Ranch Pork Chops w/Buttered Herb Rice

So last month my husband and I were hanging out in the living room when he starts snacking on Cool Ranch Doritos. Those are my favorite. I know I've talked about my husband and his ridiculous discipline, but I stay away from snacks like that because I will open the bag and snack on them until they're gone. I sat here staring at his chips and decided maybe I should make some popcorn. And then my brain started working and said, "You should make cool ranch popcorn." Sometimes my brain is brilliant folks.

I found this homemade ranch dressing mix  and decided I'd give it a shot. Of course, I don't do anything by the book so my version has no dried buttermilk or dried chopped onion. I didn't have any so I just omitted them. I figured since I wasn't turning this into actual dressing, the buttermilk probably wouldn't matter and I used about a tsp more of onion powder to make up for the missing chopped onion. Now, how did the popcorn turn out? Not great. I didn't  have really butter popcorn so the seasoning didn't really stick. I still have hope, but for now the seasoning is getting put to use in other places.

That leads me into tonight's supper. I had some boneless pork chops out and decided the ranch was a good way to go. The mix isn't really salty, so I used a hearty pinch and covered one side of each chop. On the other side, I used this rancher steak seasoning I got from a party my sister had. I did a simple pan fry, about 6-7 minutes each side on med-high heat. I didn't use any oil, I tell you if you don't have a good non-stick pan you need to go get one.

I paired the chops with some butter herb rice. Cook some white (or brown) rice in chicken broth and then add butter, marjoram, basil, and oregano. The ratios will changed depending on how much rice you cook. I cooked about 3/4 cup of dried rice and used 1 T butter and shame on me, I never measure the actual seasoning. I just shake the container until there's a good coating and then stir it up. It's simple but very good.

I use a chicken bouillon mix for my broth and only used about half as much bouillon as required, so it was very light and quite good. It worked out well because I over did it with the steak seasoning and the chops were a tad salty. Paired with a bite of rice though, perfect. Enjoy!

Potato soup!

I am longing for spring. It snowed a bunch over the weekend. And today it rained ice. I'm just ready for warm weather! Until then, soup will continue to dominate my mind.

Potato soup may be my all time favorite soup. There are tons of variations of it out there and I love that it never quite tastes the same every time I make it. Here's what I did this time. You know that Crockpot Ham I posted about? Well, there's a reason I never make ham. There's just too much of it for two people to eat. We even get tired of the leftovers. I'm using "we" here even though I'm pretty sure this only applies to me. My husband could probably have continued eating the ham and been just fine with it. I decided I was finished with it though and took what was left and chopped it up. I would estimate there was about 1 cup chopped when I was finished.

My base for my soup was taken from the Pioneer Woman because she's awesome. I follow it pretty well too, with just a few changes. Here's what I went with this time.

3 large russet potatoes, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 T butter

4 c chicken broth

4 c vegetable broth (use the homemade kind!)

1 c milk

3 T wheat flour

1/2 c milk w/1T melted butter (that's what I use when I'm out of cream!)

1 c chopped ham

salt

pepper

Cajun seasoning

cornstarch dissolved in water

Chop and dice all of your veggies. In a big stockpot melt 2 T of butter. Once melted, add the carrots, celery, and onion and saute about 2-3 minutes. Add in the potatoes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. You can add in your seasonings here. I went really easy on the salt since broth tends to have a high sodium content. Next add in your broths. Let it come to a boil (this may take some time) and then let it cook for another 10 minutes. Mix your cup of milk with your flour. Add it into the soup and stir well. Let it cook another 5 minutes. Pull out your blender and scoop out about 2/3 of whats in the pot. Blend it up and pour it back in. Add the last bit of milk (or cream) and add your ham. Here's where I deviate a lot from Ree, I like thick soup and this was just not thick enough for me. I mixed about 2 T of cornstarch with a little water and added it to the mix to really thicken it up. I let it cook a while longer as well. 

Because of the spiciness of the ham, this soup has a slight kick to it. I love it. I didn't add any cheese, just enjoyed the goodness as is. 

Crock pot Ham!

I'm not sure why I've never thought this was possible before, but now that I know...

I'm not sure who gifted us with the 7lb ham we've had in the fridge for a while, but I'm grateful. It was precooked, so it didn't need a ton of cooking time but ham still takes some planning. I usually make some kind of brown sugar glaze and then reglaze half way through the cooking process. Even then, ham can end up being dry if you're not careful. The crock pot seemed like an excellent way to remedy that.

The recipe I found said to cook it on low for 4 hours. These were instructions for a 6-8lb ham. Obviously, you could use a meat thermometer to ensure it was cooked to your liking. Being that this ham was already cooked, I really just needed it warmed to my liking. I found this brandy brown sugar glazed ham recipe from A Spicy Perspective. I'm not really an alcohol drinker (unless it's wine) but the recipe said you could sub juice so that's what I did. We don't always have juice but this week we have some pineapple orange juice, so that's what I used. I also used regular ground  mustard, because that's what I had, and I tend to not like overly mustardy things so I used half as much. I found this to be amazingly good. Different than your normal brown sugared ham, but different in a really good way. My husband wasn't thrilled, he doesn't seem to like cumin unless it's Mexican food, I know, I pity him too, but he still ate it. It's also the first time I've used the grinding function on my blender. I used fresh ground coriander. Love the way it smells. I omitted the allspice, because I didn't have any.

