Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

Ingredients:
6 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each) **I buy the thin cut ones, they cook faster and I like them better than the regular ones**
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
Sprinkle pork chops with pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook pork over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm.
Add the water, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to skillet; stir to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Return chops to the pan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until meat is tender. Yield: 6 servings.

*I'm not really a big pork person, but I love these! Even Carter and Braden eat them! I made them tonite and served French Bread on the side and I keep dipping the bread in the sauce, its soooo yummy!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

This takes a bit of time, but it is one of our favorites!

1 lb Chicken cut into strips or cubes
3 Gloves Garlic mashed
3 Slices of Ginger root (I actually use store bought ginger in a jar, then you dont get the big chuncks of ginger!)
Sliced Carrots
Green Pepper (I like to add red ones too)
1 can Pineapple Chucks

Mix A
1/2 tsp Salt
1 T Flour
1 Egg yolk
1 T Soy Sauce

Mix B
2 T Flour
5 T Corn Starch

Mix C
1/2 cup Water
1 T Corn Starch
3 T Vinegar (I use white)
1 T Soy Sauce
3 T Sugar
3 T Ketchup
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice

Directions
-Put each separate "Mix" into their own bowl.
-Dice chicken and put in Mix A, let set for 15 minutes (I usually slice my veggies during this time).
- Take chicken out of Mix A and Coat with Mix B then fry in a pan with 2 T of oil (or enough to coat the bottom of your pan. Once chicken is browned, and cooked through, remove from pan. And add garlic, ginger, peppers, carrots, and pinapple to the pan and let them soften a bit. Add chicken back in, and pur Mix C over top. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to your preference.
*Put over cooked rice... ENJOY!

Beef Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 boneless beef petite sirloin steaks (5 ounces each), cut into thin strips
2-1/2 cups coleslaw mix
1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups cold cooked instant rice
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon oil until hot. Add eggs; cook and stir over medium heat until completely set. Remove and keep warm.
In the same pan, stir-fry the beef, coleslaw, asparagus and onion in remaining oil for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Add rice and butter; cook and stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Add eggs; stir in soy sauce and pepper. Yield: 6 servings.

*This is one of my easy, fall-back recipes. Love it! I usually add more soy sauce to mine. You can tweak it and add more flavor if you want, like with a ginger-sesame sauce. Your spring rolls would probably make a perfect side-dish!

BAKED Spring Rolls

Courtesy of Food Network Magazine
We really liked these. Especially since they were baked and not fried!

Ingredients
For the Spring Rolls:
1 2-ounce piece deli ham, finely diced
4 teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
1 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon Asian chili-garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
14 square spring roll wrappers
1 large egg white
WE USED SHREDDED BOILED CHICKEN IN STEAD OF CRAB AND HAM (it just didnt sound that great to us)

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 teaspoon chopped peeled ginger
1 scallion, finely chopped
(I also added some brown sugar to sweeten it up a bit)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Make the spring rolls: Cook the ham in 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and scallions; cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute.

Toss the cabbage and carrot with the hot ham mixture in a large bowl. Add the crab, cilantro, chili-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon sesame oil,egg white, the soy sauce and vinegar; toss.

Wrap the spring rolls (see right). Pierce each roll with a skewer in a few places to prevent bursting.

Place a rack in a baking dish and brush with vegetable oil. Mix the remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; lightly brush on rolls. Place the rolls on the rack; bake until golden on top, about 15 minutes. Turn the rolls; bake until golden and crisp, 8 to 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with the warm spring rolls.

Like I said we used chicken in stead of crab meat and ham. Chicken is what I had on hand, and it just sounded better! I also just used olive oil in stead of sesame. Im sure it would taste better with the sesame but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of it for one recipe. And the chili garlic paste was no where to be found but I did find chili garlic sauce that was good. It is SUPER spicy though, so be careful with it :)

Raspberry Dream Dessert

This is SO easy and SO refreshing! You'll Love it!

