. Stir in sugar, cumin, oregano, and chili powder; bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 min, stirring occasionally until rice is fully cooked. Add water if mixture becomes too thick.

Serve over Fritos and top with taco toppings (lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, etc.).

Orange Chicken

I was a little skeptical but when I tried it I was hooked. Jeff says it is way better than Panda Express.

Its really yummy and pretty easy to make too!

Try it. I found it here. Sister Stuff is a fun blog.

Chicken Crepes

Crepe:
1 1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients together. Mix eggs well separately. Put about 1/8 cup of batter into small fry pan; distribute evenly in pan. When golden brown, turn over and cook other side.


Chicken Filling:
1 c. cooked chicken, small pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can mushrooms
1 small can sliced black olives

Mix ingredients together in saucepan and heat until bubbly. Fill crepes and roll up. Cover with sauce.


Sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (8oz) container sour cream

Mix and pour over crepes. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Parmesean Chicken with Pasta and Tomatoes

(Last time I made this I forgot to take a picture, Sorry! This looks really close)

• 3/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
• 3/4 c. Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 c. Melted Butter
• 4 Chicken Breast Halves
• 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Tbs Brown Sugar
• Pasta of your choice

• Combine the cheese and bread crumbs in a gallon size ziplock bag.
  
• Dip the chicken breast in melted butter and toss in the bag until coated.
• Bake at 350 for 50 minutes
• Prepare pasta of your choice, drain well. (I like to use Penne)
• Heat tomatoes with brown sugar.
• Serve chicken topped with pasta and tomatoes
  

Easy Pork Chops

So my mom made these growing up and I loved them. (Which is kind of ironic since I HATE Ketchup) There is really not any recipe. Which seems to be the case with everything she makes.

Lean Pork Chops
Ketchup
Brown Sugar

Cook in a Frying pan.
Top each pork chop with Ketchup (as much as you like)
Sprinkle on brown sugar liberally.
Flip chops over and repeat.
When the sugar and Ketchup melt it creates a glaze.
Saute until cooked through.

We serve with white rice or rice pilaf.

Stuffed Shells

I got this picture off the internet b/c the one I took at home turned out blurry. This is what they look like, except mine have lots more sauce on top and around the bottoms. This dish is one of my favorite meals!

Jumbo Shells -- Cook & drain.

Cook 1 lb. ground beef with onion & garlic; drain grease.

Shred & put together: Parmesan Cheese & Mozarella Cheese

Add beef to shredded cheese, then add spoonfuls of ricotta (or cottage) cheese to "paste" consistency (like cookie dough). (It takes about an entire small carton of cottage cheese. If you get too much, just add more mozzarella and it will make it thicker.)

Stuff about 1 heaping Tablespoon (don't overstuff) into shells and lay in greased pan.

Pour spaghetti sauce (I like Great Value Italian Garden) over shells and bottom of pan.


Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes - long enough to get hot.

Chicken Crescents

This is one of our favorite dinner recipes. They are so easy to make and they taste SO YUMMY! I found a few recipes and combined them to suite Justin's tastes :) He is a picky boy, but I actually like these just the way they are. Sometimes simple is best! Hope you all enjoy these as much as we do.

\
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed/shredded

1 (8 count) pkg. crescent rolls

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

3-4 Tbsp. butter, melted

garlic powder to taste

parsley to taste

pepper to taste

SAUCE:

1 can cream of chicken

1 cup sour cream

milk

**Mix cream cheese and chicken...then add the garlic powder, parsley and pepper. (I just sprinkle some on, then stir it up and then taste it...I usually do that a couple of times with each, but I like it with a lot of flavor!) Put melted butter and bread crumbs in separate bowls. Roll out crescent rolls and put desired amount of chicken mixture in each. Seal, brush with melted butter then roll in bread crumbs. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes...until golden brown. Mix soup and sour cream (add a little milk depending on how thin/thick of consistency you want it); heat thoroughly.

***I usually have some of the chicken mixture left over so I think you could actually use about 1 and a 1/2 cans of crescent rolls. Here's what I do. I buy 2 cans (8 count) and make as many chicken crescents as I can with the chicken mixture (even if you don't eat them all that night, they taste really good the next day...besides that's dinner for 2 days...but just make sure to refrigerate them withOUT the sauce on them :) then I use the extra crescent rolls for dinner the next day.

Teriyaki Chicken

1 c soy sauce
2 c water
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 piece fresh ginger
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp Chinese five spice
5 lb cut up chicken
Cold water
Cornstarch

Mix soy sauce, water, onions, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and Chinese five spice in large pot. Add chicken and boil, covered, for 1 hour. Thicken with cornstarch in cold water; serve over rice.

(The Chinese five spice is a special blend of spices, readily available in the spice section. I didn't have any when I made this tonight, so I left it out. We all liked this dish but Spencer thinks the extra spice would be better so we'll probably have it for next time. Also I used ground ginger instead of fresh. I am purposely not posting a picture because this meal wouldn't make a great picture. =) Its yummy, but you just probably wouldn't choose it according to the picture.)

