Whatever's Left Suprise

This sounds like a really weird recipe, but it comes from necessity. After a weekend away, my son and I came home to a messy house and no food (Thanks to my husband). I grabbed what ingredients I had in the freezer and pantry and threw them in the crock pot while we proceeded to clean the house. It actually turned out really well! I am going to make this one again!

8 small boneless pork chops
2 cups water
2 t Beef Bouillon
1 t Montreal Grill Seasoning
Garlic
Salt & Pepper
1 pkg Instant Mashed Potatoes (Betty Crocker Envelope)
1 can Cream Mushroom Soup + water to equal 1 3/4 cups
1 can Cream Corn
2 cups medium Egg Noodles, cooked

Combine all ingredients except the noodles in a crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Serve over noodles.

Lemon Ice

Here is another summer recipe to do with the kids. It's simple, easy and oh so good!

1 pkg Lemon Jell-O
1 cup hot water
Juice and zest of 1 Lemon
1 cup Ginger Ale
Lemon Balm to garnish

Combine the Jell-O and hot water. Stir until dissolved. Stir in lemon juice, zest and ginger ale. Pour into an 8x8 glass dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm.

Using a fork scrape, ice into small pieces. Spoon into dessert dishes and serve immediately.

Stuffed Pork Loin with Maple Mustard Glaze

This recipe is very easy to make, but it looks like it took you all day. It's very moist and delicious!

1 Pork Loin (2lb), butterflied*
Salt, Pepper & Garlic
1/4 cup Beef Broth

Stuffing:
1 prepared Jiffy Mix cornbread, crumbled
1 Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Mushrooms and liquid
Salt, Pepper & Garlic

Glaze:
2 Tbsp Maple pancake syrup & 2 Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix stuffing ingredients in a medium size bowl. Spoon into cut side of the pork loin. Roll up the loin. Place cut side down in a casserole dish sprayed with Pam. Pour 1/4 cup beef both in the bottom of the dish to keep the pork moist. Sprinkle pork with salt, pepper and garlic.

Bake for 1 hour. Mix mustard and syrup. Baste pork loin and return to oven for 20 minutes. Let it stand 10 minute before slicing.

* For this recipe I made a roll cut on the Pork Lion instead of butterflying it. It takes more time and patience, but worth the trouble!

Roll Cut: To roll cut a roast, place the trimmed roast on a cutting board so that one end is directly in front of you. Take a very sharp knife and begin cutting on the side, parallel to the cutting board about 1 inch (more or less is up to you) from the board. As you cut, "unroll" the roast. This is kind of like unrolling a roll of paper towels. The great advantage to this technique is that once you really master it you can cut a roast to 1/2 inch thickness or less.

Steak with Caramelized Mushrooms and Onions

It's Father's Day and it seems like all the recipes are grilling steaks. That's usually Dad's job. Well, here's a recipe that tastes awesome using the broiler or the grill!

1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak (or your favorite cut)

Marinade:

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

3 Tbsp A-1 Steak Sauce

2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar

3 cloves Garlic, minced

Mix the marinade and pour into a zip-loc bag. Put in the steak and push out the air and seal. Mash the marinade around to coat the steak well. Marinade for about an hour.

Remove steak from bag and place on a broiler pan. Broil 4 inches from broiler on high for 4-5 minutes per side or until done. (160 degrees) Let it rest for 5 minutes so the juices can be absorbed by the meat.

Cut the steak into thin strips, cutting across the grain. Pour any remaining juices from the broiler pan over the steak and top with mushrooms and onions.

1 container Button Mushrooms, sliced (or your favorite mushroom)
1 Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 cloves Garlic, minced

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and add mushrooms, garlic and Soy Sauce. Saute on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add onions and continue to cook until the onions are soft and have taken on a light brown color.

Seafood Salad Sammies

This is a very easy, but good base recipe for seafood salad. You can serve it in lettuce cups for a crisp, low-carb wrap, or on a sub roll with shredded cabbage and a little hot sauce for a Po Boy sandwich. However, try this recipe 'as is' first. The simplicity of a buttered, toasted hot dog bun is really a surprising treat!

