Pork Chop and Potato Casserole

Here is one of my mom's recipes that we had for dinner tonight.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. minced onion
4 c. potatoes (peeled and sliced)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Brown pork chops. Stir together remaining ingredients and place in a baking dish. Top with pork chops and bake at 375 for 90 minutes.

Taco Tuesdays

I've heard of several people doing a Taco Tuesday dinner theme and I really like that idea. I've even started to get a good collection of different Taco recipes. Tonight we just went with the basics.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Makes 12 tacos.


You Will Need
1 pkg. McCormick® Taco Seasoning Mix
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 cup water
12 taco shells or flour tortillas (6-inch)
Assorted Toppings: Shredded Lettuce, Chopped Tomatoes, Shredded Cheese, Salsa or Sour Cream


BROWN meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Drain fat.

STIR in Seasoning Mix and water.

BRING to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into warm taco shells. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Lime Chicken Tacos

This week I'm trying a few new recipes that I've wanted to try for a while. Tonight was the first. It comes from Taste of Home and was not only easy, but delicious.

1-1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 c. frozen corn

1 c. chunky salsa

12 flour tortillas (6in), warmed

Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce, optional

Place the chicken in a 3-qt slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heath through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired.

Yield: 12 tacos.

Asian Beef and Noodles

My ward has been doing fun enrichment groups. One is a cooking group. We get together and learn how to cook a new recipe about once a month. This month we did a fun, economically friendly recipe group. Everyone was supposed to bring an cheap and easy recipe. The recipe that was demonstrated for us was

Asian Beef and Noodles.

1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
2 pkg 3 oz. oriental flavor instant Ramon Noodles
2 c. frozen vegetables
2 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onions

Season beef with oriental seasoning packets. Cook noodles until tender then add vegetables and beef.

You may want to try only using one seasoning packet to start with and see how Strong you want the flavor.

This was a yummy recipe that is defiantly cheap and easy.

Chicken Pot Pie

If you got a chance to stock up on some Bisquik at Albertson's this week, here is a great recipe to use some of it. I got it from my step-mom (Thanks Lori!).



Chicken Pot Pie

2 c. chopped, cooked chicken

1 1/2 c. frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 c. each, celery & onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. instant bisquick

1 c. milk

1 stick melted butter, divided



Preheat oven to 350*. In greased 9x13 pan, layer chicken, mixed vegetables, celery & onion (sauteed in 1/2 sick butter). Mix soup, chicken broth & season with salt & pepper. Pour over layers. Stir together the biscuit mix & milk. Pour over casserole. Drizzle butter over topping. Bake 40-45 min.



I made it with a few variations. I didn't have celery or onion so I added some dried chopped onion I had in my spice cupboard. I also didn't have and cream of chicken soup (I guess it hasn't been on sale recently =). I got online and Googled cream of chicken soup substitutes and got this recipe . . .



Cream of chicken soup substitute

1 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. all purpose flour

1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth

1/2 c. low-fat or fat free milk

salt and pepper to taste



Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Use in place of condensed cream soups.



Can be varied by using vegetable broth, sauteed chopped celery, celery seed or sauteed chopped mushrooms.

It was very yummy and my family loved it!

Mini Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes sounded really good the other night, but I didn't have any hamburger buns, so I got creative. I broke out some of my Grands Biscuits and made mini Sloppy Joes. They were fun and very tasty. We like Manwich for our Sloppy Joes. We rounded it off with some Oreida French Fries. Not the healthiest dinner I know, but it sure tasted good =)

Corn Bread Tacos

I got this from my friend Tracie's recipe blog. It is SO yummy.

