First off, I destroyed this recipe. Whatever the book said to do, I basically didn’t do. I took some of the ingredients listed and mixed them together and stuck it in the oven, all at hyper-warp-speed while I told Laura about my awful day and how I want the cute boy to come back from vacation and I wish I was lying on a beach somewhere and let’s just drink some more wine and pretend this week is going to get better. It is. Really.
Anyway, the wine was great - I tried Big House White for the first time, and it was similar to a Pinot Grigio, exactly what I was looking for. I think what I love most about the Big House wines is the twist-off top. Who says good wine has to come with a cork? It went very well with the mash-up of flavors found in this great pork chop dish, which I am looking forward to trying again when I buy all the ingredients I need the night before and actually put it in the slow cooker all day like you’re supposed to. What I did was put the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, pepper, potatoes o’brien and lightly browned pork chops in a covered casserole dish on 400 degrees for 45 minutes. I topped with french-friend onions for the last 5 minutes as well. It was hearty and delicious, so I can only imagine what the actual dish tastes like!
Pork Chops O’Brien
5 cups loose-pack frozen diced hash brown potatoes with onion and peppers, thawed 1 10.75-ounce reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped 1/2 cup dairy sour cream 1/2 cup shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces) 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 pork loin chops, cut 3/4 inch thick 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 2.8-ounce can french-fried onions
1. Stir together thawed hash brown potatoes, soup, roasted sweet pepper, sour cream, and ground black pepper. Transfer mixture to 3.5- or 4-quart slow cooker.
2. Trim fat from chops. In a skillet, brown chops in hot oil over medium heat; drain fat. Place chops on hash brown mixture in cooker.
3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 3.5 to 4.5 hours. Sprinkle each serving with french-fried onions. Makes 4 servings.
A few weeks ago, pumpkin cheesecake showed up at the monthly company meeting and I absolutely loved it. I’ve always been a cheesecake fan, and of course I love pumpkin bread, but I’d never thought to put the two flavors together. I really wanted to try my own version for Thanksgiving dinner, but I left Thursday morning on the train and didn’t get home until early afternoon. Luckily, I found this super-easy version, not quite as amazing as real cheesecake, but with the wonderful flavors I was searching for. I mixed it up in 10 minutes and it just chilled in the fridge until after dinner. It was light and fluffy but also rich, a perfect post-turkey treat. The one thing lacking was the thickness of the crust - I would recommend purchasing a double-thick graham cracker crust, if you can, or just mixing up your own at twice the usual height. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1 cup canned pumpkin 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.
Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.
From the hot chocolate to the snowball fights. From Christmas to New Years. From the moments where your hands are frozen to cuddling in front of the fire. From the sober nights in to the drunken nights out.
I’m so excited for everything planned this winter. I’m so excited to have fun with my friends and not think about what we’ll be doing the next day, until we have to. I can’t wait to bundle up and go sledding. I can’t wait until ski club starts and I’ll be spending every Friday night skiing with my best friends. I can’t wait to wake up and see the snow on the ground. I can’t wait to build snow men and make snow angels with the people I love. I can’t wait for Christmas, for the happiness, family, and the gifts of course. I can’t wait to buy new clothes and go to parties.
This is going to be a great season.
Thanks to ivanadance for so eloquently putting what I’m sure we’re all thinking right now. Laura and I just had frozen pizza and beer for dinner in lieu of actual cooking because this whole week is too crazy for anything else. Also sometimes you just want pizza and beer. Next time we get together, it will be post-Thanksgiving and time to start in on the Christmas season recipes. I’m thinking snickerdoodles, gingerbread men, holiday sangria and mulled wine. And we might squeeze dinner in there too. Cheers to the end of fall and the start of a fabulous winter season!
Last Tuesday was one of those days I got the chicken out before leaving in the morning and when I got home I had to figure out what to do with it. Fortunately chicken is pretty easy to work with! I picked Garlic Chicken because garlic is delicious and also because I had most of the ingredients on hand. I did have to wait half an hour after preparing the marinade, but Glee was starting so that was no problem. I also made white rice and broccoli with the chicken, and all together it was a wonderfully homey meal with some new flavors, which is always great. I did have trouble getting the sauce to thicken at the end, but you can always add a little more cornstarch, I was just getting impatient for dinner! Next time I’m looking for an easy but unusual chicken dinner I’ll definitely make the marinade the night before, and cooking the chicken is simple after that, so its perfect for a weeknight. Cheers!
Garlic Chicken
1 lb chicken 1 c water 3 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce 2 Tbs chicken broth 1 Tbs cornstarch 2 Tbs vegetable oil 10 green onions, sliced 1 c thinly sliced mushrooms 12 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 c sliced water chestnuts Hot cooked rice (Makes 4 servings)
Chicken in bite sized pieces and place in resealable bag with mixed water, soy and broth. Marinate for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and reserve marinade. Add and stir corn starch to marinade and set aside.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in wok. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic. Cook and stir until tender (1-2 min). Remove vegetables from wok and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink. Push chicken from center of wok and add marinade to center of wok. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
Return veggies to wok. Add water chestnuts. Cook and stir until combined. Serve with hot cooked rice.
- From “Believe It! Quick & Easy Meal Solutions” by the Cooking Club of America
