Crockpot Pork Chop

What do you need when you have a LONG week ahead and a bunch of snow to shovel? What do you do when your son doesn't eat stuff that's mixed together and you don't feel like fighting with him? Crockpot Pork Chops. They are so moist that they fall apart. AND, you look like a super star to your kids because you made them something they like during a busy week.

You'll need
4 Thick Cut Pork Chops ~ mine were partially frozen
1 Can Cream of Soup ~ I used Cream of Mushroom 98% fat free
1/2 Can Water
2 t Favorite Seasoning ~ I used my favorite Greek one but garlic powder, salt and pepper work just fine

Put pork chops in the crockpot, season, dump soup, pour water around edges. Cover and crock for 6-8 hours on low.

Here's your ingredients.

My doesn't that look appetizing..NOT! But, I promise the end result is yummy.
Pour the juices into a small pan and bring to a boil with a teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet to darken the gravy. Mix together a couple T of cornstarch or flour and 1 T of COLD water. Whisk with a fork to get lumps out. It should be a thick milk consistency. Whisk into boiling juices and TA DA...you just made gravy. I serve the gravy over cooked egg noodles. It's also good over rice but my children haven't evolved to like rice yet;)

Dinner is served.

Banana Cupcakes

I'm sorry I haven't posted all week. Been a long week with LOTS of snow. I promise to come back a couple times a week if not more with new recipes.

This recipe is because.....You guessed it, we had some old bananas that needed baking and I am tired of making banana bread. Claire needed a treat for her classroom...shhh, her teacher lets her bring homemade treats as long as she helps make them. So, Banana cupcakes came to mind. I typically make this recipe in a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with an edge) and frost with cream cheese frosting but that isn't as fun for the kids to eat and the frosting would need to be refrigerated, so...again back to Banana cupcakes.

You'll need a white cake mix
whatever ingredients it tells you to make the cake, typically oil, water and eggs
3 old Bananas

Make cake mix according to directions. Throw in bananas with everything and give it a whirl with your mixer. Pour into mini muffin tins and bake about 6 minutes at 350, the top should pop back up when you touch them. Frost and serve. Made 57 mini cupcakes.
Told you those bananas needed baking;)
Put cake mix, oil, eggs, water and bananas in a bowl. Mix with electric mixer for a couple of minutes making sure banana is all mashed up. We threw in red food coloring to make it festive.
Fill your cups about 2/3 full.
We made a simple glaze with 1 C Powdered Sugar and 2-3 T of Milk. Thick milk consistency. Brush tops with a pastry brush and sprinkle with your favorite decorations.

Steak Fajitas

As I've told you, my son is a meat and bread kind of kid. Steak is his favorite so this is a pretty easy recipe that keeps him happy. I can add some vegetables to mine, so it works for me too.

Steak Fajitas
1 lb of skirt steak, i.e. cheap steak that is about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 green pepper sliced
1/2 medium onion sliced
3 t Fajita seasoning ~ if you don't have it handy, 1 t Cumin 2 t Chili Powder, 1 t Pepper, 2 t garlic powder
2 t Accent ~ meat tenderizer
1-2 T Olive Oil
Tortillas

Cut your steak into about 1/2 inch strips. Put in a ziploc with seasoning and oil. Throw in your fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Slice your peppers and onions. Heat your pan until it's nice and hot. Throw your steak on and cook until it's almost done to your liking. Throw the onions and peppers on and cook until vegetables are to your liking. Serve with whatever your favorite things...salsa, sour cream, cheese, guacamole. Roll up in tortilla and and enjoy.
I got this great grill pan as a gift a couple of years ago. It's great for making steaks or salmon in the winter months. It also works great for fajitas. BUT if you don't have one, don't let that stop you, a regular frying pan works just as well.
I forgot to take a photo of the steak pre cut, but this is how thick I cut the pieces.
Make sure your pan is hot when you put the meat on, it will sear in the juices. Turn the heat to about a medium heat to continue cooking if you want the meat a medium to done. If you keep it hot, the outside will be cooked and the inside will be closer to medium rare.
I like my peppers and onions barely cooked. If you like them soft, you will either want to add them when you add the meat or use another pan that you can cover and almost steam them to a finish.
Here's one for Max, just steak. Bend the bottom up and roll. If you do that, the meat can't fall out of the bottom and the whining will be kept to a minimum.
Here is one for me without all my extas;)
They don't look very fun but they taste good and Max eats without complaint. Dinner accomplished;)

Lollipop Plant

We are doing Secret Valentine at work. Everyday for the week before Valentine's Day, I need to leave my Secret Valentine a little gift. I had to get creative so I made an easy Lollipop Plant. A quick stop at Michael's or any craft store will have your supplies.

You need:
Terra cotta planter
Styroform block
Bag of Lollipops
Red Paint
Paint Brush
Here's what you'll need.
Cut the block with a steak knife to fit the top of the pot.
Push it in until it's flush with the top. Paint a few hearts on the pot and let dry. Push the lollipop sticks into the foam.
TA DA...easy little gift:)

Brownie Bites

Last year the Spirit Committee at the school I work at started Anonymous Kindness. Randomly, something nice is done for you and you have to pay it forward. It can be little bags of candy, homemade treats, lunch...it's always different because everyone in the building participates at one time or another. I've also sent things to my kids school to get it started there.

You attach the following little note...

SMILE
You've been tagged!
Experiments in Anonymous Kindness is the name of the game and you're it:)

Someone reached out to you with an anonymous act of kindness. Now it's your chance to do the same. Do something nice for someone, leave this card behind and keep the spirit going!

