Pork and Peanut Skillet

This was another one of those meals where I found the ingredient combination too zany not to try. Parsnips, Raisins, Pork Peanuts, Rice and Curry... sounded crazy to me, but it turned out tasty indeed. I also loved that it was a one pot meal and it was ready in under an hour. My son wasn't crazy about it, but both my husband and I enjoyed it immensely. I forgot to take a photo of my meal, so I have included the photo from the Betty Crocker Website... looks great, hey?

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Easy Ham Pot Pie and Banana Bread (with Cauliflower)

Tonight's meal came about because I had a tube of refrigerated biscuits and some ham steaks. Those coupled with broccoli and Cheez Whiz was all this "recipe" needed. And it tasted exactly like you would imagine. I highly doubt this meal will ever make another appearance. 

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On a side note I was able to FINALLY make that Banana Bread from Jessica Seinfeld's Book - Deceptively Delicious that has cauliflower puree in it from Week 4 Meal Plan. It turned out great; Really moist and yummy! You can get a tiny hint of the veggie in the after taste but if you don't know it's in there you could never tell. The only issue is that it didn't rise really high for me, so it is quite dense, but tasty none the less.

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Barley Ricotta Cabbage Rolls

Honestly if you have the time, try this recipe it is a remarkable twist on an old favourite comfort food. This was the first time I have ever made honest-to-goodness cabbage rolls and I do have a new found respect for anyone who makes/made real cabbage rolls and now understand why there are so many "fast cabbage roll casserole" recipes. This recipe was majorly labour intensive, but worth every second. SO Fabulous!! The flavours were incredible and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. I made a few "meat logs" without the cabbage for my sons and that was a hit. There are left overs for lunch today and I am pretty excited to see how they taste the next day. You can also make this as a freezer meal so I think next time that I have some time I will make a double batch and put them in the freezer. 

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Pineapple-Picante Stir fried Pork with Cabbage

When I was looking up recipes for this week's meal plan, I came across this recipe and the ingredient combination sounded so bizarre to me that I just had to give it a whirl. And you know what? I REALLY enjoyed it! I am the kind of person who LOVES trying new things and some times it really pays off! (Some times not so much) I would NEVER have guessed to mix Picante Sauce and pineapples and combine it with cabbage, but it works great and it is quite filling too. (Not to mention super quick) I definitely recommend it if you are in the mood for something a little off the beaten track.

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New Orleans Grilled Pork and Beans and Puree Prep

I have one word for this meal.. meh... I decided to roast the tenderloin rather than grill and they did turn out very moist and tender, but the sauce left lots to be desired. My son gobbled up all his meat, but he also dipped it in BBQ sauce. With the meat not being cooked on the grill, I opted to cook the bean mixture in a pot on the stove. It was tasty, but so is a plain tin of beans in tomato sauce without all the additions. This meal MIGHT taste better cooked on the grill outside, but I doubt it. It's kind of a bummer that this did not turn out as well as I hoped because I want to find a good recipe that incorporates beans in tomato sauce.

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Now onto my Puree Prep. Some of you may recall that I received a copy of Deceptively Delicious and that I was going to blog about my veggie concealing journey. You may wonder why I spending so much time on this one book; it's because you have to think about your eating habits, look at all the recipes you want to cook and prep for them before you can even think about making them otherwise you'll spend a lot of time prepping daily.

Today I decided to prep a bunch of the required purees and have them ready in my freezer for when I start to make the recipes that I want to try. In 2 short hours I was able to prep, chop, steam, roast, microwave, blend and puree 28 - 1/2 cup portions of different veggies. Very Important - DO NOT OVER COOK THE VEG! You'll lose lots of the nutrients.

I ended up with 4 peas, 5 sweet potato, 6 carrots, 5 cauliflower, 2 zucchini, and 6 broccoli: plenty to start! I purchased the Ziplock brand "100 Calorie Snack Bags" (they work PERFECT) and wrote the type of veg on the bag with a Sharpie. I measured 1/2 Cup portions into each bag and then once they were cool, I sealed them and placed them by type into larger Ziplock bags and popped them in the freezer. Now I'm good to go to the next step - Listing the recipes I can't wait to try then start the deception. :)

Cheese, Brown Sugar and Kid's Scissors

Hello! It's time to catch up!

All the meals so far this week have not had recipes per say, I just make them out of my head and they vary each time. 

Tonight's meal was Sugar Ham, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli. For the Ham I mixed brown sugar, Dijon mustard and a little maple syrup and then poured the mixture over smoked ham that I had roughly chopped in 2 bite sized chunks. The Scalloped potatoes are made in a casserole dish which are alternating layers of (1) thinly sliced potatoes, (2) shredded cheddar, finely diced onions with dollops of Velveeta, and (3) a mixture of cheddar cheese soup mixed with sour cream, milk and water. I cover and bake my scalloped potatoes for about 1 1/2 hour at 350*. It's a slow process, but this meal is DELICIOUS. Not the most healthy, so I served a tossed salad on the side. 

