Spicy bacon-wrapped pork roast

This was really yummy! And came from my new cook book: The ultimate one-pan oven cookbook by Julia Konovalova

Spice rub
2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp cayenne (I only used 1/2 tsp and it was plenty spicy)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme

Pork Roast
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork rib roast (or buy a cheaper cut.  I did a boneless picnic roast.  I think a pork sirloin would work.  The book says a tenderloin also works)
1 tsp vegetable oil for the pan
4 slices of bacon (I used like 6 so they were really close together).

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  While the oven is preheating, make the spice rub.  Rub the spices all over the meat.

Brush the vegetable oil (put down aluminum foil and spray with pam).  Place the pork on the pan and wrap it with bacon.  Roast in the oven for about 1 hour or until internal temp reaches 145-150˚ F.  Cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes.

Baked Potato Casserole

This is a recipe I got from Kathryn.  It is spicy and delicious.  It also warms up well.  It also makes enough for a small army (I got 8 servings out of it) so you might want to reduce things.

Some notes on the sausage: You want about six brats worth of meat.  I have no idea how much that is, I just eyeballed it.  For the sausage, I used half kielbasa and half hardwood smoked and it was great.  I meant to do all kielbasa, but the hardwood smoked was hiding in the wrong place and I grabbed two.  Also, I used turkey sausage to make it more healthy.

Some notes on the potatoes: to get my eight servings, I actually used 5 pounds of potatoes.  The individual potatoes were really small, so I just grabbed a five pound bag and used them all.  It is a ton of potatoes.

• 6 brats or sausages
• 8 potatoes
• ⅓ cup Olive Oil
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 TBS fresh Ground Pepper
• 1 TBS Paprika
• 2 TBS Garlic Powder
• 6 TBS Hot Sauce (this is a little more than 1/3 cup, which is what I did instead of measuring it out and I used Franks) 
• 
  
• For the Topping
• 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I wished that I had done more cheese) 
• 1 cup crumbled Bacon (it takes an entire package of bacon to get this)
• 1 cup diced Green Onion 

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees
2. In a large bowl mix Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder & Hot Sauce
3. Cube the potatoes & add to the bowl
4. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray
5. Add potatoes to the bowl and toss in the sauce. Remove the potatoes from the bowl and put them in the pan. Try to leave some of the sauce because you will use it later.
6. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes, stir every 15 minutes
7. Slice the sausages into bite sized pieces and add it to the bowl that had the potatoes with the left over sauce and stir it around .
8. Mix together cheese, bacon & green onion in a small separate bowl
9. Once potatoes are done, add the uncooked sausage.
10. Cover with the cheese mixture topping.
11. Bake for 15 minutes or until the sausage is cooked.

Honey Soy Chicken

So, this was yummy and so so easy-I totally did it one handed.  I would suggest putting it on rice and steaming or stir frying some veggies (I steamed broccoli, carrots, and a small amount of red pepper) to go with it and making it a kinda rice bowl.

It is super easy and I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand.  She has some very ... let's say STRAIGHTFORWARD disclaimer/notes that I am going to include. I used chicken breasts (I thought I had thighs but couldn't find them) cut into almost tenderloin size so that they got lots of sauce all over.  That means that I cooked it for less than 30 minutes...I think it was 23 minutes and it might have actually been able to be less.  I did like the tenderloin type size for the rice bowl idea.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (most of the fat cut and discarded)

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

3 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

5 tbsp. honey

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 8x8" oven-proof pan with 2 layers of tin foil. I HIGHLY advise using foil in this dish because soy sauce & honey are STICKY and tend to adhere heavily on glass dishes when cooked at high temperatures. Unless you want to be scrubbing forever, use the foil!
2. In small bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ground ginger, and pepper.
3. Place the chicken thighs in the foil layered pan then pour the mixture on top of it. Turn the chicken around in the sauce to make sure it gets all coated.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the tops are not browning too quickly. If they are, cover with foil and resume baking until chicken is done.
5. Remove from oven and let chicken sit for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate. Do NOT discard the liquid.
6. Immediately after plating chicken, pour sauce over top of chicken. It's delicious so you want all the sauce you can get!Sprinkle rosemary on top before serving.
7. Serve with white or brown rice and some steamed veggies.