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup of corn
1 small can of sliced olives
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of Marie Calendar's corn bread (I used Quaker Yellow Corn Meal)

1. Cook ground beef, seasoning with garlic salt and pepper (drain)
2. Add corn, olives, tomato sauce and taco seasoning (set aside)
3. Follow directions on back of corn bread
4. In a 9x13 pan add the meat mixture and spread out evenly. Next add the cornbread mix and cover meat mixture completely.
5. Cook at 375* for 35 minutes and sprinkle with some cheddar cheese!! (optional)

Fun with Food Storage is at it again.

Can I just say how much I love these ladies. They are AWESOME. Crystal's (Everyday Food Storage.net) new book is finally here! 'I Can't Believe it's Food Storage'

What is included in I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage?

• A step by step training program for using your food storage every day in your own recipes. Think of me as your food storage personal trainer.
  
• Over 100 kitchen tested (and very delicious) recipes, including some not yet featured on my blog!
  
• Family Home Evening lessons to help get your entire family involved in planning your 3-month supply and helping you in the kitchen.
  
• Information on the what, where, and why’s of common food storage items.
  
• Practical tips for getting dinner on the table, picky eaters, grocery shopping, and more!
  

How do I purchase I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage?

I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage is available for pre-order NOW and will be released on Wednesday. You can pre-order your copy from Amazon.com or through DeseretBook.com for $17.95. If you pre-order it through Amazon.com by Wednesday, your copy will be signed by me plus the book is eligible for FREE shipping (with an order of $25 or more)! Or you can purchase it from your local LDS bookstore in the next week or so. Be sure to keep asking for it!

You can also enter for a chance to win a copy at everydayfoodstorage.net!

I'm am so excited for this book! I know it will help me so much in my goal of implementing food storage into my everyday cooking. Her web site has already helped me so much with tons of very helpful tips, yummy recipes and many other great tools!

Congratulations Crystal! I can't wait for pay day tomorrow so I can go out and buy it!

Don't forget to get your entry in buy tonight for a chance to win a copy of Jodi & Julie's latest and greatest food storage binder!!!

Brown Sugar

Have any of you ever started a baking project only to find that your brown sugar is as hard as a rock? We all know it doesn't store well, so it's pretty hard to have a year's supply of the stuff. But, you can make it yourself! In fact I have stopped buying brown sugar because making it is a simple as blending white granulated sugar and molasses together. If I'm making a recipe that calls for brown sugar, I just add the sugar and molasses rather than blend it first. So easy--and no more brown sugar rocks!

Brown Sugar

Blend together 1 cup of white granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon molasses

Mac & Cheese please

I wasn't feeling very well yesterday and one of the only things that sounded good was my mom's home made mac & cheese. It is really easy and very yummy.

Home made mac & cheese

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. grated cheese
1 c. macaroni

Boil macaroni until it is tender. Drain and return to pan. Stir in butter until melted then add flour. Add milk and stir until thick. Then add cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bread

I just had to share what I did on Saturday. I've been spring cleaning and Saturday I attacked my kitchen. I deep cleaned and organized just about everything. Now that it's clean it looks bare, I really need to paint and decorate, but that's a whole other story. While I was cleaning I pulled out my bread maker. It was acting funny the last time I used it (about 3 years ago) so I thought I would try making a loaf to see if it was still on the fritz. It is. It isn't kneading the dough. So instead of just throwing the ingredients away I thought I'd try and just make it on my own. I kneaded it for a little while and let it rise. Then I kneaded it again and let it rise again. Then I cooked it @350* for 30 min. It looked and smelled wonderful, but I was nervous to try it. It was by no means the best bread I've ever tasted, but it was still pretty good. I've really wanted to learn how to make bread for a while now and I guess this is a pretty good start.

I got the recipe from my bread maker's user manual

Homestyle White Bread

1 c. 2 Tbsp. water (75*-85* F)

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

2 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Tbsp. non-fat dry milk powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 c. bread flour (I only had regular)

2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

After in sat in my bread maker doing nothing for a half an hour I pulled it out and kneaded it. Then I let it rise for about a half an hour. Then I kneaded it again and let it rise for about an hour before I baked it.

