Chops & Sweet Potatoes

I failed to prepare in advance for supper tonight so I grabbed a bag of boneless pork chops from the freezer (they thaw quickly).  Unfortunately it only had 4 in it so I had to share with the baby. (Dad is at work tonight).  I seasoned them with lawry's, garlic powder, and a little black pepper and tossed them in a skillet with olive oil.  Then topped them each with a green apple slice and a handful of cranberries (the dried sweetened kind but I'm certain fresh would be just as or even tastier!).  When they were done, I moved them to another plate, added a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and put in a diced sweet potato, salt, and pepper.  YUM.  I am already a huge fan of cranberries and pork so this is right up my alley It was delicious!  All the kids liked it, too.  And... it's healthy.  Big score in my home!  I only got a crappy cell phone picture but here it is. 

Creamy Chicken Chili

My family really loved the Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili recipe I tried out a while back.  The last couple of times I made it, I adapted it to be "from scratch." (not use the prepackaged seasoning mixes).  We loved it even more this way!  Here is the recipe I came up with... I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Creamy Chicken Chili

1 can black beans
2 cups of frozen corn (or fresh if you have it!)
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
¾  tsp paprika
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp black pepper (optional)
1 tbsp parsley
½ tsp dill
2-3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
4 chicken breasts halves – boneless/skinless
2 green onions, diced
½ bunch of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour on whole can of corn, rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and Worcestershire sauce. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese. Use 2 forks to shred chicken (or just take the chicken out and chop it). Add a little water or chicken stock if it needs more liquid. About 20 minutes before serving, mix in cilantro and green onions.  Serve with shredded cheddar and diced avocado. 

Kale and Cool Weather

Not only is kale a beautiful vegetable, it's packed full of nutrients!  I've tried it a couple of ways and it was okay.  The recipe we added it to today was delicious!  My kids loved it.  The kale was not hidden and yet my kids Gobbled. It. Up. 

The weather has finally cooled off.  Not just a little cold front in the 80's but like real cool weather that makes you want to snuggle up with a bowl of hot soup in front of a fire.  To celebrate, I made a pot of soup!  My aunt gave me the recipe over a year ago.  It calls for spinach but she suggested kale and well, it was perfect.  I'll share the exact recipe I cooked then I'll link the original recipe. 

Potato & Kale Soup

1/2 lb breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
1 tsp crushed red pepper
3 slices bacon
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 15 oz box of chicken broth
3 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 c milk
1 head of kale, stems removed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown sausage with crushed red pepper in dutch oven.  Drain and set aside.  Cook bacon in dutch oven.  Drain, leaving about a tablespoon of drippings in pot.  Crumble bacon.  Pour chicken broth in dutch oven.  Add potato slices, sausage, bacon, garlic, and onion powder.  Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.  Reduce heat and add kale and milk.  Cook until kale is just wilted.  Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve!

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-delicious-zuppa-toscana/detail.aspx

Chicken Sandwiches and Brownies

I just ate possible the best chicken sandwich.  Ever.  I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman, HERE.  It was tender and juicy.  The crunch and tang from the slaw was a perfect compliment.  My only complaint? I overloaded my sandwich and had to use a fork to eat it.  But that's really not a complaint.  James' was bigger and he ate it just fine... he doesn't mind juice running down his elbows.   Doesn't this look good! 




I made something I saw a picture of on pinterest a few days ago.  We had leftovers of that for dessert today.  I don't know what the actual recipe is but based on the picture I saw, I just bought a package of cookie dough already portioned out.  Lined a pan with those, then layered oreos on top of that, then poured brownie batter on top of that.  I baked it according to the brownie directions.  Add a glass of cold whole milk and you have a pretty awesome dessert.  All 6 of us really enjoyed it! 

Creamy Pasta Salad

I haven't been diligent with my menu planning but I did make a list of meals last week that we did use some of.  The hits were:

Stove Top Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake - everyone loved it, even the baby.  The only thing I do differently is add seasoning to the chicken.

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry, Fried Rice, and Chung's All Natural Vegetable Spring Rolls - I made the everything but the spring rolls homemade and it was good!  James and I were surprised at how delicious the spring rolls were but I think it was because it was made out of real stuff and not a long list of crazy things we couldn't pronounce.  They were very light and tasty.  We tried their chicken egg rolls too but they weren't great and they are loaded with mystery ingredients. 

I know I cooked more than that last week but I can't for the life of me remember what.  We did eat a lot of sandwiches on fresh bread from the bakery at Fresh. My favorite is the rosemary olive oil bread with salami, chicken, lettuce, and a little creole mustard.  Delish! 

Today James is smoking ribs and I am cooking purple hull peas and made up a tangy, creamy pasta salad to go with it.  I found the recipe for the pasta salad on All-Recipes but altered it based on preference and what I had on hand.  Click the link above for the original recipe and I'll post my version below.

1 bag of whacky spirals cooked according to package directions and cooled
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
15 baby carrots thinly sliced
Dressing:
Mix up 1/2 c mayonnaise, 1/4 c prepared ranch dressing (I used HV this time but you should definitely try the pioneer woman's homemade version), 3 T milk, 2 T rice vinegar, 1 T onion powder, 1/2 tsp Tony Cachere's, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes, 1/2 tsp Zatarains creole mustard.

