Southwestern Corn Salad

I think this dish will be my go-to dish for picnics. It was good enough that my husband liked it. Also, with some black beans and tomatoes, I think it could be an excellent dip for tortilla chips.

Southwestern Corn Salad

4 - 11 oz. cans white or shoepeg corn, drained

8 green onion, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large bowl, combine the corn, onions, jalapenos, and cilantro. Combine the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper; gently stir into corn mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Notes: I only refrigerated it for about 30 minutes and it was still good.

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!).

Oil and Vinegar Slaw

Ok, so no excuses for my leave of absence...just a new recipe. This is Rachel Ray's O & V Slaw. I don't usually like coleslaw, but my younger sister and I made this once, and we really liked it. Disclaimer: Don't expect this to be anything like normal coleslaw, or you'll be disappointed. Also, only make this if you like dill pickles.

O & V Slaw

1/2 cup hamburger pickle relish (dill pickle relish)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 - 16oz sack of shredded cabbage mix for coleslaw

salt and pepper

Mix the relish with the oil and vinegar. Add the shredded cabbage to the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

Cheap and Easy

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I've been really busy with work. We are also in the process of looking for a house to buy. Needless to say, blogging has been on the back burner. We spent all day Sunday with a realtor looking at acreage homes in the Lake Conroe area near Houston. We found a couple of prospects, but we are just going to keep our eyes on those properties and keep looking for more. Anyway, since I've been so busy, I thought I'd devote this post to the cheap and easy meals I've been cooking lately. If you are looking to be economical during these times, then these are the meals for you!!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup sour cream

3 cups cooked egg noodles

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the soup and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. Reduce heat; Stir in the noodles and sour cream. Cook until heated through.

Notes: This recipe originally called for ground turkey, so feel free to use it. I used turkey the first time I made it, but to minimize costs, I decided to go with ground beef. You can add so much to this recipe or just make simple like this. We always have a lot of leftovers too. Super budget friendly!!

Smothered Steaks and Bell Peppers

This recipe came to me from my sister in law, Meredith, via my mother in law. It is really tasty and easy. Cube steaks are usually more budget friendly than other cuts of meat, and I usually just buy some when they are on sale. I freeze the meat until bell peppers go on sale and then I can make this dish for a really great price.

4 beef cube steaks (~5oz each)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup green bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

2 tbsp. flour

1/3 cup soy sauce

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Brown steaks in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 3 minutes on each side; remove to 9x13 inch dish and put in oven to finish cooking at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. In the same skillet, saute onions and peppers. Blend together flour, soy sauce, and 1 cup water; pour over sauteed onions and bell peppers. Cook and stir unitl sauce boils and thickens. Spoon sauce mixture over steaks. Serve with rice or noodles.

Notes: I like to serve this with rice. Be careful not to overcook the steaks or they will become dry. If the steaks do turn out too dry, just cut them into slices before you pour the sauce over them.

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.