Pork Chops and Stuffing

This is a favorite in our house. It's quick, simple, and tasty. I bought some fresh corn at the farmer's market earlier in the week that I also cooked. AND, guess who ate some of that...PICKY NICKY! He actually ate corn. And liked it. I think it's a cold day in hell. Or maybe he figured that I won't ever take him to get shots again if he starts eating veggies. Hee hee!

Pork Chops and Stuffing
Serves 4

4 boneless pork chops
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 can cream of celery soup (or mushroom)
1 box stuffing

Heat oil and butter in a skillet until melted. Season pork chops with pepper and italian seasonings. Turn up the heat and sear pork chops on both sides. Remove from skillet. Add soup and 1/2 can of water to the skillet and deglaze the skillet. Place pork chops on top of sauce. Dump stuffing in a bowl and add a cup of water. Stir all around until the water is absorbed. Pour stuffing over chops and sauce. Cover, reduce heat to low, and let cook for 20 minutes.

Caramelized Beef Skewers and Tuscan Pasta Salad

Ok, for those that don't know, Kraft has a free magazine you can get at home. Sure, some of the recipes are really, really uh, duh, but there are others that catch my eye. So, sign up if you don't already get it! The first recipe comes from there. The recipe makes a ton of sauce, so after basting, I threw it in the microwave until it boiled to kill any germs and served it with the beef. It was darn good, but I wasn't very careful when choosing my steaks. A few of them had a lot of fat in the middle which made the meat tough. So, lesson learned there.

Caramelized Beef Skewers

Then, this is a recipe that the hubby picked up at Sam's Club. I don't get what's so Tuscan about it except the Italian dressing. I'm typing it here with the substitutions I made. Nicky loved this stuff.

Tuscan Pasta Salad
Serves 6-8

1/2 box rotini, prepared according to directions
2 regular tomatoes, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup FF Zesty Italian dressing
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in a bowl and stir.

Shrimp Scampi-ish

This is kinda a "fly by the seat of your pants" recipe. I don't really like to cook on Sundays, so I just throw something together. I call it "scampi-ish" b/c I'm not using lemon, adding some tomatoes, and serving it over couscous.

Shrimp Scampi-ish
Serves 2

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled an deveined
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
sprinkle of crushed red pepper
couple dashes of salt
1/2 cup couscous
chicken broth

Prepare couscous according to directions, substituting chicken broth for the water. While couscous is sitting, heat butter and garlic in skillet over medium heat just until it starts to bubble. Add tomatoes, shrimp, salt, and red pepper and cook until shrimp are opaque.

Fluff couscous with a fork. Serve shrimp and sauce on top.

Upcoming Meals for the Week

I've decided to post the plan for the week so that I don't forget what we had on those nights that I didn't "cook". You know, like steaks on the grill or shake and bake pork chops. So, here's what's up for this week...

Su: Shrimp Scampi-ish
M: Grilled Chicken (marinated in FF Zesty Italian dressing)
Tu: Fend for yourself, I have Bunco
W: Caramelized Beef Skewers and Tuscan Pasta Salad
Th: Fend for yourself again, I have a Thirty-One party
F: Grrr...Bryan had pork on Thursday, so I have to figure out something out
Sa: Probably out to eat

Chicken Spaghetti and Grandma's Squash

These are two of my old favorites from growing up. Well, I guess mom started making the spaghetti when I was around 13 or so, but what can get better than pasta, cream sauce, cheese, and a little bit of spice? Oh, and it's so freaking easy. I'll be serving it with green beans, my grandma's squash recipe (dad's side), and a salad...mainly 3 veggies b/c my dear hubby will not eat squash. But, this recipe has been known to turn squash haters into squash lovers!

And, Nicky liked both dishes! Well, he didn't want the pasta, just the chicken and tomatoes, but he couldn't get enough of those. But, the kicker...he ate squash. That's a vegetable people, a vegetable!

