Country Style Pork Chops

Country Style Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in pork chops, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
• Cajun seasoning, to taste
• About 1-1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
•  Freshly cracked black pepper,  to taste
• Cooking oil (vegetable, canola, etc) for frying
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 to 1/2 cups milk

Instructions: 

Rinse pork chops and set on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle the chops lightly with Cajun seasoning on both sides. Whisk together the flour, garlic powder and pepper; remove 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour and set aside. Coat the chops in the remaining flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Allow to rest on a rack at room temperature for about 15 minutes.   Heat about 1/4 inch of canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, brown the chops on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Do in batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet. Remove the chops and set aside. For the gravy, very carefully remove all but 3 tablespoons of oil from the skillet. Over medium heat, stir in the 2 tablespoons of reserved seasoned flour into the hot oil; cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Slowly stir in water then milk, adding only enough milk to create a gravy. You may not need all of the milk. Bring the gravy to a boil, cooking and stirring about 2-3 minutes, or until nicely thickened. Reduce heat to medium low, return the chops to skillet, cover and simmer (do not boil) for about 8 minutes, or until chops are cooked through. Serve with mashed potatoes. 

Greek Salad With Tomatoes And Feta

Greek Salad With Tomatoes and Feta

Spring is here and we will soon start seeing some wonderful veggies in the grocery store or your local farmers market. Here is a tomato salad that I made for a recent dinner party. This is what I came up with! My guests LOVED it! So, I wanted to share the recipe with you!

Greek Salad With Tomatoes and Feta

Ingredients:

1 medium sized tomato, chopped in big chunks

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

3 Roma or plum tomatoes, sliced

1 avocado, peeled, chopped in bite size pieces

1/2 can of Hearts of Palm (found in the canned vegetable section, usually next to the artichokes) thinly sliced

1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

1/2 cup Kalamata Olives

1/2 cup Red pickled sweet peppers

1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced

3-4 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped

Vinaigrette

2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp lime juice 1/4 tsp oregano 3/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp brown sugar 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp safflower oil

TO PREPARE

Layer tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm, olives, peppers, onions, basil and feta cheese on a large platter. To make the vinaigrette, pour the vinegar and lime juice in a small bowl. Add oregano, salt, sugar and black pepper. Pour the oils in a slow stream, whisking with a whisk or fork to emulsify. The vinaigrette can be made a day ahead of time, just emulsify before using.

Pour vinaigrette evenly over salad. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then toss and serve.

Hummingbird Cake (The most requested recipe in Southern Living Magazine's History)

Wednesday, March 23, 2016 2:30 p.m. by Cindy Rippe

Hummingbird Cake (The most requested recipe in Southern Living Magazine's History)

When I came across this recipe, I just HAD to make it so I did, and I wasn't disappointed. It's been around for many years, and it is astonishingly delicious! It's probably the best cake that I have ever made. They say it got it's name because with every bite you want to "hum" with delight! It is similar to carrot cake, but made with crushed pineapple and bananas. It's super moist and super easy to make!

Here's what you need:

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups oil

1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple--do not drain

2 cups bananas, mashed (about 4 large bananas)

1 cup pecans or walnuts (I used pecans)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

2. Mix together with whisk. Add eggs, vanilla, oil, pineapple, bananas and pecans and mix until all ingredients are moistened.

3. Spray 3 (9 inch) round cake pans or one 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees, for 30-35 minutes until the cake center is done. Let cool thoroughly. Frost with cream cheese frosting and top with chopped nuts.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature

2 lbs. confectioners (powdered) sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla together with a mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar until blended well. Ice cake and sprinkle with pecans.

PREVIOUS POST

How To Make Jelly Bean Napkin Rings For Your Easter Table

Make these Jelly Bean Napkin Rings For Your Easter Table Setting!

To make these unique napkin rings, thread small, brightly colored jelly beans on 22-gauge tin wire,(where you can find at your favorite hardware store or craft store) Measure the wire long enough to wrap around a rolled napkin twice. Curl ends into swirls, so the candy won't fall off. Super easy and cute! And inexpensive! And the kids will LOVE them!

