Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

I have made this recipe twice now, and as something that everyone in my house will eat, I have to share it here. It's dead simple and so delicious.

To give credit where it's due, the recipe came from here: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/main-course-pork/parmesan-baked-pork-chops.html?p=4

4 boneless pork chops (I use 3)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup italian bread crumbs
1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine the last four ingredients on a plate. Rub the pork chops with the olive oil and then thoroughly coat with the cheese mixture. Press them in the mixture, to ensure they are all completely coated. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the coated chops on the pan and bake in a 350F oven for 40-45 minutes.

(Note: I generally don't use a 350F oven for cooking meat, ever, so did mine in a 400F oven for 35-40 minutes and they were perfect).

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

First of all, red potatoes are my new favourite. They're so...creamy. Yes, really. I think they have a really creamy texture and I love them.

Second, I know everyone does roasted potatoes. I've done different variations of them myself, but tonight's were the best I've made, and I wanted to share.

4 medium red potatoes, cut into quarters (or smaller if you prefer)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon parsley

In a bowl, mix the oil and the spices. A few pieces (I did 4) at a time, put the potatoes in and stir until the potatoes are coated. Remove from bowl and place on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Repeat until all your potatoes are on the baking sheet in a single layer. With a spoon, drizzle the remaining oil/spices over the potatoes.

Cook in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes, or until done.

Chicken Soup

I've never made soup before. But this week I got a hankering for homemade chicken soup…so I made some today. I kind of made it up as I went along and both Alex and I were quite pleased with the result. It's a hearty soup and very delicious. Plus, what I did made a LOT.

4 chicken breasts, bone-in
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
1 900mL container of Campbell's low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with a fair bit of water. Boil for approximately 1.5 hours, or until the chicken falls easily off the bone. Remove chicken from the pot and debone it. Set aside.

2. Strain the water from the pot and put it back in. This is going to be part of the liquid in the soup.

3. Peel and dice the potatoes and carrots, and dice the onion. Add to the liquid in the pot along with the chicken. Then pour in the container of chicken broth.

4. Add salt and pepper (I did 25 shakes of each) and stir thoroughly.

5. Bring to a boil then lower the temperature and cook until the potatoes and carrots are done, about 15 minutes.

6. Serve. We had buttered homemade rolls with ours.

This made a very large pot of soup. To the point where I had a large bowl and Alex had two large bowls and there is still about half the pot of soup left over.

Braised Potatoes with Garlic

Today is Alex's birthday. He wanted to have t-bone steaks for supper. I agreed. I thought baked potatoes would be good, but he wanted to try this recipe he had found online. So I said sure, and did it. This is the recipe. He got it on this website: http://www.seriouseats.com and I believe they got it from a cookbook or something. Anyway, we LOVED it and would definitely try it again. We omitted the rosemary (because neither of us is a fan), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, rinsed
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the potatoes in half and then place them into a pot where they will fit in a snug, single layer. Pour in the olive oil and the chicken stock. Add the garlic cloves and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Cover the pot and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes.

3. Remove the lid, turn the heat to high and cook until the liquid reduces, becomes thick and starts to coat the potatoes. Stir occasionally. Plate the potatoes, and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Alex's Marinara Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, Alex made homemade marinara sauce and it was absolutely delicious. He made it again the other day and I asked him to give me the recipe so I could post it here. Below is the recipe as he wrote it, including his comments. I'm copying it word for word because it's kind of funny and cute.

Ingredients:

Blend:

6 Tomatoes
1 Onion
3-4 Cloves Garlic

(for those with smaller blenders, you can split things up.)

It is now a weird smelling light red tomato juice. Pour into saucepan.

Add

1/4-1/2 cup favorite red wine (colour)
1/4 tsp oregano (cliche)
1/8 tsp sage (secret ingredient, leave it out if it ain't your thang)
1/8 tsp dried bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt (add to taste)
1-2 tbsp sugar

Now simmer to reduce it. This can take a while depending on how much attention you can give it. If you are watching it like a hawk, you can crank the heat and stir it constantly. However, like most people, I have other things to do.


Simmer at low heat for about an hour, stirring it up regularly. Until you have your desired consistency. If it's not zippy enough, you can add some cayenne or black pepper to it.

Serve with your favorite pasta, a meatball, or whatever.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

This recipe showed up on my FB news feed (a friend had shared it) and I immediately shared it on my own timeline so I could go back to it.

It came from here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/candaceshealthyfriends (not sure if it's elsewhere online or not, I'm trying to give credit where credit is due). And it's SO EASY AND SO DELICIOUS.

1 lb ground beef

1 can/jar spaghetti sauce

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese*

Brown ground beef and drain.

Spoon about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix the rest of the spaghetti sauce in with the ground beef.

Place 2 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the crock pot.

Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the noodles. Then spread 1/2 cup cottage cheese over the meat. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. 

Add another layer of noodles, meat, cottage cheese and mozzarella, then do it again once more. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the very top.

Cook on low for 4 hours. Do not cook longer than that, as it will get overdone.

*I actually used about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. :)

Beef Pot Pie

Had to do something with starting to go freezer-burnt stew meat. Alex said "beef pot pie!" so I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and made it. I followed the recipe almost exactly (except I used 4 potatoes instead of 3), but next time I think I would mix the gravy in with the meat/veggies instead of putting it on top. However, it still turned out fantastic and I will most definitely be doing it again.

1 pound of beef, cubed

1 can (14 oz) beef broth

3 large carrots, diced

3 potatoes, cubed

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

2 9-inch refrigerator pie crusts

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover*. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily (about 2-3 hours). Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In another saucepan over medium heat,  pour in beef broth** and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost done, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef, leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas in with the carrots, potatoes and beef.

5. Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts, following the package instructions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes***. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

*I had to keep replenishing the water over the course of the 2 hours I cooked the beef because it kept evaporating (as water will do).

**Recipe calls for a 14 oz can of beef broth. I only had a 10 oz can. So I used the water that was left over at the end of the beef-cooking to make up the difference.

***My pie crust was not golden brown after only 25 minutes. In my oven at 350F it took 40 minutes. I would say put it in for 25 and then check it and add time accordingly, checking every so often.