Lasagna Rolls

I am a lasagna purist, so it took me a long time to get on the lasagna roll bandwagon.  The concept has been around for a while, but since lasagna is one of my favorite foods, I thought my way was better.  Well... I might have been wrong.  These are so good!  And if you want to put them in multiple dishes to freeze, pass off to a friend etc, it is very convenient!

Meat Sauce:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 a 32 oz. jar of sauce (save the rest for the bottom and top)

Ricotta Filling:

• 2 cups ricotta cheese (or a 15 ounce container)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons of pesto
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley ( I only had dried)
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded, about 2 cups (reserving 1/2 cup for topping)
• 4 ounces Parmesan cheese finely grated, about 1 1/2 - 2 cups (reserving 1/4 cup for topping)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Noodles:

• 12 traditional lasagna noodles (I had enough filling for 15)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Brown the ground beef and drain any excess grease.
3. Add half of the jar of sauce and simmer to combine the flavors.
4. While the sauce is simmering, boil the lasagna noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain the noodles, rinse quickly under cold water and then lay the noodles flat in a single layer on waxed paper, towel, cutting board, whatever is handy.
5. Stir together the ricotta cheese, egg, pesto, parsley, mozzarella cheese (remember to set aside 1/2 cup of the mozzarella for topping later), Parmesan cheese (remember to set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan for later also), salt and pepper.
6. Spread a heaping spoonful of the ricotta filling down the center of each noodle. It doesn't have to cover the entire noodle, just press it into a somewhat even layer. The filling will be divided up evenly over all 12 noodle (I don't start rolling up the noodles until I've used up all the filling so I can add more to each noodle if need be). Spread a tablespoon or two of the meat sauce down the center of each noodle on top of the creamy filling. Again, it doesn't need to be perfectly even, just drizzle/spread it across the top.
7. Spread about one cup or so of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Working with one lasagna noodle at a time, roll the noodle and place seam-side down in the baking dish in four rows of three. Spread the remaining sauce over the noodles, sprinkle with the reserved cheeses and cover with aluminum foil  Bake, covered for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let the lasagna rolls rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Kitchen of Reality Tips:

- I used a jarred sauce by Mid's called Meatless (Lowe's Foods) and it was the best sauce I have ever tasted!  It is quite expensive so I only bought it because it was on a great sale.  In the future, I will be sure to stock up because it was awesome!

- I got all my other ingredients at Aldi, so you can keep the price pretty low!

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Super easy and quite impressive. Was surprised at the amazing flavor of this dish. Enjoy a new variation on chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups shelled pistachios
• ¾ cup plain breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 4 TB. Dijon mustard
• 4 TB. canola oil
• ¼ cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, parsley, dill, etc.)
• 1½ lbs. chicken breast cutlets

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of foil.
2. Grind pistachios by pulsing in a food processor until medium fine. Mix the nuts with the breadcrumbs, and place in a shallow bowl. Add salt and pepper.
3. Whisk the mustard with 2 TB. of oil, and the herbs in a separate bowl.
4. Spread mustard mixture over both sides of each piece of chicken, and dredge in the pistachio breading to cover.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add chicken breasts, two at a time (do not crowd), to the skillet, and cook until the coating turns golden brown on each side, flipping after 3– 4 minutes. Repeat for each piece.
6. Place each browned chicken cutlet on the baking sheet, and bake to finish. Cook 7–10 minutes depending on thickness of chicken.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

• We looked at 3 different specialty stores for shelled pistachios… ended up finding them at Wal-Mart. Who would of thought?!
• Be careful not to chop your pistachios too fine. You do want some chunkier pieces in the crust.
• We ended up using a little more oil in the skillet than it called for because we didn’t want the crust to stick to the skillet and peel off the chicken.

 

** Original recipe from: www.wherewomencook.com ***

Smothered Beef Burritos

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it's quickly becoming a favorite in my house!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
• 1 large can mild enchilada sauce* (at least 19 oz.)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1/2 can refried beans (optional)
• 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. (Can also cook on high for maybe 3-4 hours.) 

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave (covered and in a microwave-proof dish, of course)and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate, or cookie sheet even, lay out a tortilla.  Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Roll into a burrito (hopefully you know how to roll these). Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.

Serve.
Makes 5-7 burritos, depending on how full you make them.