Mix:
1 pkg crushed Grahm Crackers (must use Honey Maid brand or it wont be as good)
1 cube melted Butter
1/4 c Sugar
Sprinkle on the bottom of a 9x13 in pan and reserve 1/4 c to sprinkle on top

Mix:
1/2 Gallon of Vanilla Ice Cream softened
2/3 can of Raspberry Lemonade Concentrate (i have added the whole can, its still good!)
Spread on top of Grahm Cracker crust and then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c on top.

Cover and freeze until solid. Then Enjoy!

I havent tried it but you could use any time of concentrated drink like plain lemonade, orange juice (it would taste like an orange creamy!), limeade... the possibilities are endless!

Imitation Cafe Rio!

This tastes super close to the real thing... Mmmm yup I'm craving it right now!

**Cafe Rio Dressing
1 Hidden valley buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make per recipe--so buy the buttermilk and mayo also)
1 Bottle of Green Salsa Verde Salsa
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove minced garlic
juice of 1 lime
Use a food processor to blend all ingredients

**Cafe Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Italian dressing
1 T. Chili powder
1 T. Cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
5 lbs chicken breasts
Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

**Cafe Rio Pork
Cook 2 1/2-3 lbs of pork roast in a crock pot seasoned with
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
Add about 1/3 C sprite.
Cook on high for 4 hours
Drain off water and shred
Add 1 Small can of diced chilies and 1/2-1 C brown sugar
Allow to cook 15 min. longer.

**Cafe Rio Rice
6 C. water
1 small can green chilies -or equivalent fresh
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
3/4 tsp salt
1 T. butter
1/2 onion
3 C. rice
Blend cilantro, green chilies, and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingrediants, simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Heat flour tortillas and layer on lettuce, the rice, your meat of choice, and any of the following: sliced avacados, black beans, tomatoes, cheese - Then top with the cilantro dressing.

You will LOVE it!

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Serves: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups leftover cooked chicken breast, cut into 3/4” pieces
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup unsalted cashews, chopped
Pepper, to taste
1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves separated into individual cups

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine soy sauce, honey and chili sauce in a small dish and set aside.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken and season with pepper as desired, cook for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Lower to medium heat and add garlic, ginger and scallions, cooking and stirring for about 1 minute.
Stir in water chestnuts and half of your sauce mixture. Continue to cook until chicken is heated through.
Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped cashews. Spoon desired amount of the stir-fry mixture into the center of individual lettuce cups and drizzle with extra sauce. Simply hold filled lettuce cups like a taco to eat.

*Okay, so I haven't acutally tried this recipe, but it looks good! I get emails from HomeMadeSimple and this was on there. Even at ten in the morning, it sounds sooo good!

Cobb Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

*For some reason, I can't log into Simple & Delicious so you'll have to make do without a picture, but trust me, this was YUMMY! I love anything with cilantro!

1 can 4oz chopped green chilies, undrained
2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsly chopped
2 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
-Place in food processor (or Magic Bullet!) cover and process until blended, chill until serving.

Layer in a large bowl:
1 package romaine lettuce
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded Montery Jack cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 package 7 1/2 oz cooked, diced chicken breast
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup real bacon bits
-Drizzle with dressing. Serves 8.

* I just layered however much I wanted onto our plates. Yummy! It makes a ton of dressing, so I plan on having leftovers for lunch today!

Skillet Lasagna

Another recipe from Foodnetwork Mag :) I'm sure you've seen it haha It was really good!! This is PERFECT for summer, especially if you have a garden because it uses a lot of veggies. Im going to tell Jan about it because she has a ton of the ingredients in their garden.

**Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil and/or parsley, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used Cottage Cheese- its cheaper)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
6 sheets no-bake lasagna noodles
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 zucchini, peeled into ribbons
3 1/2 cups baby spinach
1/3 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

**Directions
Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic; cook until golden, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook until saucy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree. Return 1 cup of the sauce to the skillet and reduce the heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce. (for this, I actually used a can of Italian Stewed tomatoes and blended them and it worked really good!)

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, the remaining 3 tablespoons herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer half of the carrot and zucchini on top; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with half of the spinach, half of the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of mozzarella and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, ending with noodles. Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover and simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Garnish with more parmesan and fresh herbs.