I wondered what kind of crust we'd get on the ham in the crock pot, but to my surprise it browned very nicely. All in all, I'm quite sure we'll use this method again. It's the perfect way to have Easter dinner done right after church let's out without worrying about burning the house down!

6-8 lb ham

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c juice (apple, orange, mixed)

1 T ground mustard

1 T cornstarch

1 T cumin

1 T ground coriander

1/2 t cayenne pepper

2 t seasoned salt

Mix all the dry ingredients up and add your juice. Stir it well to make sure you've gotten all the brown sugar declumped. Score the ham about 1/4 inch deep. Rub about half the glaze all over the ham. I put the ham in the crock pot cut side down. Really, it was because that's how it fit best, but I'll do it again next time as well because I then poured the rest of the glaze over the ham. You could save the rest and do it half way through the cooking process, but I decided not to do that because with slow cookers you really want to leave the lid on to keep the heat in. Let it cook on low 4-5 hours. You could leave it longer for a larger ham. 

So good folks!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate shake (that won't ruin your diet!)

It's lent. Everyone gives something up. I've decided to have a different perspective this year. It's not about giving something up, but about committing something. I'm committing to 40 days of healthy eating and positive perspective. I was really excited about this new outlook and that high kept me easily turning away from bread and cookies all week. Then tonight happened. I'm sitting at home watching a movie (Harry Potter for anyone that cares) and I'm dying for chocolate. I go to the kitchen to see what I can come up with and what do I find, Red Velvet Oreos. I did not buy these. I would not deliberately temp myself. God bless my husband and his ability to eat ONE cookie and then put the bag away. I don't know how he does it.

I turned away from the cookies and decided I could come up with something that would satisfy my need for something sweet without breaking my commitment this season.

Frozen bananas puree like ice cream, did you know? I've posted about it before here, and I highly recommend you try it if you haven't. I grabbed a banana from the freezer and chopped it up. I used my 12 oz blender cup, so this isn't a giant treat, just enough to satisfy my craving. I added the banana to the cup and then filled it to the 12oz mark with Vanilla Almond milk. I added about 2 T PB2 and 2 T carob powder. Blend it up and yum. Delicious peanut butter banana chocolate shake. It's a little thin, but just darn good.

1 frozen banana, sliced

Vanilla Almond milk (about 8 oz)

2 T PB2

2 T carob powder

Pork Chops & Garlic Parm Pasta

It's sounds like a weird combo doesn't it? It really isn't though. I decided to make these mushroom, onion, garlic, wine pork chops that I've made previously and I couldn't decide on a side. When I thought of the onions, garlic, and mushrooms though all that came to mind was pasta. I figured why not?

This pasta is so easy to make. It's butter, olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. That's it. I used 16oz of bow tie pasta and cooked it as directed. Once it was finished I drained it and used the same pot to melt 1/2 stick of butter and 2 T of olive oil. I sauteed about 6 cloves of minced garlic for about 30 seconds and then added the noodles back to the pot. Turn the heat off and mix it up. Then add about 1/2 c of parmesan cheese. Grated or shredded, whichever suits your fancy. So yummy. I plated it with the pasta on the bottom, then a pork chop with all the extra goodness from the pan drizzled on top, with a side of broccoli. Enjoy!

Super Bowl 2015

Also known as the time it snowed so bad we cancelled church, shoveled snow multiple times throughout the day, and stayed inside. It was great!

I'm honestly not even being sarcastic. We watched a livestream service of  the Potter's house and it was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. We played some Earth, Wind, and Fire and I had myself a dance party while my husband looked at me like I was some crazy woman. We picked up some awesome chicken, I made some cheesy ranch potatoes, and decided to make the peanut butter dip I was going to make for the party we were going to go to that was cancelled. It's about to be a Super Bowl party for two! Hope you're enjoying your day wherever you are!

1/4 c butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz jar of peanut butter (or 1 c will work)

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 c mini chocolate chips

Chocolate sprinkles

White frosting

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter. Stir in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar half a cup at a time. Stir in the chocolate chips. You can add more powdered sugar if it's too sticky. It will mold nicely on a serving platter and you can have a free standing football. I had a football shaped dish so decided to use that instead. The amount of sprinkles you use will vary, I used about 1/4 cup and it covered the top nicely. Then draw on your seam. It's delicious. You will want to eat it with a spoon. And you can! We have some pretzels and celery we're going to use. I bet cookies would be delicious too! 

Honey Soy Chicken thighs

You ever have days where you take something out of the freezer and think, "By dinner time I'll know what I want to do with this," and then dinner time rolls around and you're just as uninspired as you were previously? Never happens to me either....Ha. My husband sat there looking at me like a crazy person going on about how I had to have a hundred different recipes. I preferred to just stare back at him like he had no idea what he was talking about and in no possible way was he right.

Ok, well, maybe I do have close to a hundred different chicken recipes pinned...Tonight gave me the opportunity to try one as I really was not inspired to be creative. There are some days when you just wish someone came over and cooked for you. And then mopped and dusted and did the laundry too.

I took tonight's masterpiece from She Wears Many Hats blog. It was one of those recipes that you look at and realize it 1) Sounds delicious and 2) contains things you have in the pantry. Always two big pluses in my book. I followed it pretty well. Well, in that mine has everything that hers does. I'm just not good at measuring spices. I just eyeball a lot of it. We're eating this with some stir fry veggies that were sauteed in sesame oil and soy and then seasoned with garlic powder and ground ginger; and we're eating it all over brown rice.

It's really quite tasty and your house will smell amazing while it's all cooking!