honey garlic pork chops

I found this recipe via Pinterest, and while I have had some bad calls finding recipes that way, I figured this one was fool proof (who can go wrong with soy sauce, honey and garlic?).  Luckily, my instincts proved right.  The pork was delicious!  We had friends over who also have a couple of kids, and all people - little and big - were going to town on it!  Not one speck of leftovers!  It was yum.  I altered the recipe a bit and will post my altered recipe below (the original recipe is here).  I will definitely be making this again!



RECIPE: Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Ingredients:
3/4 c. honey
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 heads of garlic (or about 18 cloves), minced
6 center-cut pork chops (about 3.5lbs total)

Directions:
In a small glass mixing bowl, mix together honey, soy sauce and minced garlic.  Stir until well combined.  Divide the mixture in half, pouring each half into its own gallon-sized freezer bag.  Add 3 pork chops to each bag.  Close up the bags and massage the pork a bit, to get the marinade to 'take' well.  Lay the bags flat in the fridge.  Let the pork chops marinate for about 8 hours.

Heat your grill to about medium heat.  Remove pork chops from the marinade and place on the grill.  Grill each chop for about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  Serve warm (with Calrose rice and mixed veggies, perhaps?) and ENJOY!  Mmm.

navajo tacos

First of all, this recipe is dedicated to some framily of ours (family with whom we are also friends):  Thank you, Bart and Katie, for the FryDaddy that made this post possible.  :)


This recipe came about because we had a huge pot of beans (recipe here) that needed eaten and wanted to get creative with them.  We'd been to the Gardener's Market recently and saw some Navajo Tacos.  This led us to think that maybe Navajo Tacos would be delish.  We had initially thought we would use the "pizza/scone dough" we normally use for sopapillas, but we apparently didn't have any- so we used Rhodes Rolls dough instead.... just defrosted them, rolled them out, and fried them up!  It turned out great.  The meal was pretty easy and super yummy.  Give it a try; you'll be glad you did!



RECIPE:  Navajo Tacos


Ingredients:
Rhodes Rolls dough balls, defrosted/risen
pinto beans
onion, diced
tomato, diced
cheddar cheese, grated
lettuce, cut into teeny strips
salsa
(opt) sour cream

Directions:
Roll out the dough into pretty thin, roundish circles.  Fry in hot oil (in FryDaddy if you've got one) until golden.  Remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Top fried bread with beans, onion, tomato, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream (if you have any; we didn't).

And eat.  It's that simple. :)

crock pot pinto beans

Photo credit: http://shimandsons.typepad.com/shimandsons/2007/03/pinto_beans_din.html

I'm not sure what it is, but there's a piece of me that just loves a big ol' pot-o-beans.  It is likely that my parents are to blame.  Growing up, my mom went through a phase (a long one) where every Sunday she would make a big pot of beans and a loaf of delicious homemade bread.  Mmm.  It might seem random to you (it did to my husband) to eat beans as a meal, but we're New Mexicans; it's how we roll.  Anyway, now that I am a mommy myself, I wanted to duplicate that-- not the weekly tradition, necessarily, but just exposing my family/children to the delicious simplicity that is a pot of beans with a side of homemade bread.  And it really is simple.  And delicious.  And the best part is you can make the pot of beans and end up creating several meals out of it (more on that later).  Yum.  Frijoles.  Ole!

RECIPE: Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

4 c. dry pinto beans

1 ham hock (opt)

garlic powder

salt/pepper

Directions:

Before you do anything, sort through the beans and take out any particularly funky/damaged ones as well as any dirt or rocks you come across.  Then rinse the beans well (I put them in a large bowl, cover them with water, swish them all around a bit with my hand, drain, and repeat- a few times).  

You can soak the beans overnight at this point, but it is optional (and who thinks that far in advance, really).  

Put the rinsed and drained beans in the crock pot.  Add your ham hock.  Cover with water (a couple of inches over, probably... the ham hock can poke out a bit, but you're doing a whole pot here so don't skimp). Sprinkle around a bunch of garlic powder and pepper as well as a bit of salt (you don't need much; the ham has enough to share).  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until beans are soft and ham is fully cooked.