Visit www.helpothers.org for more ideas, info or inspiration.

The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose...Gandhi

This time I did Brownie Bites

Make a regular box of brownies but cook them in mini muffin tins. Top with cooked fudge frosting (probably the best fudge frosting I've ever tasted) and bag up in snack size ziplocs.

Fudge Frosting
1/4 C Butter (1/2 C)
4 T Milk (1/3 C)
2 T Cocoa (4 T)
Bring to a boil. Add
1 t Vanilla (2t)
1 3/4 C Powdered Sugar (3 1/2 C)
Whisk until smooth. Top your brownie bites.

NOTE...I double this recipe for a pan of brownies or cake and have some left over. The parenthesis have the double measurements.
I use this pan and another one that holds 12. Spray them well with cooking spray, you don't want them to stick. The regular box of brownie mix fills these 36 tins perfectly.
Fill your tins about 3/4 full of batter.
Here's a snack size bag of walnuts I had in the freezer. I broke them up with the base of my ice cream scoop and mixed it in with the left over batter. I used this batter to fill the other 12 cups because I know someone who likes brownies with nuts best:)
I used my cooling rack because these need to come out of the pan pretty quickly or they'll stick.
Time to make the frosting. Melt butter, milk and cocoa together until it boils.
This is what the frosting looks like when it starts to boil. Kind of oily and separating. Remove from heat. Add your vanilla.
Add your powdered sugar and give it a sturdy whisk quickly. Get those lumps out.
Your frosting is nice and shiny and not too thick. You can't let it sit, or it will harden.
A dollop of frosting on top of each brownie.
I sprinkled nuts on top of the nut ones so I could easily tell them apart but you want to do that quickly before the frosting starts to set up. Let the brownies set up for about 1/2 hour and then put in bags and attach your SMILE card:)

Crustless Quiche

My friend Barbara made quiche the other day on her blog and I've been hungry for it ever since. Although I had crust I could have used, I also had some hashbrowns and thought that sounded like a yummy alternative. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Crustless Quiche

3/4 Package of shredded Hashbrowns
6 Eggs
1/4 C scant cup of milk
1 C Cheese~I used Havarti and Pepper Jack
3/4 C Ham diced
1/2 Green Pepper diced
1/2 small onion diced
1 t Thyme
1 t Garlic Powder
3 T Butter
1 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook hashbrowns, 2 T butter, oil and onion. Add Thyme and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook until they are browned but not crispy. Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Dump cooked hashbrowns into pan and press into bottom and sides with a spoon, don't burn yourself. Throw ham and green peppers into pan with 1 T butter and saute about 3 minutes. You want to get the crunch out but not soggy. Pour on top of hashbrowns. Top with cheese. Mix 6 eggs, dash of salt and pepper and a scant 1/4 C of Milk. Pour on top. Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes, until middle is set. Cool a couple of minutes, cut and serve.
I changed my mind on the cheese after I took the photo. I had pepper jack and havarti in the fridge and I couldn't resist. Block cheese is ALWAYS the way to go but pre shredded is easy 99% of the time.
Here's your hashbrowns in the pan with onion, butter, oil, thyme, garlic powder and salt and pepper. You're going to cook these about 6-8 minutes on medium heat.
Here is your pan waiting for the hashbrowns.
I bought a one pound piece of ham. Cut it all up and freeze 2/3 of it in a ziploc for another time.
This is what it looks like diced and ready to go.
This is how your hashbrowns should look. You can make these from scratch if you want, but I wanted quick and easy so the bag worked great. Make sure you taste them to make sure they have enough salt and pepper.
Press the hashbrowns into the pan with a spoon. The picture doesn't show it, but I do have them pressed up the side as well.
Same pan you just dumped the hashbrowns from..throw in your ham and green peppers with a T of butter. Saute for a few minutes until the green pepper is softer.
Put on top of the hashbrowns.
Next comes the cheese. 1 cup of whatever kind you fancy. Shred it, chop it..choice is yours.
Throw in on top.
Whip up your eggs and milk. Season a bit with salt and pepper.
Pour eggs over the top. And put in a 350 oven for 40-50 minutes until center is set.
YUM! Ready to eat!!

Beef Stew

What do you eat when it's cold in Minnesota? Warm, comforting food so you forget where you live and how miserable it is outside. Beef Stew is growing on my kids so this was a perfect thing to make after a cold day at the rink.

Beef Stew
2 lbs Stew Meat
1/2 medium Onion diced
1/2 Green Pepper minced
2 cloves of Garlic minced
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can Water
3 Potatoes chopped
handful of baby Carrots diced
Splash of Kitchen Bouquet

Brown meat with onion, green pepper and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add everything else. Throw in the oven for an hour at 350 or in a crockpot for 4-6 hours on low until vegetables are soft. Serve plain, over noodles or biscuits.
Here are your ingredients.
Brown meat with the green pepper, garlic and onions. Season with salt and pepper. You might need to cut your meat into smaller pieces, depends on how big the pieces were in your package.
Here are your carrots and potatoes chopped. I actually cut one more potato after this photo. We're not big cooked carrot fans, so feel free to add more if you want.
Here is your meat all browned and ready to go.
Add everything else and give it a stir. You can stop at this point and put in the fridge until you're ready to bake or you can put in the oven or you can put in a crockpot at this point.
This is Kitchen Bouquet. It darkens your gravy. You only need a splash, a little goes a long way and it's sold either by the spices or the gravy mixes. It doesn't add any flavor and you don't have to use it, your gravy will just be very pale if you don't.
My kids like stew served over egg noodles.
Here is a piping hot bowl without.