Pina Colada Cake

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (10 ounce) can pina colada mix
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (3.5 ounce) package flaked coconut



DIRECTIONS
Bake cake as directed on box for a 9 x 13 inch cake.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, punch holes all over the top of the cake with a meat fork. Mix condensed milk and Pina Colada mix together and pour over cake.
Chill overnight.
Before serving, frost with whipped dessert topping (Cool Whip ™ ) and sprinkle with coconut.

* So I stole this picture and recipe off of Allrecipes.com. I think it sounds yummy! I'm going to make it for my b-day and I think I will use toasted coconut. And probably homemade whipcream, it just tastes better than coolwhip!

Steak Fajitas with Chimichurri and Drunken Peppers

Another recipe from my FoodNetwork Magazine... Im beining to love it more and more! These were SO good!! I will definitely be making them again! And supposedly they are only &2.75/serving :)
Also - the Chimichurri would be good on ANY type of meat for marinade! It was delicious!

**Ingredients
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 large red onion, halved and sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chuck or top round steak
3 poblano peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/4 cup lager beer (I obviously subsituted this with beef broth)
8 8-inch flour tortillas
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

**Directions
Combine the parsley and cilantro (leaves and stems), garlic, half of the sliced onion, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil in a food processor; blend into a thick and smooth chimichurri sauce. Pierce both sides of the steak with a fork several times; place in a resealable plastic bag and add half of the sauce. Seal the bag and turn to coat the steak; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cover and reserve the remaining sauce.

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Remove the steak from the bag (discard the bag of sauce); season with salt and pepper and grill until medium-rare (we did Med-well), about 6 minutes per side. Let rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and the remaining sliced onion half; season with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are softened and caramelized around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add the beer, cover and cook until the peppers are tender, about 5 minutes.

Warm the tortillas on the grill. Thinly slice the steak on the bias; divide among the tortillas along with the peppers and onions. Thin the reserved chimichurri sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice; drizzle over the fajitas. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Scallion Sweet Potatoes

This came out of my newest volume of FoodNetwork Magazine

Directions
Combine 1 1/2 pounds chopped peeled sweet potatoes
1 bunch scallions (cut into 2-inch pieces)
6 crushed garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme in a bowl.
Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss. Place on a sheet of foil and fold up. Grill over low heat until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

I made these tonight for dinner. They were really goood, I even put a little ketchup on mine and it kinda tasted like tinfoil dinner haha. (I used a sweet potato but it wasnt orange like the picture, I am begining to wonder if they really used yams and not sweet potatoes.) I am just now realizing that I forgot the Thyme in mine, oh well, they were still good :)
Oh and it doesn't tell you to do this, but I would stir, or toss them periodically while on the grill because the bottoms of ours got a little over done.

Turkey Pesto Sandwich

1 loaf (1 pound) French bread
1 cup prepared pesto
1 pound thinly sliced deli turkey
1/2 pound provolone cheese, thinly sliced
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
Directions:
Cut the top fourth off loaf of bread. Carefully hollow out the bottom, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. (Discard removed bread or save for another use.) Spread pesto on the inside of top and bottom of bread. Set top aside.
In bottom of bread, layer the turkey, cheese, zucchini, tomatoes and onion. Gently press the layers together. Replace bread top and wrap tightly in foil. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 servings.

Shrimp Avocado Salsa

1 pound cooked small shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 medium ripe avocados, peeled and chopped
1 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Tortilla chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients. Serve immediately with tortilla chips. Yield: 6 cups.

*I only did half of this, left it pretty chunky, and served it on top of salad for dinner. There was still some leftover so Dallas finished it off with chips. Yummy!

Taco Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 package (11 ounces) torn iceberg and romaine
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup sliced green onions
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
8 cups corn chips, coarsely crushed
1 cup green goddess salad dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
Directions:
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Add the beef, beans, cheese and corn chips. Drizzle with salad dressing; toss to coat. Dollop with sour cream. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 servings.

*So obviously, I halved it, cause it makes a ton! I had never heard of Green Goddess salad dressing, but Kraft makes it. I bought Nacho flavored tortilla chips to use on it instead of Fritos. It doesn't call to season the meat, I did a little bit of my own - chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin - but I think next time I will use taco seasoning with the meat. It would probably be good too with a southwestern ranch salad dressing.