Battered Pork Chops

I've worked at chills for 2 yrs and obviously Ive eaten their food more than just a couple times especially their trademark items. Tonight during my shift I was eating a leftover chicken crisper and I thought to myself, these really are amazing. People order our chicken crispers ALL THE TIME because they really are 'that' good. Lets put it this way: there are certain things on our menu that people go to chills specifically for: Original Chicken Crispers, Fajita Trio, Paradise Pie, Molten Lava Cake, Queso, and southwestern egg rolls. If we run out of any of the last 6 mentioned items, customers get really mad. Last night I made fried pork chops, pioneer woman style, but tonight I wanted to make them chili's style (battered and deep fried.) And Boy am I glad I did!!! They Tasted just as good as I had hoped (just like a Chili's Chicken Crisper, but w/ pork.) And then, like always, to make mine even more super delicious, I added Cheese and gravy!!! I'll post the RECIPE tomorrow. Getting too tired to post it tonight!

Fried Pork Chops

This recipe is a combination of Pioneer Woman, Stolen Moments, and my own modifications. Pioneer Woman's recipe was too bland, too basic. Also it doesnt require you to dredge the chops in cream/buttermilk before coating with flour, which I think is a really essential step. 1st off: it adds moisture to the chops and 2nd: it helps the coating stay on the chops. But I did think the cooking time was more accurate in pioneer woman's recipe. And my recipe (this new modified recipe) calls for boneless chops, whereas both of their recipes calls for bone in chops. I don't really see the point of using bone-in chops. Also I use my own Gravy Recipe. Its soooo Good.

Pan-Fried Pork Chops

4 boneless pork Loin chops
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream or buttermilk
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 T butter
Oil
Gravy
Cheddar Cheese (optional)

Cut Fat off Pork Chops (just the side white part.) Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Dip chops in Cream, making sure to coat both sides. In shallow dish; combine flour, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Meanwhile heat butter and oil in skillet over medium heat. Dredge cream coated pork in the flour mixture. Add the coated chops to the hot skillet. Using tongs to turn, Cook chops 2 minutes per side. (I thought that 4 min total wouldn't be long enough, but if anything, I would have liked them cooked even less. There wasn't any pink whatsoever when I cut into the chop.) Serve pork chops with homemade Gravy (white sauce.) I actually melted a slice of cheese over my pork chop and then poured Gravy over the cheese topped pork chop. But I have to have cheese w/ everything.

white sauce (thick)

I have fallen in love with basic "white sauce" some people call it "béchamel sauce." same thing (or even "white gravy.) Im a total dip/sauce person and this sauce tastes good with EVERYTHING: Mixed with pasta, layered over lasagna, poured over gnocchi, and/or as a sandwich spread or dip. And it only takes 5 minutes to make it.

White Sauce

5 Tablespoon flour
4 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half (3/4 cup for thinner)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt.

Melt butter on Low in small saucepan. Raise heat to med. Add 1.5 T flour and stir constantly with spatula until roux is formed. If roux doesn't form, add 1/2 T more flour. Add milk and stir constantly over medium heat until sauce is thick (takes just a couple minutes, if even that.) Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt. Taste the sauce and add up to 1/8 t more salt if needed.

Homemade Pasta Alfredo

I am one of the most pickiest eaters ever to exist. I really don't try to be but I get grossed out so easily by the slightest mishaps when it comes to food. I go through phases where I eat only one food because nothing else sounds good. The latests example is hot pockets. I would eat philly steak hot pockets every day until a few days ago when I got some weird hard piece of who-knows-what in my hot pocket. I spit it out and from that point forward, I can't even look at hot pockets. Problem is, hot pockets were like the only thing I ate, so you cut out the hot pockets, and now I eat nothing. Whitch obviously isn't gonna work, so lately Ive been looking for a replacement food. Which is why yesterday we whipped up the hootenanny pancakes. And then this morning It was homemade noodles with Alfredo sauce. I saw cream cheese in the fridge and knew of the best alfredo recipe that calls for cream cheese. So I first made the noodle dough and then cooked up the alfredo sauce and then added the uncooked noodles to the alfredo sauce while the sauce was still cooking/thickening and lightly boiled the noodles in the sauce for 9 min. Result: SO Delicious. This just might be my new daily food thing for a while. Only problem, takes a little effort/time. But at least I won't have to starve(: So heres the recipe if you ever want to try it. I promise its really really good.

