Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

This is seriously amazing. Here's the original recipe (which I found on Pinterest, linked to HERE.). I, of course, changed it pretty drastically; I'll put my change-comments after the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup water

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

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Okay, the first major change was that we were doing this for 15 or so people. So, we took advantage of good pork butt prices at Sam's and got one of those huge packs that has 2 butts in it. It was... a lot heavier than the loin the recipe calls for (roughly 7x, I think). Because it was SO much heavier, I didn't measure the seasonings, and just threw some on until it looked approximately right. I believe I also chose to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

That get's it ready to cook. At this point I realized I got it started too late, so I threw the butts into a roaster pan, put water in the bottom, and put it, covered, into a 400* oven. They stayed in for several hours, with the oven eventually being turned down to 350*. About an hour before dinner, we required the oven space for other dishes, so we pulled the pork out and left it covered. As we were getting everything on the table, we put the pork back into the oven to warm up; this time I left it uncovered.

At this point I realized that I'd forgotten to make the glaze, much less use it... So, I threw it together (increasing as needed, aka, a ton!), and we used it more like a gravy. It was DELICIOUS!

We ended up only eating one of the pork butts, so we sliced the other one up, and put it into a crock pot with some of the left-over glaze/gravy. It was still very delicious when we had it for lunch at church a couple days later!

Basil Tomato Soup

• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 18 fresh basil leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter 

In a large saucepan, bring the tomatoes and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil and sugar. Reduce heat to low, stir in cream and butter. Cook until butter is melted.

Serves 9

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This is one of our favorites! It's easy, delicious, and it doesn't take long to make. When we double it, we still just put 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of whipping cream, but we add a can of tomato paste. (And double everything else.)


Also, we don't put sugar in it. Play around with it...it'll turn out awesome. :)

Chicken and Rice Soup

Found this recipe HERE. I think I posted another chicken and rice soup on here before, but this one's a lot different.

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4" pieces

• 1 Tbs Emeril's Essence or Creole Seasoning

• 1 Tbs olive oil

• 2 cups diced onions

• 1 1/2 cups diced carrots

• 1 1/2 cups diced celery

• 1 Tbs minced garlic

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

• 2 quarts chicken stock/broth, plus more if needed

• 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

• 1 5-oz bag prewashed spinach

Place the chicken in a medium bowl, season with the Essence or Creole seasoning, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a 6-quart or larger soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, basil, salt, and crushed red pepper, and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the broth and rice, cover the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the rice is just tender, about 12 minutes.

Stir in the spinach, and serve immediately.

NOTE: If you have cooked white rice on hand, omit the uncooked rice and simply stir in a bout 1 1/2 cups cooked rice just before you add the spinach.

YIELD: 3 1/2 quarts, 6-8 servings

The only changes I made to this was to probably season the chicken a bit more and use kale instead to spinach. Because kale seems to be a bit tougher than the packaged spinach, I decided to add it in earlier. I put it in right before I put the rice in. It was really good, and went over well. It made a lot even though it says 6-8 servings. I think we only ate about half of it.

Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce

I fixed this last night after finding it on THIS site, and it is delicious!

You can peel the garlic if you want too, of course.

Ingredients:

• 1 4lb whole chicken, cut into eight pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2-3 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated (40-ish cloves) but not peeled
• Olive oil
• 1 ¼ cup of dry white wine
• 3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon
• 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions:

1. Lightly mash garlic cloves with the side of a heavy chef's knife, just enough to break the cloves. Leave the peel on.

2. Trim the chicken pieces of excess fat. Pat them dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in Dutch oven (or large thick-bottom pan with a tight-fitting cover) on medium high. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Lay the chicken pieces in the hot oil, do not move until browned, then turn over to other side using tongs. Remove from pan when browned.

3. Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 180°F for thighs, and 170°F for breasts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken pieces to a platter; spoon garlic sauce over the chicken.

Serves 4-6

Buttermilk Pancakes

Okay, now for the pancakes. :)

• 3 cups soft white wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and buttermilk and gently mix. Pour onto griddle or skillet. Let bake and then flip over.

