I thought you got it.

Dinner was made with "things we found around the house".

This recipe was not on our weekly menu list. It also wasn't on our radar for the week. But, neither husband nor wife had remembered to pick up a key ingredient for our planned entree. That sent us off to the freezer to see what we could find and prompted a recipe book search. The search ended with Dijon Pork Chops, providing we could find the rest of the ingredients. A well-stocked pantry came to our rescue and dinner was suddenly possible.

DIJON PORK CHOPS

2 pork chops
Shortening
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard, divided
1/2 small onion, minced
1 pkg McCormicks pork gravy mix with 1 cup water
1/4 tsp marjoram
3 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine
1/2 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces, drained
1/2 tsp parsley flakes

Trim fat from pork chops and render in frying pan or use shortening to brown the pork chops. Salt and pepper pork chops and spread both sides with half of the mustard. Place in a cooking-spray coated baking dish in a single layer.
Sauté onion in frying pan juices for about 5 minutes. Prepare the gravy in the frying pan and add the remaining ingredients and heat. Pour sauce over pork chops and cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Heat in a 350 F oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with sauce over steamed rice.


We served this with rice and the gazpacho.

Maybe This Was Mama Bear's Soup

Here’s another recipe to use more of the tomatoes from our garden.
This was introduced to the family by my oldest brother’s wife.
I googled Slang Jang and found a number of links. It’s a Texas favorite.

Gazpacho - Slang Jang
2 cans (15 oz ea) tomatoes, with liquid
(Instead of the 2 cans, I used four fresh tomatoes.)
1 1/2 cups bread and butter pickles, with juice
1 can (6 oz) minced clams, with liquid
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 or 2 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 dashes Tabasco sauce or to taste

Process tomatoes to a puree and set aside. Process the pickles to a fine chop. Combine with tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Chill and serve. Makes about 3 pints.



I served this with toasted ciabatta bread with EVO and fresh garlic.

Oh yeah? Go ahead and sous me!

I was the sous-chef and did the prep work for this one. My wife did all the cooking.

CHICKEN FRICASSEE

2 chicken leg quarters, split at knee, skinned, rinsed, and patted dry
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp shortening
1/3 cup frozen chopped onion
1/3 cup frozen chopped pepper
1 can (10 oz) chicken broth, divided
1/4 tsp combined basil, oregano, and marjoram, crushed
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour

Mix 2 tbsp flour, paprika, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a plastic bag and coat chicken well. In an 8 inch skillet that has a cover, cook chicken in hot oil about 15 minutes turning until lightly browned. Remove chicken and set aside.
Add chopped onion and green pepper to skillet and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes while scraping bottom of skillet. Add half of chicken broth with spice mixture and bring to a boil. Return chicken, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and juices run clear. Add broth as necessary to maintain about 1/8 inch liquid in pan during cooking.

Remove chicken and keep warm. Add remaining broth to pan and deglaze. Remove from heat. Mix 1 tbsp flour with milk and stir into pan juices. Cook for about 3 minutes or until thickened. Serve with noodles if desired. Serves 2.

We served this with broccoli, cauliflower and peas and whole wheat noodles.

It's All In The Name

This recipe reminds me of a visit to Mom and Dad’s house. Dad and my wife were talking about recipes from their childhood. They both recalled having fried mush.
Dad set out to find a good recipe for this. On our next visit, he made this and served it on Sunday morning. I think Polenta is a much better name.

FRIED MUSH(Polenta)
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
2 cups boiling water
Butter-Flavor Crisco

Combine salt, cornmeal and flour in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the 1 cup of cold water until blended and smooth. Bring the 2 cups of water to boiling and whisk in the mush mixture. Return to boiling and reduce heat to very low. Continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring often so as not to stick to bottom of pot. Pour into a buttered 3 1/4 x 6 inch loaf pan, cover with Saran and refrigerate overnight.
When cold, slice in 1/4 inch slices, dust lightly with flour and fry in Butter-Flavor Crisco on medium/low about 6 minutes on first side and 5 minutes on second side or until crisp and golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. (May be frozen. If frozen thaw before frying.)