• Noodles and Alfredo Sauce
• (modified from this recipe)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6oz cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/4 cup dried onion flakes
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded itallian cheese blend
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• salt
• Pasta Dough (recipe below)
• Directions: Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese, onion, and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in cheese, salt, and pepper. Add pasta dough and lightly boil for an additional 9 min. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with extra milk if cooked too long. Sprinkle with extra cheese and salt if desired. 

Pasta Dough

(modified from THIS recipe)
1 egg

1 yolk

3/4 cup flour

Directions: Mix egg and flour till dough forms. Roll out flat onto floured surface and cut into noodles (using a pizza cutter)

Homemade Pasta

This post looks kind of ghetto. Sorry. Homemade noodles (without a pasta maker) don't turn out very pretty looking. But, the taste totally makes up for it. I absolutely Love homemade pasta/noodles. The taste and the texture, totally my thing. This is my favorite recipe. Its easy and works perfect every time.

Homemade Pasta
1 Large egg
1/2 cup flour

Mix egg and flour. Roll out thin on lightly floured surface. Cut into strips Using a pizza cutter. Boil in broth or salted water for 4-7 min.
I got this recipe from Thepioneerwoman.com. Click HERE for a direct link to her recipe. Her instructions are way more elaborate and more clear. So I would advise taking a visit to her site prior to trying out this recipe. Also her pictures are way better than mine(:

Jiffy Pizza

I like Jiffy crust mix more than Pillsbury refrigerated dough. Jiffy dough is bready, and chewy whereas Pillsbury dough isn't so bready; its more cardboardy and preservativey. I still think Pillsbury pizza dough is good, just not as good as Jiffy. I throw this pizza together quite often because its easy, fast, so cheap, and you almost always have these ingredients at home(at least we do). The Velveeta was at one point just an after though (from a left over box of mac & cheese) but it adds this buttery fried taste. Its good without the Velveeta but its absolutely amazing times 1 million with the Velveeta, so you decide.

Jiffy Pizza

1 jiffy pizza crust mix

8 oz pizza sauce

Velveeta cheese

shredded italian cheese blend

thinly sliced deli Ham

Ranch

Mix pizza dough according to pkg directions. Knead dough. Let dough Rise 5 min. Place/spread dough into buttered 9x9" glass casserole dish. Bake 3-5 min at 375. Top slightly baked crust with pizza sauce, several dallops of velveeta, italian cheese, and ham. Bake 18-22 more min at 375. Cut into squares. Dip in Ranch(:

Pigs In a Blanket

I'm going to apologize early for this post. I don't have a photographer for my food pictures so my pitures always look ghetto especially this picture. Anyway, regardless of the ghetto picture, Pigs in a Blanket is one of my favorite-quick meal time recipes. Caleb likes it too so! Just about everyone's already heard of it, but I'll share the recipe anyway just in case, especially because I make it w/ a couple modifications.

Pigs In a Blanket

6 oscar mayer cheese dogs

Pillsbury Butter Flake Crescent Rolls

Provolone Cheese Slices, each cut into strips

Heat oven to 360°F. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.

Separate dough into 6 rectangles. Wrap dough rectangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.

Bake at 360°F for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

SHRIMP MAC&CHEESE

1 box Kraft sponge bob mac&cheese
1 box Kraft Velveeta shells&cheese
Seapak shrimp poppers
Kraft Shredded Italian 5 cheese blend

Boil sponge bob mac for 11 min. Drain. Return cooked pasta back to pan and stir in velveeta cheese pack (from shells&cheese box.) Save cheese powder mix and dry shells for later use on something else. Bake 24 shrimp accrding to pkg directions. Stir shrimp into mac&cheese mixture. Sprinkle cheese over each individual serving. Makes apx 3-4 servings.

Chicken Enchiladas Creamas Verde

ORIGINAL RECIPE: CLICK HERE


Chicken Enchiladas Creamas Verde

Ingredients:

• vegetable or canola OIL for frying tortillas
  
• 1 lb. cooked chicken (a shredded rotisserie chicken would work well)
• 3 T butter
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 jar tomatillo salsa divided (my jar was 16 oz.)
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 doz. flour tortillas
• 1 cup cream
• 3 cups shredded itallian cheese blend
• 1 small can (mild) green or red enchilada sauce
  

Directions: Pour apx 1 cup oil into deep(ish) frying pan. Preheat oil over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. Deep fry each tortilla in oil 10 seconds on each side (or till tortilla bubbles up.) As you go, Stack tortillas w/ a paper towel square between each fried tortilla, and then set tortillas aside. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9x9 or 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; Saute onion 5 minutes. Add chicken, 1/2 jar salsa, cream cheese and chilies. Reduce heat to medium; stir, melt cream cheese and blend mixture well. Heat tortillas briefly, then fill each with about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture and a handful of shredded cheese. Roll up tightly and place in baking dish, seam-sides down. Combine remaining tomatillo salsa with cream; pour over enchiladas and top with shredded cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until cheese melts. Microwave enchilada sauce in glass bowl for 60sec. Pour over baked enchiladas.