1 (8oz) pkg imitation chunk Crab Classic or Crab & Shrimp Classic
2 Tbsp Mayo
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Hot Dog Buns
Butter

In a medium bowl, break up the crab meat. Add mayo, sour cream, lemon and seasoning. Mix and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Butter the inside of the hot dog buns and toast to your liking. Fill buns with salad and serve.

Note: I make this for a crowd at Wednesday Night Suppers, so I don't use a lot of onion or celery. Feel free to add your favorites, such as 2 tsp of diced red onion, 2 tsp of diced celery or 2 tsp of chopped parsley...

Stuffed French Loaf

As per Kellie's request, I'm posting this recipe from Wednesday Night Supper tonight... Thanks Kellie! Here it is:

1 loaf French Bread
8 oz bulk Sausage
1/3 cup Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Egg
3 t Dijon Mustard
2 T Parsley, chopped
¾ cup Mozzarella Cheese
½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Butter, softened
Garlic Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bread in half lengthwise and slightly hollow out each half, leaving 1/2 inch thick layer of bread. Place the bread crumbs in container of a blender or food processor and process for 15 to 20 seconds or until fine.

Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a heavy skillet over medium heat until meat is brown; drain. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, meat mixture, egg, 3 tsp mustard, parsley, cheeses, salt and pepper. Spoon meat mixture into the cavity of each bread half. Place bread halves together. Brush with softened butter, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Wrap loaf in foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through. Using bread knife, cut into 1-inch thick slices.

Note: Serve with your favorite hot mustard or horseradish…

Option: Omit the bread altogether... sub 1/4 cup of Parmesan flavored bread crumbs for the fresh bread crumbs and cook the meat mixture in muffin tins and serve as mini loaves.

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki is a Greek cucumber sauce that is quick and easy to make. It’s a common sauce for gyros (a Greek lamb pita pocket sandwich). It is also great as a dip for raw veggies or toasted pita slices. This week is sandwich week for Wednesday night suppers, so I thought this sauce would be the perfect recipe of the day. Try it for yourself and see how good it tastes on your sandwiches! Here’s the recipe:

•1 8 oz container of plain Greek yogurt *
•1 cucumber
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dry dill
•1 to 2 cloves of garlic
•salt and pepper to taste

Start by peeling and seeding your cucumber. Process or grate the cucumber. Squeeze the cucumber pieces in a clean kitchen towel to get a bit of the extra liquid out.

Put the cucumber pieces in a medium bowl. Add the yogurt and olive oil. Add the dill and then finely chop or press the garlic cloves and add them to the dip as well. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and chill for at least an hour or until you are ready to serve it.

* If you can’t find Greek yogurt you can use regular plain yogurt. Just make sure it isn’t too runny. If it is, line a colander with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth. Set the colander over a bowl and pour the yogurt in the cloth lined colander. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. Pour out the liquid left in the bowl. Use the yogurt for the dip.

Fruit Smoothie Ice Cream Pie

As the heat index rises, cool off with a fruit filled ice cream dessert!

• 1 box Waffle Cones, broken into pieces
• 6 T Butter, melted
• 1 T Sugar
• 3 - 1qt containers Premium Vanilla Ice Cream, divided and softened
• 1 - 16oz container Strawberries
• 1/4 c 10X Sugar
• 1 pint Blueberries
• 2 ripe Bananas or Banana Pie filling

Process the waffle cones in a food processor until finely crushed. In a bowl, combine cone crumbs, butter and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes. Cool completely.

Process blueberries and 2 T of powdered sugar into a puree. Combine with 1 quart of ice cream. Spread over cone crust and freeze 30 minutes or until firm.

Mash banana with a fork or use pie filling. Combine with 1 quart of ice cream. Spread over blueberry layer and freeze 30 minutes or until firm.

Process strawberries and 2 T of powdered sugar into a puree. Combine with 1 quart of ice cream. Spread over Banana mixture and freeze 3 hours. Cover with plastic wrap if freezing overnight.

Let pie sit at room temp for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Tip: Please note that some ice creams with a high fat content will take longer to freeze and will melt faster when left to sit for 15 minutes. Premium ice creams will freeze harder and require time to be able to cut and serve.

Cabbage like Grandmama used to make!