Miss Cindy's Homemade Meatloaf Seasoning

This seasoning tastes just like the stuff you get in the package, but BETTER! No preservatives or additives and you'll save money, because you probably have most of these spices on hand!

Miss Cindy's Homemade Meatloaf Seasoning

Ingredients: (enough for 2 lbs. ground beef)

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Ingredients for the meatloaf:

2 lbs. ground beef

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup oats

1 cup ketchup or tomato sauce

meatloaf seasoning

1 small onion, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ground beef, eggs, oats, ketchup, meatloaf seasoning, peppers and onions in a large bowl. Mix well with clean hands. Form into a loaf. Place in a baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and spread ketchup all over the top and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Mini Pineapple Upside down cakes

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

These are so amazing! I was a bit worried that these would fall apart after removing them from the muffin pans...but they came right out and looked beautiful! The pineapple, buttery brown sugar with cherries....and in cute little individual cakes! Your family will LOVE these!

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cans (20 oz) sliced pineapple, drained (reserve 1 cup of the juice)

1 box yellow cake mix ( I used Betty Crocker Super Moist)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

12 maraschino cherries, halved

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 24 regular-sized muffin pans with cooking spray.

Cut each pineapple slice into 4 even pieces. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, eggs, and reserved pineapple juice with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

In a small bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar mixture into each of the muffin cups. Spread evenly.

Top each with 3 pineapple pieces. (depending on the size of muffin pans)

Place half a cherry, cut side up, in the center of pineapple pieces.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cup. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

Run knife around edge of cupcakes to loosen. Turn over onto cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Miss Cindy's Chicken Cordon Bleu

Miss Cindy's Chicken Cordon Bleu

"Cordon Bleu" is a French term, meaning "blue ribbon" which originally referred to an award for culinary excellence! This is one of my favorites. I've been making this for years and my family loves it! Ham and Swiss cheese rolled up in a pounded chicken breast, dredged in bread crumbs and baked. So delicious!

Start by placing plastic wrap or waxed paper over the chicken breast and pound them til they are about 1/4 thick.

Dip the breasts in 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 garlic clove minced.

Shake off excess and place a slice of Swiss cheese on top of chicken.

place a slice of ham on top of cheese and chicken.

roll up the breast jelly-roll fashioned then dredge in bread crumbs.

Place chicken in a greased baking dish, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle a little paprika on the top and bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Serve with a Hollandaise sauce. (I love the Knorr packaged sauces, you'll find them in the packaged gravy section of the grocery store.) I'm not brave enough yet to make a homemade Hollandaise sauce! Someday I'll try when I get a food processor!

It's such a nice presentation!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

paprika

salt

pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 slices ham (I used black forest ham from the deli)

4 slices Swiss cheese

cooking spray

Instructions:

Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 15 or 20 seconds, or until warm. Stir in garlic and butter. Pour bread crumbs on a plate or shallow bowl. Set aside.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and pound each to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dip each breast into butter/broth mixture, then top each breast with 1 slice of cheese then 1 slice of ham. Roll up each breast jelly-roll fashion. Place rolls, seam side down in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Pour remaining broth/butter over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden. Serve with Knorr Hollandaise Sauce if desired.

 50 

Guinness Irish Beef Stew

Guinness Irish Beef Stew

Here's a perfect stew to prepare for all of your St. Patrick's Day festivities! SO GOOD!!! Traditional Irish stew as any Irish person will tell you, lamb is the preferred meat for a good for a good Irish stew... But here in the states we eat a lot more beef than lamb, so when we want to make a stew to celebrate all things Irish, its usually done with beef. This stew has all of the classic trimmings of a good stew meat, stock, plenty of root vegetables with the addition of some Guinness extra stout, for its malty flavor and some Irish authenticity.

I started out by chopping beef up into bite sized pieces. Making sure to cut off some of the fat.

Brown the beef in a little bit of olive oil. Season beef with salt, pepper.

