Potato and Onion Bake

Guess what I'm doing tonight?  Not cooking, for one thing, so it's fortunate that I had this recipe tucked away from last Sunday's lunch.  No, I am having appetizer's and drinks with my best friend before going to see Les Miserables!  Since I switched jobs a month and a half ago, we went from seeing it each other every workday, and sometimes on the weekends, to maybe once every two weeks.  I am in desperate need of some girl time, while downing a cocktail or two, followed by an absolutely beautiful story played out on screen.  This wench is tickled pink!

Well, I am just now getting home from the movie.  Let me say this:  The film is nothing short of brilliant!  Truly one of the best I have ever seen.  So tragic and haunting, it touches your soul.  The music moved me to tears more than once.  If you get a chance, go see it.  And, if you can make the commitment to read a nearly 1700 page book, please do so.  The movie was amazing but it still pales in comparison to the writing of Victor Hugo.

But, back to tonight's dish.  This is one of my simplest, most basic potato recipes, and it is, oh so, good!  We are only talking about 6 ingredients - you don't need any more when these work so well together.  It goes with any main dish meat, but was a perfect side for those broccoli stuffed pork chops.

Before we had kids, I would make this in a little foil packet for my husband and I.  I happen to like that way better because the bottom potatoes get golden brown and crispy!  Oooh, la, la!  But, with the 4 of us, it's just more practical to make it in a 9 x 13 pan.  Don't get me wrong, though, it still tastes wonderful this way!

Here's your Cast of Characters.

8 Medium potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 Medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Lawry's
Pepper
Chicken bouillon granules

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil for easy cleanup.

Cut potatoes into 1/2" thick slices.

Make a single layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle with a littel Lawry's, pepper, and a couple of pinches of bouillon granules, followed by 1/3 of the diced onions.  Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into little pieces.

Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with dots of butter.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Uncover, and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes, until potatoes are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Thursday Cooking Tip - Muffins

Here is today's cooking tip:

When making muffins with blueberries, fruit, chocolate chips, etc., place those items in a bowl with a dash of flour. Shaking the bowl to coat them evenly with the flour will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins when you bake them.

(Great, now I'm hungry for blueberry muffins.)

Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer

I think that winter has officially set in here.  It has been COLD, and we've gotten a bit of snow.  Because of that, I have now taken to drinking coffee on a regular basis.  That may not seem like a big deal, but I have never been much of a coffee drinker.  I guess, if I'm going to be truthful, I'm still not a full-fledged, card-holding java junkie.  Honestly, I need a lot of sweetener and creamer in it for me to get it down.  I would much prefer tea, but sometimes it's just easier and quicker to grab a mug of coffee that's already made.

At work, we have a caramel macchiato creamer that's okay, but it just doesn't have enough caramel flavor unless I use 3 of them.  If I did that, there would only be enough for about 8 cups.  No, there has to be a better way to enjoy my coffee.

Then, it came to me last week:  Why don't I just make my own caramel creamer?  Really, how difficult could it be?  The answer is, not difficult at all.  And, it has tons of yummy, salted caramel flavor!

Here's your Cast of Characters.  (There are not many pictures because I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  Sorry!)

3 Tbsps. Unsalted butter
1/4 Cup Brown sugar
1/2 Tsp. Sea salt flakes (or kosher salt can be substituted)
1 Cup Fat-free half and half
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat.  Add brown sugar; continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes.  Add sea salt flakes; cook another 30 seconds, stirring continually.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in half and half and vanilla. 

Store in a shaker container, in the fridge, for up to one week.  Shake well before pouring into coffee.

Be advised, this is so delicious, you might be tempted to forego the coffee and drink it straight.  I say, knock yourself out!  Who am I to judge?

Enjoy!

Tuesday Cooking Tip - Homemade Hashbrowns

Here's a quick tip for you, regarding homemade hashbrowns.  Okay, maybe not quick, but still a great tip.

Boil or bake whole potatoes, skins on, until just fork tender.  Cool in the refrigerator.  Once cold, pull the skins off and grate.  This eliminates trying to get all of the water out of raw hashbrowns.  Cook as you normally would.  The hashbrowns will get nice and crispy on the outside using this method.

Enjoy!

Garlic Lemon Broccoli Stuffed Chops

I am having a hard time concentrating on writing tonight's post, thanks to my husband.  He keeps flipping the channels back and forth between two of my guiltiest pleasures:  Bridesmaids and Duck Dynasty.

I didn't think I would like either one of those, yet here I am, raising my hand, saying, "Hi, my name is Anita, and I like the crude humor of Bridesmaids and the redneck ingenuity of Duck Dynasty.  I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I trust that you won't judge me."  Hey, sometimes you just can't explain why you like a certain thing, it might go against everything you generally like, but you do anyway.

