Pork Chops and Applesauce

Ok, ok, no applesauce, just a baked potato. It was late, I was tired, but I decided to cook dinner anyway. We tried these cooking bags from McCormick. The flavors were really great and they cook in 30 minutes. Just dump the meat in the bag, add the spices, cut a few holes in the bag, and stick in the oven. It couldn't be easier and the pork chops were delicious. We had baked potatoes as a side. We ate at 10:00!

Sharla Spaghetti

I used to be a Ragu snob until our friend Sharla showed us that it can be good....in fact, it's the secret to making her signature dish, "Sharla Spaghetti." You take one jar of original Ragu, add tons of garlic powder, and there you have it.

And for dessert.... Nothing like Kroger brand ice cream cookies!

They Can't All Be Good....

Some nights I'm just not into it. I had to work yesterday and I really didn't have anything in mind for dinner. Usually, these are the kind of nights that we would order in or go out to eat. We didn't because Jason is still not feeling well, so I checked out the pantry and threw this mess together.

That odd looking piece of red meat is barbecue chicken on top of pepper jack cheese grits (we love grits as a side dish). The pile of stuff next to that is a zucchini casserole that I had been wanting to try for a few weeks now. It wound up tasting like something you would have at a church potluck - not great.

I will share my recipe for grits because they are so fast and so, so easy!!!

Pepper Jack Cheese Grits:

3 cups water

3/4 cup quick cooking grits

Salt

4 ounces Pepper Jack Cheese

2 Tablespoons of butter

1. Boil the water and add salt

2. Slowly stir in the grits and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly

3. Add the butter and cheese

You could really use any kind of cheese and these would turn out wonderful. Sometimes I will chop up green onions into the grits right before I serve them.

Breakfast Supper

I asked Jason if he wanted Breakfast Supper tonight. He said, "nah, I'll just eat a bowl of Cap'n Crunch." I rolled my eyes and told him that we could have bacon and he quickly changed his mind.

Tonight's dinner was inspired by my favorite tv chef -- The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I watched her earlier this week make a breakfast of roasted asparagus and scrambled eggs, so tonight I decided to give it a try. Asparagus is one of the few green things that Jason will eat - he actually loves it.


The full dinner consisted of bacon, toast, hashbrowns, asparagus and scrambled eggs.




Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Asparagus and Scrambled Eggs
1 bunch asparagus, ends chopped off
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper


4-6 eggs
Splash of milk (or half-n-half)


1. Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper over asparagus
2. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes
3. Add milk to eggs and scramble

Why Salad?

This is what Jason said when I told him we were having a salad for dinner. He didn't want salad, but I felt like something easy, so this was it. Like many mom's out there, I wound up making something different for my little picky eater.....see below. This salad turned out really well, if I do say so myself. I know you probably don't write down recipes for salads, but this one was really good.



Simple Salad:

1 roasted chicken from the supermarket

1 Hass avocado, chopped

Goat Cheese crumbles

1 bag salad mix

Salt & Pepper

Honey Balsamic Vinagrette by T. Marzetti

This is what Jason had for dinner tonight. If you have a child, even a niece or nephew, this is probably something they would love to eat as well.....box macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders, and ketchup.

Burger King

Tonight we continued our week long celebration of carbs with our friends Brent and Sharla.

Brent will forever be known as the Burger King. Brent dazzled us with his culinary skills tonight. He made glazed burgers, homemade fries, and made from scratch aioli (just like the Europeans). Everything was wonderful.Even though it didn't make the picture, we did have bacon for our burgers and Jason was ecstatic.

We asked what we could bring, and they said "nothing." Of course, we had to bring something, so we brought Monkey Munch (see earlier post) since we still have 15 pounds of this stuff left. It was a great night.

Brent's Smoky Glaze:
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals
2 teaspoons brown sugar

1. Mix ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat

2. Once glaze starts boiling, remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of butter, & you're done.

Brent's Roasted Garlic Aioli:
1 head of garlic (roasted in the oven - 1 hour @ 300 degrees)
3/4 cup of mayo
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 tablespoons chives (can also substitute parsley, cilantro, thyme, etc...)
salt and pepper to taste

1. To roast garlic, cut off the top of the head of garlic, exposing the cloves

2. Wrap garlic in tin foil with salt, pepper and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil

3. Bake at 300 degrees for an hour

4. Squeeze garlic into a bowl and mash into a paste

5. Add other ingredients and mix together -- feel free to use a food processor for this part

Monkey Munch

Tonight we ate these awful quesadillas from Costco. Click on their link and you'll understand. They were really gross, so don't buy them. Jason make a snack today inspired by one of his favorite shows, Jon & Kate + 8, on TLC.

