Grilled Mesquite Pork Chops

I so enjoyed these. I really like the bold flavors and yet not overpowering or too spicy. These tasted like a blend of Mexican and southwestern flavors. So good! These are definitely a new favorite for us. I really can't wait to make these again. Nate and I really like this grilling website Nibble Me This, and that is where we got this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 pork chops, center cut, bone in, 3/4 to 1" thick (we used boneless)
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground corriander
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:
Preheat a grill to 350f. Mix the spices together. Mix the oil, worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp. of the spice mix. Season the pork chops on both sides with the remaining spice rub. Grill the pork chops for 5 minutes per side. Brush carefully with the basting oil and grill until the pork chops reach an internal temperature of 145f (about another 1-3 minutes).

Hasselback Potatoes

I have had these potatoes bookmarked forever! It's about time I got around to trying them. It's a new variation on potatoes for me. The name makes me think of David Hasselhoff though. It's a simple change from a normal baked potato, and I do like the crispness of the skin. I saw the idea over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5-6 medium baking potatoes
4 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic pressed or finely minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the potato on a cutting board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, making thin slices.
Arrange the potatoes on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt over the potatoes and then sprinkle the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over the potatoes.
Bake the potatoes for about one hour or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Korean Barbecue Chicken Marinade

Oh this marinade is so so good! This is some of the best chicken I've made in a while. It is phenomenal! I saw this marinade on Allrecipes and just tweaked a couple things for our tastes. The marinade has the perfect combination of savory, salty, sweet, and spice. This is definitely a new family favorite! If you like this recipe you should also try our Korean Barbecue Beef Kabobs.

This makes enough for 2 lbs. chicken.

Ingredients:
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. hot chile paste (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

Preparation:
Whisk together all ingredients and marinate chicken in refrigerator. We made 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs and they marinated for about 90 minutes.

I shared this recipe over at Mandy's Recipe Box and Chef In Training.

Homemade Vegetable Rice a Roni

I'm always on the hunt for good side dishes. For some reason it is much easier for me to pick out the main dish than the side dishes. Once I learned that rice a roni is basically rice and broken spaghetti noodles, I knew I do it myself. I also packed this with tons of veggies. I always feel good about getting vegetables into Nate's diet! Now, I haven't had rice a roni in probably a decade, so I don't know how close this is, but here's my version.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup basmati rice
1/3 cup spaghetti noodles, broken into small pieces
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chicken bullion (I use the Better Than Bullion brand)
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. butter
salt to taste

Preparation:
In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add rice, broken spaghetti noodles, and veggies to skillet. Sautee for a few minutes or until rice is a light golden brown. Add water, salt, and bullion to a pot. Add rice and veggie mixture to water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce here and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Fluff rice and serve.

I shared this recipe over at Mandy's Recipe Box and Chef In Training.

Corn Muffins

Okay, this is a recipe that Katie and Stephanie made tonight. They served it alongside some taco soup. Supposedly this is the same recipe for corn muffins that Marie Calendar's serves. Enjoy!

2 c. dry yellow cake mix
1 c. flour
1 c. yellow corn meal
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt

Sift dry ingredients together. Then add:

1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. honey (or 1/2 c. sugar)
3 eggs

Pour into pan or scoop into muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Tin Foil Dinner

Have I really only posted two recipes this month? Oh goodness, I'm sorry! My handsome husband and I have been having too much fun and I've been away from the kitchen. We've been busy enjoying ourselves camping and fishing, two graduations, and playing with visiting family. I've got new recipes planned for the rest of this week so keep your fingers crossed that they turn out yummy so I can share them with you!

Speaking of camping, here is the tin foil dinner that I made during our last camping trip. It's not a true recipe, just more of an idea for you. You do the majority of the cooking before you wrap them up, so 20-30 minutes in the coals is just right. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
hamburger patties - We made each hamburger patty about 1/3 lb. You're always hungry after setting up camp. Nate seasoned them with some steak seasoning and grilled them to about medium. That way they'll finish cooking in the fire without drying out.

potatoes - I used my Garlic and Butter Roasted Potatoes recipe. Potatoes are the item that take the longest to cook in a tin foil dinner, so I go ahead and cook them all the way. That way they only need to heat up at the campsite.

veggies - I sliced up some onion and carrot, sauteed them in a tiny bit of olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper. I just cooked them for a couple minutes. They will finish cooking in the fire. I also used some canned green beans. You don't need to cook those at all beforehand.


