Things to try

Things that the kids (and I) would like to try.

Chicken and dumplings 

Menu

• beef short ribs braised in plum sauce on home made rolls with black kale
• oven fried breaded chicken breast with salad
• chicken and broccoli stir fry
• tempura shrimp

Menu

• Breaded Chicken thighs with roasted vegetables 
• Herb roasted Chicken thighs with steamed broccoli 
• Cabbage soup
• Tomato Soup
• Chili 

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

My Daughter LOVES pork and for her the idea of wrapping bacon around a pork roast was as exciting as a bucket of Halloween candy.  




1 pork loin roast
Thick cut bacon 
1/3 cup soy sauce 
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper flacks 
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

Wrap the pork loin in bacon. Place in an cast iron pan.  Combine rest of ingredients in a small bowl; stir well.   brush the sauce on the bacon wrapped loin and place in a preheated 375 degree oven.  Bake until the pork loin reaches 150 degrees inside, basting with the sauce every 20 minutes or so.  If the bacon starts to darken too quickly, tent the roast with tin foil.

once the pork has reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees remove from oven and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.   

I served this with roasted cauliflower and mashed potatoes.  

Breakfast Skillet

This is the best breakfast skillet I have made so far and I have made many.  I sprayed Pam on and lined a small hot cast iron skillet with sliced potatoes and topped with chopped kale, added a small amount of water and covered over medium low heat.  on another pan I sauted onion, red pepper, and chopped canadian bacon.  once done to my liking I put them on the cooking potatoes and then checked for done-ness on the potatoes.  Once soft I added some putter along the edge of the pan to melt down to brown that potatoes and put a little sharp cheddar on top and covered.  I cooked 2 medium eggs on the pan I cooked the onions and placed on top of the whole skillet.  Then invert everything onto a plate and eat with some hot-sauce.  yum

Layered Crepe Cake

Crepe Cake Layered with Pastry Cream and Nutella.

1. Make pastry cream.

3 Cups Milk

Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean - or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. If you are using vanilla extract it is added when the cream is finished cooking.
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened


In a 3 quart saucepan combine the milk and vanilla bean seeds. Heat just below the boiling point (scalding).

Using an electric mixer (with whisk attachment if available) beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl until they lighten in color. Stir in the cornstarch.

Pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture (this is called tempering), whisking continuously to incorporate. Whisk the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk, and place the saucepan back on the heat. Cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly with the whisk, until the mixture comes to the boil. Reduce heat and boil for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and gently whisk in the butter.

Strain the pastry cream into a bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface, and chill completely.

 2.  Make the crepes.  this recipe 4 times.  I would make 4 separate batches, for some reason the batter turns out better than if you just make 4 times the ingredients at once.
1 cup a/p flour
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1.5 cups milk or more up to the right thin consistency
2 T melted butter

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl.  Add the egg, milk, and butter and mix then vigorously mix into the flour until well blended and silky 

add a little butter to a hot pan and pour in about 1/3 cup crepe batter and quickly tilt and rotate pan to cover the bottom in an even thin layer. cook for about 1 minute and turn and cook for another 30 seconds and remove. Continue until all the batter is gone.

3.  Nutella that is in a bowl that will fit over a larger bowl filled with hot water to keep the Nutella soft so that it is easier to spread thinly onto the crepe.

start by placing a pretty crepe to the side to top the cake, then set a  crepe in the center of you cake place or what ever you chose to assemble you cake on.  then spread a thin layer of pastry cream with an off set spatula.  place another crepe on the previous cream covered crepe and then spread a thin layer of Nutella.  Repeat alternating between pastry cream and Nutella until you have used all of your crepes being sure to top the cake with your pretty crepe you saved before. cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Menu For Next Week

• Lettuce Wraps
• Minestrone Soup
• Swordfish Tacos
• Pork Chop in Mustard Sauce 

going to try this as the mustard sauce

1 T. oil
2 T. finely chopped onion
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 T. milk or cream
1 T. chopped sage
salt and pepper

Last Week's Menu

• Baked buffalo chicken breast - Large family pack of chicken so there are some for leftovers
• Chicken enchiladas made with left over buffalo chicken
• Stuffed peppers
• Chicken pita made from left over buffalo chicken 
• Hotdog and salad

Fresh Juice - Apple + Mango + Kiwi

This is the best juice I have bad with my juicer in the 10 years that I have owned it.  

2 small jonagold apples 

1 medium Mango

2 small kiwi

dash of cinnamon 

White Lasagna

I saw a photo, while surfing the web, of what was titled white lasagna.  I thought it looked good; however, there was not a recipe.  I studied the photo and decided to try to make it like this...

White Sauce

2 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
1.5 - 2 cups milk
2  tablespoons cornstarch mixed with water to make slurry
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese 

In a saucepan melt the butter, then add the flour and cook a little to get the raw flour taste out.  add the wine, stir a little, add the milk.  cook, stirring contently, until it is bubbling a little, if the sauce is too thin add the slurry and continue to cook for a few minutes.  turn off the heat and add the rest of the sauce ingredients, mixing them all in well. 

Other layers:

-left over chicken pulled apart or cut into cubes.  I had 2 left over baked chicken breast so I cut that into cubes.
-spinach, fresh or frozen.  if fresh cook down and ring out water or if frozen, thaw and ring out water.
-cooked lasagna noodles, follow box directions
-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

layer in a casserole a small amount of sauce then lasagna noodles, 1/3rd of the chicken, 1/3rd of the spinach and 1/4th of the sauce.  repeat layers ending with a layer of the sauce on top and top with mozzarella.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Cabbage Soup

Photo of cabbage soup with Sriracha hot sauce in it.

1 head cabbage, cut up
1 Tablespoon butter
1 large onion
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped - or a small can of tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, cut into cubes
1 box chicken broth
1 box beef broth
1 small can V8
pepper
soup spice mix, I get this at ethnic store or when I go to Serbia
water, however much to make the soup as soupy as you would like

caramelize the onions in the butter, add in the garlic, carrots, and celery.  cook the veggies for a little while to add some caramelization.  Add the rest of the ingredients and good until done.

Cabbage is high in vitamin K and contains vitamin C, folate, and fiber.  These are all great when trying to fight a head cold.

Light Coleslaw

Pictured here is slow grilled/roasted/smoked  BBQed pork butt on a bun topped with coleslaw.  The cabbage for the slaw was from my garden and the dressing I created so that I would not have to add too many more calories to the meal.

1/2 head cabbage, sliced, chopped, or run through a food processor with a grating attachment.
1 large grated carrot

for the dressing:

1 tablespoon light Mayo
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt.  I like to drain a lot of the liquid off the yogurt in a strainer lined with a coffee filter for a thicker dressing.
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
a few shacks of celery seed
a sprig of rosemary, chopped very fine
a teaspoon to a tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar or splenda
salt and pepper

Mix the dressing together and let set in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the flavors can combine.  Toss the cabbage and carrots with as much of the dress as you like on your slaw.