Officially the best meal I've ever made -

There were a lot of new things for me with this meal - 1) I've never cooked pork chops before 2) All three recipes were new for me! However, everything turned out amazingly good. Laramie and I decided it was officially the best meal I've ever made... And there have been some that were really good before now! The first part of the meal was an Apple Glazed Pork Chop. I used boneless center cut chops that were about 1/2" thick. One tip I learned was to make two small slits in the fat and silver skin on the outer edge so that they didn't bow as much when they were cooked. They had a wonderful flavor and the sear made for a phenomenal texture. You will need:

Glaze:

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup apple juice

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp soy sauce

pinch cayenne pepper

Pork Chops:

4 (5-7 oz) boneless center cut or loin pork chops, 1/2-3/4 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat

Table salt and ground black pepper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. For the glaze; combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. For the chops: Use a sharp knife to cut two slits, about 2 inches apart, through the outer layer of fat and silver skin of each chop (don't cut into the meat of the chop). Pat the chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Add the chops to the skillet and cook until well browned; 4-6 minutes. Flip the chops and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer the chops to a platter and pour off any oil in the skillet.

3. Return the chops to the skillet, browned sided up, and add the glaze mixture; cook over medium heat until the center of the chops registers 140-145 degrees on an instant read thermometer, 5-8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, transfer chops to a clean platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest until the center of the chops registers 150 degrees, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir any accumulated meat juices from the plate into the glaze in the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the glaze has thickened, 2-6 minutes. Return the chops to the skillet and turn to coat both sides with the glaze. Transfer the chops back to the plate, browned side up, spread the remaining glaze over the top, and serve.

Usually when I serve a meat dish, I like to have two vegetable options - this meal's were roasted broccoli and smashed potatoes. I had never had roasted broccoli before but really wanted to try it - I roast potatoes all the time and thought it would be a nice change. I think they may have actually been my favorite part of this meal. The texture was unbelievable and the florets ended up with just a very light almost flakiness to them. SO good! The potatoes were also amazing, very rich and creamy! You will need:

Roasted Broccoli

1 3/4 pounds broccoli (about 1 large bunch) ** I only used the florets in this recipe, not the stalk**

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest portion, place a large rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Cut the broccoli at the juncture of the florets and stems. Remove the outer peel from the stalk. Cut the stalk into 2-3 inch lengths and each length into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Cut the crowns into four wedges (if 3-4 inch in diameter) or six wedges (if 4-5 inches in diameter). Place the broccoli in a large bowl; drizzle oil and toss well until evenly coated. Season with salt, sugar and pepper and toss to combine.

2. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Working quickly, transfer the broccoli to the baking sheet and spread in an even layer, placing flat sides down. Return sheet to the oven and roast until the stalks are well browned and tender and the florets are lightly browned, 9-11 minutes. Transfer to a dish and serve.

Smashed Potatoes

You will need:

2 pounds red potatoes (about 12 small), scrubbed

Table salt

1 bay leaf (I actually didn't have any bay leaves so I substituted about a tsp of dried rosemary)

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

4 oz cream cheese, at room teperature

Ground black pepper

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover by 1 inch; add 1 tsp salt and the bay leaf (or rosemary). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently until a paring knife can be inserted into the potatoes with no resistance (35-45 minutes). Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the potatoes. Return the potatoes to the pot, discard bay leaf, and allow potatoes to stand in the pot, uncovered, until the surfaces are dry, about 5 minutes.

2. While the potatoes are drying, whisk the melted butter and softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and fully incorporated. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a wooden spoon, smash the potatoes just enough to break the skins. Fold in the cream cheese-butter mixture until most of the liquid has been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain. Add more cooking water as needed, 1 Tbsp at a time, until potatoes are slightly looser than desired (the potatoes will thicken slightly with standing). Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

So as you can see - this was quite an undertaking, but it was well worth the effort!

Creamy Chicken Florentine

This is a recipe that I got off the back of a Philadelphia Cooking Creme tub - I wanted to try one out since I hadn't had one before and so here goes:

You will need:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup halved red bell pepper strips

1 pkg (6 oz) baby spinach leaves

1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Savory Garlic Cooking Creme

2 cups hot cooked penne pasta

1. Cook chicken and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5-6 minutes or until chicken is done. Add spinach; cook and stir 2 or 3 minutes until wilted. Drain all but 1 Tbsp liquid.

2. Add cooking creme; cook and stir 3 minutes.

3. Stir in pasta; Serve immediately.

OK, so here are my thoughts - flavor of the cooking creme was very good; I liked that quite a bit. I had to make a few substitutions since I didn't have everything that was called for. I used canned chicken versus fresh; regular spinach instead of baby spinach; and elbow macaroni instead of penne. I also garnished with some parmesan and sliced green onion. The macaroni was fine, but I think I would have preferred the texture of the penne. I also got a little too much pasta and there wasn't much sauce - it came out rather dry in my opinion. There really wasn't much difference with the spinach that I could tell. Overall I'd give it an ok, but would definitely add some milk or something extra to make the dish a little creamier.