Notes: You may use chicken breasts if you prefer it. I would reduce cooking time by 10-15 minutes if you're using chicken breasts as they dry out faster. I wouldn't use thick chicken breasts - use thin ones. Butterfly/cut them in half if you need to. Also, everyone's oven temperature varies slightly. Mine cooked perfectly after 40 minutes. Yours may cook faster or slower. Keep an eye on it. Check up on it every 20 minutes or so!

DISCLAIMER:

1. If you don't follow directions and want to improvise, that is definitely ok! But please do not come back to yell at me for a failed dish. The instructions are laid out completely above because I have tested it myself and it works the way it's written above.
2. If you do not use the right equipment it will likely not turn out either. 8x8" pan means 8x8" pan. 2 layers of foil means 2 layers of foil. Why? 8x8" pan will keep the sauce together and compact and won't cause it to spread out over a large surface area. If you put it in a larger pan, it will spread, therefore, causing the sauce to get cooked off and you'll end up with dry chicken and little to no sauce. Double layering the foil insulates the sauces and the chicken, it'll keep the sauce from burning on the scalding hot pan.
3. Yes, it really is cooked at 425 degrees. I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, it's high but it also works (proof: above pictures!)
4. If you're using (thin cut) chicken breasts, reduce cooking time to 10-15 minutes or you'll end up with dry chicken.

Source: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/05/09/honey-soy-chicken/

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe rocked. So good. So easy. So fast.

Sam liked it because it didn't dry out like traditional cordon bleu is wont to.

I used homemade breadcrumbs. Just threw a few pieces of bread in my blender and then put them in the oven for 5 minutes. They were awesome. I highly recommend this.

Honey ham was on sale so we used that but I definitely think black forest would be better.

For the sauce I would cut back on the dijon mustard. It added a great flavor but was a little overpowering. I also might add lemon juice next time.

Really everyone should try this.

I also halved this one so just used 2 chicken breasts and cut them into thinner pieces. So I think I used like an 8x11 pan instead and still didn't fill it all the way. If you had a square pan it would be perfect for the two chicken breasts.

Mmmm

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/06/chicken-cordon-bleu-the-easy-way.html

INGREDIENTS

For the Cordon Bleu:
• 3 large chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to form two thinner chicken breast cutlets)
• 12 slices deli ham
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 to 1/2 pound thinly sliced swiss cheese
For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Set aside.
2. Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham and top with 2 slices of swiss cheese, shingling across the chicken breast to make sure the entire chicken breast is covered with ham and cheese. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the chicken.
3. Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden.
4. While the chicken bakes, in a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly, while cooking the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking.
5. Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce.

NOTES

Make Ahead Instructions: Assemble the chicken, ham and cheese according to the recipe. Store the prepared bread crumb/butter mixture in a resealable plastic bag or other container. Cover the casserole with plastic wrap and store it and the bread crumb mixture in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. When ready to bake, sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and bake according to the recipe, adding anywhere from 5-15 extra minutes since it was refrigerated prior to baking. Make the sauce while the casserole bakes or make it ahead of time, let it cool, and store it covered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, reheating over low heat and whisking to recombine before serving.

Pesto and Sausage Baked Zitti

I have been waiting for my house to cool down enough for me to be ok with using the oven again so I could try this recipe. And it was really good! Really really good!

I actually made all of this the night before but had forgotten to buy ricotta cheese. So I stored the noodles, meat/ sauce mixture, and grated cheeses in separate bowls. Then I put it all together at lunch (Sam had run to the store) so then I could just throw it in the oven when I got home and we had dinner in like 25 minutes! Woohoo! I had a couple random leaves of basil left over so I threw those in with the spinach because really you can't ever have too much basil right? If you are making it ahead I recommend not cooking the noodles so they're completely soft because then they'll be all mushy.

Oh also if you're not cooking for a crowd, you may want to half it. Or have a ton of leftovers like me!

But really so good. I loved it.
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/06/pesto-and-sausage-baked-ziti.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 pound Italian turkey or chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup pesto
• 9 ounces baby spinach (about 5 ish cups)
• 15-ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ziti and cook until al dente. Drain.
3. While the pasta is boiling, in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat, add the turkey sausage, onion and garlic and cook until the sausage is cooked through, adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste (the amount will depend on the seasonings in the sausage). While it cooks, break up the sausage into smaller pieces. Drain any excess grease if needed.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, pesto and salt and pepper to taste (I added about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add the spinach, stirring until it cooks down a bit into the hot sauce, 1-2 minutes.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the Parmesan cheese.
6. In the prepared baking dish, pour in the drained noodles. Dollop the ricotta mixture over the top of the noodles. Spread the sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese (1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan).
7. Bake until heated through and golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5-7 minutes before serving.