Okay, we have gotten past my favorite part, now I can get back on track.  I'm sorry for the detour.  Yesterday, I decided that I wanted stuffed pork chops for lunch.  We had gotten a nice package of boneless chops last weekend, while shopping in Fargo, that were the perfect thickness to be stuffed.  The only thing is, neither of my kids are fond of stuffing.  They'll eat almost anything else, but not stuffing, so I can't complain.  Well, if I wasn't going to use something bread-based as a filling, what then?  I had ricotta cheese, which was a start.  Next, a vegetable.  I thought of doing spinach, but that seemed very commonplace.  I looked through my freezer and decided broccoli would be good.  Once, I had that, I knew which way I was going.  I still have my beautiful Meyer lemons, and I happen to love the flavor combinations of broccoli, garlic and lemon.

I should warn you, this is not a quick-fix meal.  You need to have, at least, a couple of hours to invest in the preparation and cooking, but it is worth it.

Here's your Cast of Characters.

4-6 Boneless pork chops, 1/2 - 3/4" inch thick
1/3 Cup ricotta cheese
1/2 Cup Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 Bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed
3 Tsp, minced garlic, divided
Juice and zest from 1 lemon, the juice divided (I used one of my Meyer lemons but you can use a regular one.)
1 1/2 Tsps Lawry's seasoning salt, divided
3/4 Tsp pepper, divided
1 Tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic & Herb blend, divided
1/2 Cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 and line a 9 x 13 baking dish with foil.

Roughly chop the broccoli, and throw in a medium mixing bowl.

Add ricotta, Pecorino Romano, 2 tsp garlic, zest, juice from half of the lemon, 1 tsp Lawry's,1/2 tsp, each, pepper and garlic & herb to the bowl.  Mix well.

Lay a pork chop flat on the cutting board.  Place one hand firmly down on the chop, and with a sharp knife, cut a deep slit in the center of the pork chop.

Be very careful to stay in the center and not to cut all the way through.

Use a tablespoon to fill the chops.

Once you have stuffed all the pork chops, and placed in the baking dish, sprinkle each lightly with Lawry's, pepper and garlic & herb seasonings.

Cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes.  While that is baking, in a small saute pan, prepare a sauce to drizzle over the chops by adding chicken broth, butter, juice from half of a lemon, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp, each, Lawry's and garlic & herb.

Heat to medium-high, whisking to combine.

Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and reduced by half (10 - 15 minutes). 

Set aside until pork chops are done.  When timer goes off on the chops, uncover and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes, until they are cooked through.  Remove to a serving platter.

Drizzle sauce evenly over the pork chops.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Driving home tonight was a little challenging.  We're in the middle of the first real winter storm of the season, you see.  It started this morning with a thick fog and freezing mist, so the roads were nice and slick.  Then, the snow came with high winds.  By the time I headed home, it was getting dark and visibility was low with white-out conditions for the last 5 miles.  It was great fun.  And, in between praying that I didn't end up driving in the ditch, I kept thinking about tonight's dinner and post.

With the storm howling around us and the bitter cold, you'd think I would be planning some kind of soup, or maybe a warm drink, but, no.  I was thinking of liquid sunshine.  Meyer lemon liquid sunshine to be exact. 

Today when I was at Walmart, I was surprised, but ecstatic to find that they had bags of Meyer lemons!  And, not just a few, either.  I was so tickled, I grabbed 3 bags, as I dreamed of lemon bars, lemon marmalade and lemon vinaigrette!  I admit, I'm a tad bit obsessed.  You would be, too, if you loved regular lemons, then tried Meyers.  I really can't find the right words to do them justice.  The flavor is so intense, the juice so sweet, you almost won't believe it's from a lemon, and the aroma is so fragrant, you can smell them through the plastic bag.  If you close your eyes, you would swear you were on some Mediterranean coast, with the breeze wafting powerful citrus notes from a nearby lemon grove.  Right about now, I wish that were true.  Instead, I'm here, blizzard blowing outside, sharing my recipe of liquid sunshine with you.  As my best friend put it, "They bring such brightness to our cold winter days."

Here's your Cast of Characters.

Zest from 3 Meyer lemons
1/3 Cup, each, Meyer lemon juice (3 lemons), olive oil and honey
1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 Teaspoon, each, kosher salt, minced garlic and fresh basil (or from the tube as I used)

In a small mixing bowl, zest lemons.

Add remaining ingredients.

Whisk well, until thoroughly combined.

It makes 1 cup of dressing, and it's thin, so a little goes a long way.  Refrigerate any extra in a shaker bottle - just shake well before using.

You might need to put on your sunglasses because it's so sunshiney!  And, I really wish they would invent scratch and sniff for the computer, because you would be drooling right now. 

Doesn't the salad look gorgeous on my beautiful plate?  It was a Christmas present from my friend, Michelle, and I adore it!

Enjoy, my friends!

Thursday Cooking Tip

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

I have to admit, I've never tried this one, but have seen it around a few times.  I haven't been using a lot of potatoes recently, though, so I've problems with them budding.  I will give this a whirl.

Let me know if you have tried this before, and if so, what were your results.  I'm very curious.  I will do the same.  Have a good night!