Crockpot Ribs & Loaded Potato Casserole

With the crazy work week I had last week, I hardly even had time to think about eating....let alone, actually cooking.  So you could say I was on a hiatus from my kitchen.....but really, my mind was occupied with other things.  Things that I get paid for.  :)

I've officially planned my very first week of meals for this coming up week so hopefully I'll have lots of goodies to post.  I do have to take a moment to show the ridiculousness I got myself into over the weekend though.  I was just minding my own business one night, washing dishes when suddenly.....A WILD DIP CUP APPEARED!

And planted itself right in my drain.  It was like a perfect fit.  There was no room around the edges to stick ANYTHING (including a fork & needlenose pliers) to attempt to lift it out.  So as I stood there and laughed, then worried, snapped a pic & posted to Facebook, & then laugh some more, I remembered: SUCTION CUPS!!!

This little thing was my hero that night.  I had some of them leftover from the Mickey Mouse fort kit I put together for Kaydon for Christmas.  :)

So now, after you're done laughing at me, we can get on to the food -

Sunday night I made Crockpot Easy Ribs & I tried another Loaded Potato Casserole  (this one was much more successful than the last)

CROCK POT EASY RIBS

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs Boneless Pork Ribs

1/3 cup Syrup

2 tbsp A1 Sauce

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Directions:

Place ribs in the bottom of the crockpot.  Mix other ingredients together and pour over the ribs.  

Cook on high for 4 hours.  

Mine didn't turn out anything like the picture....they were pretty dang good though.  If they had bones, they would fall off the bones. 

LOADED POTATO CASSEROLE 

(I halved everything and made a smaller serving for Chris & I)

Ingredients:

4 Russet Potatoes, peeled & diced (yes, I can count...I added one after I took this picture)

1/4 cup Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Sour Cream

1/8 cup Butter

1/8 cup Milk

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 1/2 oz Bacon Bits

Directions:

Boil potatoes until tender & then drain

While the potatoes were boiling, we took the time to play with Leeloo & the new camera just a bit

Transfer to a bowl and mash with a hand masher, then bust out your handy dandy hand mixer just to be sure and get ALL the lumps out.  Add Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Butter, Milk, Salt & Pepper.  Mix Well and then stir in half of the cheese & bacon by hand.

Spoon mixture into an 8x8 baking dish and cook for 20 mins on 375 degrees.

Top with the remaining Cheese & Bacon and bake a few more minutes to melt the cheese.   And Voila!

{{more pics of Leeloo}}

Oh yeah.....and the Potato Casserole  :)

Mmm Mmm Mmm....this meal was pretty dang good.  :)  Now if I can just master more than 2 items without screwing something up.....WE COULD HAVE A FEAST!   :)

Until next time.....

-Samantha

5 in 1

I've kinda been slacking on posting this week & for that, I apologize.  We did have a pretty good line up for dinner this week though.  Monday was Pork Roast (my first pork roast, I might add) & it was phenomenal, as shown in my last post.  

Tuesday we had my own derivative of Crispy Baked Chicken Strips & Baked Potato Rounds (Chris thought these potatoes were great and demands them again soon). 

Wednesday we had Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Roasted Parmesan Potatoes (Chris absolutely LOVED these too.....he obviously loves a good potato...but who doesn't?!?).  I also made my first attempt at Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies....I've tried twice now and have still been unsuccessful following the recipe to a T.  Oh well.....maybe I'll try again and the third time will be the charm.

Then on Saturday my favorite little man, Kaydon, came to stay the night.  

Here he is doing "acrobatics" with Uncle Chris

For dinner we had Herb Crusted Pork Chops with Kraft's Home Baked Mac & Cheese.  I'd like to add that Kaydon never even knew he liked pork chops until he ate them at my house.   

So.....ON TO THE FOOD!  :)

CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN STRIPS

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

2 cups Italian Style Bread Crumbs

1 tbsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Sage

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Rosemary

1 tbsp Ground Cumin

dash of salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 cup Spicy Brown Mustard

Directions:

I combined all of the spices & bread crumbs in 1 bowl & put the mustard in a separate bowl.  

Next, I coated the chicken strips VERY WELL in the mustard.....

....before dredging in the bread crumb mixture.  If you look hard enough, I think you can see a strip in there.

Then place the tenders in a baking pan coated in olive oil & cook at 400 degrees for 30 mins.

BAKED POTATO ROUNDS

Ingredients:

3 russet potatoes, sliced with the handy, dandy slicer 

- it only took cutting my finger ONCE to go buy one

1/4 cup melted butter

salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp Minced Garlic

1/2 cup Fake Bacon Bits (it's all I had on hand)

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream to serve with potatoes

Directions:

Brush both sides of potato slices with butter & season with the salt, pepper & garlic then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 mins turning halfway through.  When the potatoes are ready, top with Bacon & Cheese & cook for about 5 additional mins or until the cheese has melted. 

Both of Tuesday's final products -

OVEN BAKED GARLIC PARMESAN CHICKEN

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

2 tsp Minced Garlic

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 tsp All-Purpose Seasoning

1/4 cup Plain Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Combine Garlic, Olive Oil & Seasoning in small skillet & heat until garlic is browned.

