Beautiful Day with an Amazing Dinner Tonight!

Today I got to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend in the morning, then I hopped on my  motorcycle and road to the mall and sold raffle tickets for our Kiwanis fundraiser hanging out with one of my Kiwanis sisters, Bonnie.  Then I met my honey for a movie date and we saw Expendables 2.  A fun movie, full of action and humor.  After the movie was over, we hopped on our motorcycles  and headed back to the house through the beautiful Champlain Valley farm lands. 

To top off the day we had leftovers from last night.  Dinner last night consisted of Pork Loin wrapped in Pepper Bacon with Herbs and Garlic and Cheese Baked Potato Casserole with Ritz Cracker Crumbs on top, and Fresh Cucumbers on the side. 

Pork Loin wrapped in Pepper Bacon with Herbs

 

 

     4 Tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic

     2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

     2 pork tenderloins (about 1 to 1 1/2 pound each)

     Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

     1-2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves crushed in tiny pieces

     1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

     1 - 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves crusted in tiny pieces

     8-10 (1/4-inch thick) slices Pepper encrusted bacon ( I get from butcher at Price Chopper)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange tenderloins on cutting board. Rub the top each tenderloin with 1/2 of the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the herbs on top, then flip and repeat process.  Season both sides with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Wrap 4-5strips of bacon around each tenderloin and tie bacon in place with kitchen twine.  If you don't have twine, I use turkey skewers to hold the bacon in place.

Heat oil in a large, skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the tenderloins until golden brown on both sides. Transfer  tenderloins to medium roasting pan that has been sprayed with a light coat of pan spray; place in the oven and cook to medium doneness about 20-25minutes.

Check with meat thermometer or cut in to the thickest portion to make sure it is not pink and running blood. 

Transfer tenderloins to cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Remove twine or skewers before carving. 

*Note: If you use fresh herbs, use half of what I have listed because they are much stronger then the dried herbs!


My family loves a nice cheesy dish with this meat so I made the following potatoes last night:

Cheesy Potato Casserole

 

1 Bag of Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes

1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Pint of Sour Cream

2 - 8 oz Bricks of Orange Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded.

1 Stick of Butter

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 1/2 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers

 

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Soften stick of butter, take two table spoons and spread all over the bottom and sides of glass 13 X 9 glass baking dish.  In a large bowl dump bag of hash browns, add can of soup, and pint of sour cream, pepper to taste, and half of the cheese.  Mix well and spread in to buttered baking dish. 

 

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes.  In the mean time crush the crackers well and add a half a stick of butter and mix well.  I do this in a gallon size zip lock bag.  Once mixed well, pull the potatoes out of the oven about five minutes before they are done.  Add the crumbs to the top, return to the oven and finish baking for five minutes. 

 

 

 



Semi Homemade Tonight!

Well I have not posted in a few days because life has been so busy, but tonight I came home and was determined to make a delicious meal for my wonderful boyfriend and I, however I need to do some grocery shopping so I had to be creative and go the semi-homemade way.  I will admit that it wasn't the most healthy dinner, but hey it was delicious.  We will watch our diet tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner consisted of Potato Chip Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and stir fried Fresh Green Beans with Red Pepper Strips and Sliced Almonds.  Recipes to follow:

Potato Chip Chicken

3 Boneless Chicken Breast
1 Bag of Potato Chips
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
1 Stick of Butter
Pan Spray
Gallon Size Zip Lock Bag
1 Shallow Glass Bowl
8 X 8 Baking Pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse and pat dry uncooked chicken breast, set aside.  Spray baking pan and set aside. Place potato chips in zip lock bag, and crush. Don't crush to fine.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground back pepper and 1-2 tsps of garlic powder.  Shake and work through potato chips.  Melt butter in a glass bowl, then dip chicken pieces in butter and then in potato chip crumbs.  Don't worry if it doesn't totally coat the chicken. Place chicken pieces in Baking Pan then add the remaining potato chips in the bag to the top of the chicken.  Take remaining butter and pour over the top of chips and chicken and bake for 30-40 minutes till chicken is no longer pink in center.  (Or use a meat gauge). 

Note:  I often buy a bag of the kettle cooked Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Chips.  If I use these I omit the pepper and just add garlic powder.   And I do not serve this very often as it is a bit fattening.  It is a treat. 

