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.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

This was the perfect, simple fall dish! It's hard to believe I used to dislike sweet potatoes so much because I can't get enough of them now! The sweetness of the potato went really nicely with the spice of the chili. It was a great combo! Randy scarfed 3 of these down before I was even done with my first! So I think they were a hit ;)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

4 small sweet potatoes, washed and cut in half lengthwise

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and black pepper to taste

15 oz. can black beans, drained and lightly rinsed

10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/4 c. water

Shredded cheese and sour cream (optional as garnish)

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush the cut sides of the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place cut-side-down on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, while the potatoes are roasting, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium/large dutch oven or sauce pan. Add the onion and saute for about 8 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Next, add the beans, tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

To assemble, place the potatoes on a serving dish or on plates cut side up and top evenly with chili. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from here

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

I kept seeing this recipe in blog after blog...so being the pumpkin lover I am, I had to try it! Only 2 ingredients seemed too good to be true. But it's not! I was really pleased with how these turned out and I will totally make them again! You can't ask for a simpler recipe! I kind of turned them into 3 ingredient muffins by adding 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to them...mmm :)



Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
15 oz. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
18.25 oz. boxed spice cake mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and place paper liners in 2 muffin tins (24 total). In a bowl, combine the pumpkin and cake mix. Mix on medium/high for 30 seconds. Fill muffin papers 3/4 of the way full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Chicken Rollatini with Prosciutto and Cheese

Wow this dish was delicious! And really fun to make. The recipe called for 8 chicken cutlets but I just used 4 regular chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally and it worked great.




Chicken Rollatini with Prosciutto and Cheese

Ingredients:
8 chicken cutlets
4 slices of prosciutto, cut in half
4 slices of provolone cheese, cut in half
1/2 c. whole wheat italian bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated romano or parmesan cheese
juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. In a shallow dish, mix together the bread crumbs and romano (or parmesan) cheese. In a separate dish, mix together the lemon juice and olive oil. Dip each chicken cutlet, one at a time into the olive oil mixture and then into the bread crumb mixture. Lay flat on a work surface and place a piece of prosciutto and then a slice of provalone at the end and slowly roll it up. Place each roll, seam side down (no need for toothpicks) in a baking dish. Once you've rolled all eight pieces of chicken, bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked. Serves 4.


Recipe adapted from here

Honey and Spice Glazed Pork Chops

This is probably one of the best pork chop recipes I've ever tried! Amazing flavor and super easy to throw together! I will totally make these again.



Honey and Spice Glazed Pork Chops

Ingredients:
4 boneless center cut pork chops
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. honey
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium/high, add pork chops and brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium/low. Stir together the remaining ingredients and pour over the pork chops in the skillet. Cook for 10 more minutes, turning once while cooking. Serve immediately with sauce poured over the top. Serves 4.


Recipe adapted from here

Turkey and Veggie Meatballs

I found this recipe in one of the many food blogs I subscribe to but the link isn't there anymore. Not sure what happened to it. Anyways, these were delicious! Randy loves meatballs and I've never been a big fan but I loved these! They weren't greasy at all and the flavors were awesome! I highly reccomend this recipe.

Turkey and Veggie Meatballs

Ingredients:1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 c. diced onion

1/4 c. shredded carrot

1/4 c. shredded zucchini

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 egg

1/2 c, shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 whole wheat italian bread crumbs

1 tbsp. dried parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and add onion, carrot, zucchini and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients (using your hands works best) and add the sauteed vegetables to the mix. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls (I used my medium cookie scoop from Pampered Chef) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. Makes 25 meatballs

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

So I've never made bread pudding before...I've never even eaten bread pudding before! So this was a major first for me. I love all things pumpkin so I was excited to give this a try. I was really happy with it! It was really easy to throw together and had a great, cozy autumn taste. My grocery store sells great, fresh baked whole wheat french bread which I'll probably use whenever I make this again in the future :)


Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
2 c. low fat milk
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 loaf french bread, cut into 10-12 thick slices

Directions:Preheat oven to 350. In a toaster, toast each slice of bread until golden brown, cut into cubes and spread evenly in a 13x9 baking dish. Whisk together all the other ingredients until well combined pour over the bread cubes in the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until set. Serve immediately, topped with whipped cream if desired. Serves 6-8.


Recipe adapted from here