After the meat is browned, add garlic and onion. Cook until onion is tender.

Add 2 cups of beef broth and 1 cup of Guinness extra Stout, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, brown sugar, thyme, paprika and a dash of ground cloves (or allspice)

Cover and simmer the beef mixture cook for about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add celery.

Add chopped carrots and chopped potatoes.

Cover and cook about 45 minutes more. If the mixture is too thin, remove the lid and cook for a few more minutes until liquid is reduced. (Don't mind my dirty stove top, I'm just a messy cook!)

Guinness Irish Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs. stew meat

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 cups beef broth

1 cup Guinness extra stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 or 2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

dash of ground cloves or allspice

3 large carrots, sliced

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Season beef with salt, pepper. Brown meat in hot oil. After meat has browned, add garlic and onion, cook until onion is tender. Add beef broth, Guinness extra stout, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, brown sugar, paprika, thyme and ground cloves. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add celery, carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for 45 minutes longer. If you desire the sauce to be thicker, take lid off and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until desired consistency.

Reuben Crescent Bake

Reuben Crescent Bake

This is one of my all time favorite...this recipe is so wonderful because of the crescent roll dough, it's makes it so delicious because of the light flaky crust!

I ADORE Reuben sandwiches...it's my all time favorite...this recipe is so wonderful because of the crescent roll dough, it's makes it so delicious because of the light flaky crust!

First unroll 1 tube of (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dough into one long rectangle, sealing seams and perforations.

---

---

Press onto the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Use a fork to pierce dough. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until a golden brown.

---

Layer with half the cheese and all of corned beef.

Combine 1 can (14 oz) sauerkraut and 2/3 cup of Thousand Island salad dressing

---

Spread the mixture over the corned beef

Top with remaining cheese

---

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the other tube of crescent dough into a 13x9 inch rectangle.

Seal seams and perforations. Place over the cheese and seal the edges together.

Brush the top with lighty beaten egg white. Sprinkle with about 3 teaspoons caraway seeds.

---

Bake 12-16 minutes or until heated through and the crust is golden brown.

Let is stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a side salad. It's so delicious!

I hope you enjoy this as much as my family did!

Reuben Crescent Bake

2 tubes (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb sliced swiss cheese

1 1/4 lbs. sliced deli corned beef

1 can (14 oz) sauerkraut, rinsed and drained well

2/3 cup Thousand Island salad dressing

1 egg white, lightly beated

3 teaspoons caraway seeds

Directions:

Unroll one tube of crescent dough into one long rectangle, seal seams and perforations. Press into a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Use a fork to poke small holes into botton of dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes until crust is a nice golden brown.

Layer with half of the cheese and all of the corned beef. Combine sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, spead over beef. Top with remaining cheese. On a lightly floured surface, press or roll second tube of crescent dough into a 13x9 inch rectangle, sealing seams and perforations. Place over cheese, sealing edges and sides. Brush egg white over the top and sprinkle caraway seeds. Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until heated through and crust is golden brown. Let it stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 servings.

 5 

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon

2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 large red onion, chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/8 cup sugar

2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions: Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion.

Prepare the dressing in a small bowl by whisking together the red wine vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Combine dressing with salad. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 2 

Miss Cindy's Corned Beef And Cabbage

With St. Patrick's Day celebrations just around the corner, this is a fuss-free recipe that is SUPER delicious! You must try this one! There's nothing more scrumptious than tender, juicy corned beef. Enjoy!

Miss Cindy's Corned Beef And Cabbage

INGREDIENTS:

1 corned beef brisket with spice packet (they are usually inside the package)

1 small head of cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 lb. new potatoes or red potatoes, quartered

12 oz. baby carrots

1 onion, coarsely chopped

4 cups water

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pour water into a slow cooker. Add garlic, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Stir. Add onions and carrots. Place the corned beef brisket on top of vegetables. Sprinkle the spices from the packet over the top of brisket. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours. Add chopped cabbage. Cook another hour.

When it's done, remove and slice against the grain and serve with vegetables.

YUM!!!!!!