My son and I also made a fun winter craft. A scissor skill pair of mittens. My son had a blast with this and I just kept drizzling the glue and letting him pile the bits of tissue paper and then we added a few sparkly "snow flakes" on top. It was easy and a lot of fun and it's nice to add a dash of colour and sparkle to the house after all the Christmas Decorations have been taken down. BTW - child safe scissors are key!

If you get a chance to make this craft share a photo on my Facebook page! :) 

-Jill

Straw and Hay Pasta

YUMMO!!! This pasta dish is simplistic and oh so tasty! A HUGE winner all around and a real crowd (child) pleaser!  I blended some up for my infant, chopped some up for my preschooler and had it straight up for my husband and I and everyone licked their plates clean! Honestly I think you should put this on your meal plan next week and give it a try! I'm thinking this may be a good freezer meal too and I might try it in my big cook that I am planning before my return to work. 

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DIY Chocolate Truffles

My photos never seem to do the food justice!

Last night we had company for dinner and I served Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout with Crusty Bread and an easy Tossed Salad (Mescalin Greens, Almonds, Flax Seeds, Craisins, Raspberries, Sugar Snap Peas with a Poppy Seed Dressing).

For Dessert we had Jaime Oliver's DIY Chocolate Truffles. While I was making it the other day I noticed that the Dark Chocolate was a little bitter (I used 85% Cocoa Lindt Chocolate), so I drizzled White Chocolate and Butterscotch on top - that helped tone it down a bit. Needless to say dessert was DECADENT to say the least. I served the Truffles with crushed Hazelnuts, crushed Almonds, shredded Coconut and Skor bits to roll the Truffles in and my Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti to spread it on (which DID freeze well by the way). It was a exquisite and super fun dessert buffet great for a dinner party and it goes well with Red Wine, Dessert Wine, Tea or Coffee; so very versatile and can please any palate.

-Jill

Now onto next week's meal plan - it's a doozy! 

Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout

Tonight's recipe came courtesy of a friend of mine who made this for me last week. It was so awesome that I hurried home and made it for my family. It turned out wonderful! She had used a very special spicy sausage that added a great zip. I had to think of the wee ones, so I opted for less spicy a sausage and it turned out tasty anyway. I served this over a bed of rice, but I bet if you just serve it with a salad and a crusty roll to sop up the juice it would be a really great meal too.

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P.S. - Did you happen to see my "bonus post" this afternoon? Today was Kathy of JAX Does Design's Bake-n-Blog; Holiday Edition - check it out! :)

Italian Sausage and Potato Bake

The flavour of the potatoes was AMAZING and I will definitely use that ingredient combo sometime in the future, but, well this meal was a lot of work! I am not too sure why it was such a laborious meal, I think my timing was off and I was just not "feeling" it... It took me 1 1/2 hours to make supper tonight and honestly the end result was not really worth it to me. Essentially this was sausage with scalloped potatoes. But hey, it might work out great for you so give it a try and see what I mean about the potatoes. Just make sure you do it on a night where you have lots of time!

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Baked Ham and Pineapple with Orange Mustard Sauce

Well, a SUPER easy meal and you don't have to worry about under cooking the ham as the recipe calls for a fully cooked ham to begin with! The sauce had just the right amount of tang and a hint of sweetness.  Really not much to report - this is a pretty standard ham dish that makes it to our table every once and a while. The Scalloped Potatoes are a Cheesy personal recipe that I hold near and dear, sorry... no family secrets will be revealed tonight! 

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Roasted Chickpea Snack and BBQ Flavoured Pork Strips

A great healthy and wholesome snack... when you DON'T eat the WHOLE bowl in one sitting! I seriously couldn't stop snacking! These are delicious and have a wonderful crunch. I would suggest one thing, really spice them up. I thought there might be too much spice in the recipe and I found once you roast them, it disappears. So add spice and when you think there's too much, add some more for good measure. 

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Supper tonight consisted of BBQ Flavoured Pork Strips and they were not bad. They didn't end up being as crispy as I hoped and the flavour was "meh". As I watched them bake I thought they looked a little dry so I whipped up a batch of my special BBQ sauce - no real recipe, just ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, chili powder, pepper and garlic. It was a nice accompaniment to the pork and picked it up a bit as the meat did turn out a wee bit lacking. It has potential, so give it a try - I think next time I will use Panko crumbs instead of Rice Krispies though. 

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Oops... No Chicken so we had Toad Instead!

I had to do a meal switchero because in my infinite wisdom I realized that I didn't have any chicken breasts, so we had Toad in the Hole tonight instead. An easy one pan meal that is so warm and "homey". I always make it with steamed carrots and cabbage on the side and when we eat it I feel like we are living in a cabin or camping. It does take forever to cook (1 hour) but it is so tasty that I forgive it for that. This meal has been made many times in our house and will be made many more down the road. AND the three year old LOVES it - bonus!

