Saturday, November 12, 2011

Menu for Monday Nov 14-19

Here is the Preview of Next weeks Menu. 

Monday- South of the Boarder Meatloaf with left over Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday-Cheesy Chicken and Noodles (Slow Cooker)

Wednesday- Homemade Hamburger BBQ with Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday- Ham Steak with Veggies

Friday-  Chicken Tortilla Soup with Grilled Cheese

Saturday-  I normally plan a meal for Sat, but sometimes we go out to eat.  This Saturday is my Birthday.  YAYY!! So that means no cooking for me!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The title is "Menus 4 Mamas"

Since this is my first time blogging, you'll have to be patient with me. I had a lot of great ideas as I was cooking tonight. One idea was to post my recipes a day after I make them so I can give helpful hints... ( there were quite a few tonight) and then I can take a picture. I personally only use recipes that have pictures. So with that said I am going to post my menu for next week tomorrow. Also I think it would be helpful if I added that I don't cook on Sundays.

I had other ideas too. Post by recipe title so it can easily be searched and when I post the menu I'll post my shopping list and coupons that I used to save money. I generally use about $20-$30 worth of coupons per grocery run every other week. I am certainly no "extreme" couponer but I try to do what is realistic and saves me money.

Ok. This is really exciting to me. I'm sure I'll have more ideas for tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!! :)

My First Recipe

This is what is for dinner tonight.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops with Green Beans and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Pork Chops:
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
4 bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops about 1 1/2 inches thick
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1.  whisk cider, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, mustard, hot sauce, and cornstarch in medium bowl.  Pat chops dry with paper towel.  Rub chops with oil, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle 1 side of each chop wth granulated sugar.

2.  Place chops, sugared side down in large nonstick skillet.  Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until chops are lightly browned, 10-12 mins.  Flip chops, add cider mixture from step 1. and cook covered until center of meat is 145 degrees, about 8-10 mins.  Transfer chops to platter.  Increase heat to med-high and cook liquid uncovered until thick, about 5 mins.

3.  Return chops to skillet and coat with glaze.  Transfer to platter and top with remaining glaze.

Potatoes: 

4 lbs. potatoes peeled and quartered, rinsed
12 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

1.  Melt 4 tbls butter in dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook garlic and sugar stirring often until sticky and straw colored about 3-4 mins.  Add rinsed potatoes 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, water, and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender amd most of the liquid is absobed, 25- 30 mins.

2.  Off heat, add remaining butter to pot and mash with potato masher until smooth.  Fold in remaining half-and-half until liquid is absorved and potatoes are creamy.  Season with salf ans pepper. Serve.

Green Beans: 

1 Bag frozen steamable green beans
4 tablespoons butter

1.  Cook green beans according to directions.
2. In small saucepan melt butter until brown and then cover green beans in brown butter

ENJOY!!