Pork Chops and Potatoes

This has been a crazy week.  My oldest kiddo left for 2 years (see the California San Fernando blog) on July 4th.  My second kiddo left for girls camp on Monday, my fourth kiddo left for girls camp on Tuesday, my 3rd kiddo left for High Adventure camp on Wednesday (this also involves me picking them up on Friday and Saturday.)  We had very expensive plumbing issues that were resolved on Wednesday and Thursday.  My puppy had the last of her shots on Wednesday (after which she had a mess in the car - with the water at home turned off because of the plumbing issues.)  My fridge died on Wednesday, along with the food it was holding *sigh*.  I got a new fridge and had it delivered the same day because - hello - personal chef.  I need to have access to the food I need to cook.  Oh yeah, and I'm still cooking for my clients and my family.

Whew.

This recipe is one that goes together fast.  It takes a while to cook, but the actual labor is really low.  It is also a recipe that freezes very well.  When I make it, I usually double it and stick one in the freezer for another day.  I will usually, also, double the potatoes for each pan just to fill the gaping holes that are my kiddos stomachs.  If you only have one or two to feed, just freeze up the portions you need in aluminum pans.  Voila.

Pork Chops and Potatoes

6 pork chops

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 Tablespoon oil

1 can cream of celery soup

2/3 cup evaporated milk (1/2 can)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon salt (I have never added this and it is fine)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar or Monterrey Jack or mozzarella or a combo)

2/3 cups French fried onions

1/2 32-oz bag frozen hash browns

Prepare a baking pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.  If cooking immediately, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle chops with seasoned salt and brown in oil on both sides.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine soup, milk and sour cream until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, cheese and onions.  Mix in uncooked (mine are still usually frozen) hash brown potatoes.  Place potatoes in prepared pan. 

Arrange chops on top of potatoes.  Cover with heavy foil.

Label and freeze or skip to the next step.  If frozen, thaw in the fridge for a couple of days before you want to cook.

Bake, covered with foil, for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.



Corn Dog Casserole

I found this recipe about 10 years ago in Taste of Home magazine.  My kiddos were little and they loved hot dogs.  I made it - they loved it.  Everyone loved it.  It's pretty easy, too.

Corn Dog Casserole

2 cups sliced celery (about 4 stalks)

2 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onions (about 1)

1 1/2 pounds hot dogs (I like Nathan's)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 packages (8 1/2 ounces each) corn bread mix (like Jiffy) * for a non-box equivalent see below*

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 baking pan or a 3 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a skillet, saute celery in butter for a few minutes. 

Add the chopped onions. I chopped mine with this cool devise.  I use it to make relish, too. I just quartered the onions and *wham* a perfect dice.  Oh, yeah, add the chopped onions and saute for 5 more minutes or until lightly browned and tender.  Place in a large bowl; set aside.

Cut hot dogs lengthwise into quarters, then cut into thirds.  In the same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add to vegetables.  Set aside 1 cup.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sage and pepper.  Stir in corn bread mixes.  Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese.  Add the remaining hot dog mixture.  Spread into prepared pan.  Top with reserved hot dog mixture and remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

* Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix Copycat for those who (like me) are trying to stay away from mixes and processed stuff. 
 It works quite well.  This is the equivalent of 1 box, so you need to double it for this recipe. 

This makes 6 muffins (like the box) and the recipe is for the muffins.  Just use the dry ingredients and the oil for the above recipe.

2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal (I use organic stone ground which makes the bread a little courser than the box mix)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil

To this add 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk.  Mix. Batter will be lumpy.  Divide the batter between 6 muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.



Corn Chowder and Buttermilk Biscuits

My mom made corn chowder all the time.  It was good, fast and cheap and everyone loved it.  I make it, too.  I even follow her recipe, although I never measured the veggies, just kind of guessed.  When I made it this time, however, I measured.  I found out that I put in a lot more veggies than she did.  I also like to put in fresh corn. 

In the south, biscuits are a very personal thing.  I have a lot of different recipes for biscuits that go with different things.  These are easy, buttermilk biscuits.  They are very forgiving.  This time, I actually only had half the amount of buttermilk that was called for, so I used milk.  They turned out fine.  I should have, also, brushed the top of the uncooked biscuits with buttermilk so they would be more golden brown - but I had run out of buttermilk.  I also didn't roll them like specified, just patted them down to cut them. *sigh*  Oh, well.  No one had a problem eating them, however.