Notes from Kitchen of Reality:
-We hate beans so I omit this part.
-I use a slotted spoon and remove all of my beef from the crock pot and put it in a large bowl where I shred it with two forks.  Then we found the broth to be too thin to get a nice coating on your rolled burritos, so this time, I did a corn starch/water mixture to thicken it.  I did maybe a Tbsp of corn starch in a little bowl with cold water.  Mix well and then I added it to the cooking liquid left in the crock pot.  I turned the crock pot to high while I shredded the beef.  It made it more gravyish in consistency and really did a great job of staying on the burritos after I rolled them. 
-block cheese melts WAY better than preshredded stuff.  Buy the block and shred yourself, you will be happy you did.

We eat this with Spanish rice and the Chili's copy cat salsa recipe right below this one.  DELICIOUS!  And beyond easy with basically ingredients I always have! 

Pizza Bake

Easy and had all the ingredients in the pantry to make it. Just something different from a plain old boring pizza. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 med onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 15 ounce jar pizza sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- 1/2 C parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 T oil

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Brown hamburger, sausage, onion, and bell pepper. Drain well.
- Add garlic salt and oregano, pizza sauce. Stir well.
- Grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella over bottom of it. Spread meat mixture over the cheese.
- In mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, flour, oil, and salt. Pour over meat in pan.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over batter.
-Bake 30 minutes.
Tips from a Kitchen Reality:
- I ended up using only about 1 lb of meat total.
- I didn’t use onions and peppers—replaced with mushrooms—and used a lot. (Replace with your favorite pizza toppings.)
- Didn’t use fresh oregano—replaced with a few Tbsp Italian Seasoning.
- Mine wasn’t quite done at 30 minutes—I think it baked 40 instead.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

This really wasn’t a stroganoff recipe to me, more of a goulash. But then I realized I really didn’t know the difference, so I looked it up and really this should be “Ground Beef Strogalash.”

It’s easy, cheap, and one of the kids ate it too! What more can you ask!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped yellow onions

1 cup sliced white button mushrooms

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 pound small elbow macaroni or wide egg noodles, cooked

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup sour cream

Grated white Cheddar cheese, optional

Directions:

- Season the beef with the salt, pepper, and Essence.

- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the meat and drain any excess oil.

- Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms have released their juices, about 2 minutes.

- Add the macaroni, beef broth and sour cream. 

- Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 5 to 6 minutes. 

- Serve with cheese on top.
 
Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the mixture onto 2 large plates. Sprinkle each portion with the cheese, if desired, and chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Recipe for Emeril’s Essence Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- I left out the onions, added more mushrooms.

- The sour cream in the fridge was moldy, so I used cream cheese instead.

- I had no intent of making a full batch of Emeril’s special seasoning, so instead I gave my meat a dash or two of all ingredients in the mix – well, actually just the ones I had in the pantry cupboard. :)

- I didn’t think the sauce was thick enough so I used flour to thicken. (If you never done that before, mix a few tablespoons of flour with twice as much COLD water then pour into hot mixture. Whisk as you pour so it doesn’t clump up. Cornstarch works the same way. Just be sure to mix with cold water first.)

- I have no idea why you would cook your meat in oil, I didn’t and still had to drain off excess.

ENJOY!!

**Adapted recipe from www.foodnetwork.com **

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

The hubby wanted to cook for me on Mother’s Day so he asked me to find him a new recipe that I would like to try. With the fresh basil out of the garden, I knew this one would be yummy!!

Ingredients
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomato dressing, divided
2 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (1 tsp. dried basil leaves)

Directions

- Place chicken in Ziploc bag. Add 1/4 cup dressing and seal bag. Marinate for 10 minutes or longer.

- Place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; heat grill to medium heat.

- Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill for about 6 minutes.

-Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/4 dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

-Turn the chicken over and place cooked-side up, on foil on the grill. Top with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- No tips from me. The husband made it following the directions and it was DELICIOUS!!

**Recipe from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com **

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach

I always am up for a recipe that is tasty and good for you.
The recipe claims to be 5 WW points per serving for anyone counting!
It was DELICIOUS (dare I say it, very moist... I can't stand that word) and super easy, especially since I had all the ingredients at home to make it.

Ingredients:
8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
1/2 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
6 tablespoons egg whites or egg beaters
5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid
6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
6 oz part skim mozzarella
olive oil non-stick spray
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
- Wash and dry chicken, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese in one bowl and 1/4 cup egg beaters or egg whites in another.
- Shred or finely chop 1.5 oz of mozzarella cheese and combine with remaining parmesan cheese, spinach (make sure you squeeze it dry), 2 tbsp egg beaters, and ricotta cheese.
- Lay chicken down on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.
- Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks -needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. \
- When finished, lightly spray with olive oil and cover with foil. Bake 25 mins. Remove foil, top with sauce and cheese. Bake 4 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
I actually ALMOST followed the recipe, I substituted Italian (non healthy) breadcrumbs for the other, it was what was in the pantry. I also love garlic so I added a tsp of minced garlic to the cheese/spinach mixture.