Strawberry Cheesecake

I ended up going shopping with my mom and my sister for Mother's Day and happened upon a steal of a deal for some springform pans (which I already had my hopes up on finding some) so of course I needed to try those out and found this awesome-ly awesome recipe. It was easier than I thought it would be for sure (I've always heard how difficult cheesecake is) and I thought it turned out really really well. You will need:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

20 oz frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 eggs

1. Combine crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9 in springform pan. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries and cornstarch. Cover and process until smooth. Pour into saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside 1/3 cup sauce. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate sauce for serving.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in milk. Add lemon juice, mix well. Add eggs, beat on low until just combined. Pour one half of cream cheese mixture over crust.
4. Carefully(!!) spoon or drizzle reserved 1/3 cup of strawberry sauce over cheese mixture. Gently pour remaining cream cheese mixture over strawberry sauce layer. Drop remaining strawberry sauce by 1/2 tsps on top. With a knife, cut through top layer only to swirl sauce.
5. Bake at 300 for 45-50 minutes or until almost set. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Run knife around edge to loosen crust. Let cool 1 more hour. Refrigerate overnight. Remove side of pan to serve.




One thing I changed here was that I did not drop the sauce by tsps on the top. I carefully covered the whole top with the strawberry sauce instead.

Freestylin'!

This was something that caught my eye because first off, I love green apples, and it was like a pie but not. :) It's called a Freestyle Apple Tart, I'm assuming that's because it doesn't have the traditional tart base. You will need:

1 ready to use refrigerated pie crust

4 oz cream cheese, softened

3 (1 1/2 lb) granny smith apples, thinly sliced

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon sugar

1 cup thawed Cool Whip

1. Heat oven to 450. Line a 9-inch pie plate with crust. Carefully spread cream cheese in 6-inch circle in center.

2. Toss apples with sugar and flour; spoon over cream cheese

3. Fold crust partially over apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 25 min, covering loosely with foil for last 5 minutes. Cool. Serve with whipped topping. Refrigerate leftovers.

So where to begin? Of course, obviously, this is an EASY recipe. There's really very little actual work involved so already it's getting a thumbs up from me! I think I misjudged the amount of apples I really needed (I went by the weight instead of quantity) and felt like my apples were just a huge mound, because then the pie crust wouldn't really fold up over them. Also, the apples on top then got a little more done than the other apples because they were so much higher and not protected by the crust. I also don't like whipped cream so I didn't add that at the end. I think I would prefer a vanilla or cinnamon ice cream instead. I will definitely make this again, but go a little lower on the number of apples I used.

Cherry Pie from Scratch

I decided it was time to try something a little more challenging this weekend... My grandmother has always made her own pie crust from scratch and I've attempted it once before but the pie part didn't turn out. It's not a difficult recipe but she's made it for so many years the recipe is more, "Oh a little of this and a little of that until it looks right." Kind of hard to duplicate for someone like me who loves exact measurements. But on top of that challenge, I also wanted to try to do something a little more exciting than just a can of fruit filling so I started researching and found a recipe for cherry pie from scratch and thought, that's perfect! So here goes:

You will need:

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I used my grandmother's recipe, you could also use a frozen pie shell)

1 20 oz can sour pitted cherries (I couldn't find a 20 oz can so I used 2 14.5 cans)

1 cup sugar (I actually changed this down to about 3/4 cup)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp red food coloring, optional (I did not use this)

1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 425. Make pastry and refrigerate.

2. Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup liquid. In saucepot, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in cherry liquid and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes; mixture will thicken.

3. After thickening, add butter, almond extract, food coloring if used and cherries. Cover and refrigerate.

4. On a lightly covered surface, roll out half of pastry into an 11-inch circle. Put into a 9-in pie dish. Roll out remaining dough and cut into 8, 1/2 inch strips.

5. Pour cooled cherry mixture into pie dish and place 1/2 of strips horizontally and the remaining four vertically across the top of the pie. Brush with egg white. Bake 30 to 35 minutes and cool before serving.

Ok so what were my thoughts? I really liked this pie! :) There was a really nice flavor and it went well with the crust I thought. I did change a few things. It didn't taste very tart to me so I added about 1 tsp of lemon juice to the cherry mix as it was cooking. I also didn't use the egg wash because of the type of pie crust I used. Instead of doing a lattice, I rolled out my second part of dough and used a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out some stars to decorate the top of the pie. Make sure when you bake this pie you put a cookie sheet down underneath - my had some boiling over issues. Overall I felt this pie was a success and would DEFINITELY make it again!