My Favorite Fajita Recipe

I love this recipe because you marinate the onions, pepper and beef in a yummy marinade

10 Flour Tortillas
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T. oil
1/4 c. lime juice
hot pepper to taste
1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
1 bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 lb. beef (skirt steak, flank steak, or round steak, or whatever is cheap :)
1 tomato
1 ripe avocado

Prepare marinade of all ingredients except tortillas, avocado, tomatoes and meat. Place the meat in a plastic bag and cover with the vegetable/marinade, turning once or twice, and marinade 8 to 24 hours.

Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm in 250 degree oven for 10 minutes. Cut meat across the grain in thin strips. Broil or fry the meat in a little oil for 3-4 minutes. In the meantime, quickly saute the onions and peppers in the marinade just until tender. Add the meat and chopped tomato to the vegetable mixture. Toss until covered with marinade, and serve immediately with pipping hot tortillas. Top with sliced avocado. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

I used to have a chicken recipe for this same thing, and I think it is exactly the same. So you could probably replace the beef with chicken and it would taste good too.

Chicken Paninis

My family loves these. You could easily add vegetables or any extras that you'd like to these sandwiches. This is how we do it though:

Pound chicken flat and cut in half (or thirds, depending on the size of your bread). Season chicken (I use garlic and pepper or an Italian blend that we love) and grill until done. In the meantime, slice French Bread diagonally (less that 1" thick) and spread Miracle Whip on each piece. When chicken is done, place 1 piece of chicken on every other piece of bread. Add a slice of cheese (we like Swiss) and then top with remaining piece of bread.

Butter the outside of the top piece of bread and place entire sandwich butter side down on the hot grill or sandwich maker (or skillet). Then butter the outside of the other piece of bread, which is now on top. Close grill and leave for just a couple of minutes. It doesn't take long. Its ready when your bread is golden and toasty!

(In the picture, I actually forgot to pound my chicken this last time I made it so it looks thicker than we've ever had it. Also I sliced my bread a little thicker than I usually do, but it was still delicious, none the less!)

panini - a traditional, small Italian sandwich filled with meat, cheese, grilled vegetables, etc., and usually toasted.

Italian Sandwiches

My sister-in-law is an amazing cook...this recipe is from her.

Mayo
Italian Dressing

Focaccia Bread (Italian Bread)
Salami (Pepperoni)
Turkey
Provolone Cheese (Mozzarella)
Fresh Baby Spinach
Roasted Red Peppers

Mix mayonnaise and Italian dressing. Layer the ingredients into sandwiches; spread mayo mixture on both sides of the bread. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

You can either buy canned roasted red peppers or make them yourself. I put a few things in parenthesis that I substitute so that its a little easier to make. I can't ever find Focaccia bread but I think it would taste so good with these sandwiches if you can find it or make it yourself!

So I know I am the one who keeps requesting for pictures of the food we make :) and well...I had every intention of taking one tonight, but we were so hungry that we ate it and then remembered :) SO...sorry girls. With that said, this is a REALLY REALLY easy and simple meal (that's all I am really able to do right now) but it is yummy. My mom used to make this for us when we were kids and as we got older she stopped making it. When I got married I remembered back to those childhood days and finally got the recipe from my mom. Justin LOVES it...but he eats pretty much like a kid--very picky :) Anyways, thought you all would enjoy it and I promise it is scrumptious :)

Skillet Chili-Chip Dinner
1 lb. hamburger
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can chili-con-carne
Fritos Chili Cheese corn chips (small bag)
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Brown hamburger; drain grease. Add tomato sauce and chili con carne. Heat through and stir in 1/2 bag (or less depending on what you like) of the chips--crumbled. Mix together and then cover with grated cheese. When cheese is melted, top with remaining (whole) chips. Serve with sour cream. I also have added tomatoes and chopped onion.

**I usually just dish up the plates, add other toppings, then add the extra chips last because I like the chips crunchy :)

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

6 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c spaghetti Sauce
6 small chicken breasts halves (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 1/2 c (6 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Stir 4 T Parmesan cheese into pasta sauce.

2. Heat medium skillet to medium-high heat for 1 minute and add a little oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until browned. Drain.

3. Pour pasta sauce over chicken; turn chicken to coat both sides with sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

4. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Ranch Style Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & cut up
white corn tostito chips
1/2 an onion finely chopped
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 can Rotel

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix last 4 ingredients together.

Layer in 9x13 dish:
chips, chicken, onion, combined soups, chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

(This is my family's FAVORITE meal.)

I guess I will be the first to post a recipe even though I have not cooked in over 7 months :( I LOVE to cook and I especially love to find and try new recipes...so I am very much looking forward to this blog. Anyways, here is a recipe that my sister has been telling me I need to try. I have wanted to for so long and so I decided to share it with all of you and hopefully I will be making this soon.

Santa Fe Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, cubed

1 jar of salsa

1 (15 oz.) can of corn, drained

sour cream

Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

*Place chicken in crock pot, cover with salsa and cook on low for 5-6 hours(or until chicken is tender) . Shred chicken and add black beans, corn and cream cheese. Cook for an additional hour until cream cheese melts and mixture is heated through. Serve over rice, corn chips, salad (or combine them all to make the ultimate taco salad) OR wrap up in a tortilla as a burrito. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.