HAPPY FRIDAY!

Happy Friday!!  I hope you are planning some yummy and healthy meals for your family this weekend.  With Thanksgiving approaching, plan to get your family members involved in preparing the foods that are a part of your family's history.  Your children need to hear of  their relatives and their exploits in the kitchen.  Or you can create a legacy for your family by originating recipes that they can tell your grandchildren about.  Either way---get those kids in the kitchen and teach them how to cook!   They will thank you later (as will their spouses) when they can have confidence and joy in the kitchen.
Remember to use this blog like a cookbook.  Look at the earlier posts (beginning in September of 2011)  to get inspiration or to try out something you haven't made in a while-- or use the "search" bar to look up something specific.  God bless you today and everyday!

BAKED GINGER PORK LOIN CHOPS

            

I love to use freshly grated ginger in recipes, so last night I made pork loin chops baked with ginger.  I hope you will enjoy making this for your family.  Serve the chops with the ginger sauce over your favorite rice or grits.  Delicious!

Ingredients:

4 pork loin chops

Ground ginger

Kosher salt

Black pepper

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

½ cup ginger ale (or water)

1/3 cup finely grated fresh ginger (I used a microplane)

¼ cup heavy cream (or milk if you prefer)

Instructions:

*Sprinkle chops with ginger, salt and pepper.

*Heat olive oil and butter in a sauté pan. Just use olive oil if you prefer.

*Brown chops slightly in the oil and butter mixture.

*Place the browned chops in a pyrex baking dish, sprayed with PAM.

*Stir the ginger ale and the fresh ginger into the pan drippings and reduce the mixture to create a sauce by turning the heat to medium high and stirring mixture for about 4 minutes.

*Pour hot mixture over chops and place baking dish in the oven.

*Bake the pork chops for 30 to 40 minutes until they reach desired doneness.

*Remove the chops onto a serving plate.

*Pour the baking dish drippings into a sauté pan and add cream, if using.

*Heat sauce on medium high heat until sauce thickens slightly.

*Pour over chops and serve.

VINEGAR COLE SLAW

            

This is a great recipe that is similar to my Grandmother’s vinegar-based cole slaw.  It goes beautifully with fried chicken, pork barbeque, fish or beef roast.  Do you have some recipes that  you remember from your Grandmother?  If so, share them with me---I’d love to try them.

Ingredients:

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 t. mustard seeds

1 t. celery seeds

½ t. Salt

1 t. Black pepper

¼- ½    cup mayonnaise (alter amount based on how much  cabbage you use—the mayonnaise is added just to bind slaw together a bit and to add to the creaminess—but don’t add too much.)

1 small head of green cabbage (or more)—finely shredded

½ cup shredded carrots

Instructions:

*In a saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mustard and celery seeds. Stir and let boil for 1 minute.

* Remove from heat and let mixture cool. 

*Add desired amount of mayonnaise.

*Toss with shredded cabbage until cabbage is coated.

*Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Addition:

Add ¼ cup finely shredded beets to add tangy sweetness to the slaw—it also makes your slaw turn pink!

BANANA-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

             

Here’s a recipe that is sure to become a “regular” at your house!  These muffins are addictive.  Leave off the chocolate chips and/or add nuts if you prefer.  I usually make these and put half in the freezer for those days when someone needs a snack on the go.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

½ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

½ t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

¾ cup semisweet chocolate mini-morsels

Instructions:

Place cupcake liners into muffin tins (this recipe makes 24 small muffins or 20 large muffins).

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Mash the bananas with a fork and stir into mixture.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients, gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until blended.  Stir in morsels.  Spoon batter into lined muffin tins or 9x5x3 inch loaf pan (I have also used a bundt cake pan).  Bake at 350 degrees (for 1 hour if using loaf pan) until done.

These muffins freeze well.

CHILI

    

Here’s a great Fall recipe.  My Mother and Grandmother made this delicious chili (with a few variations) throughout my whole life.  I am so blessed to have been exposed to the beautiful legacy of the art of preparing fresh, from scratch-- family meals.  I’m very thankful and I hope that my children will continue what my Grandmother (and her Mother before her) started by teaching their children how to cook and have fellowship in the kitchen.  Have fun!

Ingredients:

2 to 3 lbs. Lean ground  beef

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3 large cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce (or make your own sauce from fresh tomatoes)

1 large can diced tomatoes (or fresh)

1 to 2 cans small Navy beans (or use dry beans that have been soaked and then cooked)

3 T. chili powder

3 t. black pepper

¼ cup sugar

Instructions:

*Saute ground beef and onion until beef is browned and onions are translucent.

Drain and rinse in hot water.

*Combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, navy beans and seasonings in a large heavy pot.  Add meat mixture to the sauce and beans.

*Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for at least one hour on very low heat.

*Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.  Add more chili powder, hot sauce, red pepper flakes or Rotel tomatoes to make chili more spicey.

*As you serve, add your favorite chili toppings (sour cream, fritos, sharp cheese, etc.).

----BREAKING NEWS----

---BREAKING NEWS---BREAKING NEWS---BREAKING NEWS---BREAKING NEWS---

I’ve been sharing recipes and cooking tips with you for a year now.  It’s been so much fun to post tried and true family treasures as well as  new recipes that I’ve developed for my family.  In the new “blog year” I will still bring you recipes that you can use every day and those you can make for special occasions, however I won’t be posting them every day.  I’ll be mixing it up a bit—some weeks will have more postings than others.   There might even  be a video mixed in now and then.

 I will also be expanding the posts to include information that I feel will be useful to you concerning cooking methods and explanations about ingredients choices.  This is an opportunity for you to get involved.  I’d love to hear from you to know of subjects (specific or general) that you would like for me to address.  The blog will be more valuable to you if I know of areas you are interested to learn more about.  We can even branch out a bit into the areas of decorating (tablescapes, flowers, Christmas Trees, etc.) if you would like. Hearing from you is very important to me---so think about how this blog can serve you in a more effective way and send me a message.  Also remember to search the blog for recipes from my previous posts.  You may see a recipe you haven’t tried yet.  Thank you so much for reading the blog and for trying out my recipes.  My hope for you remains that you will cook with confidence and joy as you prepare meals for your family!