“I have CDO, it’s like OCD with the letters in alphebetical order, as they should be…..” ~ unknown

July 10, 2014July 10, 2014Leave a comment

No secret here – I love a crock pot meal.

I love them even more now that I have started using crock pot liners! They make easy, easier!!

I don’t know about you but I absolutely despise scrubbing all the cooked on mess off! It really needs to soak off but I hate leaving things soaking in the sink. I want it all cleaned up and put away, right away.

Definitely my OCD coming out. An affliction that has been greatly tested with an 8 month old. 🙂

Sweetened Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

(adapted from Food52)

Pork

2 pounds Pork Tenderloin
1 teaspoon Ground Sage
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 Clove Garlic; crushed
1/2 cup Water

Glaze

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 white sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

Mix together sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub onto tenderloin and place in crockpot with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

With about 45 minutes left to cook, preheat oven to 350º and mix together glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium/low heat until thickened. Remove pork loin and place in oven safe dish and spread half the glaze onto pork and cook in oven for around 15-20 or until glaze starts to firm up.

Remove from oven, shred meat and drizzle remaining glaze.

-abp

“I wouldn’t know how to find eBay on the computer if my life depended on it.” ~ Marc Jacobs

January 8, 20142 Comments

While pumpkin head and I are staying indoors because of the frigid cold, I thought I’d go back and write up one of my Christmas recipes.

This being a good diversion from Ebay.

Whew, that Ebay can be addicting. Although, I do sell on ebay, not just buy. I just buy more than I sell. 😉

I like for Christmas dinners to be nice, sometimes elegant but with all you have already spent on Christmas, you don’t want to break the bank on this meal. Because of this, I have found good use of pork roasts. Last year I did a crowned pork roast with gravy and this year I did a Sage Crusted Pork Rack with Pear Chutney.

Sage Crusted Pork Rack

(adapted from Southern Living)

3 cups firmly packed fresh sage leaves (about 4 [1-oz.] packages)
3 garlic cloves
7 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 1/4 cups olive or canola oil $
2 tablespoons orange zest $
1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 (3 1/2- to 4-lb.) 6-rib bone-in pork loin roasts, chine bones removed

Process sage, garlic, and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor 30 to 45 seconds or until finely chopped. Add oil and next 2 ingredients; process 10 to 15 seconds or until blended. Rub mixture over roasts. Cover and chill 10 to 12 hours.
Let roasts stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 500°. Place roasts on a lightly greased wire rack in a roasting pan. Sprinkle remaining 6 tsp. salt over roasts.
Bake at 500° for 30 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 325°, and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portions registers 155°. Let roasts stand 30 minutes before serving with chutney.

~These are the instructions from Southern Living. I personally like my pork and little more done so I cooked mine for about 30 more minutes.~

(picture from before cooked – got a little crazy right before dinner and I didn’t get one after)

-abp

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucius

September 12, 20133 Comments

In preparation for how much my life is going to change in a couple months, I’ve been scouring over Pinterest for more simple but still flavorful meals. I have a feeling that the crock pot and I are going to be taking our relationship to the next level….

This one has now been added to the must do again list.

It smelled so good cooking and this pregnant girl was so hungry – she forgot to take a picture before she dove in. So the pic below was taken with my phone and is of my mom’s plate who luckily is very neat eater.

Oh well. 🙂

Crazy Slow Cooker Pork Chops

(adapted from Recipelion.com)

4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp butter
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp sage
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 Tbsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
parsley, for garnish

In a small saucepan, melt butter and whisk in broth and seasoning.

Place onion, garlic and pork in crock pot and pour over the sauce on the top.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

-abp

4 loin chops, lean 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon butter salt and pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon basil 1 cup chicken broth 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper parsley, garnish
Read more at http://www.recipelion.com/Crock-Pot-Recipes/Crazy-Crockpot-Pork-Chops#yPJvWd2zJYYeE4AY.99

“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.” ~ Horace Mann

August 19, 2013August 14, 2013Leave a comment

Well, today I’m sitting here killing time as the guys for AT&T are installing U-Verse throughout the house. I’ve never had anything but cable so I’m a little wary but hopefully it will be a good change.

Really, why does anything to do with cable/internet have to be so complicated?

While I’ve been sitting here (before they cut off my internet – please oh please work when they re-hook-up everything) I have found several new recipes to try! 🙂

But today I’m going to tell you about last nights dinner.

Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Cream Sauce

(adapted from Southern Living Magazine)

½ cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lb chicken cutlets
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup olive oil, divided
¼ cup loosely packed sage leaves
½ large shallot, sliced
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
8 oz hot cooked thin spaghetti

Stir together flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour/cornstarch mixture.
Cook chicken in 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels.
Heat remaining oil in skillet; add sage. Cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
Add shallots and saute until tender. Add wine and cook until mixture is reduced by half, stirring to loosen all brown bits.
Add broth, next 2 ingredients and chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with cheese.
Serve over pasta and sprinkle with crumbled sage leaves.

*****being pregnant, I do not have wine on hand like I normally would so I used 1½ cups chicken broth and added it when it calls for wine and cooked it down.********

I very much enjoyed this meal! I will say I thought it to be a little mild but would be perfect to serve to people who might not like “bold” flavors.

-abp

“There’s nothing more romantic than Italian food.” ~ Elisha Cuthbert

January 30, 20132 Comments

One of our favorite dishes we had on our honeymoon trip to Italy was Saltimbocca. Saltimbocca means “jump in your mouth” and that it does! I knew it would be a meal that I must try back at home and I finally got around to it.

Saltimbocca is a very popular Italian dish that is traditionally made with veal but can be made with chicken (which is what I had on hand).

Chicken Saltimbocca

4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 fresh sage leaves
2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt. Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet.

Wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.