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Menu Plan Monday

April 11, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Welcome to another week here at PPC, and since it is Monday, it is time for another weekly meal plan.  Have I said lately how much I love having my dinners and desserts planned ahead of time?  It makes life after work so much easier!  To know that I have the time and ingredients to make a delicious and (most of the time) healthy supper for C & I makes me a less stressful person and, believe me, that makes everybody happier! Ha,ha!!!

I finally made the lemon chiffon cake that I have been teasing you with for weeks now, and it is like every other Martha Stewart recipe that I have made.  It has a little something, hmm, I don’t know, missing.  The taste was good, but the texture was not quite as light and fluffy as I had hoped.  I also didn’t have the right size pan, so I had to use a slightly bigger one which made for a shorter cake.  It was good, but I probably won’t make it again.  The sunshine salad on the other hand was awesome!!!  It will definitely go into my regular rotation.

Hamburger stew

Chili (I still have a little left in the freezer.)

Taco ring & salad (Hopefully this will cover 2 nights.)

Grilled pork chops & roasted potatoes

Pizza

Steak/Seafood Night

Homemade sloppy Joes

Alton Brown’s Devil’s Food Cake & Frosting (new)

Easter is just around the corner, folks, and that means it is holiday cooking time again!  Yay!!  Come back to see what I have planned.

Posted in Menu Planning |

Famous Pork Chops

April 9, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

This recipe came my way from an E-mail newsletter that I subscribe to from Allrecipes.com.  This website is loaded with recipes for just about everything, and the great thing about this particular site is that the recipes are scalable.  That means you can change the number of servings and it will adjust the recipe to that.  It is so handy when you are cooking for a crowd or just for two.

I am not sure where the name originated, but it fits!  These chops are now famous around here, famously delicious!!!  This is one dish that I know I will go back to again and again. 

8 bone-in pork chops

1 1/2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed

seasoning salt & pepper to taste

2 eggs

1 stick butter, cut into pieces

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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the crushed crackers with the seasoning salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or pie pan.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with about 1/8 cup of water.

Dip the pork chops in the egg mixture and then coat in the cracker crumbs.

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Place the coated chops in a baking dish and place the butter pieces around them.  For 8 chops, I had to use 2 baking dishes.  Bake for 45 minutes and enjoy!

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Posted in Cooking | 12 Comments »

Spotlight

April 6, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Today’s spotlight at Eat At Home Cooks is corn!  Check it out here.

Posted in Cooking |

Menu Plan Monday

April 4, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Good Monday morning to everyone!  Time sure is flying by here since we are well into April already and there is so much that I want to do in the coming weeks before the weather gets way too hot.  There just never seems to be enough time with these perfect temperatures to get everything done outside that I would like. 

Even though Saturday was C’s birthday, we took care of a few chores around the house and nearby.  My dad, aunt, and Nanny came down so we could rake and seed Mom’s grave before it got to hot to sow grass.  It is hard to believe that Mom will be gone a year on Tuesday.  Sometimes it seems like I just saw her yesterday and sometimes it feels like she has been gone for years.  I miss her just as much now as I did a year ago and I so wish I could talk to her here on this earth again.  I am so thankful that when my time comes (hopefully about 100 years from now) that we will meet again in heaven and be together for eternity.

I also thinned my strawberry bed Saturday.  Nanny and Dad both wanted a few strawberry plants for pots and I told them I could give them a few, thinking that I should have about 5 or 6 extra.  Boy, was I wrong!!  I hadn’t cleaned the bed in 2 years so there was a bunch of runners that had rooted.  When I got done, I had moved 22 plants down the wall for us and had 16 for Nanny and Dad.  That’s not counting the original 25 that I planted two years ago that are still there.  I had 38 extra plants!!! 

The only chore that I had planned on doing that I did not have time for was to seed a few bare spots in our front yard, so I plan on taking care of that one day this week after work.  That is why I have a couple of easy meal nights this week.  I just hope the weather cooperates.

We also cheered on the University of Kentucky Wildcat men’s basketball team as they played in the Final Four.  Alas, they fell to the University of Connecticut, but they put up a good fight until the end.  Just wait until next year!!

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Grilled hot dogs with chips

Cheesy corn chip skillet

Pizza night

Steak/seafood night

Famous pork chops with butter roasted potatoes

Lemon Chiffon cake (I promise to actually make that this week instead of just teasing you with it like the last 2 times!)

Sunshine fruit salad (new)

Posted in Menu Planning |

Cheesy Corn Chip Skillet

April 2, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

This is my adaptation to a recipe that was in the Kraft Food & Family magazine Fall 2010 edition.  This is a quick and easy supper idea that adults and kids alike will enjoy.  Take this basic idea and make it your own by using different seasonings, toppings, or use tortilla chips or broken taco shells instead of the corn chips.  My version made enough for 2 adults.