We always double the recipe; a regular batch serves about 5 people. I like to make several bags of the dry ingredients and then store them in the freezer so that when we want pancakes all we have to do is add the eggs and buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk, just mix equal amounts of milk and yogurt. We also like to add either chopped pecans or fresh blueberries for variation. (Is that better, Laura?) :D

Vidalia Onion Chicken

• Chicken Breasts
• Olive Oil
• Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing
• Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour olive oil in bottom of 9x13 in. pan (or smaller, depending on number of chicken breasts). Place chicken in pan and spread dressing on top, covering well. Sprinkle bread crumbs to cover. Cook in oven 30min or until done and bread crumbs are slightly brown. Enjoy!


This is one of my favorite dinners! I can have it made in about thirty minutes; it's so easy and everybody loves it! Hope you enjoy it as well!

Honey and Apple Cider Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless pork roast
salt and pepper
6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (optional)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

Trim roast well, then rub with salt and pepper. Combine apple cider, brown sugar, and ginger. Place the apples and roast in the slow cooker and cover with cider mixture. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 325F. Remove roast from slow cooker and place in roasting pan.

Mix the honey, molasses, and mustard together and spread over the roast.

Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes.

Slice and serve hot with apples on the side.

Yield: 6 servings

I made this a while back, and it was delicious! We didn't have any Dijon mustard on hand though, so I substituted honey mustard for it. It worked very well!

I got this recipe HERE.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 3 LB beef round steak, cut into strips
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 10-1/2 oz. beef broth or beef consumme
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup flour
• hot buttered noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 3 TBLS. fresh minced parsley

Preparation:
Combine 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper, and dry mustard; toss with steak strips to coat thoroughly. Place coated steak strips in crockpot. Stir in onions slices and mushrooms. Add beef broth and wine. Stir well. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Just before serving, combine sour cream with 1/4 cup flour. Stir into crockpot. Serve stroganoff over hot buttered noodles, and garnish with minced parsley.

~Trish

Green Chile Chicken Casserole

Again, I can't take credit for this recipe as it's another one of my grandmother's.

1 1/3 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

1 cup canned chopped green chiles, drained

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup fat-free sour cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (10 1/2 oz) cans condensed 98% fat-free cram of chicken soup, undiluted

1 garlic clove, minced

24 (6 inch) corn tortillas ( I used 20 and if I make it again, I'd use 16)

4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)

2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup soup mixture in a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture, and top with 1 cup chicken and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 12 servings

~Kaliste~

Goulash

INGREDIENTS:
Bacon
Corn
Tomatoes
Bell Pepper
Onion
Okra
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Most of the ingredients could be optional, such as the bell pepper and/or onions. If you don't like a certain ingredient, leave it out (unless of course you don't like corn. I don't know what you could use in place of it, though). But if you wish to prepare a country goulosh like we do it, feel free to try it something like this:

1. Take a fairly deep pot (the size of it depends on the amount of food that you plan to cook).
2. In this pot, fry a bit of bacon (according only to your family's desire).
3. Remove the bacon, but keep the fat in the pot. In this fat, you may saute a little onion and a little bell pepper (to your family's taste or desire, of course)
4. When this is complete, you may add your tomatoes (however many are wanted) and corn. We generally do one of two things. 1 - take a box or two of corn that we froze in the summer and use them, or 2 - use fresh corn by cutting the corn off of the cobs and scraping the cobs with the back of the knife to get the juice. Either way works very well. Since the bulk of the goulash is the corn, be sure to get quite a bit.(You may want to start preparing your biscuits now, in order to have them ready when the goulash is done. Also, make sure you have the table set and things almost ready for the meal.)
5. As soon as you are ready to serve the meal, you may add fresh, sliced okra and the bacon that you fried earlier. Make sure that the bacon is torn in small enough pieces that, if you have little ones eating it, they can handle it as well.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Your biscuits should be ready and the drinks poured. Set the butter on the table and ring the dinner bell.

I give all credit to my gradmother and Mama for this delicious recipe. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Pepperoni Macaroni

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) pizza
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 package (3 1/2 oz) sliced pepperoni, halved
1 jar (4 1/2 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzerella cheese


Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain macaroni. In a large bowl, combine pizza sauce, tomato sauce and milk. Stir in sausage mixture, macaroni, pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives.
Transfer to a greased 13in.x9in.x2in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Yield: 8-10 servings


~Kaliste~