A Crockpot Kind of Night: Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork

I usually babysit on Thursdays, (although it's not even fair that I get paid to cuddle with a sweet baby girl or play cars with an awesome 3 year old) so I like to cook dinner in the crockpot on those nights.
This recipe required very minimal/easy morning prep and before serving it only needs a quick glaze.

Source: candcmarriagefactory.com via Rachael on Pinterest 

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch (I needed a touch more in order to thicken)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Recipe: Let's Dish

I added some squash-zucchini-onions on the side and called it dinner!

Super Bowl Recipes

The Super Bowl would be so much better if my beloved Colts were playing...but having another Manning brother playing is probably my second choice.  If Peyton can't win in his own stadium at least Eli can!  Please, I don't know if I can handle hearing about how 'great' Tom Brady/Bill Belichick are for a whole year...

I'm not sure where I'll be watching the Super Bowl.  But wherever I am, some good snacky food is a guarantee.  I picked out a few recipes to make for Sunday

Super Skinny Pizza Pinwheels from Dashing Dish

Homemade Guac from Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box

Chili's Copycat Salsa Recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

Baked Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip from Food Network

Go Giants!!!

I Pinned It, I Made It!

My recent Pintrist recipe finds...

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

{These were a good change from the normal enchiladas I make--I like the Cannelloni beans in them}

                                                                         Source: skinnytaste.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Make Your Own Smoothie Packets

{I made 5 baggies this weekend and already need to make more!

I also added a little protein powder in the blender to make them more filling)  

                                                                 Source: laceyinloveblog.blogspot.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Autumn Chopped Salad & Golden Winter Squash Soup
{I made these for my Mom's Progressive Birthday Dinner
The party goers loved them and they were easy to make ahead of time}

                                                                        Source: espressoandcream.com via Rachael on Pinterest

                                                                           Source: myrecipes.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Homeade Fit Granola Bars

{From the Dashing Dish blog --she has tons of great recipes with calories already listed and many are GF.  

These bars had good flavor and texture. They were a tad crumbly, but I don't think I added enough honey/syrup. Next time I'll add more!}

                                                                            Source: dashingdish.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Chocolate Square Oatmeal Cookies

These are easy cookies for a crowd and can easily be made GF and taste just the same!

Chocolate Square Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 c. sifted all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. shortening (soft)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. chopped pecans
1 1/2 c. Oats (old-fashion or quick cooking--uncooked)

~3-4 regular size chocolate bars

pecan halves (enough to press 1 into each cookie)

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add sugars, shortening, egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in oats and pecans. Shape dough into one 12 inch roll. Wrap and chill thoroughly. Slice; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 375º oven 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately place small square of milk chocolate bar on each. Remove from cookie sheets. Press pecan half into chocolate.  Makes 3 dozen cookies.

{Recipe from Grandma Nancy's collection, but also found here: http://www.familycookbookproject.com/view_recipesite.asp?rid=1918370&uid=24034&sid=47089}

Fall Dinner Get Together

Christie and I hosted a girl's night last Thursday. Since we've been traveling so much this semester, we don't get to see our Columbia friends a lot.  The weather was starting to get a little chilly so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out a Pintrist soup I've been eyeing.  Everyone liked it and I almost felt guilty because it was SO easy!  I dumped everything in the crockpot in the morning and it was ready for company at night.

 Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

1 30oz bag of frozen shredded has browns

3 14oz cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup {GF variety worked great!}

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese {I used 1/3 fat--I red fat free won't melt}

In crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted.  {the soup wasn't as smooth as I liked, so I put some in the blender until smooth}
Serve with cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and green onions.

 {recipe via: http://pinterest.com/pin/365928880/}

I also made a salad with walnuts and pears with an Apple Vinigrette:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp grated sweet onion
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup finely chopped apple
Whisk together ingredients and pulse a few times in the blender

{recipe via: http://southernfood.about.com/od/spinachsaladrecipes/r/bl90416e.htm}

Dessert was Chocolate Square Oatmeal Cookies {I'll post that recipe tomorrow}

Dinner was so much fun--we need to get together more often!  Thanks for coming over Graham, Lindsey, and  Lizette!  And thanks for being the party planner Christie!