Corn Chowder

2 cups water

1/2 - 1 cup raw carrot slices

1/2 - 1 cup raw celery slices

2 cups chopped potatoes (peeled or not, your choice)

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 can creamed corn

1 cup (?) fresh corn cut from the cob (or frozen corn)

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, place the water, carrots, celery, potatoes, and onion.  Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Do not drain.

In the meantime, in another sauce pan, melt the 1/4 cup butter.  To the butter, add flour and stir constantly until it is combined and makes a light roux (kind of like a paste, not browned like for gumbo).  To the flour mixture, add the milk and stir until it starts to thicken.  This is a white sauce.

To the white sauce, add the creamed corn, fresh corn and cheese.  Stir and simmer.  It will thicken.  Do not let it boil.

Pour the white sauce into the undrained, cooked vegetables and stir to combine.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Buttermilk Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment or spray with non-stick spray.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.  Add the butter and cut into the flour or rub between your hands until it looks like peas and flour.  You want little chunks of butter and you don't want to overwork it.  The butter melts while it cooks to create flakiness.

Add the buttermilk, moving your hand, with fingers apart, in circles to incorporate it into the dry ingredients.  The dough is mixed when it barely comes together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Pat and roll it into a 1 inch thick rectangle.  Using a floured round cutter (I use a glass) cut as many biscuits as you can.  Cut straight down and up, don't twist, you don't want to seal the edges.   Arrange the biscuits on the parchment-lined sheet so they touch.  Brush the top of the biscuits with buttermilk.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Chubby Hubby Cookie Bars

Okay.  I already posted one blog this morning so I was going to wait until tomorrow to post again.  Then I made these bars.  Angels sang.

The oldest kiddo has a peanut allergy - life threatening peanut allergy.  But he is gone for 2 years.  Since he is gone, we are all on a peanut eating frenzy from years of denial.  We miss him terribly.

Think "Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby" ice cream.  Then think cookie bar.  Yep, it's that good.

Chubby Hubby Cookie Bars

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups unsalted butter, (1 1/2 sticks) softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

2 cups coarsely chopped pretzels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

Using a mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add peanut butter, eggs and vanilla, mix.  Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed.  Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips and half of the pretzels, reserving the rest to put on top.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the peanut butter chips, remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped pretzels on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting, if possible.

Curry for Dinner

If you only buy one cookbook, buy John Besh's "My Family Table".  It is fantastic.  That is where I got this curry recipe (even though I change it a little).  He calls it Curried Anything.  I'm going to write down the recipe the way I do it, however.  Seriously, buy the book.

My 3rd kiddo loves Asian food.  It doesn't matter what part of Asia, he loves it.  He especially loves food that hints of Indian origin.  He loves the combination of spices and all of the vegetables.  What's not to love?

This recipe is very versatile.  I added chicken because I had 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken in the fridge.  If I wanted to make it vegetarian, I would just substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth and probably add another potato or more cauliflower or maybe some chick peas.  It's hard to do this wrong.  I do like basmati rice with this, but you can do what you want.

Curry powder is different from different places.  Trader Joe's has a pretty good one.  I add just a little of the chili paste, but PoppaH likes to add a little more to his plate. Whatever makes you happy!

Chicken and Eggplant Curry

4 Tablespoons butter

1 eggplant, unpeeled, diced

2 Tablespoons peeled and minced ginger

2-4 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2-4 teaspoons curry powder (I use 3 1/2)

1 summer squash, diced

1 potato, diced

2 cup cauliflower florets

1 13-ounce can coconut milk

1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon sambal chili paste

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

salt (about 1 teaspoon)

pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)

4 cups cooked rice

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over high heat, add the eggplant, and saute until soft.

Add the ginger, green onions, and garlic.  Sprinkle the curry powder into the pan and toast for a moment.  Add the squash, cauliflower and potatoes, stirring to coat them with the spices.

