Merry Christmas!

Margot 2 1/2 - Amelia 5 months

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2012!

Spiced Pork Chops with Butternut Squash

I've had this recipe saved for a while and I wanted to make it before squash totally went out of season. This is totally a me recipe but I wasn't sure if I could get Randy on board. But he ended up loving it! The flavors were awesome and I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow.

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork chops, about 3/4 in. thick

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1-1 1/4 lb. butternut squash

1/2 an onion, diced

1/4 c. water

Directions:

Mix together the pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on both sides of the pork chops. In a large skillet, over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and spray with cooking spray. Add the seasoned pork chops and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked. Remove from pan and keep warm. Leave any drippings in the pan.

Meanwhile, place the squash in the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin. Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds and dice into 1 inch cubes. Using the same skillet as before, over medium-high heat, add the squash and water. Bring to a bubble and cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow any remaining water to evaporate. Turn the heat down to medium. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add onions. Saute the squash and onions for 5-7 minutes, or until both are tender. Place pork chops a bed of whole wheat orzo or quinoa and top with the squash and onions. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken and Biscuits

The other night I was totally in the mood for warm, yummy (unhealthy!) comfort food. Pot pie sounded good but I don't really like pie crust. Chicken and dumplings sounded good but it was going to take too long. So I came up with this! It's kind of a mix of the two of them. It definitely hit the spot! It was delicious!  Perfect for a chilly, snowy evening. 

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cubed

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. diced celery

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. diced onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1 3/4 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. milk

6-8 unbaked biscuits (homemade or store bought)

Directions:Preheat oven to 350, grease a medium baking dish and set aside. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and place in the bottom of the baking dish. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and bring to a bubble. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Pour over the chicken mixture in the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits over the top over the casserole and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Recipe adapted from here             

What I've been up to....

I've taken a little break from my regular blogging (trying new recipes and posting them) because I've been busy with something else! I was a vendor at several different craft shows in the last month or so and I had my last show on Saturday. I sold yarn wreaths, knitted hats, hair clips, bobby pins and flower headbands. At my last show I added coin purses and gloves.


Here's my table at my very first show. This one was at our local high school to support their dance team. At this point, I had no idea what I was doing!

Here's my second show, at a church here in Rio Rancho. They've been doing their craft fair for almost 25 years! My booth was supposed to be outside but we got our first snow that day so they moved me inside...they only had really tiny tables available so I brought a shelf from home so I'd have more space.

Here's my last show from Saturday. This was by far my favorite! It was a fund raiser for my mother's group I go to called Bloom. I shared a booth with my sister-in-law, Jacki. I used a couple little Christmas trees to display some of my items.

Sorry the picture quality isn't that great. I took all the photos on my cell phone. Here's one my mother-in-law took of me at my first show (thanks, Jackie!)

The shows were a lot of fun....also a LOT of work. I haven't decided if I'll do it again next year or not.  I did pretty well though! I had lots of support from my friends and family who came to see me at each show. All the things I didn't sell will be listed in my Etsy shop over the next couple weeks.