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Slow Cooker Ribs and Stuffed Pumpkin Craft

 

3 "Reallys" ~ Really tasty, really easy, and really tender. The meat was fall off the bone delicious and the sauce was amazing even though it was only BBQ Sauce and Catalina Dressing. I love finding easy and yummy combinations that I normally would never have thought of.  I will be making this meal again for sure - it was such a comforting and warm meal and a great way to use up the "odd and end bits" of the baby back ribs. (We always trim off all the ends and package them up together in a freezer bag for meals such as this). 

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Now onto this week's craft... it was a two day extravaganza because my son used so much paint that it took HOURS to dry so we finished it up while we waited for supper. The fun of this was I was able to teach him about mixing colours as we made our orange and green, then we did a side project and made purple too. He thought that was pretty cool. It was a lot of fun and they are easy enough to make multiple to decorate the house (because they are rather small). My son drew the Jack'o'Lantern face; his first attempt at a happy face! :) He is very proud of it and his "Halloween" is now hanging in his bedroom. 

Instructions

Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Apple Wedges and Sweet Potato Mash

So tonight's meal was supposed to be my final meal from my "Meals from Blogland" Meal Plan, courtesy of Just Another Mom of 2 but after reading the reviews on the recipe I decided against making the Crock Pot Stuffing Pork Chops - no offense - I was just a little worried of it not turning out as my Mother in Law was coming for dinner. So I opted for making a meal that I had put on my Magazine Meal Plan and had been able to make.

It was a lot of work and dirtied a lot of pots and pans, but even though my kitchen was a MESS it turned out great and tasted delicious. It would make an extravagant meal for company on a cozy Autumn night. It had just the right amount of sweetness without giving you a cavity. It's a little too much work for me for just a regular meal, but I would definitely make it again if company was coming and maybe finish it off with a nice Apple Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce.

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"Magazine Meal Plan"

Penne with Cheesy Tomato Sausage Sauce

Well, this is the first meal of my Betty Crocker Meal Plan that did not live up to it's "to the table" time allotment. Recipe says 25 minutes to table - we were 35 minutes, which is not horrible as I wanted to sauce to simmer a bit to blend the flavours. 

My husband had picked up hot and spicy sausage so I was worried that my son would not like the heat, so I added a little brown sugar to the sauce as well as about 3/4 Cup finely grated zucchini. The sugar was an AWESOME addition with the spicy sausage.

I found out today that our Thanksgiving weekend plans have changed and that we will be having a Ham dinner on Sunday instead of Turkey and I will be cooking a meal on Saturday... still wracking my brain as to what to cook - I was in dessert mode, now I have to shift my thinking. So I will keep you posted as to what I come up with, I'm hoping something classy yet EASY.

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Another No Cook Night ~ Leftover Dirty Rice

We had a busy day of errands and then went to a special 4 year old's Princess Birthday Party. Upon returning home, my husband walked back out the door and went to a hockey game. So I figured cooking the Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sweet Potato Mash might be a bit wasteful for myself and my 3 year old to eat - so we had leftovers. 

I pulled Dirty Rice out of the freezer and it was pretty yummy the second time around although the rice itself is definitely better made fresh.

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Dirty Rice

I have always been curious about Dirty Rice, but it was something I always overlooked when I was searching for a recipe for a meal plan, until last Monday. I found this recipe and it sounded delicious (and it IS SUPER delicious). Funny story though, halfway through cooking this meal, I realized that the recipe was not complete. SO I had to make a meal that I had never made before somewhat on the fly - here are my changes...

~ I used a Red Bell Pepper, not Green

~ I added about 1 tsp of Cinnamon at the same time as the rest of the spices

~ No Annatto Powder (the grocer wasn't even sure what that was)

~ I added the Chicken Broth to the rice at the same time as the water

~ About 5 minutes before the Rice was cooked I added the Black Beans, Sausage, Pine nuts, and Tomatoes

~ I let it rest about 5 minutes before serving

~ I added some shredded Cheddar Cheese to the top (of course) and only squeezed on Lime    Juice before serving, not as it was cooking.

Now, I'm not to sure if this can be called "Authentic" Dirty Rice, but it was SO awesome that I would recommend this one pot meal to everyone - even my son loved it. And it made a HUGE pot full, so lots of leftovers to be frozen for another time!! :-)

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Pork Chops with Fruit Relish Review

This was a wonderful autumn meal full of fruit, and spice. The pork chops turned out great (I had to cook a little longer than suggested) There was a little too much Thyme for my taste (which is saying a lot because I love Thyme!) I would scrap the Thyme in the Fruit Relish and just have it on the chops. The baked Sweet Potato with Cinnamon butter was AMAZING! Just bake it like a regular Potato (mine took an hour in the oven) and top with Butter and sprinkle with Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice. So simple, yet SO GREAT!

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Thai Style Pork

This was a good slow cooker meal, we all finished our plates, but we also drank 2 glasses of water each because I must say it is SALTY. The base of the sauce is Teriyaki Sauce, so that is probably why. Definitely DO NOT add any salt.

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