**Recipe from www.skinnytaste.com . **

Sour Cream Pasta Bake

This is a modified recipe I got from one of my best friends, Emily. 

1 package bowtie Wacky Mac Pasta (my kids love the colors, I love it's made from veggies)
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cottage cheese
1 small can tomato sauce (NOT spaghetti sauce)
1 lb ground beef
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Cook the Wacky Mac according to the package directions.
2.  While the pasta cooks, brown off the ground beef and drain the excess fat off.  Pour in the can of tomato sauce and I season it with a little black pepper and garlic salt.
3.  In a 2 or 3 qt baking dish (I use a large deep oval shape, not a 9 X 13) dump in your cottage cheese and sour cream.  I season this also with a little black pepper and garlic salt.  Mix well.
4.  Drain pasta and shake excess water off.  Pour into baking dish and mix with sour cream/cottage cheese mixture. 
5.  Pour beef mixture on top and spread evening.
6.  Top with cheese.  Cover with either foil or a lid (I have a glass lid) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Take the foil/lid off the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese just a bit. 

Tips from the Kitchen of Reality:
-My kids DEVOUR this.  They LOVE the Wacky Mac! 
-The original recipe calls for scallions on the top.  It makes it taste a little more Tex-Mex and I like it that way but the kids don't, so I leave it off.
-This is a great easy recipe that makes a lot and is GREAT reheated as leftovers. 

Enjoy!

Alice Springs Chicken

This is one of the most familiar items on the menu at Outback Steakhouse—I seriously think I’ve only eaten their three times, but certainly ate this each time I was there. Good stuff. I can’t say if it really tastes like the “real thing” but it is good regardless!

Ingredients
4 chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness
1 bottle Lawry's Original Seasoned Salt marinade
4 slices bacon
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup honey mustard dressing

Directions

1. Marinate the chicken in the Lawry's Original Seasoned Salt marinade for at least 30 minutes.  The longer the better.

2. While the chicken is marinating, cook the bacon in a large skillet.  Set aside.  Reserve 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat.  Sauté mushrooms in bacon fat until softened.  Set aside.

3. Grill the chicken 12-15, minutes until done.  You can also cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove if desired.

4. Preheat the broiler on your oven.  Place cooked chicken on a rimmed baking sheet.  Spread 1-2 Tbsp honey mustard on cooked chicken.  Top with bacon, mushrooms and cheese.  Broil until cheese is melted.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

I am a bit of a thrifty shopper and wasn’t buying the marinade since I had the actual Lawry’s Seasoning Salt in my cabinet. I just sprinkled the chicken with it and let it sit in the fridge about a 1/2 hour.

I also used plain old cheddar—it was what was in the fridge!  Still very tasty!

** Recipe from www.plainchicken.com **

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Can you tell that we have had a week of new recipes!?  While sometimes it might get boring with the same type of food throughout the week, I’ve found that it works better with my budget to make things with similar ingredients. So 3 of the last 7 days—we’ve had Mexican food.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 small flour tortillas
1 small can of drained corn
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn, taco seasoning and cumin.
3. Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
4. Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
5. The last & final layer should be grated cheese.
6. Cover with foil that has been sprayed and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
7. Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- I made mine in a 9 x 13 pan. Made two stacks of three tortillas each and was able to just cut it out in squares to serve.

- Of course I left out the onion and cilantro and I used the random mix of cheese I had in the fridge—but it still was delicious. Nothing new and exciting, just rearranged a little.

(Recipe from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake)

Taco Pasta

So my my husband asked me while eating dinner, “Is this just a glorified hamburger helper recipe?” Good question… I’ve never eaten hamburger helper, so perhaps it is. He quickly tried to make up for the fact that it wasn’t from a box by saying “It tastes much better than that, you can tell it has fresh ingredients.” Yea, yea. Too late for that now Mister! It was a great change up from our normal Mexican meals, definitely kid friendly, hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 8-12 ounces medium pasta shells
- 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained (if making this for kids you might want to use just plain diced tomatoes)
- 1 packet (4 tablespoons) taco seasoning
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic, taco seasoning, and diced tomatoes. Let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.

3. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit if it is still too thin.

4. Toss in the cilantro right before serving for some fresh color and flavor. Serve with a green salad.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- I left out the onion and cilantro. Not big fans of either. Since I was hoping the kids would eat it, and one of the two did, I didn’t get the tomatoes with chilies.

