Pork Bites with Apples

This is a low GI meal and I was really impressed with how filling and yummy it was! The kids even ate some, which is high praise. I served this with steamed fresh green beans, cauliflower, and boiled new potatoes.

2 TB olive oil
1 1/4 lbs lean pork loin, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 C apple juice
2/3 C water
2 crisp eating apples, such as Granny smith, cored and sliced
3 TB chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown pork. Transfer pork to a platter.
2. Add onions to the pan, and brown lightly. Remove onions to the platter and drain any fat from the skillet. Return to heat and stir in lemon rind, apple juice, and water and boil for about 3 minutes. Return pork and onions to the skillet and cook over low to medium heat for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Add apples to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Transfer pork, onions, and apples to a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley.

Best whole wheat bread EVER!!

     Right before I got my fantastic new kitchen aid I decided to venture into bread making. I wanted to make all of our bread and stop spending so much on store bought. I tried two or three different recipes, and they were all ok, but not amazing. When I tried this one I was sold!
     It's 100% whole wheat, but still light and fluffy. It's dense enough that I can cut it thin, but not so heavy that it feels like a stone in your stomach like some of the other ones I tried! It has a lot of ingredients, but one of the things she does is when she makes one batch, she then mixes all the dry ingredients for a few more batches into Ziploc bags. Then when your ready to make more you just get your yeast ready, add the vinegar and butter and dump the mix in. Easy peasy! I've been making this for about a month now and I still think it's worth all the effort. I'll link to her video too so you can see how she makes it if your not familiar with bread baking. It helped me a ton! Also I usually double this because my family goes through two loaves of bread in a week.
     Making it by hand was tough, but not impossible. However, with a mixer to do all the work for you this recipe is down right simple! Just one more reason to love my hubby! :)

Easy whole wheat bread (1 loaf)

slightly adapted from everydayfoodstorage.net

1 1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbs active dry yeast
1/4 C 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs nonfat non instant dry milk
1 Tbs butter
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 C potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)

1. Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes.
2. Let rise until double, 1-1 1/2 hours.
3. Punch down, roll out into a rectangle. Roll up like a jelly roll and tuck under the ends. Place in lightly greased bread pan and let rise again until double.
4. *Place in cold oven, turn to 350 and bake for 38 minutes. If your not sure if its done, turn onto wire rack and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow.

Here's the video link.

*I don't follow her baking time and temp. I got this from another blog. Melony from melskitchencafe.com has a ton of tips and tricks on her blog. She hasn't failed me yet. She said that no matter what bread recipe she used she always bakes it this way and its always perfect. I've done it the way the recipe calls for and the way Melony suggests and I like the latter much better.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe yesterday and since I had all the veggies it called for sitting in my fridge just begging to be used I decided we'd give it a try. I truly love all the colors and textures and flavors in this soup. It was like a symphony in my mouth. Jared's not a huge fan of veggies, but even he liked this one. Definitely on the dinner rotation through fall!

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

from www.melskitchencafe.com

3 med zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces
4 med tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley (I didn't have any on hand, so I didn't add this)
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbs fresh)
2 Tbs butter
1 med onion, chopped
1/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 C chicken broth
1 tsp lemon juice
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 C frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the flour, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for one minute.
3. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly until fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice and mix well.
4. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it.
5. Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce heat to med-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in cheese just before serving.

Minestrone Soup

This is one of my favorite soups of all time. I love all the veggies I can include and since I keep every thing kind of chunky the kids can pick out the things they like and don't like which is an upgrade from not eating at all!

Minestrone Soup

2 T Olive oil

2 Potatoes cubed

5 Carrots, chopped

4 stalks of celery leaves and all, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic depending on your tastes

1 15 oz can of kidney beans

1 sm can tomato paste

1 lg can petite diced Italian tomatoes

2 cans or 2 C chicken broth

4 C water

2 T chopped fresh basil

2 T chopped fresh oregeno

1 T salt

2 C cooked shell pasta

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Stir potates, carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot. Mix in tomato paste, beans, tomatoes, broth and water.. Season with basil and oregano and salt. Cook and stir 30-40 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Stir in cooked pasta and heat through.

