The Best Pasta Carbonara

I made the best pasta carbonara last week. The recipe is by Pastor Ryan from The Pioneer Woman website. Its not very healthy, but everything is ok in moderation...right? By the way, I just have to say, that I LOVE bacon. You can find the recipe here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/09/cooking-with-ryan-pasta-carbonara/. I promise, it's worth it.

Italian Baked Pork Chops

I tried to make these pork chops from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking 2 cookbook tonight. I have to admit that I have tried several of Sandra Lee's recipes from this cookbook, and they never turn out correct. With that said, these pork chops did not look anything like the picture in the cookbook, but they still tasted good. I served the chops with a can of Glory brand string beans from a can and some rolls. The Glory brand canned veggies are really great because they have a lot of seasoning.

Italian Baked Pork Chops

1 tbsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. italian seasoning

4 pork loin chops (I used 3/4 inch thick)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, oil, and italian seasoning. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then brush both sides of chops with mustard mixture. Press Parmesan into both sides of chops. Place chops on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until just cooked throught. (Nobody likes dry pork chops!)
Notes: I used pork chops I had on hand, which were 3/4 inch thick. Pork should reach an internal temp. of about 160 degrees, so I used a thermometer to tell me when mine were done. It's better than using cooking times because it's so easy to dry out pork, but it did take about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the parmesan cheese should have browned a little, so I think I'll broil the pork chops (at least for the last few minutes) next time.

Glory brand String Beans being heated.

Tortellini Alfredo

This weekend, I bought a fully cooked, half ham at Kroger for a $1.39/lb. I actually took the time to cube the ham when I got home. I used my new handy, dandy vacuum sealer (Thanks dad!) to seal and freeze the meat. I never used to buy ham because it always seemed so expensive. Now that I have it on hand when needed, I can make recipes like this one whenever I please.

Tortellini Alfredo

2-9oz packages of refrigerated cheese tortellini (I like Buitoni brand)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 can peas, drained or 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

1 3/4 cups whipping cream

1/4 tsp ground pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute the onion in butter until tender. Add the peas and ham; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in cream and pepper; heat through. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese until melted.

Drain tortellini and place in a serving dish; add the sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.

I thought I'd add in a couple of pictures of my cooking audience. My husband is rarely home when I cook, but these two are always watching (and waiting for me to drop something!).

I HEART SOUPS

I really love making soups for dinner. I love eating them even more. They are especially good on a cold, long day. You can throw together a soup quickly and sit down with a nice glass of wine in no time at all. Well, this isn't the most cultured or high class type of soup, but it still hits the spot. It's also good to use up left over hot dogs.

Hot Dog Bean Soup

3 hot dogs, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 tsp. veg oil

1 - 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 11 1/2 oz. can bean and bacon soup

1 1/4 cups water

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet or pot, cook hot dogs in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Add other ingredients and heat through.

Notes: Can't get any easier than that, unless your hot dogs are already cooked. I substituted chicken broth for the water and added cayenne pepper and one can of diced potatoes to mine. You can easily double this recipe as well.

My Weekend Free of Cooking

Friday night: The husband and I both fell asleep on the couches after work on Friday. It was too late to cook when we woke up, so I snacked all night and my husband ate hot dogs. We rented Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was really funny. Overall, it was a good and relaxing night.

Saturday night: I went out with the girls to Cyclone Anaya's for dinner. Their margaritas are killer. NO...Really, they will kill you!! Anyway, I didn't have to cook that night either.

Sunday night: The husband cooked a pork roast with potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Yum!! It really shows how much he loves me, because he HATES mushrooms with a passion.

Monday: Back to work. Blah!! I had leftover pork roast and potatoes for lunch and that was the highlight of my day. Then, I didn't get home till late because I had to go to the grocery store. Meanwhile, my husband shredded some of the leftover pork roast and added som BBQ sauce. So, we had BBQ pork sandwiches when I got home. Maybe I'll cook tomorrow night.....

1 day before Ike: Fried Rice

This is the best fried rice recipe I've ever tried. You can adjust all of the ingredients to suit your tastes. My husband doesn't like many veggies, so I just have onions, bell peppers, and bean sprouts in mine. You can add carrots, broccoli, or any frozen stir fry mix (without the sauce). The trick is to used cold, cooked rice. I used the left over pork from the Savory Pork Roast (previous post), but you could used cooked chicken, beef, or shrimp instead. It's great for almost any leftover meat!!