- Didn’t think it was going to thicken up, but it did. Just be patient.

Parmesan Mushroom Pork

This recipe which I found on Pinterest was titled “Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast” and came from HERE. But the recipe that follows was made with what was in my kitchen this afternoon and was only inspired by the original recipe. See what you think! We loved it.

Ingredients:

- 2 thick pork cutlets

- a large handful of parmesan cheese

- 6 sliced button mushrooms

- 1/4 cup mayo

- 1 minced garlic clove

- salt and pepper

Directions:

- Place pork in a greased baking dish.

- Mix the rest of the ingredients and spread over the top of the pork.

- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- The original recipe called for a cup of mayo and that made me want to gag. I am guessing I used about a 1/4 of a cup, I really just added mayo to stick all the other ingredients together.

- Sorry my cheese amount is just an estimate—I just used enough so the mixture would cover both pieces of pork.

Slow Cooker Ham and White Beans

Super easy, super cheap, and GREAT for a cold day of no cooking!

Ingredients

1 lb package dried northern beans
ham bone, hocks, shanks or diced ham (about 1 pound)
2 tsp onion powder
6 cups water
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Rinse and sort the beans for any pebbles. Add the the rinsed beans, onion powder, salt, pepper, and ham to the crock pot. Add water. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours, until beans are tender. Remove ham bone, shanks or hocks and pull off the meat. Add meat to the crock pot and mix. Serve with cornbread.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- Won’t lie… ham bones, hocks, etc just gross me out. I bought a small package of country ham pieces at the grocery store.

- I soaked my beans in water overnight and then only had to cook for about 3 hours—we had this for Sunday lunch. Didn’t have all day to let it sit.

Classic Meatloaf

I am not a big fan of meatloaf. Every recipe I’ve ever just was blah… or had about 5 ingredients I thought were gross. :) HA… and I wonder why my child is a picky eater.

Anyways… found this plain Jane recipe for meatloaf and gave it a shot. For me it’s a keeper.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dry oregano

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

3/4 lb ground beef chuck

3/4 lb ground pork

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with foil. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and brown sugar. Set aside.

2. In large bowl, whisk all the rest of the ingredients together until well incorporated.

3. Transfer the mixture onto prepared baking sheet and make a loaf 9 x 3 inches.

4. Brush loaf with ketchup/sugar mixture.

5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

1. I didn’t use onion—surprise! And I used tomato sauce instead of paste. Worked fine.

2. The mix of pork and beef made a big difference to me and I liked the sweeter sauce on top with brown sugar. AWESOME meatloaf for the picky me! Hope you enjoy!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Always on the lookout for good crockpot recipes, I came across this recipe for Beef Stroganoff, which is a dish I generally don't like. We had it all the time when I was a kid, and it wasn't one of my favorites even back then. This piqued my interest because it had some different ingredients from the normal recipe I am used to so I thought I would give it a try.

2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 large onion diced
4 T of Worcestershire
1/2c water
couple of dashes of Garlic Salt
couple dashes of Hot Paprika
8 oz of cream cheese

Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot except the meat and cream cheese. Once they are combined add in the meat and mix again. Cook on Low for 8 hours.

Cube the cream cheese and add to the crockpot. Turn on high and cook for 10 minutes or until the cream cheese "melts" into the sauce.

Serve over egg noodles or maybe mashed potatoes.

Kitchen of Reality Tips:
- I didn't have Hot Paprika so I used some regular Paprika and a little cayenne. I could probably use more of both next time.
- I think I accidentally cooked it on High instead of Low - oops! My meat definitely fell apart in the sauce as I stirred in the cream cheese.
- Mine was a tad runny but this could have to do with the wrong cooking temperature.
- Doesn't call for salt and pepper, you can add to taste.

What a delicious meal! It makes enough for some leftovers which will be great reheated. I really preferred the cream cheese to the normal sour cream recipe.

Spinach and Bacon Stuffed Pork Loin

This is one of the recipes the guys cooked for the 2nd Annual Slivensky Iron Chef competition. It was AWESOME. Totally recommend this recipe, and since our 3 typically-not-in the kitchen husbands made it… it should be pretty easy for all you cooks out there.

