Meatballs w/ Garlic Bread

I found an old recipe from Everyday Foods and made a few tweaks to make meatballs with garlic bread. I combined about a cup o f Italian bread crumbs, 1 lb ground beef, 1 egg, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Then I made around 20 meatballs.

Over about 1 table spoon of olive oil, I cooked the meatballs over med-high heat in a dutch oven, rotating at 7 minutes total. Then I added a can of garlic diced tomatoes. I boiled and then simmered it for around 20 minutes. Then I added 1/4 cup of sugar and let that set with the lid on for about 10 minutes.

I cut french loaf bread in half and drizzled olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. I toasted in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes.

I recommend this!

Pan Seared Pork Chops

On my day off, I decided I wanted to make a delicious meal for my husband when he got home from work. I didn't use a recipe for dinner and thought of what a man might like for dinner after a hard day back from Christmas break.

I wanted to Christen my new All-Clad stainless d5 french skillets (Christmas present) so I decided I would pan sear some thick bone-in pork chops. I would then roast it on top of chopped potatoes, onions, apples, chopped fresh rosemary (from my herb garden), olive oil, and salt/pepper. Prior to putting the dish in the oven, I drizzled a little balsamic vinegar over the meat and veggies/fruit (not too much). I am learning the art of not over doing the seasonings. Then I cooked it at 400 for about 60 minutes. I let it rest about 7 minutes (covered with aluminum foil) after taking it out of the oven.

Also, I cut come fresh mixed lettuce from my veggie garden on the back deck. I made my own dressing. Half a lemon's juice and zest, coarse sea salt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

For dessert, I wanted to use my new Williams Sonoma jelly role pan from my mom (another Christmas present). I followed the recipe on the pan packaging. What a moist excellent cake! I still haven't perfected tight rolling, but with practice, I should be able to make more rolls. The batter might have been too thick, who knows. Yum.

Christmas Breakfast - Breakfast Muffins

A few months ago I made breakfast muffins. I cooked some bacon and put 1 piece of loaf bread into a muffin pan hole then added bacon, cheese, and 1 egg (uncooked). Then I baked it in the oven until the egg was cooked. It was very unique and cute.

For Christmas breakfast at my parent's house, my mom decided to copy my recipe from memory. She used store bought biscuit dough instead of bread. But it was so much better that way (great thinking mom)! We learned that if you use biscuit dough you have to use extra large muffin pan holes cause when the biscuits rise, they push the eggs up. Other than that, it was excellent. Another excuse to purchase a new cooking pan! Joy :-D

Egg White Cookies

I'm not sure what they are called, but tonight I asked my mom how to make my favorite cookie. It is the simplest recipe and the best cookie ever!

2 egg whites - beat until peaks form

add 1/2 cup sugar

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

fold in pecans and butterscotch chips

place spoonfuls of mixture on parchment paper

heat oven to 350 - turn it off and place cookies in the oven

Let stay in the closed oven over night

Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

I made my 4th batch of biscotti this season to bring home to my family for an accompliment for some coffee and hot chocolate dipping. Yummm...

Christmas Tea

Last Sunday afternoon I had a few of my girlfriends over for a Christmas Tea. I served gingerbread cookie hot tea along with homemade orange poppy seed scones and an assortment of cookies I purchased and my friends brought over a few. What a wonderful, stress free way to celebrate Christmas!

Crock pot - Beef and Taters

My husband and I wanted to go out Christmas shopping last Saturday and come home to a stress free meal. So I threw a chopped up onion, frozen green beans, beef tips, and cut up russet potatoes into the crock pot set on high for 4 hours.

We had enough time to do some shopping, pick up my brother in law, and sit down to a hot meal.

Easy, cheap, somewhat good... but the texas toast was what made the meal along with the seasoned wild rice underneath the beef-tater mixture.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

When I was a little girl, my mom made a cranberry and almond biscotti. I remember how excellent it was. I googled biscotti and found this recipe Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti. I tried it out tonight. My husband was happy to come home from work to have brewed decaf coffee and homemade biscotti for dipping!

Lettuce Harvest

I harvested my first crop of lettuce for dinner tonight. I grew it from mixed lettuce seeds in a deck railing planter out back. I do believe it was the freshest lettuce I have ever tasted!

My husband grilled steaks and I made mashed sweet potatoes and garlic cressant rolls. Yummm...

Chicken - Stuffing, Cream, Cheese

I had an unused package of stuffing and heavy cream that was about to expire.

I combined stuffing, broccoli, cream, mozzarella cheese, and chicken breasts.

I popped it in the oven at 400 for 40 minutes.

Easy, cheap, frig/pantry clearing...