Stir dressing into spirals and veggies.  Chil until ready to serve. 

I plan on putting shredded cheddar and sliced almonds in just before serving.  If we weren't having it with ribs, I would add bacon bits.  If I had fresh broccoli I'd add that too.... the possibilities are endless!  :) 

Jalapeno Salsa Breakfast Casserole

I've tried many different recipes for breakfast casseroles... there are tons of great ones.  I combined some recipes to come up with one that my family loves.  It's cheesy, it's spicy, it's got potatoes and sausage... you can't go wrong with that combo!  The key ingredient is the green salsa.  It's not your typical green salsa... there are NO tomatillos! It's green because of the jalapeno's.  Yum yum!

1 dozen eggs
Mrs. Renfro's green salsa
1 lb of mexican style shredded cheese
1 lb of breakfast sausage, browned
1/2 bag of shredded hashbrown potatoes
Lawry's season salt

Spread potatoes on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole dish and season with Lawry's.  Top with sausage then cheese.  Beat eggs and mix with salsa.  I use between 1/3 and 1/2 a jar depending on who I am feeding.  If I were ONLY feeding my husband, I could add the whole jar.  Pour eggs over top of the cheese.  Bake at 350 until center is set -  I honestly can't remember how long... at least half an hour but just check periodically.  If the center jiggles when you shake it, bake it some more. 

You can always prepare the night before and just bake it first thing in the morning.  I keep forgetting to buy the mexican style cheese so last time I used mild cheddar that I had on hand and tomorrow I'll have it with colby.  We've made it so often we've nearly used up half a hog's worth of sausage my husband made.  I guess we'll have to go back to Jimmy Dean! :)

*I forgot actual pictures of the casserole!  I'll try to remember next time I make it! :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent?

Recently I began to see people talking about making their own laundry detergent. When my cousin and a friend both started making their own and talking about how much they liked it I decided to give it a try! I found a recipe similar to what they are using only in a powder form ( I like dry detergent). I was very skeptical about the amount of detergent it calls for using in each load... I do have poopy diapers and dirty little boy clothes that I'm washing you know! I went ahead and use the recommended amount and didn't see any bubbles (I know.. bubbles do not equal clean clothes) and when they were done washing there was no scent. At. All. For my own peace of mind I upped the amount and got the same result... clean, unscented clothes. The soap I use does have a scent but I chose a soap that claimed to rinse clean leaving no residue and that's apparently what is happening.

Every recipe I have found online has the same 3 ingredients with only the brand of soap changed. and occasionally a different amount of borax.

What I am using is:

1 c. Borax*
1 c. Super Washing Soda
1 bar of Kirk's Coco Castille Soap, grated.**

Stir together and use 1 T for regular loads and 2 T for heavily soiled.***

The benefits? It is CHEAP. I didn't keep my reciepts but a big box of Borax and Super Washing Soda are around $5 each and a 3 pack of Kirk's is $0.99. So with that I have made 3 batches and have tons of borax and soda left... I just need to get more soap. I don't know the exact numbers per load or how many loads... but I do know it is much cheaper than the Tide I was using.

The downside? I do not like grating soap. But that's what I have kids for. :)

If you prefer liquid detergent it has the same ingredients plus lots of water and some cooking. Here's a link to the recipe for liquid detergent that my friend uses.

*One recipe I found called for 1/2 c of borax.
** There are other brands of Castille but I chose this one because it is made with coconut oil (another love of mine) and is clean rinsing... can't have residue on our cloth diapers. My friend and cousin use Fels-Naptha or Zote soap and loves them. The store I was at did not have either of those but I would like to eventually try them for comparison. I think if you like your clothes more scented, you would want to add a cloth with essential oils on it in your dryer.
***I use 3T for heavily soiled loads and 2T for regular. I don't know if it is necessary or not but it makes me feel better.

I plan to try a home made dish washing detergent next. Do you have any home made cleaner recipes you'd like to share?

It's pizza! No, it's monkey bread! No! It's muffins!

We like pizza... or rather pizza toppings... in many forms! We like pizza. We like calzones. We like pepperoni rolls. We like pizza bread... Get my drift? We have been making our own pizza crust lately using a focaccia bread recipe of a friend (SUPER EASY). A while back we made a savory monkey bread using garlic butter instead of cinnamon and sugar and stuffed each piece of dough with a cube of mozzarella and a slice of pepperoni. The boys were requesting this again but I decided to combine the too.. I used the focaccia bread recipe for the dough. Another change I made is instead of one big loaf of bread, I used a muffin tin and put 3 dough balls in each muffin cup like you would do for cloverleaf muffins. Bake at 475 for about 15 minutes, brush with butter, sprinkle with grated parmesan and serve with tomato sauce. Henry added more sauce on top of his. Nelson loved the stringy cheese! Jack tore in to his pretty quick! Here, have a taste... you know you want one! I mean just look... yummy gooey cheese, pepperoni, soft herbed focaccia bread... These went fast. I'll have to double up on the recipe next time. Enjoy!