We don't have kids yet, but we do love watching this show. Colin and Leah are our favorites on the show and Kate is always stuffing their faces with this stuff. After making it, we feel that this recipe is really great for kids or seniors citizens (protein, fiber, and nothing that would stick to dentures).

Here's what you'll need for Monkey Munch.....this recipe makes enough for 8 hungry kids or 1 hungry Jason.

Monkey Much:
9 cups Chex cereal(any kind)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (6oz.)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, melted
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1 Measure cereal and set aside
2 Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter for 1 minute on high
3 Stir and cook for 30 seconds longer or until smooth.
4 Add vanilla
5 Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until coated
6 Pour mixture into large Ziploc bag and add powdered sugar
7 Shake until well coated
8 Spread on waxed paper to cool

Jason + Bacon = True Love

Jason's favorite vegetable is corn (iceberg lettuce is a close 2nd). So tonight, I was trying to find a way to make corn more exciting. I decided to incorporate the one thing Jason loves more than money......bacon!!!

This recipe is so easy, you will love it. Make sure to use a quality bacon.

Squaw Corn
1-2 pats of butter
1 onion, diced
5-6 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 bag of frozen corn (or 3-4 ears of fresh corn)
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Add butter to skillet and cook bacon and onions together
2. Drain bacon grease
3. Add corn, salt & pepper
4. Cook until corn is heated through, about 10 minutes


You might be thinking, "Kyle, what would I serve with this delicious recipe?" Um, duh....you would serve Shake-N-Bake chicken and green beans. Jealous anyone?

Chili Cheese Fries

Leftover chili can only mean one thing......chili cheese fries. This is much more fun than just eating another bowl of chili, we did that last night. We never promised low-fat dishes on this blog, but everything we cook is tasty, easy, and fun!

To make this quick and easy dinner, you'll need:

1 bag of crinkle cut fries
1 cup shredded cheese -- we used cheddar and pepper jack
1-2 cups leftover chili

This could not be easier....just cook the fries according to package directions and reheat the leftover chili. Then pour the chili over the fries and top with shredded cheese. The heat from the fries/chili will melt the cheese.

Appetizers

I think we're having some form of Chili again tonight. I was too hungry to wait so I made an appetizer. I'm fancy like that. The picture says it all. I LOVE frozen goodies like this. Tyson is my hero. Plus I didn't have to share them because everyone else was taking naps. - Jason

Snack Time

When: 11:34 pm

Where: Bed. Watching Jon & Kate + 8 on TiVo

What: Pop Tarts (frosted blueberry)


I love pop tarts, both frosted and plain. When I have the plain pop tarts I spray butter on them while they're still warm. Ummmmmm, so good. In the picture you can see Lucy Jane hoping I will be kind enough to drop a piece for her to clean up. No dice. I actually went downstairs two more times. Yes, 6 pop tarts in all. I had a really bad dream later.

Chili

Most people think chili has to slow cook all day, but in reality it can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. This is our easy chili recipe that you can tweak as needed. If chili seems like a chore to you, make sure and try our easy version.

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 large onion, diced
4 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 can chili beans (we don't like too many beans in our chili)
1 packet of McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning
1 packet of McCormick Hot Chili Seasoning

Toppings:
Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese
Sour Cream
Fritos

Really, just follow the directions on the back of the chili seasoning packets. If you don't want to read that, just do the following:

1. Brown ground beef and onions in a large pot

2. Drain grease
3. Add tomato sauce, chili seasoning, and beans
4. Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for at least 15 minutes

Rustic Green Curry

2 cups of rice
2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 can of lite coconut milk
1 lb. chicken cut into chunks
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash
1 bunch of basil

Any veggie combination will do for this recipe, it's up to you and your preferences.

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.
2. In another pot, bring the coconut milk and the curry paste to a slow boil, stirring until the curry paste is dissolved.
3. Add the diced chicken and vegetables.
4. Let simmer until chicken and vegetables are completely cooked.
5. Tear basil and add to curry mixture.
6. Serve over rice.