2 Tasty Pork Recipes and Something for a Sweet Tooth

A couple times a year I get the urge to purge.

We’ve never really accumulated a lot of useless things.

Moving every 2-3 years and restricted to a weight limit when moving our personal things in the military really helped.

We’ve been living on the farm 4 years in May.  This is the longest we’ve ever lived in one home.

When I left home, my folks gifted me a cookbook with all our favorite family recipes.

A few of them are 4-H cooking contest winners.

And for the last 20 years, I’ve been adding to it.  Mostly stuffing the recipes in it.

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve misplaced my kids’ favorite coffee cake and cheesy bread stick recipes.

I’ve scoured the internet and can not find the same coffee cake recipe.

I’m really heart broken over that one.  Not as sad as my taste buds.  Though my pants may like me better.  LOL!

I’d finally had enough.

I sat down at the table and pulled everything out.

Making a trash pile of recipes we didn’t really like or I hadn’t made in years.

And a keep pile of our favorites and family staples.

Then finally sorting them out in the right categories in my book.

I should have done this years ago!  It would have saved me time and frustration.

My goal has been to create a cookbook for my nieces, nephews and my own kids as they graduate from high school.

The first graduates next month!  I may be burning the midnight oil to get it accomplished.

My goal is also to share a couple times a month with you!

There is nothing more frustrating than trying a new recipe to find you don’t like it.  

I find when I search the internet for a recipe, I tend to stick to those by Betty Crocker or Taste of Home.  

It seems you can’t really go wrong with one of their recipes.

So take a minute, and check out a few of our favorites.  You won’t be disappointed!

SAN FRANCISCO PORK CHOPS

yield:  4 SERVINGS  prep time: 15 MINUTES  cook time: 45 MINUTES   total time: 1 HOUR

Tender chops in a delicious sauce are great over noodles or thin spaghetti.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. 
2. Brown chops in hot oil, about 5 minutes per side.
3. Remove pork to a plate, reserving the oil in the skillet.
4. Cook and stir garlic in reserved drippings until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Whisk beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, and red pepper flakes in a bowl, dissolving brown sugar.
6. Return pork chops to skillet and pour soy sauce mixture over the chops.
7. Bring sauce to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to low.
8. Simmer chops until tender, 30 to 35 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.
9. Transfer chops to a serving platter.
10. Whisk cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth; stir into pan juices and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
11. Pour sauce over chops to serve.

We like to double the sauce, so there is plenty for our noodles.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

GREEN CHILI PORK ENCHILADAS

yield:  8 SERVINGS  prep time: 30 MINUTES  bake  time: 20 MINUTES   total time: 50 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown pork in a skillet over medium heat.
2. In a medium bowl, combine pork, 2 cups cheese, green chilies, refried beans and onions.
3. In a small skillet, bring enchilada sauce to a boil, remove from heat.
4. Dip each tortilla into heated sauce briefly to soften.
5. Spoon ⅓ cup of the pork mixture and 2 tablespoons of sour cream down the center of each tortilla.
6. Roll and place tortillas seam-side down in a 12″ x 8″ inch baking dish.
7. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top.
8. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese, sliced green onions and olives.
9. Bake 20 minutes at 350º until bubbly.

Our family tends to find ½ of an enchilada plenty filling.  So I make the enchiladas in two 9×9 pans placing 4 of the tortilla rolls in each. 

We serve one for dinner and put the other in the freezer after it has cooled for a quick dinner on busy nights.

Adapted from Familycookbook.com

And you can’t forget something for a sweet tooth!

My kids have made this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe SO many times, they have it memorized.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

yield:  3 DOZEN  prep time: 15 MINUTES  bake  time: 45 MINUTES   total time: 1 HOUR

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. With a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Add remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips and mix well.
5. Add chocolate chips and stir just until combined.
6. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
7. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until light brown. It will vary depending on your oven.
8. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.
9. ENJOY!

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Did you try one of our recipes?  What’d you think of it?

Let me know!