How many of you remember your Mother or Grandmother rendering pork fat or lard?

I remember when I was small, my Mama, Judy Elliott, had an aluminum canister on the stove. The canister had a shallow cup in the top with holes and a lid. When Mama would fry bacon, she would drain the grease into that can and the small cup/strainer would catch all the little bits and leave behind clean grease. She would use that grease to season greens, cabbage and many other dishes.

Today I cooked cabbage for dinner and I remembered how my Mama used to cook it. I, however, took short-cuts because I was in a hurry! I like to slow down and cook the way she did because, frankly, it tastes better!

Here is Mama's Cabbage Recipe:

• Head of Cabbage, cored and rough chopped
• 2 strips of Bacon
• Salt & Pepper

Fry the bacon is a frying pan or a wide bottom pan. Remove bacon and place on paper towels. Do not drain grease from pan. Add cabbage. Crumble bacon and add it to the cabbage. Carefully add about a 1/4 cup of water. Cover and let steam for about 10 or 15 minutes.

*My Grandmama Elliott would let her cabbage cook all day until it was completely limp. Mama said that that was wrong! "Never let it cook that long Lynn!"

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

This week has been a busy one! We have had Vacation Bible School every night, Sunday through Friday with Supper every night. We had an average of 140 kids each night. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, VBS snack was a cookie on a napkin and a cup of Koolaid. These days, we are serving full meals. We had Sandwich Wraps, Spaghetti, Ham, Hot Dogs and Sliders, Chili and Cornbread, Pizza and dozens of side dishes, desserts and punch. The one recipe that people kept coming up and asking for was the Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps. Yum! Here it is...

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

• Flour Tortillas
• Ranch Dressing
• Chicken, fried or grilled, cubed
• Bacon Bits
• Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• Lettuce, shredded
• Tomato, cubed

Spread a spoonful of ranch dressing on a flour tortilla. Add cubed chicken, bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato and roll like a burrito. They are great eaten hot or cold.

Summertime Recipes

In the summertime, we tend to crave lighter meals. Produce is more at hand at this time of year, and we can easily make a meal out of fruits and vegetables at our house. Sandwich and salad meals are a big hit too! Summertime is a good time to find light and easy recipes that get the cook out of the kitchen in a flash. Here are a few simple recipes for that light summer menu.

7 Layer Salad

Layer in a large bowl:

1. 1 small head Lettuce
2. 1 Cucumber, chopped
3. Green Onion (optional)
4. 1 can Very Young Garden Peas, drained
5. Mayonnaise, enough to cover the peas
6. Parmesan Cheese
7. Bacon Bits

Note: It's even better after it sits in the frig overnight.

Chicken Caesar Pizza

• 1 prepared pizza dough or canned refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken breast
• Cardini's Caesar Dressing
• Parmesan Cheese

Spread dough out on a cookie sheet. Spoon dressing over dough. Top with chicken and cheese. Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minute. (Or follow directions on canned dough)

Simple Fresh Fruit Salad

• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Grapes, Red and Green
• Pineapple

Simply cut the fruit into bites size chunks and toss. I used canned pineapple and use part of the juice as a sauce for the salad. If you use apple or a fruit that might brown, quickly toss in the pineapple juice after slicing.

Homemade Ice Cream

Summer is here! School is out! What now? My son is already saying that dreaded phrase, "I'm bored!" This is a great recipe to get the kids moving and cure that boredoom, at least for a little while. AND they get to eat some pretty good ice cream when they are done. They might even want to do more. My son, Elliott has made this time and time again and has even experimented with different flavors. The only problem you should have with this recipe is running out of plastic bags!



What you need:

• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
• 6 tablespoons Rock Salt or Kosher Salt
• 1 pint size plastic bag
• 1 gallon size plastic bag
• Ice

What you do:

Put sugar, milk and vanilla in the small bag and seal it good and tight. Fill the big bag half way with ice and the salt. Put the small bag inside the big bag with the ice and salt. Shake and roll the bags around for about 5 minutes. Wipe the salt water of the top of the small bag and open carefully. Voila! Ice Cream

Tip:

The ice and salt gets really cold, so give the kids oven mits or a towel to handle the bags.