Stir Fried Fresh Green Beans with Red Pepper Strips and Sliced Almonds

4-5 Large Hand Full of Fresh Green Beans ( I purchase mine at our local farmers market - Prays Farmers Market)
1 Large Red Pepper
2 Heaping Teaspoons of Fresh Chopped Garlic
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Sliced Almonds
2-3 teaspoons of Olive Oil
Large Non Stick Skillet

Rinse and pat dry green beans, snip ends off and remove any bad spots.  Remove stem and seeds from Red Pepper and slice in to THIN strips.  Place skillet on stove and add olive oil.  Regulate burner heat - low to medium.   Add prepared green beans, red pepper strips, garlic, black pepper to taste, and a few pinches of sea salt.  Stir fry beans and pepper strips till the pepper strips become soft and pliable.  Just before removing from pan, add a handful or two of the almond slices and stir in and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat, and serve.

Note:  This is one of my families favorite vegetable dishes.  The green beans are so fresh its like eating them right out of the garden.

Macaroni and Cheese

Prepare one or two boxes of your favorite boxed macaroni and cheese as described on the box!

Set up my Pampered Chef Website today!

For those of you that love to cook and bake and love Pampered Chef or havnet had a Pampered Chef consultant in some time please check out my website to learn more about earning free products. My website is now up and running and I would love to book as many parties as possible for the next few months! 

www.pamperedchef.biz/adkcook

Take a look and give me a shoot.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips and Fries for Supper Tonight!

Today was a good day! I returned to Pampered Chef as an Independent Consultant and when I got home I was excited to find that Bob had replaced my heating element in our oven. But the best part of the day was seeing my step son Ryan who had just returned from a two week vacation in Arizona.  So to celebrate, I decide to make the boys their favorite dinner-Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips and Fries!  The guys love these chicken strips and they are so simple to make. My recipe makes enough so you can have left overs for Buffalo Chicken Wraps or a great salad the next day. 

Here is the recipe:

Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips

Ingredients
24-30 Chicken Tenders
2-3 cups of flour
2 tsps of cayenne pepper
5 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
2-3 cups of plain bread crumbs
2-3 tsps of garlic powder
1 tsp of black pepper
Dash of Salt
1 1/4 cups of Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/2 cup of butter melted (1 stick)
Non Stick Pan Spray

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a large cookie sheet with Non Stick Pan Spray well.  Set aside.  Take three shallow bowls or trays and set in a row.  In the first bowl/tray place flour and cayenne pepper and mix well.  In the second bowl/tray crack open the 5 eggs and drop them in, add milk and wisk well.  In the third bowl/tray add bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt & pepper, and mix well.  Now dip each chicken tender one at a time in the flour, coating well.  Then dip in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off. Now roll in the bread crumb mixture till completely coated.  Once each piece is coated with the bread crumb mixture, place on cookie sheet.  After completing all the pieces, and placing them on the cookie sheet, place the cookie sheet in the oven and set your timer for 6-8 minutes.  When your timer goes off, remove the chicken from the oven and flip each piece on the tray. Return the tray to the oven and continue cooking for 6 additional minutes (dont forget to set your timer)! 

Remove the chicken. If your pieces are very thick you can test them for doneness by slicing the thickest piece in half and making sure there is no pink in the center or you can use a meat thermometer for a more accurate accessment.

In the mean time, as your chicken is baking the last few minutes, melt one stick of butter in the microwave, and add 1 1/4 cups of Franks Hot Sauce and stir well.  When your chicken is done dip each piece in the hot sauce till completely coated and place back on cookie sheet. 

These are healthier then deep friend chicken wings and they make enough so that you can use them for Buffalo Chicken Wraps the next day or chop it up for a delicious salad. 

I personally like to dip my strips in blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing, however the guys like their's plain. 

 

Light Cooking The Last Two Weeks...

So between the combination of the flu, hot and humid weather, and the heating element going in my oven, I have not cooked much the last couple of weeks. However, I did make some amazing fried potatoes three nights ago.

I took approximately 8-10 fresh white California potatoes I purchased our local Pray's Farmers Market and sliced them by hand in to a non stick frying pan with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Once the potatoes where in the frying pan, I chopped up one onion in to medium size pieces and added them. After adding the onion, I chopped up two small jalapeno peppers from my garden and added them.  Then I added two heaping teaspoons of fresh chopped garlic.  A small amount of salt, and a good amount of pepper, and two pinches of cayenne pepper, and a considerable amount of  paprika.  I cooked the potatoes on medium till they were browned, and then turned them down on low to let them finish cooking.   Once the potatoes are cooked through, I added a combination of shredded Colby Jack Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese to the top of the potatoes like a pizza, and removed the pan from the heating element and let the cheese melt over the top.  They were warm, tasty, and had just the right amount of heat from the Jalapenos.  For those of you that do not normally like fried potatoes, my boyfriend Bob usually doesn't like fried potatoes either, but he thought these were delicious!!!