Enchilada Pasta Casserole

I liked this.  It is a casserole, so my expectations were not super high...and at the end of the day, it is still a casserole.  But, we enjoyed it and I will make it again.

I made it into 2 8x8s so I could freeze one (on the second one, line with foil, pour it in, freeze it and then you can have your dish back)

I forgot the cumin by accident when I made this.

This is off of a newish blog I have been checking out http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/08/29/enchilada-pasta-casserole/

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce (I used the red sauce)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

12 ounces egg noodles

Salt & pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions.
3. In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown your ground beef then drain the fat. Then add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.
5. In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine.
6. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
7. In the meantime, drain your pasta. After you've drained it, add the pasta to the beef mixture. Make sure everything is coated in the sauce.
8. In a large casserole dish, pour in the pasta mixture and top with the remaining cheese.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.
10. Serve hot. Keep in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Thai Green Curry Meatballs

These were fun and good. None of the grocery stores I went to on Monday had Green Curry Paste so I went to Amazon knowing that I was going to make these on Thursday so I needed prime shipping. The only one with prime shipping was a pack of 6 green curry pastes. So now I have alot of green curry paste :) but that's ok with me! If anyone wants some let me know!

I enjoyed this. It smelled awesome. However I got bored/overwhelmed with the flavors quickly. So I would recommend having something with it. Steamed veggies would probably work the best. I did make the coconut rice found here. I used ground turkey instead of beef because I felt like it would take the flavors better and beef has such a distinctive taste. Other than that, fun, good meal.

Also the meatball to sauce ratio was lots of meat to less sauce. So if you are like me or mom or Anna aka not Danielle and don't feed alot of people you could probably half the meat and keep the sauce as it is and be fine to. Hooray for saving money!

I used Thai Kitchen Green curry paste and it did not pack alot of heat. I'm still trying to decide what spice I will use to warm it up but not clash with the fresh Thai-y flavor.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/09/thai-green-curry-meatballs.html

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs:
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (plus more if needed; can substitute canola or vegetable oil)
Sauce:
• 2 cans (13.5-ounce each) unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons green curry paste
• 1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2-3 limes)
• Hot cooked rice for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oats and milk. Let the mixture stand and soak for 5-10 minutes. Add ground beef or turkey, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, cilantro, salt, garlic and green onions. Mix to combine and distribute all the ingredients through the meat.
2. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs, a bit smaller than golf ball size. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet. When the oil is hot, place one layer of meatballs in the pan leaving a little room in between each meatball (it's ok if you can't fit them all in; they'll cook in batches). Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 2-3 minutes total. They don't need to be cooked through - just golden and browned. Remove the meatballs to a plate and do the same with the remaining uncooked meatballs (adding more oil to the pan if necessary - let it get hot before adding the meatballs to brown).
3. Once the last batch of meatballs has been removed to a plate, drain any excess grease from the pan (but leave the goldeny browned cooked bits). Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the coconut milk and green curry paste, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring into the sauce.
4. Place the meatballs in the skillet with the sauce. Go ahead and pile them all in, trying for a single layer. Simmer the meatballs and sauce for 8-10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through, flipping the meatballs once or twice.
5. Stir in the lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot, cooked rice.

NOTES

Green curry paste can vary wildly in spice/heat level so if you want to ensure the meatballs and sauce aren't too spicy, look for a mild green curry paste (or buy one you already like the taste of). The Thai Kitchen brand is the one that Janssen used - her blog is where I got the recipe and she said her young kids gobbled it up. I used the Maesri brand (I have to order any kind of green curry paste online since I can't find it in the stores here; keep in mind I live in a very, very small town) and it was knock-your-socks off hot (but still tasty if you can handle a little heat). Also, a quick note on the sauce - it's fairly thin which we enjoyed because it soaked into the rice; however, if you want it a bit thicker, stir together a tablespoon or so of cornstarch into cold water (about half as much water as cornstarch) and stir it into the simmering sauce until it thickens a bit.