Breakfast Tailgating & Recipes

Between tailgating for Gamecock Football and Soccer and our trip to ATL for the GT game..we've been tailgating a lot lately!

We went to ATL a few weekends ago to watch GT beat UNC.  Since it was a noon game we had a breakfast tailgate.  Our spread was-- breakfast casserole, breakfast burritos, sweet potato biscuits with ham or jelly, and muffins.  My contribution was the casserole and biscuits.  I love making the Breakfast Casserole because you can prep it at night which = more sleeping in the morning!  (shout out to my Roomie for the delish GF recipe)

Breakfast Casserole

1 lb hot sausage, browned and drained (make sure it’s gluten free on the package!)

3 cups cooked grits, slightly cooled

1 ½ cups milk

5 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp butter, melted

10 oz cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp ground mustard

Salt and pepper to taste. 

 Mix all ingredients. Place in greased 2 qt casserole dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

{You can mix all of the ingredients at night and just pop it in the oven in the morning}

The biscuits were a new adventure.  Both of my sisters served this type of biscuits at their wedding reception.  This was my first attempt of homemade biscuit making, next time I'll make them thicker and smaller (more like bite-size which was served at the weddings)

The recipe is from a local caterer's recipe book--Hamby's Catering.

We had a great time at Tech, it's defiantly different than USC tailgating!  Elisabeth and I are good at pretending to be Yellow Jackets for the weekend to fit in with the rest of the alumi crowd :)

You know you're at Georgia Tech when you see exponents on a bumper sticker.

Annual Apple Orchard Trip & Apple Crisp Recipe

Labor Day Weekend we drove up to Flat Rock, NC to Sky Top Orchard for our annual apple picking trip.  We've being going to the same orchard for a few years and always look forward to it!  We did some strategic scheduling and decided to go Friday during the day in hopes of missing the Labor Day crowds.  Our plan worked...except for a pop up thunderstorm.  Luckily we were all done picking our apples--Galas, Courtlands, and Golden Delicious were on the menu this time. 

 

And what comes with apple picking...apple baking, of course!

Grandma Nancy's Apple Oatmeal Crisp

Makes 6 servings.

3-4 tart cooking apples 
½ C(1 stick) butter or margarine ( I have used both depending on what I have) 

¾ C firmly packed brown sugar  (again I use light or dark or a combination of what I have)

¾ C quick cooking oatmeal

½  C flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Pare apples: quarter, core and slice thinly.  Arrange slices in buttered shallow 6-cup baking dish.
2.  Melt butter or margarine in a medium size saucepan.  Stir in brown sugar, oatmeal, flour, and cinn. until mixture is crumbly: sprinkle over apples. I never find this real crumbly but use it like it is.
3.  Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 min. or until crumbs are golden brown, and apples are soft when pierced with a fork.


Happy Fall Yall! Enjoy :)

Monday's Meals

This is going to be a very busy driving week.  One trip to Augusta and two trips to Spartanburg = 546 miles driven by the end of the week, yikes I shouldn't have calculated... So for meals I need to plan ahead and break out the crock pot.
I have 2 recipes picked out for dinner:
a new one End of Summer Harvest Soup

picture and recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking

and a favorite Thai Pork Stew

picture and recipe from Cooking Light 

And one for lunch:
Cilantro Chicken Salad

picture and recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes

And a treat to use some of my hand picked Sky Top Orchard Apples:
Grandma Nancy's Apple-Oatmeal Crisp--Recipe to come!

Monday's Meals

This weekend was operation clean and organize. I especially needed to clean out the freezer in attempt to make room for Rachael Ray's '20 Dinners in 1 Day' challenge from her September magazine.  {I'll let yall know how it goes...the idea is to make 5 building block ingredients then you can make 20 recipes from those plus a few fresh ingredients}
So I tried to pick recipes using up what we had left in the freezer, here's what I came up with:
Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce

{I've made this before--it's delish but a little more time consuming that my normal weeknight meal, hence why I'm making it first week of class aka the least busy week of the year}

Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas

{This is a new one for me, but it's a Gina which usually means good and healthy so it's a win/win}

