Peachy pork steaks

The days and nights have been crazy busy around here so I have picked another quick and easy dinner to prepare.

Hubby told me he really enjoyed this one as even though I couldn't try it I think there are a few changes that I would make to it nothing major but I think little touches that would perk it up a bit. But for now...here is the original recipe...so let's get cooking.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Pork blade steaks (1/2")
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt
black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 cup peach nectar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
hot cooked rice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
2 teaspoons Parsley; freshly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Cook steaks in hot oil over medium heat in a large skillet until lightly browned on both sides. Drain off pan dripping. Sprinkle steaks with salt, pepper, and basil. *I always season my meat first before cooking that way as the meat cooks and opens up the seasoning is drawn into the meat. You can always add more seasoning after you have cooked it to adjust the flavor.*

Combine peach nectar, 1/2 cup water, vinegar, and bouillon cubes; pour over steaks. Simmer 30 minutes or until steaks are tender. Place steaks over rice on a serving platter, and keep warm.

Combine cornstarch and water; add to nectar mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in parsley.

Spoon half of gravy over steaks. Serve remaining gravy with steaks.
 

 

Now the only changes I am thinking I would make would be to maybe add fresh peaches as hubby told me the peach flavor was very subtle and with the peaches a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon to the spices. I will play around with the recipe when life calms down a bit and will link to it. I hope you give this recipe a try and as always I would love to hear how you liked it and if you would change anything. Enjoy being in the kitchen and I will see you cooking again!

Bacon and Cheese stuffed Chicken breasts

It's been a long stressful day today but thanks to careful planning and making a meal menu for the week, dinner wasn't part of that stress. I know not every day is going to be a joy in the kitchen but it can be bearable if you let it be.

Since I have a hungry hubby it's time to get in that kitchen and start cooking. So please grab your aprons and won't you join me for a quick chicken dinner big enough to feed the hungriest of men.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded flat

4 slicesBacon; cooked crumbled

1 1/2 ounce colby cheddar cheese; shredded

1 teaspoonCorn starch

2/3 cupChicken broth

2 tablespoonParsley; chopped

1 dashSalt & pepper

1/4 teaspoonPaprika 1/8 cup heavy whipping cream Directions: Cook bacon in large skillet till crisp, remove bacon and crumble Place bacon and cheese on one half of the breast Place the other half over on top of it Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and paprika Heat bacon grease to med-high heat Add chicken and cook 5 mins per side Reduce heat to med-low Cover and cook for 10 mins or until done Remove chicken and keep warm Stir cornstarch into chicken broth Add to skillet and bring to boil, stirring Cook 3 mins until thickened Add parsley and whipping cream The way I plated this tonight was I put the chicken down sprinkled a bit more cheese over the top of the chicken then spooned the gravy over that. I do believe it was a success tonight. As you can see the kids were fixed on hubby's every move and bite tonight. It got rave reviews and was worth the time it took to cook it up. I hope you try this one...it's quick easy and very filling. Enjoy everyone.

Chicken Breasts a la Normande

I have spent most of the day fighting to keep food down to no avail. With this struggle the hubby has been eating things that are quick to fix and eat like corn dogs, pizza pockets, and easy skillet combinations that I have whipped up. So tonight since he was hungry, and I have settled on protein shakes until I can get my eating and body back to functioning order, I decided to make something that he would really enjoy.

Thanks to a very well stocked pantry and refrigerator I had everything on hand and was able to whip this up in about half an hour. Ohhh and the house smelled wonderful!! So let's gather up the ingredients and get cooking...my mouth is watering...how about yours?

INGREDIENTS

1 package Foster Farms Boneless Skinless Breast Fillets (I used 4 6ounce chicken breasts)
flour with salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup brandy (preferably apple brandy)
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
2 small green apples
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Place four, salt, and pepper in a ziploc or plastic bag and shake breasts in flour. Heat oil in skillet to medium-high. Add breasts and saute 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until golden. Remove breasts and discard oil.

2. Add 1/2 cup brandy to skillet and return breasts. Place over high heat, ignite carefully, then immediately cover to put out flame.

3. Again, remove breasts. Add cream to skillet and reduce liquid, by boiling, to half its original volume. Add butter and shake pan until butter melts.

4. Peel, core and slice apples thinly. Stir sugar and remaining brandy into skillet. Add apple slices. Bring to a boil and cook one minute. Place breasts on warm serving platter, surround with apples and top with sauce.

 

Viola!!! Dinner is ready!! Now wasn't that easy! Quick simple and oh so tasty...well so I've heard...lol It got a seal of approval from the hubby and the kids. 

 



I hope you give this a try and please let me now how you liked it and if you made any changes. Enjoy everyone...and have fun cooking!

Pepperoni pizza cresents

Since my lap band fill, I am tied to protein shakes and cottage cheese but the hubby still has to eat. Last night we had a late lunch and I didn't think he would want any dinner. Well I had thought wrong lol. Hubby got hungrier than the munchies so I whipped up this quick snack/meal for him. Terribly easy and quick and if your house is anything like mine, you have these ingredients in your pantry all the time. So let's grab those ingredients and get cooking...it's time to eat!

Ingredients:
1 tube Pilsbury Crescent Rolls
Pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
Pepperoni
Velveeta cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees as instructed on crescent roll package.

