Slow Cooker Swiss Pork Chops

Not wanting to relinquish my recent love-affair with pork chops just yet, I thought to myself - Why not try your Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe on them?I'm so glad I did - these might even be better than the beef.

They turned out so tender and subtly sweet that I think this is going to become a new favorite of mine. I'm sure my boys won't complain about that since they gobbled them up with as much enthusiasm as I did. I'm also really glad that I tried my idea to lessen the number of potatoes in the pot and make mashed potatoes on the side. We had a few roasted ones with dinner, but what we didn't eat saved well to go with Josh to work as leftovers.

Slow Cooker Swiss Pork Chops

* 1.5 lbs pork chops, trimmed of fat
* pepper
* 2 medium red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
* 1.5 c. baby carrots
* 1 med onion, cut into wedges
* 1 can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
* 2 packets pork gravy mix
* 1 c. cold water
* mashed potatoes, if desired

Layer potatoes, onion and pork in your slow cooker. Sprinkle chops with pepper. Add tomatoes. Mix up one packet of gravy with 1 cup cold water and pour into crock pot. Top everything with the baby carrots.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender. I did 5 hours on low, then one more hour on high with great results.

Kim's notes: If you want to serve this meal with mashed potatoes, then make them near the end of your cooking time. Use the second packet of gravy for serving, or add liquid from the slow cooker to the package gravy and and then thicken it.

Never thickened your own gravy? It's easy as can be - add 1/4 c. of flour to 1 c. of water, shake until combined, or if you don't have a shaker of some sort you can use a wire whisk to get the clumps out. Add just a little of the flour mixture at a time to your gravy so that you don't over thicken it. Be sure to taste the gravy along the way so that you don't over flour it or so that you can add spices/pepper if desired.

Happy Cooking!

Pumpkin Nut Belgian Waffles

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 oz finely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I put more a little more than a tsp.)
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ cup canned pumpkin
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
¼ cup REAL maple syrup (not the artificial stuff made with corn syrup etc.)
3 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large egg whites

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, chopped nuts, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir to blend and reserve.

In a second bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, 2 egg yolks, milk, maple syrup, melted butter and vanilla; stir until smooth. Add to the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to blend until smooth, using a wisk.

In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.

Do not open waffle iron during cooking process.

Eating Out at Home: Baked Chicken Parmesan

Josh’s favorite Italian meal is Chicken Parmesan. He will often order it at restaurants and savor every deep fried bite.

Only, I don’t do deep fried at home. This became the challenge, make Josh’s fav, but make it healthy. I did a little of this, a little of that, and presto he loved it! This will definitely be a repeat at our house.

Chicken Parmesan

• 1 1/2 lb chicken breast tenders, trimmed of fat
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 c. fine bread crumbs
• 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
• 1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Beat egg whites with fork on a plate until slightly fluffy. Combine all dry ingredients on another plate and mix until combined. Dip chicken tenders in egg, then roll in crumb mixture until coated. Place in a lightly sprayed baking dish and repeat for all chicken pieces. Discard leftover egg and crumb mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until cooked through. Serve over pasta and top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese if desired.

Kim’s note: Counting the calories, but don’t want to miss out on cheese? Stir a little non-fat cottage cheese into the pasta for a little added creamy-ness.

Happy Cooking!

Apricot Smokies

2 14-oz pkgs smokies (mini sausages)
1 14-oz jar apricot preserves
1 c mustard

Mix preserves & mustard together in saucepan, over med heat. Add smokies, & let simmer til heated through.

*If you like a sweeter sauce, use just 1/2 c mustard.*

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetable Chowder

I don’t have a lot of witty commentary to say about this soup, only that it’s awesome, all American, easy, and that I tweaked it to be a bit healthier and loaded it with extra veggies (I’m sure no one is surprised by this). Both of my boys devoured it, which is the best recommendation that I can give.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetable Chowder

• 1.5 pounds chicken breast meat cut into ½ in. pieces
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 celery ribs, cut fine
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 c. frozen corn kernels
• 2 cans cream of potato soup
• 1 can low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp. dried dill
• 1 tsp curry powder (optional – this isn’t enough to make it taste like curry, but does add a depth and richness to the flavor that I love for chowder)
• pepper to your liking
• ½ c. fat-free half and half

Using a little cooking spray, brown the chicken breast pieces with onion and garlic in a skilled over med-high heat. Put in slow cooker. Next add celery and carrots to pan and sauté with a little water for a few minutes until just tender, then add to slow cooker. Next add corn, soup, broth, curry, pepper, and dill to slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours, stirring ingredients together after half the time. During the last 10 minutes, stir in half and half.

Happy Cooking!

Bringing Healthy Back to Navajo Tacos

Mmm, navajo tacos are so good. Warm, buttery fry bread, covered in slimey chili and salad. When they made these for lunch at my old job I got giddy, I frolicked, I didn't think about how bad they are.

But, I've been thinking about that lately, and have come up with a solution.

