peppers, pork, and pineapple

so not only did i find a great sale on pork chops, i also found a wonderful deal on peppers. so i thought stir fry. here's what i did, modify as you like.

instead of rice, i was using rice noodles, which needed to be soaked, so i prepped my veg while they soaked. i had already browned the pork earlier. if the meat needs to be browned, you can do that while the noodles are soaking too.

once my yellow pepper, green pepper, red onion, and carrots were prepped, i put them in the hot wok, which i had coated with oil, on medium-high heat. while the veg cooked, i drained the noodles and prepped my sauce.

here's what i think i put in the sauce...then i whisked it together

1/4 c pineapple sauce
2-3 tbsp of teriyaki sauce
1-2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 clove of pressed garlic
dash of chinese 5 spice
dash of ground mustard
1/8 tsp cayanne pepper

i cooked the vegetables until they began to turn translucent

then i added the meat back in and cooked for 2-3 minutes

and finally i added in the rice noodles and the sauce and cooked for 4-6 minutes

cobb salad time!

so tonight, neither one of us is that hungry, so we're making a cobb salad, slightly modified. if you're interested in the traditional, here's the wiki on cobb salad!

ingredients:
romaine lettuce about 3 cups
grape tomatoes to your liking
bacon (3 strips cooked crispy)
1 small red onion
1 avocado sliced
1 chicken breast
croutons
blue cheese dressing

directions:
1. place room temperature egg in a saucepan, cover about 1" above egg with water, cover with lid and bring to a boil. once boiling, remove from heat or reduce heat to low and set timer for 14 minutes, unless you have larger eggs, then increase to 17 minutes (here's a great article on hard boiled eggs, thanks to what's cooking america)
2. meanwhile, cook bacon as you like (pan fry, microwave, oven) until cripsy.
3. while bacon is cooking, cook chicken breast. i cooked mine in my round covered baker, 5 minutes on each side in the mircowave! for fun, i added a little of The Pampered Chef's smokey applewood seasoning
4. as things finish cooking you can prep the cold portion of the salad by rinsing and chopping your lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado.
5. plate lettuce and vegetables first, then top with egg, bacon, chicken and croutons, dressing on the side

enjoy this quick and easy dinner with some toasted bread or solo.

tip: cut your avocado in half, remove pit and place the avocado skin side down on the cutting board. slice the avocado evenly. remove skin by laying the slice on its side and tracing the skin with a good paring knife.

happy accident

i came across this recipe when i grabbed what i THOUGHT was southern living and ended up being southern lady. apparently, southern lady likes to use the same font type as southern living and it seems they also have very comparable articles and tips, lucky for me! :)

i have to share this recipe because it is even more delicious than it is easy, so enjoy!

pork with creamy barley and peas

ingredients:
1/4 c plus 3 tbsp light ranch dressing
4 boneless center-cut pork chops (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
1 cup quick-cook barley (found this at Walmart, but nowhere else)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or a little more if you like it hot!)

directions:
1. place 1/4 cup dressing and pork in a resealable bag. refridgerate for at least 1 hour.
2. while the pork is marinating, measure out your peas so they can thaw and get the water ready to heat up (you can start boiling before your hour's up so that cook time is less).
3. remove pork from bag and discard marinade. heat a large non-stick skillet over meadium heat. cook pork chops 7 minutes, then turn and cook an additional 7 minutes, or until internal temperature registers at 150 degrees.
4. meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. stir in barley, reduce heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes. add peas and continue to cook for 2 minutes, then drain and return to pot. stir in remaining 3 tablespoons of ranch dressing, salt, pepper, and cayenne. serve with pork.

this dish was so good, i've been wanting to make it for a while. i found 3 1" thick pork chops on manger special at kroger yesterday for $7. I'm going to be able to make 2 dinners and at least 2 lunches with that buy! :)

tip: be sure to consider the manager special on premium meats if you have time wihtin 24 hours of bringing it hope to cook or freeze. if you can't cook, be sure to repackage your meat in a freezer bag and mark with the date you've frozen. typcially, frozen foods should be consumed no more than 6 months after freezing.

Round Covered Baker

i've been craving chicken tetrazinni for a while now, but haven't quite had enough time to make the scratch version. since i haven't used my new Round Covered Baker that much, i decided to give it a shot and make my own quick version of this dish.

ingredients
3 handfuls of spaghetti noodles (broken to 2-3 inches)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken breast

1/4 cup of shredded cheese
1/3 cup of almond slices (leave 2 tbsp for topping)
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

directions
preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine all other ingredients down to the white wine in a large mixing bowl until well blended and pour into the Round Covered Baker. microwave for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. once microwaving is completed, stir again and cover with the remaining almonds, parmesan, breadcrumbs and melted butter. bake 5 minutes covered and then 5 minutes uncovered. serve with fresh steamed broccoli or with peas, as is traditional, or heck...go crazy and throw some of that in there too! :)

the verdict is that this dinner was DELICIOUS. thanks to my hubby for always being my guinea pig! if you'd like to get your own Round Covered Baker, order HERE or EMAIL me!