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Who doesn’t love a tender pork chop smothered in a tasty sauce?  No one that I know!  Real Mom Kitchen has found anyone either so she posted this delicious and simple recipe on her blog.  I can’t recommend this enough!

Fall Apart Pork Chops

6 bone-in pork chops

garlic salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Kroger honey BBQ sauce.)

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(I didn’t have garlic salt so I Just used garlic powder and salt separately.) Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and spray a 13×9” baking dish with non-stick spray. 

Season the chops on both sides with the salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Place the chops in the baking dish no more that 2 chops high.  Pour the sauce over the chops making sure all of them are covered in sauce.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  You will know that they are done because they will literally fall off the bone.  Yumm!!!

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How’s that for a title?  I think this winter weather is seriously affecting my mental capabilities, because I have had tons of post ideas swirling in my head this week but I can’t seem to put pen to paper so to speak.  So here goes nothing…please forgive the randomness.  I blame it on this:

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That’s right, we had another winter storm last Sunday night with about a quarter inch of ice with 4 inches of snow on top of it.  Oh, joy.  As you can tell, the wind blew and piled the snow up to our back door so it has been pretty much useless up to today.  Sure, it’s pretty, but one can only take so much of this.  We actually got a “snow day” from work on Monday and that is RARE!  Here are a few shots from Monday:

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At least the dogs enjoyed it.

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C & I slipped and slid our way to work on Tuesday, but the roads were still messy.  I felt so sorry for the road crew workers, because they were doing their best. I feel like I need to put a disclaimer on these photos.  I was riding shotgun and taking these the whole way to town.

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Thankfully the temperatures are getting warmer every day so hopefully this won’t last much longer.  On another note, I had my first root canal yesterday and it actually wasn’t bad at all.  In the last 4 or 5 months, I have had a filling replaced, a crown, and now a root canal with a crown coming up for this tooth.  I think my teeth started falling apart the minute I turned forty. 

I can’t complain though since my “problem” was easily fixed and I have been very blessed with good health. There are so many people that aren’t so fortunate.  On that note,  I want to send out a special request to all of my readers.  A little 5 year old boy, whose parents are originally from my area, has been diagnosed this week with Stage 4 Birkett’s Lymphoma.  I ask you to please pray for him and his family.  The doctors say that this is a treatable disease, but he will probably have chemo treatments for at least a year.  He is a precious looking little boy who doesn’t deserve this.  Check out his Facebook page here.

Speaking of prayer, this week was the beginning of the Lent season leading up to Easter.  As a Christian, I find the Easter holiday just as inspiring and important as the Christmas season, maybe more so.  Since the protestant faith doesn’t do quite as much for Lent as the Catholic faith does, I am not really “giving up” anything except a little more of my time every day to Bible study and prayer.  The Bible app on my phone and iPad has 3 different Lent reading plans and I am going to try to study through all three.  Why don’t you join me?

Shew, I think my mind feels a little clearer now.  Oh, no, wait…there is one more story to tell about our trip to Nashville last weekend, but that might have to wait for another post.  Have a great weekend, everyone and thanks for plowing through my untamed thoughts!

Welcome to another Polar Vortex edition of Menu Plan Monday.  Yes, you read that right-another winter storm is rearing its ugly head.  In fact, I am writing this post on Sunday since I am not sure whether we will have electricity because there is a possibility of serious icing.  Ugh, spring can’t get here fast enough for me.

C & I did make the most of a pretty Saturday by heading down south to Nashville for a little fun and relaxation.  Lots of eating and shopping went on so check back on Thursday for all of the details.  The restaurant we tried was wonderful!

I get to have a root canal later this week (oh, joy) so this week’s menu is pretty simple and straight forward.  I do have a new sweet treat to try next weekend, but thankfully they are being given away as thank you gifts so I won’t be tempted to eat the whole pan. 

Hope it’s warm and dry where you are and I wish I was there too!

Chili/Spicy vegetable soup (I have both in the freezer.) with cheesy bread

Beef & cheese sandwiches (new) with oven fries

Sausage bake with salad and fruit

Pizza night

Salsa burgers with oven fries

Cheesy meatloaf minis (new) with curly fries

Raspberry brownies (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

I know the official start of spring is (finally) right around the corner, but I have one more soup recipe to share with y’all.  This is a delicious and easy slow cooker recipe from My Kitchen Addiction that I have made multiple times already.  This soup is easy to adapt to your favorite ingredients and flavors. Try it and I think you will love it as much as I do.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

32 oz. low sodium vegetable stock or broth

28 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup small pasta (I used elbow.)