Lemon Broccoli Chicken

{I found this on my new favorite blog Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box I can't wait to try it and many of her recipes!}

Banana Oatmeal Bites

{These are new too..but look like a good breakfast/sweet bite}

Favorite Recipe- Thai Style Pork Stew

{I should be blogging about my awesome trip to NY today..but I'm doing laundry and cleaning so no photos are ready yet...and really what's a blog post without photos?}

But I found this Favorite Recipe post  and decided to link up!
This recipe is a random Cooking Light one I found and has become a favorite!  It currently holds the #1 spot on my sister's menu ranking board at her house.  And if you've ever met Nancy or tasted her cooking you'd know that's an accomplishment!

• Ingredients
• Stew:
• 2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 cups (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• Remaining ingredients:
• 6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 8 lime wedges

Preparation

• To prepare stew, trim fat from pork. Place pork and next 5 ingredients (pork through garlic) in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker, and coarsely chop. Add peanut butter to liquid in slow cooker; stir well. Stir in pork.
• Combine stew and rice in a large bowl. Top each serving with onions and peanuts; serve with lime wedges.
• Recipe and pic via
• *I usually cut up the bell pepper at night so in the morning I can throw all the rest in the crock pot before I go to class. 

Enjoy!

Baby Thompson & Chicken Lasagna Recipe

On Friday afternoon I went to see Vanessa and Baby Trey.  Trey was born wedding weekend so he just celebrated his 2 week birthday!  He has changed so much in 2 weeks...

Vanessa lived with Caitlyn's family for a while and we've been friends for years.  I remember her first date with her husband, then when they got married, she graduated, and now they have a precious baby boy!  Thanks so much for letting me come over and love on Baby Trey--he is precious

Christmas at the Oenbrink's 2007

Vanessa's Graduation party

I've been wanting to try some freezer meals so I figured this would be a perfect time.  However Vanessa cooks for a living...so what do you make for someone who is good at cooking everything??  I tried the Chicken Lasagna from over at {Love My Freezer Dinners}  It was so easy and the chef herself asked me for the recipe! haha  I also made some Banana Bread (and a few handfuls of chocolate chips just happen to jump into the batter)

Dinner and Dessert pre-packaging

Chicken Lasagna
8oz package Lasagna Noodles, cooked 
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup 
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup 
8oz Sour Cream 
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded 
½ Cup Onion, Chopped (minced onion will do) 
½ teaspoon Garlic Salt or Powder 
4 Cups Chicken, cooked and cut up *I used rotis chicken
16oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded 

Mix Soups, Sour Cream, Parmesan Cheese, Onion, and Garlic Salt/Powder together. 
Place layer of Noodles in bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Place ½ of sauce mixture on top of noodles followed by ½ of Chicken and 1/3 of Cheddar Cheese. 
Repeat another layer of above. 

Freezer Instructions: Use heavy duty foil to cover. Layer a couple times to avoid freezer burn. 

Cooking Instructions: Thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, covered. Remove cover and add remaining cheese, bake an additional 15 minutes.

Recipe via Love My Freezer Dinners

New Roommate

So Christie and I got a new roommate--my brother!  Robert is staying with us for the month of July while he takes a summer class at USC.  It was way easier for him to just stay with me for a few weeks than deal with the hassle of moving in and out of a dorm for like 3 weeks.  (and not to mention he would have had to move in the day after the wedding and he didn't have the first dorm room item)

I'm glad he's staying with me but the challenge presents in the cooking and maybe the dirty soccer goalie laundry.  I'm used to cooking for the roomie and I.  Dinner can consist of a salad and a veggie--that doesn't exactly fly with a college guy training for a few hours a day.  So now the search begins for low calorie (per my request) , mostly GF (per Christie's request or requirement rather), and A LOT of good food (per Robert's wish).

Last night I made Loaded Turkey Nachos from Gina's Skinny Recipes.  When I laid out the chips on the pan I thought for sure I had made too much and we'd never finish that many!  W-r-o-n-g!  The 4 of us (Robert brought a plus 1 soccer friend) finished every last chip. It was easy and pretty tasty.

Via

So here starts my quest for healthy, guy approved dinners!  Suggestions are welcome :)