Does any one have any good bread recipes or tips?

Powdered Milk

I know this is one of the biggest issues people have with food storage, BUT if this is you, I think you would be surprised. Last night I went to my food storage support group and we taste tested instant potatoes (Walmart brand vs. the LDS Cannery's Potato Pearls) and powdered milk (Morning Moo's Alternative Milk, Morning Moo's Soy Milk, Carnation Instant, Country Cream & LDS Cannery). This is what the group thought of them

" . . . the worst was the Soy and the LDS Cannery brands. These might be just great when it comes to baking or cooking with them, but to drink like a regular glass of milk...YUCK! Now, the best we found was the Morning Moo's Alternative and the Country Cream followed close behind by the Carnation Instant. The Carnation Instant was by far the most expensive and comes in a small box (only makes 3 quarts) but the others make up to 5 gallons."

I personally really liked all three, Morning Moo's Alternative, Country Cream and the Carnation Instant. I love milk. We go through about 4 gallons a week at our house. I couldn't even tell the difference with some of these. So today I took the plunge and used some powdered milk in one of our favorite recipes.

One of our favorite cold day meals is chili and corn bread. We like Stagg's classic chili with beans with home made corn bread. I like Quaker's yellow corn meal and use the easy corn bread recipe on the back of the can with a few substitutions.

Easy Corn Bread
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. corn meal
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder (I use 1 tsp. baking powder & 1tsp. baking soda)
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1 c. skim milk (I use butter milk)
1/4 c. vegetable oil (I use butter and let it melt in the pan while the oven pre-heats to grease the pan)
2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten

Heat oven to 400*F. Grease 8 or 9 inch pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center come out clean. Serve warm. 9 servings.

I found a great milk conversion chart for cooking with powdered milk at Everyday Food Storage. It also includes instructions on how to make your own Sweetened Condensed Milk,
Evaporated Milk, and Buttermilk. So I pulled out my box of Carnation Instant milk and made my own buttermilk. The corn bread turned out great. I also made up quart to keep in the fridge and use. I am now a powdered milk believer. Try it. I really think you will be surprised. Then, if you are ever in the position that you have to use powered milk, you'll already know what to expect.

Summer Salsa

this is the salsa that I make at the partys

chop 1 small onion
chop 1 celery stick
chop 2 green peppers
chop 1 jalipino pepper
2 cans hunts tomato sause
and a dash of crushed red pepper

If you have the pampered chef chopper that is what I use, the taste is kinda Hot but I guess it depends on who you are!!!

Using Food Storage

Before I got my food storage organized, I would go to the dry pack cannery and just guess at what I needed. When I got my rotator shelf and began filling it up, I found that I had 3 times as much oatmeal as I thought. Although I'm fond of oatmeal, I'm not 20 cans fond of it, so I began brainstorming how I could use more oatmeal. I came up with this oatmeal pancake recipe. I'll make a couple of batches at one time and freeze the pancakes, put them in freezer bags, and then pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes. I have been having 1 every morning now for a couple of months. I have yet to get tired of them! Here's the recipe:

Combine in a large bowl:

4 cups oatmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Combine in a smaller bowl:

4 cups (1 quart) buttermilk or regular milk

4 beaten eggs

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Add liquid all at once to dry ingredients. Stir until dry and wet ingredients are combined, but don't over beat. Let the batter stand for 45 minutes. The batter will thicken, so add regular milk until it is the right consistency. Cook on a hot griddle and enjoy.

I place cooked pancakes on cookie sheets and freeze; then I transfer them to freezer bags and stick in the freeze. I'll take one out, microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, and it's ready. Brooklyn asks for them every Saturday morning she's at my house. With the applesauce in the batter, she doesn't want any 'dippin' (pancake syrup).

