Dinner #15 & #16

Super yummy and super easy.  Everyone loved it except Lily, but she doesn't like pork so that's why.   That's how dinner went on the 15th.  It was even better because I didn't have to rush around all afternoon because baseball practice was cancelled.


Sweet & Sour Pork

1	lb boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1-inch cubes
1	egg, beaten
3/4	cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon pepper
1/2	cup vegetable oil
1 1/2	cups frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry (from 1-lb bag)
1	can (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1	jar (11 1/2 oz) sweet-and-sour sauce  1.    In medium bowl, toss pork with egg. In 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, place Bisquick mix, salt and pepper; seal bag and shake to mix. Drain excess egg from pork. Place pork cubes in plastic bag; seal bag and shake to coat. 2.    In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Place pork in single layer in skillet. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown and crispy on outside and no longer pink in center. Drain on paper towels. Cover to keep warm. 3.     Reserve 1 tablespoon oil in skillet; discard any remaining oil. Add bell pepper mix and pineapple; cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in sweet-and-sour sauce and pork; heat to boiling.   Serve with rice and steamed veggies.  Better than Panda Express! Ham & Cheese Tortilla Roll-ups This is a good meal for when you have left over ham.  We always do.  It was really a no-brainer in preparation which is nice.  We had this with fruit and chips. 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces) 1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing 1/4 cup sour cream1 can (11 ounces) Green Giant® Niblets® vacuum-packed whole kernel corn or Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained 10 Old El Paso® flour tortillas (6 inches in diameter) 10 slices (1 ounce each) deli fully cooked ham Cilantro sprig, if desired Mix cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and corn. Top each tortilla with 1 slice ham. Spread 2 tablespoons corn mixture over ham. Top with cilantro. Roll up.  I left out the corn because I don't like corn except from a cob, but they were still yummy.  Bon appetite!

Dinner #13 & #14

Monday Dinner.  That seems like such a long time ago.  Monday didn't go well.  It should have been fine, but we all like the other way that I cook ribs that this new way wasn't good.  I didn't even take a picture, but I'll post the recipe just in case someone wants to use it.  I must say that doing this every day is exhausting.


Slow Cooker Saucy Barbeque Ribs

Ingredients

3 1/2 lb pork loin back ribs or pork spareribs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup water

1 1/3 cups barbecue sauce

• Spray inside of 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Cut ribs into 2- or 3-rib portions. Place ribs in cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour water into cooker.
•  
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 6 to 7 hours. Remove ribs from cooker; place in shallow baking pan. Drain and discard liquid from cooker.

• Brush both sides of ribs with barbecue sauce. Return ribs to cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on Low heat setting about 1 hour or until ribs are glazed and sauce is desired consistency.

Happy Valentine's day!  This day was a bit more stressful then I wanted it to be.  I wanted to do nice things for the family to show them how much I love them.  I got cheeky remarks from my tween, my daughter was home sick from school, my middle child didn't tell me ahead of time about making a lunch for someone in his class for the V-day party and Damon wasn't really in the greatest of moods either.  Oh, and my treadmill broke.  Dinner turned out extra yummy and even though we had to rush it because of Cotillion we still enjoyed it.

I ended up changing the recipe a little bit.  Some by choice, some by force.  The old von's didn't stock manicotti.  So I used the big shells instead.  I chose to cook my chicken before I stuffed it because the idea of eating raw meat really freaks me out.

 Easy Chicken Manicotti

1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic pasta sauce (any variety)

3/4 cup water

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 lb uncooked chicken breast tenders (not breaded)(I used cooked shredded chicken)

14 uncooked manicotti shells (8 oz)(I used jumbo shells, but it's all the same)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz) 

1 container cottage or ricotta cheese (16oz) (I added this and mixed it with the mozz cheese, chicken and seasoning) 

Chopped fresh basil leaves, if desired

 Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix pasta sauce and water. Spread about 1/3 of the pasta sauce mixture in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. 

Sprinkle garlic salt on chicken. Insert chicken into uncooked manicotti shells, stuffing from each end of shell to fill if necessary. (Fill shells with cheese/chicken mixture) Place shells on pasta sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce evenly over shells, covering completely. Cover with foil.  (It's so nice to not have to cook the pasta before had.)
  