Preparation:
There's a method to building your tin foil dinners. You want to put the items with the longest cook time on the outside and the more tender, faster cooking items in the middle. Here's the order I stacked mine: potatoes on bottom, then carrots and onions, then green beans, and the hamburger patty on top. Tear off 2 good sized pieces of heavy duty tinfoil. Spray the top piece with a bit of cooking spray, then layer your ingredients in the above order. Wrap and seal up the tin foil dinner, then wrap it again with the second piece of tin foil. Repeat for each dinner. That's it! You're ready to go camping. Just place the tin foil dinner in the coals of your fire for about 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally for even cooking.

Okay, I had a question about adapting these for the oven. Here is my best estimate. If you pre-cook the tin foil ingredients, then just throw the packets in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until nice and piping hot! If you don't pre-cook anything I would dice the potatoes very small, like o'brien style and be sure you spray with non-stick spray and I would add some liquid like gravy or barbecue sauce. Then bake them at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until veggies are tender and meat is cooked through. Hope that helps!

I shared this recipe over at Mandy's Recipe Box and Chef In Training.


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3 Packet Pork Roast

Awesome! This roast was so moist, tender, and flavorful! I have made 3 Packet Crock Pot Chicken and 3 Packet Pot Roast, so I figured the same idea would work with pork. I was right! This is such an easy recipe, throw everything in the crock pot and then pull it out when you're ready for dinner. You can't go wrong with this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2-3 lb. pork roast
1 packet Italian dressing mix
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet pork gravy mix
1 cup water

Preparation:
Whisk together water and seasonings. Place roast in the crock pot and then pour seasoning mix over top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Let roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing. You can serve the juices over the top of the meat like gravy.

I shared this recipe at Chef In Training and Mandy's Recipe Box.

We're hoping to adopt, check our profile out at http://adoption.com/profiles/nksmithfamily-1800 and feel free to pass it along!

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Can you believe I've never made chicken parmesan? I know, I can't either. I came across this slow cooker recipe over at Six Sisters' Stuff and figured it was worth a shot. I used my homemade marinara sauce and this dinner was really good. Nate rated it a 10.5! I omitted the mozzarella cheese just to save on calories. Here's another easy Italian dish for you!

Ingredients:
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese (I left this out)
favorite jarred marinara sauce (23 oz.) (I used my homemade marinara sauce)

Spread the olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert. Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl. Mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the Parmesan cheese in another separate dish. Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings. Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crockpot. Layer 2-3 slices or 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like. Cover chicken and cheese with entire jar of marinara sauce. Close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Not the greatest pictures, but you get the general idea.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Tonight was a breakfast for dinner night. It's really the only time I make Nate breakfast. I had come across these bad boys at Mormon Mavens and knew Nate would love them. They were so simple and so good. We both enjoyed them. These would be so fun for kids too. We topped ours with the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls, but you could also use syrup if you'd like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
tube of cinnamon rolls

Preparation:
Heat your waffle iron. Once hot, place a cinnamon roll in each segment of your waffle iron. Cook for a few minutes or until cinnamon rolls are a nice golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot with icing drizzled over the top.

No, they're not burnt in the middle, that's the cinnamon swirls.

Marinara Sauce

So good! I lost track of the times Nate said, "This is so good!" during dinner. He said it is by far the best marinara sauce he has ever had. I used this sauce in a lasagna last night and Nate declared it to be the best lasagna he's ever had. We also dipped our bread in the sauce. So I'd say this marinara sauce is a keeper! I made an 8x8" lasagna and had sauce leftover to freeze. Next time I'm going to double the recipe so I have more to freeze. I felt like a little Italian grandma with my sauce simmering away and making my house smell so good. I adapted this recipe from one over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe and according to the site, the sauce freezes well for up to six months. We loved this sauce!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 (28-ounce each) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and green pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until all the vegetables are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic bread seasoning, bay leaves, and parmesan cheese and simmer, covered, on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook sauce until slightly thickened and the vegetables are completely tender. Taste the sauce. Add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaves. In a blender or food processor, blend the sauce (in several batches, if necessary) until it is smooth. The sauce can be frozen once it is cooled completely in freezer-safe ziploc bags for up to 6 months. Enjoy!

