Caity Sue's Garlic Chive Carrots

Caity Sue's Garlic Chive Carrots

1 bag baby carrots
1/4 cup butter
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, sliced thin

Steam carrots and set aside. In pan over medium heat, melt butter, add garlic and green onions and saute for a few minutes. Add carrots to the mixture and toss thoroughly.

These have always been a HUGE hit with the family and anyone who tried them. Even people who don't like carrots love these!

Trying yet another new recipe tonight!

Tonight we are going to have Baked Breast of Chicken Excelsior. It's another new dish we are trying. I've been in a mood lately to try new things. Here is the recipe - I'll let you know how it turns out.

Baked Breast of Chicken Excelsior

8 oz chicken breast halves, boned & skinned
1/2 cup butter, melted
garlic salt, to taste
1 tsp paprika
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/2 cup sherry or broth (I use San Antonio Winery sherry)
8 oz canned mushroom pieces
dash of pepper

Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt to taste. Mix together melted butter, paprika and lemon juice. Brush chicken well with butter mixture and place in shallow baking pan. Bake, tented with foil, for about 30 minutes or until tender, brushing with remaining butter mixture occasionally to keep chicken from drying out. In a bowl, blend together sour cream, sherry or broth, mushrooms and pepper. Pour over chicken and back for 15 more minutes.

UPDATE: This was FANTASTIC!!! My MIL and DH raved about it - it was just the 3 of us tonight for dinner. I think when Doug gets home and eats dinner, this dish will move into his "Top 5". His "Top 5" favorites are constantly changing anymore! lol I like dishes that taste like you spent a lot of time cooking when in reality, they are pretty simple. Next time I make this I think I will add thin slices of Monterey Jack cheese to the top of the chicken for the last 15 minutes as well.

Trying another new recipe!

Tonight I am going to try another new recipe!! I will post the recipe and then, after dinner tonight, I will let you know how it turned out!

Pork Diane

1 TBSP water
1 TBSP white wine Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
4 boneless pork top loin chops, cut 3/4 - 1" thick
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 TBSP butter

For sauce: In a small bowl stir together the water, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and mustard; set aside. Trim fat from chops. Sprinkle both sides of chops with lemon-pepper seasoning. In a 10" skillet cook chops in hot butter over medium heat for 8-12 minutes or until chops are done (160 degrees F), turning once. Remove from heat. Transfer chops to a serving platter; cover and keep warm. Pour sauce into skillet. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Pour sauce over chops. Makes 4 servings.

UPDATE: The family LOVED this meal!! I got many, many compliments on it, so it's definitely a "do again". Doug kept raving about it, as did my MIL. My hubby said he really liked it as well. Too bad Jake wasn't home to try it. I actually doubled this recipe because I made 7 chops. AND I added another 2 TBSP of butter to the sauce at the end.

Eastern Beef Casserole

Well I have been a TOTAL slacker. I should probably give you several recipes to make up for my lack of posting. I have just been CRAZY busy. Actually, I should be doing other things right now, but I have missed blogging and really wanted to get to that today.

This recipe is a childhood favorite of mine! My mother got the recipe from her sister, who was my FAVORITE aunt! So this recipe is extra-special. It couldn't be simpler and my husband just LOVES it, as do the boys...and my very picky 91 year old mother-in-law!

This note was added 9-23-12: For the story of my precious aunt, look for her Lazy Jane Casserole recipe I posted on 10-4-10. RIP, Aunt Gail. I love you so much!

Eastern Beef Casserole
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
3/4 cup rise, uncooked
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
2 3/4 cups boiling water
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1 lb ground beef
3/4 tsp salt

Add 3/4 cup rice and 3/4 tsp salt to 2 3/4 cups boiling water (DO NOT COOK RICE!!). Cover rice and turn off the stove. Brown ground beef with onions and celery. Mix everything together in a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. ENJOY!

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Here is another favorite recipe!! I made this for a co-worker and now she's always wanting me to make it for her! lol

Chicken and Pork Adobo

1 package drumettes or 2 lbs legs and thighs (I really prefer the drumettes but you can use chicken thighs & legs - but they're just too big for this dish, in my opinion)
1 boneless pork roast, cut into 1" cubes
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 TBSP salad oil

In a bowl, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the salad oil. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning meats occassionally.

Remove meats from marinade and pat dry; reserve marinade. Heat the oil in a 5-quart kettle (DO NOT USE CAST IRON) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning until browned on all sides; remove from kettle and set aside. Add pork to kettle and cook, stirring occassionally, until browned. Pour in marinade. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2o minutes. Return chicken to kettle; simmer, covered, until meat near thighbone is no longer pink when slashed (40-45 minutes). Transfer both meats to a platter. Skim and discard fat from sauce; also discard the peppercorns and bay leaf. Increase heat to high. Bring sauce to a boil, then simmer rapidly until sauce is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Pour over the meats and serve with rice.

I will sometimes marinate the meat anywhere from 4-24 hours, if I've planned my dinner well enough in advance. When you reduce the sauce the flavor gets so much richer. So good!!

San Francisco Style Pork Chops

San Francisco Style Pork Chops - A HUGE hit with the family!!!

4 pork chops
black pepper
garlic powder
1 tsp oil (I use vegetable oil)

SAUCE
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsps oil (I use vegetable oil)
4 TBSP dry sherry - Use a good sherry - I use the San Antonio winery brand
4 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP water

Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside. Season pork chops with pepper and garlic powder. Saute in hot oil until brown on both sides. Pour sauce over chops. Cover tightly and simmer of low heat until chops are tender and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. Add a little water, 1 TBSP at a time, if needed, to keep the sauce from cooking down too much. Turn once, about halfway through the cooking time. This sauce is SO good over mashed potatoes!!

TGIF!!

Well it's time for my weekend!! I will try to catch up tomorrow with a couple of recipes. Needless to say I don't cook on the days I work and don't have time to blog. I am going to the Dentist first thing in the morning, then to my hairdressers (goodbye gray hairs! lol) and then a pedicure!! On Saturday I will spend a few hours working at the Fill the Boot for the Burn drive and then off to dinner at Ruth's Chris!! We have late reservations (8:15). I have not eaten there before but have been told it's most excellent!! I can't wait! I will post all about it this weekend.

Crock Pot Beef Tips

Today's recipe is for Crock Pot Beef Tips. I am cooking this as we speak although I haven't tried it yet. It is smelling SO good....so here is the recipe:







Beef Tips

Stew meat (I'm probably using 2.5 lbs or so)
1 envelope onion soup (I am using Mrs. Grass's)
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup red wine
1 can mushrooms (I'm omitting this but would rather use fresh than canned)

Mix all together in crock pot and cook all day on low. Serve over rice or noodles.

Now, here are the changes I made. I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder and browned them in oil first to bring out the flavor of the meat. I also used the red wine to deglaze the pan before adding it to the crockpot. I also doubled the soup & wine but not the soup mix because I had seasoned the meat when I browned it. Also, I didn't start this until 1:00 pm so I am cooking it on high for about 6.5 hours. I will update this post later this evening to let you know how it went!

Update: It was very tasty!!! Everyone agreed that this recipe was a keeper. Next time, I will season the meat just a bit less and I will use 3 cans Golden Mushroom soup and 2 cups wine, and stick with one package of the onion soup mix (I think more than 1 pkg would be overpowering). I used 2 cans soup and 2 cups of red wine, but there was hardly any leftover!!