Cranberry Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

Happy Easter! With the holiday upon us, I decided to make a tasty dessert to take to my family's Sunday gathering. This is a personal favorite of mine and one that I've made several times and always gotten great reviews on. These cookies are very addictive so be careful!! The first time I made these cookies, I loved them so much I ended up making three batches in one week. :) You will need:

2/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (the parchment paper makes cleanup a breeze because there's no sticking)

2. In medium bowl, cream together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla.

3. Combine oats, flour, salt and soda in a separate bowl. Stir into butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

4. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheets.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

These cookies could also be made with nuts in them if you're a fan of nuts in your cookies. They stand on their own just fine however and nuts are definitely not necessary.

Crescent Lemon Honey Buns

I decided to try these because they looked fairly simple yet very tasty. After finishing the recipe, I'm pretty disappointed. Flavor is ok, but the texture of the dough is stiff and not flaky at all. I expected these to be much lighter and honestly, bigger. They are very small at least if you cut them into twelve pieces as suggested. The one in the picture is if you were to cut them in to fours. Big difference here. They also made a huge mess and the filling was too runny. It spilled out all over the place. You would need:

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp lemon juice

1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp butter or margarine, softened

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. (I used cooking spray, it did NOT help make the rolls easier to get off the sheet.)

2. In small bowl, mix cream cheese, granulated sugar, honey and 1 tsp lemon juice with wooden spoon until smooth.

3. Unroll dough on to work surface and separate into 2 large rectangles. Overlap long sides to form 13x7 inch rectangle; firmly press edges and perforations to seal. Spread cream cheese mixture on rectangle. Starting with 1 long side, roll up; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut into 12 slices. Place cut sides down on cookie sheet.

4. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, butter and lemon juice; spread on warm rolls. Cover and refrigerated any remaining rolls.

Overall I would probably give this recipe a 2.5 out of 5. I wasn't happy with the mess, the small size of the buns, or the baked texture. On the plus side they have a nice lemony flavor and don't take a lot of ingredients.

Apple Berry Upside Down Cake

Ok this cake is sooooo pretty! I am so proud of how this turned out! I've never tried to make an upside down cake before and I usually don't like pineapple so this was a great recipe to try! You will need:

3/4 cup butter, softened and divided

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 large Gala apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan(with sides that are at least 2 inches high) over low heat. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with brown sugar; drizzle honey over brown sugar. Arrange apples in concentric circles over brown sugar mixture, overlapping as needed; sprinkle with blackberries.

2. Beat granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Stir together flour and baking powder. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Spoon batter over blackberries in pan.

4. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto serving place.

Breakfast Croissants!

These tasty little breakfast croissants are the essence of adaptability. The original recipe is actually for the sweeter version, while the more savory version is based on what I had on hand. Original recipe is first then followed by my changes. You will need:

4 large croissants, split

1/2 cup cream cheese spread (from 8 oz container)

8 tsp cherry preserves (I actually used blackberry jam)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. On bottom half of each croissant, spread 2 Tbsp cream cheese and 2 tsp preserves; sprinkle with 1 Tbsp chocolate chips. Replace top half of croissants. Place on pan.

3. Bake uncovered 7 to 9 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve warm.

My savory version followed the same technique, but switched up the ingredients a little. I still used cream cheese, but then added shaved honey smoked turkey breast and sliced roasted red bell peppers, fully drained and patted dry. I also left the powdered sugar off of these. You could do a ton of different ingredients for this and I think it would still turn out great. You could even use a chive and onion flavored cream cheese for variety! Go wild and enjoy!

Baked Ziti!

Well most of you are familiar with ziti I'm sure but I've never tried to make it before and I found a really interesting (albeit simple) recipe to try. I am very excited to take this in my lunches this week! You will need:

Non stick Foil

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

4 cups (32 oz) chunky garden style pasta sauce (I used a garlic and onion flavored sauce)

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, divided

1 package (16 oz) ziti pasta, cooked and drained

1 package (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 container (16 oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine cooked beef, pasta sauce and 2 tsp Italian seasoning in large bowl. Stir cooked pasta into meat sauce; spread hal of mixture into 13x9 baking dish. Top with half of mozzarella cheese.

3. Combine ricotta, egg, 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese and remaining Italian seasoning. Spread over mozzarella cheese layer in dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

4. Cover with foil, non stick (dull) side towards food.

5. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 15 minutes or until cheeses are melted and lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

My biggest complaint with this dish is the prep and cooking time. Between the cooking time for the beef and the pasta, mixing it all together and baking it for an hour, this easily took an hour and 45 minutes. Not something that is really feasible for a weeknight dinner. It is very good, and the dish size is enormous (suggested serving size is 8) so I'll have plenty to take with me for lunch! Adding the egg really made the ricotta more spreadable. I didn't actually use all of the Italian seasoning since I don't really care for it that much.