Turkey French Dip Sandwiches

These sandwiches are heavenly! They were so good, I enjoyed every bite, and I can't wait to make them again! In addition to tasting great, these sandwiches are so easy to prepare. We had Nate's brother Zak and his wife Domonique over for dinner, and we all really enjoyed these sandwiches. The turkey turned out so moist and tender, and the au jus was great. I saw this idea on Kelsey Nixon's cooking show, and I just adapted it to our preferences. Make this soon!

Ingredients:
3 lb. turkey breast or turkey roast (I used a roast so we had both white and dark meat)
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, roughly chopped
seasoned pepper
baguette

Preparation:
Add the chopped onions to the bottom of the crock pot, add the chicken broth and the Worcestershire sauce. Top with some seasoned pepper. In a small bowl mix together the butter and garlic bread seasoning. Rub the butter mixture all over the turkey, if you're using a turkey breast with skin, get some butter under the skin too. Place the turkey in the crock pot, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Once it reaches that temperature, remove from crock pot and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Reserve the juices in the crock pot for your au jus dipping sauce. To make your sandwich, gently toast sliced baguette under to broiler until it is a nice golden brown. Top with turkey and any desired condiments and dip in au jus! You will love this!

Onion Strings

We love onion rings in our house. Our favorites are these baked onion rings, so good! Since I recently purchased a beautiful blue dutch oven, I now have the capacity to deep fry. Since we were having company for dinner, I thought we could splurge and enjoy some onion strings. These are a super thin cut version of onion rings and we all really enjoyed them! They were a good accompaniment to our turkey french dip sandwiches tonight. I got this idea from The Pioneer Woman, and they did not disappoint!

Ingredients:
2 large yellow onions
buttermilk (or regular milk)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/2-1/2 tsp. seasoned pepper
vegetable or canola oil

Preparation:
Slice onions very very thin. Place onion strings into a baking dish, cover with milk, and let soak for an hour. Whisk together flour, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot to 375 degrees. Take handful of soaked onions and coat in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour and careful drop into hot oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate to absorb and extra oil. Repeat with remaining onions. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce. We used fry sauce. You could also use these onions as a topping on sandwiches or burgers. Enjoy!

Mini Butterfinger Cheesecakes

Nate's favorite dessert is cheesecake. It's not something I make too often though. Since we were having company over for dinner tonight, I knew it was a perfect opportunity to make cheesecake. I just came across this idea over at Favorite Family Recipes, a few days ago. I'm happy to report they were a big hit! They are a fun little bite-sized dessert that is not too hard to make.

Ingredients:
Crust-
1 c. ground vanilla wafers (I used the reduced fat kind), just pulse these in your food processor and they're ready in no time flat
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Filling-
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter (I used reduced fat)
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Topping-
1 cup milk chocolate chips
3 Fun Size Butterfinger, crushed


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and salt into a bowl; mix to combine. Spoon mixture into bottoms of a mini muffin tin and press. Bake for 8-10 minutes and remove from oven.
Reduce heat to 300 degrees. In a stand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Beat sugar, egg, cream and salt until well combined. Spoon batter over baked crust. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool for 2 hours, then remove from pan.
Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. If needed, return back to microwave for 15 seconds or so until smooth. Spoon over tops of cakes then sprinkle crushed butterfinger over top.