Cafe Rio

I made the Cafe Rio pork & rice recipe's tonight. They were amazing. I broke my no more shopping this month rule again today =( I really wanted to make this recipe and didn't have most of what I needed. So I went to Smith's and took advantage their RX transfer promotion. They loaded $25 on to my Fresh Values card so I only ended up spending about $10. Anyways, I highly recommend the Cafe Rio recipe's. They were fairly simple and turned out wonderful.

Breakfast for dinner

Brooklyn wanted waffles for breakfast this morning, but I was a mean mom and didn't make them. To make it up to her we had breakfast for dinner.


Waffles (From my Mom's recipe book)


1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbs. sugar
1 c. milk
4 Tbs. oil or butter
2 eggs


Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add egg yolks and oil to milk. Add to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Beat whites and fold into batter. Allow 4 to 5 minutes to cook(Or when your waffle maker light says their done). Serve hot.


I thought it would be fun to try something a little different with them. I had some apples in the fridge so I Googled apple filling and this is what I got.

Ingredients

3 c thinly sliced apples, ripe .
1 c unsalted margarine, softened .
6 tbsps brown sugar .
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice .
6 tbsps clover honey .
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon


Directions

Step #1 Heat 3 tbsps of margarine In a large-ish sauté pan over med-heat/flame.
Step #2 When bubbling, add the fruit & sauté 4 to 6 mins until softened.
Step #3 Stir in all remaining ingredients & put set aside to cool on the counter or in the refrigerator.
Step #4 When cool, fill crepes with desired amount (or in this case top waffles with filling)

This was the end result. YUMMY!!!

Pineapple Pork Chops

I got this recipe from my sister's best friend a few years ago and it became an instant favorite!

4 pork chops
1 can pineapple; reserve juice
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c. brown sugar
parsley

Trim pork chops; place in ungreased 8x8 baking dish. Mix juice, brown sugar, soy sauce & garlic powder together and pour over pork chops. Cover & marinate approx 8 hrs, turning once. Heat oven to 350* Top with pineapple. Cover with foil & bake for 45 min. Uncover & bake for an additional 5 min. Garnish with parsley.

(I usually serve this over rice)

Campbell's Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

I needed a quick and easy dinner and found this on the Campbell's Kitchen website. My family loved it.

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 c. milk
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
1/4 of a 12-ounce package medium egg noodles (about 2 cups), cooked and drained
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, milk, vegetables, chicken, noodles, Parmesan cheese and black pepper in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the chicken mixture. Top with the cheese.

Cafe Rio recipes

I got this from a recent Relifsocity activity. I haven't made it yet, but it was really yummy!

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
One 3-4 lbs. pork roast
16 oz. salsa
1 can regular Coca-Cola 12 oz.
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbs. fajita seasoning
2 Tbs. taco seasoning
1 can diced green chilies 4oz.

Place roast in crock pot. Fill crock pot 1/2 way with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Remove roast and dispose of juices. Cut roast into 3 or 4 sections and place back into the crock pot. Puree salsa in blender and transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the salsa and mix. Pour mixture over roast and cook on high for 3 more hours. Remove roast and shred. Return shredded meat to the crock pot of juices and stir. Serves 12.

Cafe Rio Green Chile Rice

2 c. rice
2 Tbs. cooking oil
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 cans diced green chiles 4oz.
1 medium to large onion, diced
2/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
6 green onions, chopped

Heat 2 Tbs. cooking oil in large frying pan. Pour in rice and saute for 2 min. or until rice begins to brown. Transfer rice into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover pan with foil and back at 350* for approx 55 min. Take pan from oven. Remove foil and let rice stand for 5-10 min. Fluff with fork. Serves 12. (Note: For a smaller batch, you can half all ingredients and cook for the same amount of time in the same size pan.)

Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Salad Dressing

1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
1 c. buttermilk
1/3 - 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed(or not if you like it hot)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. lime juice
1-2 tomatillos (remove outer papery skin)
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in blender. Makes one pint.