Cut small slits diagonally down the length of each Chicken Breast

Place the Chicken Breasts in a bowl, pour the warmed Garlic, Oil & Seasoning over the top & set aside to marinate for a bit.

At this point, I started prepping my potatoes to be cooked so that my chicken could marinate.  

Mix the Bread Crumbs & Parmesan Cheese together in a bowl & coat each breast with the mixture.  Then place the chicken in a baking dish coated in non stick cooking spray.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes & then cook under the broiler for 5 mins to brown the tops.

ROASTED PARMESAN POTATOES

Ingredients:

3 Russet Potatoes

Butter

All-Purpose Season Salt

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Wash the potatoes and poke holes all around with a fork.  Cook in the microwave for 3 1/2 mins, flip over and cook for another 3 1/2 mins.  Cut each potato in half and then slice squares into each half ensuring you DO NOT cut through the skin.

Season each half with Butter, Parmesan Cheese & Season Salt and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Broil until golden brown and VOILA!

I'm not gonna lie.....these were pretty dang good.  Definitely a must try for anyone that loves potatoes.

Both of Wednesday's final products -

HERB CRUSTED PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Pork Chops

Spicy Brown Mustard (I just squirted a line down each side of the chops and spread it around)

1/2 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 tbsp Parsley

1/8 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

Rub Mustard over both sides of the pork chops

Combine Bread Crumbs & Seasonings in a bowl & dredge pork chops in the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a foil lined baking sheet in the oven to warm.  While the oven is preheating, swirl the olive oil around to coat a skillet & heat over med-high heat.  Brown both sides of the chops.

Transfer the pork chops to the warmed baking sheet and cook for about 10 mins.  

Saturday's final product(s) - 

Kraft's Home Baked Mac & Cheese is definitely an easy favorite in this household!  

Welp, that's all of the homemade goodness we had this week.  I promise I won't slack so much from now on....of course, who doesn't like a post with 5 recipes in one though?!?  :)

Until next time.....

- Samantha

My first Pork Roast

Welp....since dinner for tonight is cooking, I may as well post my AWESOME pork roast I made in the crockpot yesterday for dinner.  

I have to say, I really outdid myself with this one.

It was a Sage Rubbed Pork Roast in Apple Gravy that I found in the comments section here and some good ol' fashioned baked potatoes.  :)  

Everyone knows how to make baked potatoes so I will not be posting the recipe for those.

SAGE RUBBED PORK ROAST IN APPLE GRAVY

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp sage

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 1/2 lb pork roast (aka pork butt) (& that weight is just a guess)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups apple juice

Directions:

  Combine spices in a bowl. 

Rub both sides of the pork roast with the olive oil and the combined spices. 

Place in crockpot with 2 cups of Apple Juice.

  

I left the crockpot on Low for 4 1/2 hours then when I got home, switched it to high while the baked potatoes baked for 1 hour 20 mins.  

Remove from crockpot and shred with 2 forks and VOILA!  You've then got a full plate of fantastic, flavorful Pork Roast.  :)

While Chris made himself a BBQ sandwich, I made myself a BBQ Baked potato with shredded cheese & butter (YUM)

And after I was done with that, I proceeded to make myself a foldover BBQ sandwich.  I love foldover sandwiches.  :)

Needless to say, Chris & I knocked out the entire roast by ourselves last night.  :)  We did work!

That's all I have for tonight.  Will post tonight's dinner shortly (or tomorrow). I may not have the motivation tonight.  ;)

Until next time....

-Samantha

Dinner for 1!

So I was home alone last night and originally thought, "YES!  Rest night for Sammy!"  Not so much.  Once I got home from work, I realized I had a weekly chore to do.  While doing my weekly chore, I decided that just because Chris wasn't home, doesn't mean I can't make myself a good dinner & so I took to Pinterest.  :)

Last night's menu consisted of Honey Mustard Chicken Strips & Chili Cream Cheese Dip.

HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN STRIPS (my own variation, of course)

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cut into strips

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup honey

1/8 cup spicy brown mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

a dash of pepper

1 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Combine mayo, spicy brown mustard, honey, garlic powder, paprika & pepper in a bowl.  Stir until evenly combined.  Divide the sauce in half and refrigerate until ready to use.  Half will be used for the marinade and half will be used to dip.  Place the chicken strips in the portion being used as marinade and stir to coat.  Refrigerate for 30 mins (or overnight, if you plan better than I do). 

 

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.  Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour the bread crumbs onto a plate & dip the chicken strips into the crumbs, covering completely.  Do not shake excess marinade off of the strips before doing so.  Flip them over a few times & press the bread crumbs into the strips & then place the strips on the wire rack.  Discard the leftover marinade.  I do not advise attempting to use this as extra dipping sauce.  Believe it or not, some people just need to be told.  

Bake the strip until the read crumbs are golden brown (about 25 minutes).  AND THEN SERVE WITH THE FANTASTIC DIPPING SAUCE THAT WAS CREATED IN THE BEGINNING!  :)

CHILI CREAM CHEESE DIP

Ingredients:

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 can of chili

Directions:

Warm both ingredients in a pot on the stove until blended.  Serve with Tortilla chips.

EASY PEASY!!!  

And the final products together -

YUM!  Those strips were AMAZING!  The marinade made it seem like they just melted in your mouth.  So.dang.good.  :)

Until next time.........

-Samantha