Shepherd's Pie

This dinner is full of memories for me. This is a super easy dish, one I've made since I was very first married, before I really learned to cook. I remember my mom making this on cold winter nights when I was growing up. We always looked forward to Shepherd's Pie. My mom always put a sprinkle of paprika over the top, so I did too. I'm sure everyone has their own version of this dish, but here is mine.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can green beans, drained
1/2 onion, diced
mashed potatoes (Nate prefers instant mashed potatoes, so I just use one package of Idahoan brand butter and herb potatoes)
shredded cheese, optional
steak seasoning
salt and pepper
smoked paprika

Preparation:
In a skillet, cook ground beef and onions. Season with steak seasoning a small amount of salt and pepper. Once beef is cooked and crumbled, reduce heat to low and add tomato sauce. You may not need the full can. You want enough to generously coat the meat, but you don't want it really soupy and runny. Spread meat mixture into the bottom of a glass 8x8" baking dish. Top meat with green beans, and then with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the top of the mashed potatoes with a small amount of paprika. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The potatoes should have a nice light crust. Remove from oven and top with a bit of cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted (if you want cheese). Enjoy!

General Kim's Chicken

This dish is my take on General Tso's Chicken, so Nate renamed it General Kim's Chicken. It's a great base recipe, you could easily turn this dish into orange chicken or sweet and sour chicken, just adjust the sauce. I had several different recipes that I reviewed prior to making this, it's a compilation of those recipes and personal preferences. One of our favorite couples, Sarah and Mike were my guinea pigs for this dinner and they both, in addition to Nate, ensured me it was a yummy recipe.

Ingredients:
Chicken-
2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bit sized cubes
2 eggs
salt
pepper
cornstarch
vegetable oil

Sauce-
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. powdered ginger
5 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. sweet chili sauce
1 tsp. sriracha sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup cold water
red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation:
Heat 6 cups vegetable oil in a large dutch oven or deep fryer to 360 degrees. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper. Add chicken and stir to coat evenly. Take each piece of chicken and dip into cornstarch. Coat entire piece of chicken and shake off any excess cornstarch. Repeat with remaining chicken. Fry in small batches for about 3 minutes or until golden brown and chicken is cooked through. I always do a test batch with 2 or 3 pieces to work out any issues. Drain chicken on a paper towel-lined plate.
Dissolve cornstarch in cold water, whisking well. In a bowl combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha. Add in cornstarch slurry, again whisking well to make sure everything combines. Pour sauce into a hot wok, stirring constantly until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Then add chicken to wok and stir to evenly coat chicken.
Serve immediately over hot basmati rice. Garnish with crushed red pepper flakes if you like things nice and spicy!

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Believe it or not I've never made or eaten pasta salad. I don't really care for salad dressing so I've never bothered to try it. We had a sibling dinner tonight and we were asked to bring pasta salad and drinks. I gave this easy salad a try. I simply used less dressing and I actually really enjoyed this dish. I modified a recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff and I was very pleased with the results.

Ingredients:
1 lb. rotini pasta
8 oz. Italian dressing
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small can sliced olives
20-30 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped
5 oz. colby jack cheese, cut into small cubes

Preparation:
Boil pasta until al dente, rinse, drain, and cool. Refrigerate. Dice up veggies and pepperoni. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl making sure everything is well incorporated. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.

Breakfast for Dinner Casserole

Nate and I went up to Idaho to visit my grandparents Easter weekend. Saturday morning my super cute grandma made us a breakfast casserole. This dish is really similar to what she made and it is perfect for breakfast for dinner.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
10 oz. shredded hash browns (if you're using frozen, make sure to thaw them first)
1/2 lb. cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup milk
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
salt
pepper

Preparations:
Whisk together eggs and milk. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in all other ingredients. Pour into a greased 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until eggs are cooked through and set. Serve warm.

Grilled Asparagus

The best asparagus I've ever had! I love asparagus, and this was the most delicious preparation. I will be making this over and over again. We had my mother-in-law over for dinner last night and my husband really wanted some steak. I asked if he'd be willing to throw some asparagus on the grill. Nate cooked it perfectly. The asparagus got some great grill marks and picked up a bit of the steak flavoring. It was my favorite part of the meal last night!

Ingredients:
asparagus spears, cleaned and trimmed
olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

Preparation:
Toss asparagus with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Grill for about 8-9 minutes, flipping once. We have an electric grill, so time may vary if you have a gas grill. You just want your asparagus at that nice tender-crisp stage. Nate cooked our asparagus in the same spot he had grilled our steaks so they picked up some of that great steak flavor. So good! Enjoy!

