Week 13: Pork Chops and Lemon Sauce!

Lemon Sauce:
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp. flour
1/3 c. water
3 Tb. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. red pepper sauce

Heat butter and garlic in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted. Blend in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Baste chicken, fish, or pork during cooking period. Yield: 1 cup.

Season pork chops with ground black pepper, kosher salt, about 2 tsp. grated lemon peel. Baste with lemon sauce. Grill. Serve with more lemon sauce over the top.

My Review:
Yum! Yum! The lemon sauce wasn't sweet, which I was grateful for. It was delicious, which I was also grateful for. I didn't have poultry seasoning or red pepper sauce, so I left them out--but I didn't miss them. YUM!

Week 12: Buttercream Frosting

The other night, Ryan and I both wanted something sweet. Luckily, we had a chocolate cake mix, so we decided to make chocolate cupcakes. The only problem was that we didn't have any frosting. And what is a cupcake without frosting? So I went in search of a frosting recipe, and here is what I found:

1/2 c. solid vegetable shortening
1/2 c. butter or another 1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. Wilton butter flavoring (only if using all shortening)
4 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
1 to 2 Tb. milk

Cream shortening and butter with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla. Add the butter flavoring (ONLY if you are using all shortening and no butter). Gradually add sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Gradually add 1 to 2 Tb. milk and beat on medium speed, until desired consistency.

The frosting can be stored in the refrigerator in an air0tight container for up to two weeks. Each time frosting is used, it must be brought to room temperature and beat again with the hand mixer for best results.

My Review:
Just so you know, I had zero shortening on hand so used all butter :) Ryan LOVED this frosting. I, however, who am the queen of frosting lovers (seriously...I love it), liked it, but wasn't a huge fan. So it's a toss-up. Personally, I'd rather just buy the frosting next time :)

Week 11: Red Beans & Rice

I used Alton Brown's recipe, courtesy of FoodNetwork.com. Click here to see it.

My Review:We wanted to tone this down a bit (I don't exactly have a high tolerance for spice) and we didn't have bell peppers, so we replaced the bell peppers, cayenne, and hot sauce with a can of chopped green chilies. Substition=success. I really liked this recipe, even though it took forever to make. My advice? Only make it if you have a lot of time and aren't hungry when you start. Because you get to smell its deliciousness for a full hour and a half before you can eat it--so if you are hungry, there is no way you are going to make it. Will I make it again? Definitely.

Week 10: Biscuits & Gravy (Catching up!)

Sausage Gravy:
1/2 lb. sausage (approximately)
3 Tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook sausage in a heavy skillet. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon; set aside for a later use
2. Remove all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of grease from the skillet.
3. Over medium heat, stir 3 tablespoons of flour into the grease. Stir constantly until browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Stirring constantly, pour in 1 cup of regular milk.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Continue stirring until the gravy is thick. (Add more milk if gravy is too thick)
7. If desired, add some or all of the sausage back into the gravy.
8. Serve over split biscuits, grits, or mashed potatoes, or pour into a bowl or gravy boat and serve on the side.

Baking Powder Biscuits
2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.4 c. shortening or butter
2/3-3/4 c. milk

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cut shortening into flour.
3. Add milk. Stir quickly with fork until dough follows fork around bowl.
4. Knead gently 10-12 strokes on lightly floured surface.
5. Roll dough 1/2" thick. Use a cup to cut biscuits.
6. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 min. at 450* F.

Yield: 16 biscuits

My Review:
YUM! Oh how I love gravy. And biscuits. Especially when combined. Granted, this recipe isn't exactly healthy or diet-friendly, so should be made sparingly, but is delicious!

Week 9: S'more Brownies

1 package brownie mix
2 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. chocolate chips
5 (approx.) graham crackers, broken into quarters

1. Prepare and bake brownies according to recipe on box (or, if you are a more committed baker than I am, make brownies from scratch as you normally would.)
2. Upon removing brownies from the oven, immediately pour a layer of marshmallows a chocolate chips over the top of the warm brownies.
3. Return your pan to the oven for 2 more minutes.
4. Cover marshmallow layer with broken graham crackers.
5. Enjoy!!!

My Review:
I liked this recipe. I would have been a bigger fan if we had milk chocolate chips to put on top rather than dark chocolate chips (yuck...I hate dark chocolate), but despite the dark chocolate, it was good. If I was going to serve this to people beside my family (which I would), I would either take a lot of time arranging the graham crackers or break them into small pieces (instead of quarters) to sprinkle over the top. Overall, I think this recipe is a keeper--it's going into the recipe box :)

Week 8: Tomato Mozzarella Soup

I totally dropped the ball last week, so now tomato mozzarella soup is week eight instead of a bonus. Oops :)

1 can (26 oz) tomato puree
1 c. vegetable juice (such as V8)
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 c. shredded fresh basil, plus 1 Tb. for serving
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 c. milk
Black pepper, to taste
1 c. shredded mozarella cheese

Place the tomato puree, vegetable juice, broth, 1/4 c. basil, and oregano in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors blend, stirring occasionally.

Add the milk to the soup and stir to combine. Continue simmering (don't boil) until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Pour the soup into bowls and top each with 1/4 c. cheese and a sprinkle of fresh basil.

My Review:
This recipe was okay. The tomato taste was a little too overwhelming for my liking. I'm not sure how to remedy that--add a little cream, perhaps? Ryan felt the same way. On the other hand, our picky 15-month old LOVED this soup. He gobbled it right down when I was sure he would turn his nose up at it.

And I couldn't find a small can of vegetable juice, so now have a huge tupperware full of it. What should I do with that???

Week 7: Favorite Muffins

Remember that Betty Crocker cookbook I mentioned? The one from 1973? Well here is another keeper from that cookbook...

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 400*. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Yield: 12 muffins

And because I have a sweet tooth, I went for one of the variations in the cookbook:
Apple Muffins: Stir in 1 cup grated apple with the oil and add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon with the flour.

My Review:
Yum! I didn't realize how easy it is to make muffins from scratch. I liked these muffins because they were not quite so sweet as the muffins you buy from the store or make from premixed packages. I would have loved a crumb topping....next time that will be a definite addition.