Continue to stir for a few minutes, then add the coconut milk, broth and chili paste.  Bring to a gentle boil, add the chicken, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over rice.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I love a good cupcake.  I guess, from the cupcake shows and the cupcake stores, I am not alone.  Eating a cupcake brings you back to your childhood, in a way. Do you lick off the frosting first?  Do you peel the whole thing or just peel back a part of the paper?  Do you nibble it slowly or pop the whole thing in your mouth (remember, I have teenagers)? It is instant portion control, too.

I don't mind a cake mix.  I think it is a good starting point for many cakes. I can't stand canned frosting, however.  There is just something wrong with it.  These cupcakes don't use a mix, however.  They are nothing like the strawberry cake mix cakes.  They are a little dense - almost like a little poundcake with a strawberry punch.  So good.  The recipe makes 2 dozen (remember that I doubled the recipe in the pictures.)  One of my kiddos frosted them for me :)

There are a couple of tricks to making really good poundcake.  One is to have all of the ingredients at room temperature.  I don't know why that helps, but it really does. The other is to not overcook.  Start checking your cupcakes before the buzzer buzzes.  Okay, one more - always use sugar that says "pure cane".  If it doesn't say it, it isn't.  Cane sugar bakes better.  Period.

Strawberry Cupcakes

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (3/4 cup) brought to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (3 ounce) box strawberry-flavored gelatin

1 cup mashed, hulled and stemmed fresh strawberries

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put the cupcake liners in the muffin pan.

Put butter and sugar in a bowl.  Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to high.  Keep mixing until it looks light and fluffy.  This is called "creaming".  While you are creaming the butter and sugar, stop the mixer two or three times to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

While the butter/sugar mixture is creaming, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Whisk in the gelatin to mix well.  Set aside.

In another bowl, mix the mashed strawberries, milk and vanilla together.  Set aside.

Crack open the eggs into another bowl. (I always do this because it is easier to get out any eggshell that may accidentally drop in)

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add one egg to butter and sugar.  Mix.  Add another egg.  Mix.  Add the last and mix.

When eggs are completely mixed into the butter, add 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Mix and scrape down sides.  Add 1/2 of the milk mixture.  Mix and scrape down sides.  Repeat this, ending with the flour mixture.  Mix until smooth.

Scoop an even amount of batter into each muffin cup.  Bake until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) box cream cheese, room temperature (use the good stuff)

4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 Tablespoons strawberry jam, slightly melted in the microwave

1 (1 pound) box plus 1/4 cup confectioners sugar (or more if needed to thicken frosting)

Red food coloring (optional)

Put the cream cheese, butter and jam in the bowl of a mixer.  Mix on low speed intil combined.  Add the confectioners sugar and mix until completely combined.  Increase speed to high and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  You might have to put the frosting in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to stiffen it up before frosting the cooled cupcakes.



Shrimp Po'boys with Remmoulade Sauce

PappaH just had a birthday.  Only on my family's birthdays can they request a meal and have a 99% chance of me making it.  He wanted shrimp po'boys.  Remember, we live in New England.  Good Louisiana fare is hard to come by - unless you make it yourself.  Cool.

This one was pretty easy.  I thought that I would buy the remoulade, but it was $5.99 for a 6 ounce jar!!!!! $5.99!!  Really?!? It's not even hard to make, so I'll include that recipe (I took it from Emeril), too.

Fried Shrimp

Vegetable oil, for frying (I use canola)

2 pounds large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tablespoons Emeril's Essence Creole seasoning (or creole seasoning of your choice)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups cornmeal (yellow or white)

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan or preheat a deep fryer to 360 degrees. I usually remove the shrimp tail, just pinch right under the tail and it will come right off.  I don't want anything to interrupt my eating of my sandwich.  Season the shrimp with 1 Tablespoon of the Essence.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal and remaining Essence.  Dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour mixture, coating the shrimp completely.

Fry the shrimp in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate.

Remoulade Sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 med. onion)

1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 1 bunch)

1/4 cup cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)

2 Tablespoons chopped garlic

2 Tablespoons prepared horseradish

2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard (deli-style or creole)

2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

3-4 Tablespoons ketchup

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I never actually measure this)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process for 30 seconds.  Use immediately or keep in the fridge.

To make a Po'boy sandwich, take a hoagie bun and slather with the remoulade.  Place lettuce and sliced tomato in the bun.  Pile shrimp in the bun.  Season with Tabasco, if you want.  Serve with potato chips (it's traditional).  Gobble up.  Yum.