Roast
6 slices side bacon or pancetta, chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup (50 mL) dry white wine
1 pkg (10 oz/300g) spinach, trimmed
1 cup (250 mL) fresh bread crumbs
3 to 4 lb (1.5 to 2 kg) boneless pork single loin roast
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper

White Wine and Rosemary Cream Sauce
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) finely minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup (125 mL) dry white wine
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, fry bacon until crisp. Drain off fat. Reduce heat to medium and add shallots and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute or until translucent. Add wine and spinach and sauté just until wilted. Transfer to bowl and let cool completely. Stir in bread crumbs.
3. Meanwhile, place pork on board with fat-side up. Starting at right side and knife parallel with board, cut pork in half, almost but not all the way to left side, to butterfly. Open up loin so it lies nearly flat in one layer. Pat flat. Starting in the center of opened loin and knife parallel with board, cut in half on the left side to butterfly again, almost but not all the way to the end. Butterfly again on the right hand side. Lay open. It will unfold like a fold-out section in a magazine, with four segments. Lightly pound with a meat mallet to make even thickness. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.
4. Spread cooled spinach mixture evenly over cut side of pork, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) at one short side bare. Starting opposite bare edge, tightly roll up jelly-roll style and tie with kitchen string. Heat clean frying pan over high heat until hot. Add roast, fat-side down, then sear on all sides. Place in roasting pan; set frying pan aside. Roast the pork uncovered for 50 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 155° to 160°F (68° to 70°C) and a hint of pink remains in pork. Place on cutting board and tent with foil. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
5. To make sauce, heat reserved frying pan over medium heat. Add any juices from roasting pan and bring to a boil. Add shallots and rosemary and sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Boil until wine is reduced by half. Add cream and boil until slightly reduced and thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve slices of roast drizzled with sauce.

Recipe from LCBO.

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops

It doesn't get any easier than this...

Ingredients:

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

Directions:

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
I had chicken in the freezer instead of pork... so we had chicken. Super easy and great with Parmesan mashed potatoes!

Chicken Biscuit Stew

As a couponer, I found myself with two cans of Pillsbury Grands biscuits in the fridge b/c they were crazy cheap with my coupon.  So I got on their site and found this recipe.  Oh so yummy on this cool rainy night.  This will be a regular in my line up during the winter.

1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
Dash pepper
1 (10 1/2) can of chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup fresh baby carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 (12 oz) can of Pillsbury Grandes refrigerator biscuits

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 375.  Melt margarine in 10-inch ovenproof skillet.  Stir in flour and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until smooth and bubbly.
2.  Gradually stir in broth and milk with a whisk.  Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.  Add chicken, peas, carrots, and onion; cook until hot and bubbly, stirring occasionally.
3.  Arrange biscuits over hot chicken mixture in skillet.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Tips from the Kitchen of Reality:
-We don't eat peas.  So I omitted them.  Also, the veggies need to be precooked a little.  I would steam them for a minute or two in my micro-steamer from pampered chef.  Just until they were tender-crisp.
-I didn't have cooked chicken, so I chopped two boneless skinless breasts and cooked them quickly in the pan I made the 'gravy' in.  This really added some more depth of flavor I believe.
-The recipe calls for no seasoning besides the pepper.  I thought this was odd so I added a little garlic salt to my chicken when I cooked it and seasoning was spot on.
-I don't have an oven safe skillet so I made mine in a skillet and then poured it into a pyrex oval baker before topping with the biscuits.  Worked perfectly.
-Put a cookie sheet under your skillet or baker because mine bubbled over a little.

This was an easy recipe to make, used ingredients I always have (besides the biscuits) and it was super delicious.  I highly recommend it!

Pepper Quiche

My grandma made this when we were up in Michigan and it was tasty! I love this recipe as it shows how she cooks… check out the recipe.

 

Ingredients and Directions:

- 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

- spinach, fresh or frozen

- 1 pkg feta cheese crumbled

- fresh or dried dill, one good pinch

- onion, you decide how much

- red and green peppers, diced

- 5 eggs, well beaten with 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

- salt and pepper to taste

- unbaked crust

- Mix all together and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

 

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

I made it and just tossed in what I had until in looked right. Turned out great but I must say I enjoy eating it better in my grandma’s kitchen.

Spanish Beef and Rice

This is a great weeknight recipe when you have a lot going on. Just dump everything in one large skillet and dinner is ready in 20 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised for how easy this was.

3/4 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1. Cook the beef, onion, and pepper until brown, then drain the fat.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and rice. Heat to boiling, then turn down to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Kitchen of Reality Tips
- You can serve topped with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, olives, you get the picture.
- I served this with a side of corn, but several reviews of the recipe said that they had added corn and/or black beans into the recipe with the rice. Also, some people said they made it with salsa or taco sauce instead of plain tomato sauce.
- This makes quite a bit and the ingredients are inexpensive. Great for freezing and reheating later.