Savory oven baked chicken

I originally started this blog as a way to organize my favorite recipes and be able to exchange them with my mom a little easier. However, I have been a huge slacker and pretty much forgot about this blog unless I needed a copy of a recipe. Then I lost one of my favorites that I got from my MIL. It was the only copy I had and I make this one ALL the time! Luckily I had emailed it to my mom so I dug around my sent mail until I found it. That got my tail in gear! I will probably post a ton of recipes over the next few weeks because I want to get them all down to prevent this close call with disaster from happening again!

Savory Oven Baked Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually use 2-3 and cut them in half so they aren't as thick and will cook faster)

2 T finely chopped parsley, basil or oregano

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/2 C dried bread crumbs

2 t finely chopped or pressed garlic (I usually do 2-4 cloves, but I really like garlic)

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 C butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375

Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, pepper, and salt in shallow bowl.

Combine butter and garlic in pie plate ( I usually put the pie plate in the oven while its preheating until melted)

Dip one breast at a time into butter mixture; then crumbs mixture, turning to coat evenly.

Place chicken in un-greased 9X13 pan. Drizzle with any remaining butter mixture.

Bake 25-35  minutes, or until chicken is lightly browned and juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

Hot Pockets

I had posted this recipe several months ago, but since then I have made some changes to it and wanted to post my updated version.

1 c  warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
2 Tbs oil, cannola or olive
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
2 1/2 -3 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil. In separate bowl mix salt and sugar and 2 cups of flour. Add yeast mixture. Gradually add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl and forms a ball. I mix this part with a wooden spoon instead of a mixer.

Turn out onto lightly floured counter and knead in remaining flour until it forms a soft and slightly sticky ball. I don't always use all the flour, sometimes I only need 2 cups so try to base it off of the feel of the dough.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Separate dough into 4- portions depending on how big you want them. I usually make 4 big ones for the adults and then 3-4 small ones for the kids. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

Put 1/4- 1/2 cup filling on one side of your circle. Fold over and clamp shut with a fork, or just fold the edge over and pinch closed.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

For the filling you can get pretty creative. Here are a few of the combinations I've done:
Pizza Pockets with pizza sauce, green peppers, pepperoni, cheese and mushrooms.
Cheeseburger Pockets with hamburger, green peppers, cheese and tomato sauce.
Ham and Cheese Pockets for sauce mix 1/2 cup miracle whip or mayo and 2-4 Tbs of dijon mustard. Then add chopped ham, cheese and broccoli. I chop up the broccoli and nuke it in the microwave for about a minute just to get it partially cooked.

Jack 'o Lantern Chicken Pot Pie

I found this recipe on everyday food storage when I had no groceries left and had no idea what to make. I knew when I went to her site that I'd find something I could make because her recipes all revolve around using your food storage...and that was about all I had left! I confess I did run to the store for a pie crust, I'm not that brave yet. It turned out SO yummy, I modified it a bit because I like my food really heavy on the vegetables, but make sure if you do that you beef up the liquids too or it'll end up really dry. I made one in a regular pie plate and I made a few in some little ceramic cups I got from my grandma. No idea what they're called, but they sure are handy! My girls loved having their own personal little jack 'o lantern. Enjoy!

jack 'o lantern chicken pot pie

slightly modified from everydayfoodstorage.net

4 med potatoes, diced

1 med onion, diced (I used dehydrated)

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth (i use bullion)

1 cup half and half (I used canned milk)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 8 oz can of corn

4 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (I used canned chicken)

a pie crust

1-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2-If using raw chicken, boil it in water (I boil it in extra chicken broth) for 15 to 20 minutes until white. Let cool, then chop or shred.

3- Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes.

4- Add flour to sauteed mixture, stirring well. Cook one minute, stirring constantly.

5- combine 2 cups broth and half and half

6- gradually stir into vegetable mixture and add DRAINED can of corn

7- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.

8- Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well. Pour into shallow 2 quart dish (or divide between personal sized ramekins) and top with pie shell. Cut in slits for the steam to escape, just little lines around the face to make it look like a pumpkin.

9-Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through. (the 6 little ones cooked for about 35-40 minutes)