Latest Faves in The Kitchen!

I used to LOVE to cook.  Now, it is more like a chore most days.  I like to eat...so I need to learn to love to cook again.  Avoiding eating out is pretty important to me these days...and so far, well, I suck.

So this last week I made a few things that were new...and they were a success!





First off, I made honey glazed chicken.  This is a crockpot deal, which ROCKS.  Put it on about lunchtime and it was ready in 4.5 hours for dinner.  All I did was add some potatoes and corn side dishes and dinner was served.  Chicken fell apart when you stuck a fork in it and the flavor was oh, so good.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/8 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup bbq sauce
3 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pepper & Salt

Directions:

Place the chicken in the crockpot. Stir the remaining ingredients together in a bowl, then pour over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours.

For freezing: Place all ingredients int a 1-gallon freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer. To thaw: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, making sure the frezer bag is completely sealed. Dump contents in the crockpot and follow the directions above. 

Thanks to http://stephaniecooks.blogspot.com/  for this one! 

Next up was the oven "fried" pork chops.  These came straight out of the cookbook my mama gave me when I was 19 and moved into my 1st apartment.  

The process was simple, the ingredients I actually had in the cupboard and I had just thawed pork chops.  So it all seemed to work out well :)  I don't even like pork a whole lot....but these were very good!  And only took about 30min.  (I used fatty chops, so it was a little longer to cook than the recipe stated)  And...I halved this recipe and it worked out really well. 

Ingredients

1    egg
2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
1  cup  packaged corn bread stuffing mix
4    pork loin chops, cut 1/2 inch thick (1 to 1-1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, beat egg with a fork; stir in milk. Place dry stuffing mix in another shallow dish. Trim fat from chops. Dip pork chops into egg mixture. Coat both sides with stuffing mix.

 3. Melt butter and pour into the baking pan, coating pan.

4. Arrange pork chops in a single layer in one side of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until pork is done (160 degrees F), turning pork once at 10-12 min. 

I also had to switch it up a bit for breakfast...so I went with a spinach quiche.  It wasn't as easy to make (although still, pretty simple!) and it took a little while longer, but the results were well worth it!! 

Ingredients

1  recipe  Pastry for Single-Crust Pie
1/2  cup  chopped onion (1 medium)
6  slices  bacon, chopped
8    beaten eggs
1/2  cup  dairy sour cream
1/2  cup  half-and-half, light cream, or milk
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/8  teaspoon  ground white pepper
    Dash ground nutmeg (optional)
3  cups  lightly packed chopped fresh spinach
2/3  cup  shredded mozzarella cheese (about 3 ounces)
1/2  cup  shredded Swiss cheese (2 ounces)
    Cherry tomatoes, cut up (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare and roll out Pastry for Single-Crust Pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim; crimp edges as desired. Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of foil. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes more or until pastry is set and dry. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion and bacon until onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

3. In a bowl stir together eggs, sour cream, half-and-half, salt, pepper, and, if desired, nutmeg. Stir in onion mixture, spinach, and cheeses.

4. Pour egg mixture into the hot, baked pastry shell. Bake in the 325 degree F overn for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with cherry tomatoes.

5. Makes 6 to 8 servings

6. Spinach Quiche: Prepare as above, except omit the bacon. Cook the onion in 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Stir into egg mixture with spinach and cheeses.

HAPPY COOKING.