I'm strong to the finish, 'cause I eats me Spinach...

This recipe comes from my niece in California. I couldn’t find a 10 oz package of spinach. I ended up getting two 6 oz packages instead. I ended up only using one of the packages and putting half of the other ingredients in the refrigerator to make another salad this week.


SPINACH SALAD
1 pkg (10 oz) fresh leaf spinach. stems removed and washed
5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 eggs, hardboiled and chopped
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb Feta cheese, crumbled
4 tbsp vinegar
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Grey Poupon mustard
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil leaves
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp chives
1/4 tsp Season-all
Salt and pepper

Mix seasonings and pour over spinach, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and cheese. Toss until covered.

My wife's recommendation to serve this with rice and crab cakes was a hit.

Are you paying attention?

Can you spot the mistake in the picture? There are three ingredients that are either wrong or are not supposed to be there. I’m glad my nose was working before I added the one to the mix.



APPLE PANCAKE

2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quartered, cored, sliced in 24 wedge slices
1 tbsp margarine
3/8 cup milk
2 eggs
6 tbsp pancake flour mix
1 tsp melted margarine
1 1/2 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp chunk of margarine

Turn oven to 425 F and preheat. Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. Prepare apple slices. Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet in the oven for 7 minutes. In the meantime, sauté the apple slices in 1 tbsp margarine in a second skillet at medium low heat for 5 minutes or until fork tender.
Mix eggs and milk well. Add pancake flour and stir until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp melted margarine.
Remove hot cast iron skillet from oven and add 1 ½ tbsp margarine to melt. Spread the apple slices and pour the pancake batter over the apple slices.
Place the skillet in the 425 F oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the pancake is light brown.
Remove skillet from oven and turn on broiler. Paint the pancake with the chunk of margarine on a fork to melt and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Place under the broiler for about 30 seconds or until it is bubbly on top. Serve with bacon and syrup or confectioners sugar. Serves 2 (or 4 as a side dish).

A Saturday Quickie

This was a quick Saturday lunch.
I used fat free mayonnaise.






EGG SALAD SANDWICH FILLING
2 hard cooked eggs
1 1/2 tbsp Miracle Whip
1 tbsp Thousand Island dressing
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp salt

In a small bowl, crush egg yokes with a fork and mix with last 5 ingredients. Chop egg whites and add to mixture. Use lettuce leaves and make 2 open faced sandwiches.

That's Italian!

I liked how fresh this tasted. The added peppers and onions really made this recipe standout.I used fresh tomatoes from the garden to make this recipe. I skinned the tomatoes by boiling them for 45 seconds and then putting them in ice water. This worked extremely well. The recipe says chopped tomatoes. I wouldn't cut them too, small.

I wasn’t sure what Mom and Dad meant by Italian style tomato sauce. I used Delgresso Traditional Italian Recipe. Next time I’d sauté the celery, pepper and onion for no more than four minutes.



MARINARA SAUCE
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (28 oz) plum tomatoes, chopped
1 can (15 oz) Italian style tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 pkgs G Washington Golden
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

In a 4 quart saucepan sauté the celery in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and continue for another 5 minutes, and finally add the onion and continue sautéing for a final 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Serve over your favorite pasta. Makes about 4 cups.

We served this with four cheese ravioli.

Give Peas A Chance

I’m not big fan of peas but, in this case I’ll make an exception. Dad notes in this recipe not to overcook the scallops. Bay scallops are very small and they will cook quickly.



BAY SCALLOPS NEWBURG





1/2 lb bay scallops
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped red pepper (optional)
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch pepper
1 cup milk
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup frozen peas

Sauté onions and red pepper in butter in an 8 inch frying pan about 4 minutes or until tender. Mix flour, salt and pepper and add to pan and stir to mix with butter. Keep stirring and cook for a minute until bubbly. While stirring, add milk and cook until bubbly and thick. Stir in wine and lemon juice. Add peas and scallops and return to a low boil. Simmer for 2 minutes or until scallops are opaque. DO NOT OVER COOK. Serve over toast points or in pastry cups. Serves 2.