Boone North Carolina Survival Sandwiches

Next recipe Im gonna try Boone North Carolina Survival Sandwiches

Missys Moms Enchiladas

Missys Moms Enchiladas
Canola Vegatable Oil

3 small cans enchilada sauce (red)

1 big bag shredded cheddar cheese

2 small pks hormel preccoked seasoned chicken breast pieces

12 medium flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 400. In large non stick skillet, Fry tortillas in oil over med-high, 5 seconds on each side (or till tortilla bubbles up). Pour 2 cans enchilada sauce in large plate or dish. Did both sides of each fried tortilla in enchillada sauce. After each tortilla has been fried and dipped, Put handful of cheese and few pieces of chicken in center of each tortilla and roll up into tight burrito. Place each stuffed burrito side by side in a row in 9x13 casserole dish (so its 2 rows of 6 burritos). As soon as all 12 burritos are placed in casserole dish, pour 3rd can of enchilada sauce over top of burritos and then cover w/ remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Serve w/ sour cream or just eat plain.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Sweet Dinner Rolls

1 cup warm milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

Place milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.
When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until light golden.

Smokey Bacon Chicken Ranch

Smokey Bacon Chicken Ranch

(original recipe)

10 Boneless Skinless Chicken strips/tenderloins (uncooked)

10 Strips of Bacon

1 cup ranch dressing

1 teaspoon miced garlic

1/8 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 ½ cup Cheddar Cheese

Wrap one bacon strip around each chicken strip and then lay bacon wrapped chicken evenly on bottom of 9x9 glass casserole dish. Cover the top of everything with ranch dressing, garlic, Cajun seasoning and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, top with all the cheese and bake another 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy with Stuffing, Potatoes, Salad, Breads and more.

Three Cheese Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com. Ive changed the recipe a little bit to the way that my family likes it. Make sure you slice the potatoes very very thin otherwise your cooking time will be off.

Three Cheese Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

(click here for original recipe)

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 1 or 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with butter.
Layer half of the potato slices in the bottom of the casserole dish. Dot with half of the butter cut or pinched into small pieces. Arrange half of the garlic slices over the potatoes, then pour half of the heavy cream over. Sprinkle one cup of Cheddar cheese over the layer, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering of potatoes, garlic, cream and Cheddar cheese, then top with the slices of provolone cheese. Season again with salt and pepper.
Bake for 1/2 hour in the preheated oven, then sprinkle the Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top. This will create a semi-hard cheese crust. Cover top of casserole dish with aluminum foil. Continue baking covered for another 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when tested with a fork. Serves 4

Spaghetti Pie

Im not much of a cook Im much more of a baker, so when I do cook its easy cooking. What Im trying to say is, I rarely make things from scratch. For me its usually mixing together a bunch of pre-made products and calling it a recipe. So I looked in the fridge today and saw an unoppened carton of ricotta cheese and I realized I had never used ricotta in a recipe berfore. So I was trying to decide between gnocchi and spaghetti pie and then I finally decided on spaghetti pie just because I know my dad would like it. Gnocchi just felt a little too risky. So I found a recipe in the BH&G cookbook but did a whole lot of imrovizing to where its definitly not the same recipe but it was definitly delicious and super easy so here you go...

Spaghetti Pie

6oz uncooked spaghetti

2 T butter

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup parmesan, divided

1 15 oz container ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 T minced onion

1 T minced garlic

1 t salt

1 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce

1/2 LB ground Beef (or turkey or sausage)

1 cup mozzerella

Boil noodels 10 minutes. Drain noodles & return noodles to pan. Add butter, 1 egg, & then 1/4 cup parmesan. In seperate bowl; mix remainig parmesan with ricotta, 1 egg, onion, garlic, & salt. In another seperate bowl; mix spaghetti sauce & beef. Press spagetti mixture on base of 9x9 glass casserole dish. Top with ricotta mixture spreading evenly. Top the ricotta layer with the sauce/meat mixture spreading evenly. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes . Top the sauce/meat layer with mozerrela cheese covering the entire casserole. Bake at 350 for an additional 10 minutes.