Start with a low-cal healthy pita bread such as:The best part about them:This isn't a fancy health-food store item, I got it as Super Wal Mart right next to the unhealthy pitas, and the even more unhealthy tortillas.

Healthier Navajo Taco

5 pita breads
2 c. vegetarian chili (I used a red bean and lentil that they're selling in bulk packages at Costco now - Amazing!)
lettuce (I also mixed some fresh cilantro into my lettuce)
black beans, drained rinsed
corn, drained
tomato
cucumber
guacamole
fat free sour cream
a few tortilla chips for crunch, if desired.

Warm the pita bread in your microwave for 30 seconds, it becomes warm, soft, and pliable. Top the pita with vegetarian chili, and every other awesome taco salad food that you like. Sticking with the healthy theme of the evening, I left the cheese off and used only fat-free sour cream.

*Leave off the sour cream for the lactose-free version.

Happy Cooking!

Fudge

1 stick butter or margarine
1/4 c milk
1 T vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 c nuts (optional)
flavoring options: 1/2 c cocoa; 1/4 c peanut butter; 1 t extract (maple, mint, citrus...); basically any flavor or mixture of flavors you want

Melt butter in saucepan on stovetop over medium heat. Whisk in milk, vanilla, & flavoring. Turn to low heat. Whisk in powdered sugar til smooth. Mix in nuts. Pour into buttered 9x9 pan. Chill in refrigerator til firm (or freezer for faster time). Store in refrigerator.

Hominy Ranch Casserole

Hominy Ranch Casserole (from Pass the Plate 8-6-09) I accidentally got hominy instead of corn once, and finally found a recipe to use it with, and we love it! I got this from the can of enchilada sauce.

1 can (30 oz) Golden Hominy, drained
1 can (14 oz) Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
½ cup sour cream
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 eggs beaten
1 cup shredded Jalapeno Jack Cheese

---Combine all ingredients, excepting the cheese. Evenly spread mixture in 2 quart baking dish. Top with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.

Minute Rice Teriyaki Stir Fry

Minute Rice Teriyaki Stir Fry

• 1 lb stir fry steak, cut into strips


• 2 c. brown Minute Rice


• 1 ¼ c. water


• ½ c. teriyaki sauce


• 3-4 c. fresh vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, and zucchini)

Using a little cooking spray, brown steak strips in a large frying pan until about medium doneness. Next add water and teriyaki sauce, and return to a boil. Once boiling add minute rice, stirring to mix into liquid. Set veggies on top of meat and rice, cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff all together and serve.

Kim’s notes:

• Adding extra veggies means extra moisture. I cut back the original amount of water, but still there was excess – adjust your recipe according to the amount of veggies you use.


• My boys like their veggies a little softer, so steamed them in the microwave for about 3 minutes before adding them to the rice mixture. For crisper veggies don’t bother steaming.


• This recipe is only as good and flavorful as the teriyaki sauce that you pick, so go for one that is rich and flavorful – I used Soy Vay teriyaki sauce and would recommend it. I don’t know if it’s a national brand, so I’d also recommend Mr. Yoshida’s teriyaki sauce.
  

Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

Last weekend I was challenged to cutting eggs out of baking. Since I’d never really thought about taking out eggs I decided to give two of the suggestions a try in one recipe – Chocolate Banana Biscotti. These turned out 100 times better than I ever imagined! First out of the oven they have crip outsides, a warm and chewy inside, and a flavor that is sweet, but not too sweet. I could have eaten them all day, but I stopped myself after two. : )

The best part is the calorie count – I sliced my logs to make 19 cookies, and with a little math I discovered that puts the average sized ones at 93.42 calories. And with the fat corners I cut, the only fat involved is what comes in the original batter, and what’s in the chocolate chips. Not a bad treat!

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

• 1 package banana bread mix (I used Pilsbury)


• 3 Tbs water


• ½ banana, mashed


• 4 oz plain, fat free yogurt


• 2 Tbs natural applesauce


• 2 servings of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I actually counted them so that I could do the calorie math and I used 64)

Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add wet ingredients to banana bread mix and stir until mixed. Chop half of the chocolate chip pieces until slivered, then add them and the rest of the chocolate chips to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Since I took all of the oil out of the recipe, I sprayed the foil with cooking spray until well coated for ease of removing logs. Divide dough in half and form two rectangular logs (about 4.5 inches x 8 inches) – dough will be sticky, but touchable (use wet hands if needed).

Bake logs for 30 minutes, remove from oven and cookie sheet, and allow to cool on wire racks. Once the logs are cooled cut them into ½ inch strips. Put strips back on the cookie sheet, cut side down, and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip strips to other side and bake another 10 minutes.

Kim’s note: Mine were crisp on the outside with a chewy center using the method described above, but have softened even more as I’ve stored them. If you want them to be truly crispy throughout like a coffee house biscotti, I’d suggest baking the strips longer, but still doing the 10-minute flip so that the edges don’t have the chance to burn.

Happy Cooking!