Serve alone or top with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, onions, any of that stuff.  That's it!  Enjoy! 

relief society soup

This recipe comes to me from my sister-in-law, Mindy, who got it from my mother-in-law, Julie.  :)  I'm not sure where Julie got it or if it is her original recipe.  Either way, it's nummy.  I had some leftover mashed potatoes that I needed to use up before they went bad and was not in the mood to eat them yet again as plain ol' mashed potatoes {apparently even mashed potatoes can get old after several days}.  So I brainstormed and remembered this soup.  This is my quasi-tweaked version, based on what I had on hand and what sounded good.  But it's still quite delicious!  A good one to remember.

PS.  If you're curious where the name came from, the Relief Society is a women's organization that is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  As part of the society, women serve one another in various ways- among them bringing dinner to others {ie. after a baby is born, or after a loved one dies, or when someone is sick... basically whenever making dinner one's self would be difficult}.  I imagine this was at one time a go-to dinner to whip up for such an occasion.  There's something that says "comfort food" about this, so it'd be appropriate. :)

PS#2.  I used 3 Tbs of bullion and was afraid it would be way too salty.  But I think it must have been a magic touch, because both of my kids loved the soup!  Jolie even had seconds!  Now, my kids are pretty fickle about their food often adore something one day and hate it the next.  But with all things considered, I'm counting this one as a success!



RECIPE: Relief Society Soup

Yield: about 10 (really full) adult servings

Calories: 221

Ingredients:
1 bag (1 lb) frozen cauliflower
1 bag (1 lb) frozen broccoli (chopped is easiest)
2 Tbs chicken bullion granules
1 Tbs Lowry's seasoning
1 stick butter
2 c. potato pearls (I used 2 c. leftover mashed potatoes and 1 c. pearls)
1 c. milk

Directions:
Chop your veggies if necessary.  Add veggies to large soup pot.  Cover with water (about 10 cups).  Add butter, bullion and Lowry's.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer (on med-ish heat) for about 25 minutes, or until veggies are soft.  Smash a bit with a potato masher.  Add potatoes, stir well, and bring to a boil again.  Reduce again, and simmer until potatoes are well-incorporated.  Remove from heat.  Add milk and give a stir.  Then serve!

salsa chicken

photo source: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2011/03/salsa-chicken-slow-cooker.html

I found this recipe via Pinterest and was instantly intrigued.  First, it looked super yummy.  Second, it looked super easy, using ingredients I have already on hand.  And third, it was a crock pot meal.  Love.  The recipe is not at all mine.  I got it from a blog called Chef Mommy.  But I wanted to post it so that I would remember to make it again.  I altered the ingredients a teensy bit to cater to my exact items on hand as well as my general laziness, but that's it.  Mmm.  Yummy.  Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

RECIPE: Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

1.3 lb chicken breast

1 c. salsa

1 c. sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can black beans, drained and rinced

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crockpot.  Stir/whisk sauce together to incorporate {I did this in the crock pot cause I'm just too lazy to dirty another bowl}.  Cover and turn the crock pot on.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6.  Serve over rice, and enjoy!

freezer salsa

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Ashley.  Her recipe called for four times this much, making a HUGE batch.  I did the math and made it a smaller batch.  It still makes a ton.  PLENTY for our little freezer!  We made this last summer and still have a stash of salsa to enjoy.  Mmm.  PS.  This salsa tastes mild when you first make it and more like mild-medium once it's been frozen and thawed.  Pretty tasty!  Enjoy.




RECIPE: Freezer Salsa

Ingredients:
2.5 gal tomatoes
5 jalapeños, seeds removed from all but one
1.5 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs pepper
1/4 c. white vinegar

1 1/4 c. chopped onions
1 1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
2 Tbs (rounded) chopped garlic
6 oz tomato paste
3/4 bunch fresh cilantro, cut up

Directions: 
Add first batch of ingredients to a large pot over high heat.  Once it boils, reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 1-2 hours, stirring often so it won't burn.  Then add the second batch of ingredients, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool a bit.  Then pour into freezer-proof storage containers.  Freeze.  When ready to eat, thaw and enjoy! Yum!