Savory Onion Soup Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

With my cold and a long to-do list today, I wanted an easy to prepare dinner. This recipe fit the bill. It is SO easy and tasted great. Perfect for a night like tonight, or any weeknight. You could even throw the chicken in early in the morning on high and have it for lunch. I got the idea from Table for 7. Just serve this up with some chips and carrot and celery sticks and you've got a great meal!

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 3)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 envelope of dried onion soup mix
garlic powder- per taste preference (I used about 1/2 tsp.)

Preparation:
Whisk together water, Italian dressing, soup mix, and garlic powder, and add to crock pot. Add chicken to crock pot and stir to make sure it gets coated. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Once chicken is cooked, remove from crock pot and let rest for 10 minutes then shred well. Add back to the crock pot and stir to mix it with the juices. Turn crock pot to the warm setting for 30 minutes then serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Mini Garlic Monkey Breads

We ate these monkey breads with our turkey meatloaf cupcakes last night, and it was comfort food at it's finest! These are so good and super simple to make. I can't wait to makes these again. I saw the idea over at Life as a Lofthouse. Make these soon, you'll love them! I halved this recipe for Nate and I.

Ingredients:
Makes 12 rolls
18 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning

Preparation:
Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Cut each thawed roll into 4 pieces. Set aside. In a bowl combine the butter and garlic bread seasoning. Place 6 to 7 roll pieces into the garlic mixture and coat with mix. Place 6 to 7 coated roll pieces into one muffin tin. Repeat the process until all 12 muffin tins are full.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Serve warm.

Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes

These were so so good! Have you ever had a night where you just throw a bunch of stuff together and it turns out to be awesome, an instant family favorite? Well, we had a night like that last night. Dinner was perfect. I need to go grocery shopping so this recipe was me just wingin' it. I didn't measure anything last night, so these are my best estimates. This is my new favorite meatloaf recipe, and Nate just text me that the leftovers were awesome too.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1 large egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1-2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. steak seasoning
1/2 - 1 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl combine all the above ingredients by hand. Do not over mix or your meatloaf will be tough. You want to mix it until it's just combined. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spoon equal amounts of the meat mixture into the cupcake liners. I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup and got 8 meatloaf cupcakes. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 -35 minutes or until turkey is cooked all the way through (I didn't set a timer, so the time is just an estimate). I double checked done-ness with my meat thermometer. Remove meatloaf cupcakes and peel off the liners. Let rest for 5 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Chinese Pepper Steak

We had Nate's cute sister over for our weekly dinner last Thursday. Knowing that Stephanie loves Chinese food, I decided to make pepper steak. Pepper steak is Nate's favorite Chinese dish, well, it's probably tied with ham fried rice. He prefers his spicy, me, not so much. I simply took out mine and Steph's portion of pepper steak out of the skillet and then added some hot sauce and spice to Nate's portion. I referenced an idea from Allrecipes, but tweaked it for our tastes. This is such a simple meal, enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. sirloin steak, sliced into very thin strips (I simply bought the pre-cut stir fry meat from the store, it was a super busy day)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (I wanted to use one green and one red, but the red didn't look great at the store)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. steak seasoning (I use a homemade steak seasoning but you could totally use something like Montreal)
salt to taste
3/4 tsp. brown sugar
olive oil
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Sriracha sauce (optional)

Preparation:
In a small bowl mix cold water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Whisk well to dissolve cornstarch. In a large skillet, brown the steak strips in a Tbsp. or so of olive oil with the garlic, ginger, and steak seasoning. You're not trying to cook it all the way through, you just want to brown it. Remove the meat and keep warm. To that same skillet add your bell peppers and onions, saute for about 5 minutes or so, or until tender-crisp. Add beef broth to skillet. Next add your water/soy sauce mixture. Stir well. Add you steak back in and bring mixture to a boil*. Once boiling, stir and simmer the dish until the steak is at your desired done-ness and sauce thickens. Serve hot over basmati rice.

*If you want your dish spicy, add a tsp. or two of sriracha and some red pepper flakes at this point.