Mel's Greek Tacos

So I tried these Greek Tacos with the flat bread that Sara put up a little while ago.  I loved the bread.  Loved, loved, loved the tzatziki and the tomato/cucumber salsa.  The meat was ok, however, I think this is me, not the recipe because (1) the boys I fed my leftovers to had no complaints and seconds and (2) I have made another of Mel's Greek things and a Greek recipe from a different website and same problem.  But I thought I would put this up anyways because I think the rest of you would really enjoy it.

From: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/09/big-fat-greek-tacos.html

INGREDIENTS

Cucumber Tomato Salsa:
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 firm large tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• Salt and black pepper to taste
Feta Mint Tzatziki:
• 1 English cucumber
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1-2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
• Salt and black pepper to taste
Lamb or Turkey:
• 2 pounds ground lamb or turkey (I used turkey)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup minced red onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (I don't really like oregano, so I did 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp marjoram and 1 tsp of basil)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup broth (chicken, vegetable or beef)
For the pitas:
• 6-8 non-pocket pita or soft wrap breads (I used our favorite soft wrap bread)

DIRECTIONS

1. At least one hour or as early as one day before you are serving, prepare the salsa and tzatziki. For the cucumber salsa, toss the olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a bowl and season with salt and black pepper as needed. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or up to 24 hours to marry the flavors.
2. For the tzatziki, peel the cucumber and shred on the large holes of a box grater. Place the shredded cucumber in a clean kitchen towel and wring out the excess water until the cucumber is very dry. In a medium bowl, stir together the strained cucumber, yogurt, feta, garlic and mint. Again, season with salt and pepper to taste. The tzatziki can be refrigerated up to 24 hours. Give it a good stir before serving.
3. For the meat, heat a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the ground lamb or turkey with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic, breaking up the meat into small pieces and cooking until the meat is cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
4. Drain any excess grease. Stir in the oregano and tomato paste and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the broth and let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
5. Warm the pita breads in a cast iron skillet or in the microwave until soft and heated through. Serve the tacos by spooning meat into the center of a pita bread and topping with cucumber salsa and tzatziki.

Smothered Pork Chops

So Sam's parents gave him pork chops for his birthday, and unlike Danielle, I am not absolutely, positively in love with the way we grew up with them. So I wanted something new. These were amazing. So good. And since it's in the crock pot the pork chop is all tender falling apart delicious instead of tougher like when you cook them on a skillet. 

We only had 2 bigger pork chops. And I put them in when we got home from church (around 1) so I cooked on high for 2 hours and on low for 3 and everything was cooked. Mel pleads (and I agree) that you do the steps before throwing it all in the crock pot and I would say it is very worth it. This was a fancier, Sunday meal, and we loved it! I served it with mashed potatoes and corn from our grandparents.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/06/smothered-pork-chops-slow-cooker.html

INGREDIENTS

• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 6 bone-in pork loin chops, about 3/4-inch thick
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch thick half moons
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon until lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pan. If you have more than 2 tablespoons drippings, drain the excess. If you don’t have quite that much, supplement with canola oil. When the bacon is cool, transfer to a small bag or tupperware and refrigerate until later.
2. Heat the skillet with the drippings over medium or medium-high heat until rippling and hot. Meanwhile, pat pork chops dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook pork chops until they are golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side, cooking them in batches in the skillet if your skillet isn’t big enough to hold all six at a time in a single layer. When golden on each side, transfer the chops to the slow cooker and repeat with remaining pork.
3. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat from the skillet; add onions, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water to empty skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrape browned bits from bottom of the pan and cook over medium-high heat until onions are soft, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour onion mixture over chops in the slow cooker. Add broth, soy sauce and remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar to skillet, bring to a boil and add bay leaves. Pour mixture over onions in slow cooker.
4. Cover slow cooker and cook on low until pork is tender, about 8 hours (or cook on high for 4 hours).
5. When ready to serve, carefully transfer chops to serving platter with a large spoon and tent with foil. Discard bay leaves and pour liquid through a mesh strainer into a saucepan, reserving the solids. Transfer solids to a food processor or blender with 1 cup liquid and blend until smooth. Stir the blended mixture back into remaining liquid in the saucepan. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons water together in a small bowl and stir into sauce. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, season with salt and pepper, pour over chops and sprinkle with reserved bacon and parsley. Serve. If the gravy doesn't thicken enough, mix another tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix it into the gravy and bring it to a boil.