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In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil and add the chopped onion and minced garlic.  Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the onion/garlic mixture is soft and tender.  Transfer this to a slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients except the pasta.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add the pasta and cover.  Continue to cook on low until the pasta is cooked.  I served this with a side of cornbread and it made a wonderful meal.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

Book Beginnings

I am so glad you are joining me today for Book Beginnings because the book I have for you is one of my all-time favorites.  Do you ever find a book that somehow speaks to you and it seems you can relate to the characters and setting so well.  “Big Stone Gap” by Adrianna Trigianni is one of those to me.  Now, I am really nothing like any of the characters, but the small town setting and people are similar to my small hometown so maybe that is why I enjoy it so much. Here is the first line:

“This will be a good weekend for reading.”

I know this is a short sentence, but I can tell just what kind of weekend that would be.  The weather might be a little cold or wet and the person actually has no big plans to worry about.  She is ready for a little R & R with a good book.  If you haven’t read this, please give it a try.  Ms. Trigianni is one amazing author!

Please join me at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings.

I think everyone was ready for a hike in the woods.

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Not sure what kind of bird lost this feather, but it was pretty and vibrant.

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We found a little green along the way.  Can’t wait for spring to get here.

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Can you spot the raccoon tracks?

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Roy thought he was king of the world.

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More green!

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Some critter had recently eaten lunch on this rock. 

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Here we are on the last Monday in February and hopefully Spring is just right around the corner.  I am excited about the time change next weekend and gaining that extra hour of evening daylight.  It makes the time after work so much enjoyable to be able to get outside in the sunshine even for just a few minutes. 

Since I am trying to watch what I eat a little better, this past Saturday’s post will be the last dessert post for a little while.  I am concentrating on main dishes that are quick, easy, tasty and fairly healthy for the next few weeks.  Don’t worry though, I have too much of a sweet tooth to go too long with a treat.

On this same “healthy” line, I have a post in the works about a few apps and gadgets that I am using to keep track of my exercise and eating habits.  Most are free which is awesome and all are easy to use. 

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Sloppy Joe bubble up (new) with fresh fruit

Pizza triangles (new) with salad

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Grilled hot dogs with oven baked fries

Pizza night

A Southern Soul’s Slow Cooker Roast (new) and butter roasted potatoes

Just wait ‘til you see what I do with the roast leftovers.  Thanks, A Southern Soul for the idea!

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

I wanted to make something different for one of our Christmas dinners and I knew that several people there were cheesecake fans.  This was my first cheesecake so off to the internet I went in search for a recipe to try and found this one on Pinterest (of course) from Kraft. 

It ended up being a simple recipe and oh, so tasty.  C’s cousin’s little boy who is one and a half years old kept sneaking a bite while the adults were playing a game.  Needless to say, there wasn’t much left at the end of the night and that’s exactly how I like it.

Praline Cheesecake

66 Nilla wafers, divided

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

25 Kraft caramels

3 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Completely crush 50 of the Nilla wafers.  Mix the crushed cookies with 1/4 cup sugar and butter.  Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Stand the remaining wafers around the edge of the pan, pressing gently into the crust.

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Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sour cream and vanilla.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each until just blended.  Pour the batter over the crust.

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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center is almost set.(I baked mine for 55 because my oven cooks a little slow and I was scared the center wasn’t done.)  Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake.  Cool before removing the outer ring of the pan.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.

When you are ready to serve the cake, microwave the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted.  It took about 1 1/2 minutes for mine.  Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

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Praline Cheesecake

This finishes up my Sweet Treat month here at Picture Perfect Cooking, but I am sure there will be plenty more to come in the future.

Book Beginnings

Good morning!  Today I am linking up at Rose City Reader for this week’s edition of Book Beginnings.  When you are finished here, click on over and check out other book lover’s choices for this week.

Castle is probably my favorite television show and one that I always take time to watch.  My book today, “Heat Wave”, written by “Richard Castle” originated from the show.  The character “Richard Castle” is a crime/mystery writer so a ghost writer has written books under his name and “Heat Wave” was the first. 

“It was always the same for her when she arrived to meet the body.”

I enjoyed it, but I had a hard time reading it and not picturing the actors from Castle in the roles.  If you are a looking for a fun, easy to read crime/mystery novel, give this one a try.

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