Amazing Drop Biscuits

Hands down the best biscuits I've ever had! Phenomenal! These biscuits are so good, you need to make these, and soon. We had them to with some baked chicken and salad tonight, and I'm already looking forward to having a biscuit with some scrambled eggs in the morning. I can't say enough good things about this recipe! I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I didn't change a single thing, so here is her recipe verbatim.

Ingredients:
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
8 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled

Preparation:
Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a 2-cup liquid measure, stir together the chilled buttermilk and melted butter until the butter forms small clumps. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture slightly pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
Using a greased ¼-cup measure, scoop out mounds of the dough and drop them onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake the biscuits until the tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with additional melted butter. Serve warm.

Photo updated 05/15/14.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Another Mexican dish for Nate! I'm happy to say it turned out really well. Both Nate and I really enjoyed this dinner. We didn't end up eating dinner until 8:10 last night, so I'm so happy it was good! I make a Mexican lasagna which we both really like, it uses tortillas instead of noodles. This recipe is another fun variation. I saw the idea over at Not So Homemade, and adapted it, I also made my own sauce. One perk of this recipe is that you are more than likely to have every ingredient on hand. All I had to buy was a green pepper and an onion. Love it when that happens!

This makes an 8x8" or 9x9" pan. Simply double for a 9x13".

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2/3 cup frozen corn
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
shredded Mexican cheese blend (I had colby jack on hand, so that's what I used)
1 (8 oz.) can mild Rotel sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
6 oz. water (just use the tomato paste can)
1 cup mild salsa
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
salt and pepper

Preparation:
In a pan, combine the ground beef with a small amount of salt and pepper, 2 Tbsp. of taco seasoning, green peppers, and onions. Cook and crumble the ground beef. Once finished, set aside. Par boil the lasagna noodles (cook them most of the way through and take them out a few minutes before finished). Rinse the noodles with cold water to stop the cooking process. Lay out the noodles on a piece of parchment paper so they don't stick together. In a medium bowl, combine the Rotel sauce, tomato paste, water, and salsa. Add a pinch of salt if you need. In an 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish, pour some sauce into the bottom of the dish. Make sure it's enough to cover the entire bottom. Lay some lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. You will most likely have to trim down the noodles so they will fit. Pour a small amount of sauce on top of the noodles. Add 1/2 the meat mixture on top and then 1/2 the beans and corn. Sprinkle some cheese over the top. Add another layer of lasagna noodle, then sauce. Make sure you add a fair amount of sauce to ensure the noodles finish cooking in the oven. Then add the other 1/2 of the meat mixture, beans, and corn. Sprinkle some cheese over the top. Add the last layer of lasagna noodles and a fair amount of sauce on top, making sure it covers the top. I had just a little bit of sauce left over, so don't stress if you don't use it all, but you should use most of it. Cover the baking dish with a square of parchment paper, and then cover with tin foil. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil and parchment paper and sprinkle some cheese over the top. Return, uncovered, to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted. Let the lasagna stand for a full 10 minutes before slicing, or else your lasagna will be a sloppy mess when you dish it up. Nate finds this 10 minute wait almost unbearable, poor guy! Dish up and serve hot with a fresh and crisp green salad. Enjoy!

Dijon Ranch Chicken

Oh, this chicken is so good! It is most definitely a keeper recipe. I included this recipe in the marinades section because I think this would also taste awesome on pork chops. We both loved the bold flavors and how moist and tender our chicken was. Even with all the seasonings you add, nothing is overpowering. This is a dish easy enough for any weeknight, yet tasty enough to serve to company. I got the idea from Not So Homemade, and I altered it to suit our tastes. Hurry and add this recipe to your menu for the week!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. chicken (you can use breasts, drumsticks, thighs, whatever you're craving)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried onion flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preparation:
In a small bowl combine everything but the chicken. Mix well. Using a basting brush, coat the chicken on all sides with a layer of the mustard mixture. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for one hour. Once finished marinating, bake or grill your chicken until it's cooked through. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving. I made boneless, skinless chicken breasts and baked them at 400 degrees for 32 minutes.




P.S. This is fourth new recipe I've tried in the last 24 hours. That has to be some sort of record! I'm just glad they all turned out tasty!