Unroll out the triangles and spread about 2 teaspoons of sauce on the crescent triangle.

 

Next place desired amount of pepperoni on the crescent.

 

Then place desired amount of cheese on top of the pepperoni. My pieces are about a quarter inch square by the length of the short side of the brick of Velveeta.

 

Roll them up and do your best to close the ends by a simple twist, doesn't have to be perfect they will seal up pretty good as they cook and rise.

 

Cook for about 14 minutes. They will be a bit doughy if you don't, The added moisture of the sauce slows them in the cooking.

 

And here you go! Quick, easy, and very filling! Great for football parties, quick dinners, or just all around snacking! Hubby believe it or not ate them ALL!!! lol. Enjoy and remember, cooking doesn't always have to be labor intensive and hard...sometimes the quick and easy ones bring just as big of a smile. It's the love that goes into it that makes all the difference!

Blueberry pie filling

I was cleaning out the freezer yesterday and came across a half a bag of blueberries. I had originally thought about making smoothies for hubby with it but they were frozen so tightly together I was afraid to crush them trying to break them apart. So I set them in the fridge to defrost to make something out of them later, maybe muffins.

When I woke up this morning hubby asked what's for breakfast. Ugh, I wasn't feeling like eating anything but as a dutiful wife....lol. I went into the kitchen thinking about just throwing together some sausage and eggs and some frozen pancakes reheated. Then I saw the blueberries and thought...french toast is easy and I can make blueberry pie filling to top them and use the remaining filling to make individual pies for hubby later. I don't particularly like blueberries so anything I make with them is sort of hit and miss and the hubby has to do the taste testing for me (which I know he absolutely can't stand!!! lol).

So here are the ingredients I used and the approximate measurements of them.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a saucepan. I like to use a whisk to mix them up breaking up any lumps especially of the cornstarch. Add the water. Cook over medium-high heat till it boils stirring constantly.

Add the blueberries and return to boiling stirring constantly being careful not to crush the berries. The mixture will become thicker and the juice will get more clear.

It took about 4-6 minutes for it to become the thickness I wanted. If after this time it's not as thick as you want you can add more cornstarch to the mix. I recommend starting with 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with just enough water to make it liquid. Pour it into the mixture and continue to stir till it's boiling again to see how it thickens.

Remove the filling from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Viola! Blueberry pie filling!

I made the french toast for the hubby and took it to him and it was if it was Christmas day! His eye lit up and a smile from ear to ear. That my friends is the best part of cooking!! I hope this inspires you to give it a try and see just how easy it is to have homemade goodness in just a few minutes.

Easy honey pork

I had one of those days where I didn't feel like cooking or inventing anything. I was uninspired and looking in my fridge was not helping spark my inner foodie..lol. I was searching online for something just anything that peaked my interest when I came across this site.

Kind of a neat site if you have ingredients in your fridge and pantry and don't feel like coming up with something to do with them. Check out My Fridge Food and see what fun kind of recipes they come up with for you.

This is what my search did today: The ingredients in red are things I added to make it more to our liking.

Easy honey pork

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless pork loin, pounded thin
• 1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or two eggs)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1 teaspoon each: onion powder, granulated garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (I used Emerald glazed Walnuts Butter Toffee)
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1/3 cup milk (2%)

Directions:

1. Cut the pork loin into chops. I cut mine about 3/4 inch thick before I pounded them out. Then pound them to about 1/4 -3/8 inch thick. Mine are 3/8 inch thick. *A couple of tips....since you are going to double bread them they will take a little longer to cook, so the thinner you make them the faster they will fry up. If you are concerned about the pork being completely done, fry them in the pan then finish them off in a 325 degree oven (this is also a bit healthier if you put them on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet when you put them in the oven that way the grease drips off) until done. Second tip....when pounding the chops out...put them in a ziploc bag and pound them out there. It helps keep them together and not stick to your meat mallet. If you don't have any ziploc bags you can also spray your mallet with a bit of Pam to help from sticking.*

2. Season the pork with salt and pepper. *Why you ask since it's in the flour...when you put the chop in the oil you loose a bit of the flavor. So by seasoning the pork before your meat will be nicely seasoned and no added seasoning after cooking will be needed*  In a shallow dish, mix together flour, onion powder, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish add the Egg Beaters. Dredge pork cutlets in the  Egg Beaters then in the flour mixture, and repeat.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chops, and brown both sides. Transfer to a warm plate.

4. Drain off any excess oil from the pan but do not wipe the pan!!! You want the bits on bottom of the pan for when you make the sauce. Melt the butter in the pan and deg laze it. *De glazing means as the butter melts and it will start to loosen the baked on bits in the pan.* Use your spatula to scrape them from the bottom to mix with the butter. Mix honey and pecans into the pan drippings. Heat through, stirring constantly.

 

 

5. Add the teaspoon of flour and whisk thoroughly. Turn up the heat to high till the mixture  starts to get foamy. Add the milk and continue mixing constantly till thickened to your desire. At this point you can add more milk or even butter to make the sauce thinner or thicker. This is the consistency that I liked, hot too thick but not runny either.

 

 

6. Pour sauce over cutlets. Enjoy!