Maple Mustard Glaze Pork Chops

Okay...so I don't have a fabulous picture to tempt you, but these are my absolute favorite (and easy)pork chops.

1 tsp butter
4 (4 oz) boneless pork loin chops (we just get the big pack at Costco and then halve them--as is they're too thick)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (can use honey)
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped fresh sage (I used dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (again I used dried)
2 tsp heavy cream (I just borrowed some of Liam's whole milk)

1. Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt and pepper; add pork to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and keep warm.
2. Add broth and next 4 ingredients to pan. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick (I didn't notice a huge difference). Stir in cream and reduce heat to medium. Return pork to pan and cover simmering until done (around 3-5 minutes) turning once.

Tastes great with potatoes or rice!!

Banana Muffins with a Crunch

These are definitely my favorite banana muffins. I made a couple of substitutes to this recipe to make them healthier, and they were still delicious.

Banana Crunch Muffins (courtesy of Ina Garten)
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole-wheat flour)
2 cups sugar (I used half real sugar and half artificial sweetener)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted (I used applesauce instead of melted butter)
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk (I used soy milk)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't over mix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Polar Express Cookie

These are INCREDIBLE cookies. I found the recipe on the back of a raisins tub, even though I didn't use the raisins... I posted them on my own blog a few months back and decided that they needed to be shared here. MAKE THEM!The Polar Express Cookie
1/2 c butter, softened
1 2/3 c sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 oz (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c milk
1 c raisins (I used choc/butterscotch chips)
powdered sugar

Combine butter, sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Blend in chocolate. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture alternately with milk. Stir in raisins (or chips). Cover; refrigerate until firm (we skipped this step). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets (skipped this too). Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake in upper third of oven for 12-15 minutes (do not overbake). Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Robert's Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes from my uncle. The cinnamon makes these really tasty.

1C butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
3 C flour
1tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 pkg chocolate chips (I like to do half chocolate and half butterscotch)

Cream together butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Mix in chips. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

BBQ Pork Chops

My sister sent me this one. SOOO tasty!

3 pork chops
1/4 C BBQ sauce
1/4 C steak sauce
1/4 C apple juice
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl combine bbq sauce, steak sauce, apple juice, and honey. Reserve 1/3 cup of sauce and set it all aside.
2. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160, basting frequently with remaining sauce. Serve with reserved sauce.

I used my indoor George Foreman Grill.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is a perfect summer salad. The dressing is to die for! I get requests to make this salad all the time, and I just made it for my dad for Fathers Day. It was a big hit.

Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 bag of spinach, stems removed

2-3 pears, peeled and chopped into 3/4" cubes

2-3 granny smith apples, chopped into 3/4" cubes

2 cups sliced strawberries

1 package craisins

1/2 package Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups sliced or slivered almonds

Dressing

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest

1 tea dry mustard

1 TB poppy seeds

Mix well and pour over salad before serving, or put the dressing in a small pitcher, and let everyone pour their own. The only risk to doing it that way is that some people will opt out of the dressing, and seriously, the salad is 100 times better with it. This one is a total crowd pleaser, a perfect mix of sweet and tart.

PS This makes a LOT of salad, you might want to cut the salad ingredients in half for a regular family meal.

Creamy Italtian Bow Tie Saute

I guess I think of summer when I make this because it calls for zucchini and summer squash. I don't have a picture, but I got the recipe from a friend. You can change up the veggies, I never use the red pepper.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken, cut up in pieces
1 Tbsp oil
1 box cream cheese
1 package Italian dressing mix
bow tie pasta (6 oz)
1 zucchini, sliced
1 summer squash, sliced
1/2 C-1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced


Boil pasta and keep warm. Saute chicken in oil, remove and keep warm. Saute veggies, add chicken, add cream cheese and dressing mix. When cream cheese is melted, add pasta. Serve warm.

Summer Foods

I love summer but I have such a hard time knowing what to cook for dinner. Does any one have any good summer dinner ideas?

Here is a picture of my first veggie tray that I put together and brought over to a friend house. I think it looks good and is a great summer food.

Thanks Erika

I tried Erika's roll recipe and it is the best roll recipe I have ever made! Thank you so much for posting that. They turned out great! Here is a picture of them and of Clark eating one:)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I definitely stole this recipe from another recipe blog; it's really good and actually fairly easy to make. We had it with garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes and green beans with almonds to make out a nice well-rounded meal.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken broth
5 teaspoons butter, melted
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon paprika
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
4 thin slices of Swiss cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.


2. Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in butter and garlic.


3. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and paprika in a medium shallow bowl; set aside.


4. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, oregano, and pepper. Top each breast half with 1 slice of prosciutto and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Roll up each breast half jelly-roll fashion. Dip each roll in chicken broth mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.


5. Place rolls, seam side down, in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining broth mixture over chicken.


6. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden.

Yields 4 servings