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1/3 cup water

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 sharp & 1/2 mild.)

20 Fritos Scoops chips

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Cook the beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat until there is no pink in the meat.

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Add the taco seasoning and water and cook for about 5 minutes or until thickened.  Add the cheese and chips.  Cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the chips are warm.  Serve plain or with your favorite taco toppings like sour cream, shredded lettuce and salsa.

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Posted in Cooking | 4 Comments »

Thoughtful Thursday

March 31, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Well, spring has finally sprung around here and that means it is gardening season!!! YAY!  As some of you know, I have one raised garden bed in the backyard already and I hope to build another this year.  Here is a shot of last year’s garden at the end of May:

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I have already purchased quite a bit of the seeds that I will need so there will just be a few things that I will pick up later, like sweet pepper plants and a few herbs.  This year, the seeds came from R.H. Shumway’s because Nanny wanted some tomato seeds that only they carried, so I ordered mine from there, too.

Hopefully in just the next couple of weeks I will get the lettuce and carrot seeds in the ground, then around the first of May, the remaining “crops” will be planted.  Here are the lettuce and carrot varieties that I am trying this year:

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I also ordered the cucumber seeds and a package of sunflower seeds as well.

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My father-in-law raises bees and he went to the “bee store” for supplies a couple of weeks ago and brought me these:

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I think I am going to make a small bed around the corner of the fence in the backyard and make that a  “bee garden”.  Hopefully these seeds, along with my sunflower seeds, will draw in bees and birds alike.  I can’t wait to get started!  Happy gardening!

Posted in Gardening, My Thoughts |

Wordless Wednesday

March 30, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

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Posted in Gardening |

Menu Plan Monday

March 28, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Another week has flown by and it is Monday all over again.  It is also back to cooler temperatures after a few beautiful, warm days so this week is chili/soup week one more time.  Easter is so late this year, we may have a few more chili/soup days before it stays warm for good.

Saturday is C’s birthday (love you!), so this week’s dessert is just for him!  I also have to venture to the big grocery store this week, so one evening will be used for that. Oh, joy!!!

Chili

Grilled pork chops & roasted potatoes (I didn’t make this last week as planned because I had a night of leftovers.  Yay!!)

Beef vegetable soup with cornbread

Pizza Night

Steak/Seafood Night

Beef Roast Italiano (new)

Oreo Pie

Posted in Menu Planning |

Basic Meatloaf

March 26, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Meatloaf is one of those foods that you either love or hate.  I used to hate it but now I love it!!  C still hates it and will not touch it with a 10 foot pole, so when I make this, it gets taken to a family dinner.  I had searched for a good, easy meatloaf recipe that resulted in a firm, dry loaf because I did not want it to be too wet and sticky. 

This quick and easy recipe is perfect!  It was given to me by my co-worker, K, who is a great cook.  If you like a dense, solid meatloaf that has just the right amount of moisture in it, try this one.  I think you will love it. 

P.S.  It also makes great leftover sandwiches.  You just can’t beat two pieces of white bread with a warm slice of meatloaf in between them.  Yummy!

1 lb ground beef

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp brown sugar

pepper to taste

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Please ignore the sleeping dog in the above photo!!  Ha, ha!  Ellie has such a hard life!  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet.  Since I didn’t want the meatloaf to sit in the juices while it was cooking, here is what I did.  Put a piece of foil on a baking sheet to catch the drips.  Take a baking rack that is smaller than the sheet pan and cover it with foil.  Punch a bunch of holes in the foil on the rack to allow the juices to drain.  This results in a slightly drier meatloaf which is how I like it.  If you want it wetter, just skip this step.

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Combine the beef, tomato sauce, onion, and cracker crumbs in a large bowl.  I just use my hands to mash it all together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Shape into a loaf and place it on the rack.

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Cook for one hour.  Just before the hour is up, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and a little black pepper.  Spread this mixture on the top of the meatloaf and cook for 10 more minutes.  Enjoy!!

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Posted in Cooking | 15 Comments »

The Calm AFTER The Storm

March 23, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Whew!  What an afternoon!  Thunderstorms hit our area just at going-home time and left quite a sight in their wake.  While I was at work this afternoon, the heavy rain and hail came down.  Thankfully, the hail was small, but there was a lot of it.  It looked like snow in the landscaping at work.  The street in front of the building next door flooded for a short time, and the rain still came down! 

The drive home was not much better.  I ran through at least two more heavy pour-downs with a little bit of hail in those, too.  Just a few minutes ago, I looked out the back door and, behold, a gorgeous double rainbow!

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I couldn’t get the whole rainbow in one shot because it was so big and made a complete half circle.

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What a sight!

Posted in Home, Photography | 2 Comments »

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