Bake about 1 hour or until chicken is no longer pink in center and shells are tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil.  (make sure to cover the pasta completely with sauce.






I also made cupcakes for a friend and made cake pops with the rest of the batter.  The kids enjoyed those when they got home from school.  After the kids went to bed Damon and I had our dessert.  We love brownies and ice cream.  We took it up a notch for Love Day by adding raspberries and chocolate syrup.  Way yummy.
 
 

 

Dinner #12

My parents brought a Ham with them when they came (they always bring food when they come to visit) and so tonight's dinner had to revolve around Ham.  It was super simple and quick.  They are the best kind of dinners.

Penne and Ham Primavera

2 cups uncooked penne or mostaccioli pasta (6 ounces)
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced yellow summer squash
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 cup reduced-fat Italian dressing
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Coarsely ground pepper, if desired

• Cook pasta as directed on package, adding zucchini and yellow squash during last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking; drain.
• Return pasta mixture to saucepan; add ham and dressing. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Sprinkle with basil, cheese and pepper.

We served it with a salad and homemade rolls.  It was yummy.

Dinner #11

Today's dinner was so yummy that I forgot to take a picture of it before we devoured it.   I got this recipe from my friend April.  It was fabulous.  I thought the kids would turn up their noses at it, but they loved it.  My parents were here as well and they enjoyed it too.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Small Onion Chopped

1-1/2 Jalapeno, Seeded and Chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

Saute in 2 Tbs Oil

1 - 2 Lb boneless cooked chicken

1 - 16oz can stewed tomatoes (I would use diced.  I hate big chunks)

1 - 10oz can rotelle tomatoes

2 - 10oz cans chicken broth

1 - 10 oz can tomato soup

1-1/2 Cups Water

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

Bring to a boil; simmer covered one hour

Condiments:  Homemade tortilla strips or tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, avocado chunks, sour cream, cilantro, lime and quesadillas

Enjoy!

Dinner #10

Today's dinner was great!  It was breakfast for dinner.  We haven't done that in a while.  I stuck to the rule, it must be a new recipe, and we all enjoyed it.  The kids all plated their meals with sauce and fruit and whip cream.  It was so easy to make. 

Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch slices
Whipped cream cheese

Spread cream cheese generously between two slices of bread, place sandwiched slices in a glass pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Mix together: 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a tsp vanilla

Pour over bread and let sit for 5 minutes, turn bread over and cover.  Refrigerate overnight.  Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake at 400*F for 25-30 minutes.

Top with fruit and whip cream.  Serve with bacon or sausage.

Dinner #9

Tonight's dinner was good.  I think it would have been better had I not missed a step in the directions.  It didn't affect the food at all, but most likely taste.  We all enjoyed it, but we usually enjoy most types of Mexican food. 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Fajitas


1 pork boneless loin roast (2 1/2 lb), trimmed of fat 
 

2 tablespoons fajita seasoning (from 3-oz container)

1 cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky salsa

1 bag (1 lb) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions, thawed (I used fresh ones)

2 packages (11.5 oz each) Old El Paso® flour tortillas for burritos (16 tortillas), warmed

2 cups shredded Mexican-style taco cheese (8 oz)

1 cup sour cream, if desired

1. Place pork in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Top with salsa. (ya, that's the step I left out) Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

·         2. Remove pork from cooker; place on cutting board. Shred pork using 2 forks; return pork to cooker and mix well. Stir in stir-fry vegetables. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and vegetables are tender.

 

3. Using slotted spoon, place 1/2 cup meat mixture in each warm tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with sour cream.  

Serve with tortilla chips, and guacamole.  Leftover meat can be frozen. 

I also spent a great deal of time in the morning working on a Valentine's Day treat for the kids.  It was fun trying to figure it out since I had never made stuff like this before.  It was a 3 step process.  Make cupcakes... Lily and I managed to do that Wednesday night when all the boys were at scouts.  Make butter cream filling... not so hard once I figured out a recipe for it.  I even dyed it pink for V-day.  Make the frosting... I've been using this homemade chocolate frosting recipe for a couple years and we all love it.  I spiced it up a bit for today by adding a touch of almond extract.  Yum!  I even piped it on the cupcakes instead of just spreading it like I normally do.  It was way fun, but boy was the kitchen a mess afterwards.  At least the kids and Damon enjoyed it.