Update, Kitchen-Style

Just because we've been absent from the Blog doesn't mean that we've been sitting on our lollies doing nothing... we've ben BUSY: getting over sickness, adjusting to new routines and, most exciting of all, trying new recipes! Before we moved from Nevada to Michigan daddy realized that he is allergic to soy and so we are continually adjusting to the fact that this one tiny ingredient is in almost everything we buy. Booo! This week mommy planned delicious recipes for dinner that ALL included soy in some way. Oops! Like I said, still adjusting.

I'm sharing the recipes with you, my friends, to aid you in making quick dinners with hands full and minimal time, but in the future please note: I will be taioring meals to be soy-free.

Without further ado here's recipes #1: Bubble Pizza!
(Borrowed from my friends at momswhothink.com)

This was SO easy to make and is delicious and complete when served with a simple green salad.

BUBBLE PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. ground beef
1 jar pizza sauce
2 tubes refrigerator biscuits

(I used a biscuit mix instead, which worked fine)1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Brown the beef in a skillet and drain.
2. Stir pizza sauce into browned hamburger and simmer until heated through.
3. Quarter the biscuits and place in a 13-in x 9-in x 2-in greased baking dish. Top with beef mixture.

(I had to improvise, as you'll see in the pictures, and use two 9 inch cake rounds -- also worked great)

4. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake 5-10 more minutes

This is what the kitchen looks like when I cook.

Bubble Pizza(s) fresh out of the oven, sans cheese.

Cheese-topped Bubble Pizza looking FABULOUS. Tah Dah!

The second recipe I tried (for the second time ever) and loved (again) was for T's Spicy Enchiladas. My good friend Teresa Sillers gave me this recipe after I'd had the enchiladas at her place. She's amazing in the kitchen and so I was skeptical when she told me, while laughing, that it was a piece-of-cake to do... but she was right! I made these for my husband after I had just moved to Nevada, and again two nights ago. Again, soy is prevalent in this recipe but with a little effort I will be able to concoct something my whole family can enjoy in the future.

T's Spicy Enchiladas

Ingredients

1.5 lb ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

1 large sweet onion

1 large green pepper

1 can diced tomatoes (with jalapeños optional)

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 package large burrito shells

1 package shredded cheddar cheese

Recipe

1. Brown meat, drain.

2. Add in diced onion, taco seasoning, chopped green pepper and diced tomatoes, simmer 10 minutes.

3. Pour one can enchilada sauce in bottom of pan.

4. Stuff burrito shells and put in pan.

5. Top shells with remaining enchilada sause and sprinkle with cheese.

6. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

You can make this recipe spicier or milder depending on your preference. I went middle-of-the-road as I LOVE spicy food and my husband LOVES it too (but it does not love him back).

For spicier use:  spicy taco seasoning packet, diced spicy pepper (habanero would be brave!), red onion, opt for diced tomatoes with jalapeños already added, use spicy enchilada sauce and mexi shredded cheese.

For milder use: plain taco seasoning packet, no diced peppers, white or yellow onion, plain diced tomatoes, mild or green enchilada sauce and plain cheddar cheese.  Enjoy!

Only two left-- these babies don't last long!

And finally a recipe that doesn't include beef :) If all things were my way I'd probably ONLY use beef; not because I love it that much, but because it's a meat I feel I've yet to mess up. Unlike pork, our next featured guest. This recipe is again from the beloved site momswhothink.com and can be found under Easy Dinner Recipes Week 4.

Breaded Baked Pork Chops 

Ingredients:

6 pork chops

(Recipe doesn't mention this but I'd use thick-cut chops in the future as the thin ones turned out tough)1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
⅓ cup white wine

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste.
3. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
4. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned.
5. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.

(Again I used two 9 inch cake-rounds which worked just as well)6. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

(For my thin chops I altered this to 20 minutes)7. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl.
8. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture.
9. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes. (For thin chops: 15)  Serve with stuffing and buttered corn.

(We did serve this with box stuffing but opted for a green salad as a side, instead of the corn- yum!)

Leftovers. This meal was DELICIOUS!

That should get you through a couple days of stress-free cooking and in the meantime I'll work on some more juicy updates (including my first-ever product review, eek!) -- Happy Holidays Everyone!