I used a Pillsbury dough mix to make the pastry cups. Next time I’ll use puff pastry.
I used a mild dry sherry because that's what I had. I'd use a much drier sherry next time.

Batter up!

This was my first attempt at a baking recipe from Mom and Dad's recipe book. I had to enlist the assistance of my highly paid consultant(Wife) to give me some much needed guidance. I used a tip from Betty Groff to mix the batter. I took my rings off and put my hands in the bowl and mixed well.


BUTTER BALLS
3/4 cup butter
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or Amaretto or rum brandy)
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts for this recipe.)



Cream butter, add sugar and continue to beat until light. Stir in vanilla. Add sifted flour and mix well; fold in chopped nuts. Shape about a tablespoon of dough into balls on an un-greased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven 15 to 18 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while hot. Makes about 4 dozen balls.




The folks in the office liked the result.

Baking Terms vs Cooking Terms

Baking terms make me tired. Whip the butter. Beat the eggs. Fold in the flour. Cream the cheese. Dash of salt.

Cooking has a more relaxing vocabulary. Sauté the onions. Deglaze the pan. Eggs over easy.

This One's Easy!

I love the simplicity of this recipe. The combination of the vinegar, soy sauce and garlic make your mouth water as you prepare it.

I used ½ inch chops because that’s what I had in the freezer.

CORA'S PORK CHOPS
2 thin pork chops
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
Pepper

In a non-stick frying pan with a cover, add vinegar, soy sauce and garlic. Add peppered pork chops, cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue cooking while turning chops until liquid is evaporated.








Turn heat to low, remove cover, add oil and fry pork chops until lightly browned.



It tasted great. I served it with apple sauce.

Are You Ready For Some Football!

Labor Day weekend was great. We went to Wake Forest with good friends and watched the Demon Deacons take on the Baylor Bears.


We’re off to a Labor Day picnic today.

Here’s another quick recipe to use all those tomatoes from your garden.

BROILED TOMATO SLICES
8 slices of tomato, 1/2 inch
1 tbsp olive oil
8 drops sesame oil
1/4 tsp basil leaves
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp oregano
1 tbsp seasoned bread crumbs
Salt

Mix olive and sesame oil, then separately mix the dry herbs. Place the tomato slices on a broiler pan and lightly salt. Drizzle the oil mixture over the tomato slices and sprinkle with the herbs. Broil 3 or 4 inches from the element for about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and continue broiling for another 1 or 2 minutes. Watch that the breadcrumbs do not burn.





I really liked the aroma of the sesame oil with the olive oil.
Dad notes in this recipe to watch that you don’t burn the bread crumbs.
Don’t try to do any other tasks after you add the bread crumbs. I set the timer for two minutes and rotated the broiling pan about every 30 seconds.
I covered the broiling pan with aluminum foil. It made clean up easy.

Book 'em, Danno!

If your recipe made the “book” it meant you had really impressed Mom and Dad. This is one of my wife’s recipes. This is very simple to put together and it tastes great. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I served it with broccoli and cauliflower.





APRICOT GLAZED CHICKEN OR PORK

4 chicken thighs, remove skin (or 3 pork chops)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
Salt
1/4 cup Kraft Thousand Island dressing
1/3 cup apricot preserves
3 heaping tsp dry onion soup mix

Heat oven to 350 F and place thighs (or chops) in a sprayed baking dish. Mix lemon juice with soy sauce and spoon over chicken. Salt thighs lightly and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
Mix remaining ingredients and spoon over chicken thighs. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until done. Baste occasionally.
Serve with rice. Sauce may be spooned over rice if desired.


Well, we have plenty of great food in the refrigerator. So, my next post will be sometime next week. After all this good food, I'm thinking it's time to make some desert.