Chicken Spaghetti
Serves 4

1 rotissere chicken, meat picked off and chopped up
1 can Ro*tel (tomatoes with diced chilis), drained
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes (use crushed for a thinner texture)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz velveeta
1/2 box spaghetti, cooked to al dente

Combine the Ro*tel, tomatoes, and soup. Heat until bubbly. Melt in the velveeta. Add the chicken and pasta. Toss and serve.

Grandma's Squash
Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds yellow squash, cleaned and cut into rounds
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
4 oz velveeta
1 egg

Boil squash in water until way overdone. Drain and mash lightly with the back of a spoon to make sure all of the water is out of the squash. In the pot you boiled the squash in, heat butter and velveeta over medium heat until melted. Add mashed up squash and stir. Crack the egg into the squash mixture and whip, whip, whip. The squash gets really fluffy and yummy! Cover and let sit for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to your liking.

"Nacho" Ordinary Burgers

This is one of my favorite burger recipes. I adapted Rachael Ray's Turkey Nacho Burgers to fit what I have on hand all the time. I served them on light buns with lettuce and tomatoes and Alexia salt and pepper crinkle fries and corn. Surprisingly, Nicky liked the burger! I didn't expect him to since it's a little spicy. He wouldn't touch the mac and cheese I made for him, so I offered some of the burger. He gobbled it right up!

Note that I shred my cheese instead of cubing. I find that when you cube it, most of it melts out of the meat when you cook the patties. When you shred the cheese, you don't lose as much.

Nacho Ordinary Burgers
Serves 4

1 lb ground sirloin
4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons grill seasoning
1 grated shallot

Combine ingredients and form into 4 patties. Heat just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 6 minutes on each side, or until done to your liking.

WW points: 5 per patty

Just so you know.

Kim hasn't been cooking b/c she's on a 10 day vacation in the Bahamas.

Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls

This is one that I threw together based on what was in the fridge and what would go bad while we are on vacation. It was a hit for all, even the picky Nicky. They reminded me a bit of Hot Pockets, but better and tastier. I served them with mashed potatoes, peas, and green beans...of which Nicky ate none...he had applesauce instead.

Serves 2-3

1 pkg reduced fat crescent rolls
6 slices deli ham
2 slices ff american cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles...each made up of 2 crescent rolls. Pinch along dividing line of crescent rolls. Place 1 1/2 slices of ham and 1/2 slice of cheese in middle of crescent roll. Roll up and pinch ends closed. Place on baking sheet, seam side down. Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

WW Points: 5 per roll

I also want to pay homage to my favorite peanut butter...Peanut Butter & Company. My favorite is the cinnamon raisin swirl. When my hubby and I visited NYC, we went to the sandwich shop. Oh my heavens...I enjoyed my crunch time pb with cream cheese and chocolate chips on wheat bread more than I should have!

I also want to add that I talked with my mom this morning. They will be watching Nicky while we are on vacation. She asked what veggies Nicky ate. I just laughed. She said that he will eat them while he's with them. We shall see.

Baking Mix Chicken Nuggets

Ok, this is a favorite recipe of mine that was given to me at my Pampered Chef bridal shower by my cousin. I'll post it as she gave it to me with my modifications in parenthesis. I tend to forget about it, but since I can only get Nicky to eat his chicken "fried", I'm sure I'll start to use it more often.

Serves 3-4

1 - 5.5 oz package of All Purpose baking mix
1 stick butter (1/2 stick)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (powder, I don't keep garlic salt on hand)
1 lb chicken breasts, cubed

Preheat oven to 425. Place butter in glass baking dish and melt in oven while it is preheating. Mix baking mix and seasonings in a zippered plastic bag. Add chicken and shake until well coated. Place in baking dish on top of melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown.

We'll be having this with the leftover scalloped potatoes from the other night and green beans. I'll update how the nuggets go over with Nicky...since I know that he'll eat the potatoes and cry when he sees the green beans.

Update: Nicky was hungry before dinner was even ready. So, he got a turkey dog. We did give him some chicken, potatoes, and green beans, but he was only about the turkey dog. I did manage a couple of slivers of green beans in there with those bites. He did eat a container of banana/grape/plum, so I don't feel so bad.

Tomorrow night: Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls (a Kim creation)