Fried Rice

This photo isn't very good!!

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

2 tbsp. veg. oil

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups cold, cooked white rice

4-5 tbsp. soy sauce (or however much you like)

1/2 cup bean sprouts

2 cups cubed, cooked pork

salt and pepper to taste

Heat one tbsp. of oil over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet. Add the onion and saute for 1-2 minutes (you still want them to be crisp/tender after all cooking, so only cook for a few minutes). Add the green onion, bean sprouts, and green pepper; continue to saute until all veggies are crisp tender. Remove the vegetables and set aside. Heat remaining tbsp. of oil over medium heat. Add eggs; cook and stir continuously till set. Break up the egg while cooking, so you get small bite size pieces. Add the meat, rice, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and vegetables into the pan. Cook and stir until heated through. Enjoy!!

Notes: I usually don't have leftover rice in the fridge, so I usually make 2 cups of instant rice at the beginning and throw it in the freezer while I prep the veggies. You might need more time for it to get cold if you prep faster than I do. I hope you try this one!!

2 days before Ike: Savory Pork Roast

My husband went nuts over this dish and it couldn't be easier. He didn't believe that this was the 3rd or 4th time I had made it. He swore he had never eaten it before. Anyway, it's great tasting, and it makes plenty for leftovers, as you'll see in my next post.

Savory Pork Roast

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. dried marjoram

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. salt

1 boneless pork loin roast ~ 4 lbs ( Not pork tenderloin)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the seasonings; rub over roast. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Notes: Ok, the trick to making this a great dish is using a thermometer. I don't know about you, but I don't always buy a 4lb pork roast, so mine are usually smaller, and therefore cook for different amounts of time. Just buy whatever size you want, and then cook until it has an internal temp of 160 degrees. It is so juicy, but perfectly crisp on the outside. The other note I'd like to mention is to wait till pork loins go on sale!!! They are too expensive otherwise. I usually wait till they are $1.99/lb. I'll buy one smaller pork loin for this dish, and then I buy two more and have the butcher cut them into pork chops for free. That usually lasts me until they go on sale again, or longer.

Baked Chops and Fries

This is a wonderful meal that I thought was going to be a total disaster (it almost was). I think I've worked out most of the bugs though. It is a creamy casserole with pork chops, potatoes, and green beans. What more could you want??? (Sorry, the pictures I took were just too bad to post)

Baked Chops with Fries

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp paprika

4 pork chops (1 inch or thinner, bone in or boneless)

2 tbsp. veg oil

1 can cream of celery (or mushroom) soup

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. dried parsley

4 cups frozen steak fries, thawed

2 cans green beans, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine salt, pepper, and paprika; sprinkle over both sides of chops. In a large skillet, cook chops in oil on both sides until just done (don't over cook). Remove chops and keep warm. Drain skillet, then combine soup, sour cream, milk and parsley in the skillet. Cook and stir until heated through (shouldn't take long). In a greased 11x7x2inch dish, lay the fries in a single layer on bottom. Spread green beans over top of the potatoes. Pour the soup mixture over the green beans as evenly as possible. Top with cooked chops. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5 more minutes or until meat is tender and vegetables are heated through.

Meaty Cornbread Casserole

Fridays are usually Girls night, so I wasn't expecting to cook tonight. I had planned this recipe for tomorrow, but it had to be used tonight. My sister Lindsey came up to stay with us for the weekend, and we have a big day of fishing planned for tomorrow. This was a good meal for the three of us and we had leftovers. The recipe is from Taste of Home. Everything tastes good with country gravy!!

Meaty Cornbread Casserole

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

1 cup water

1 envelope brown gravy mix

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 envelope country gravy mix

In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in corn, water, and brown gravy mix. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute until thickened. Spoon into a greased 8inch baking dish. Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions; stir in the pepper and garlic powder. Spread over meat mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into corn bread layer comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare country gravy mix according to package directions; serve over casserole.

Notes: Don't be scared of using both brown and white gravy. The finished product is delicious. You can easily double this recipe. Double all ingredients, except only use 3 cans of corn. Place in a 9x13inch dish and the baking times are the same.