Pacific Chops and Polynesian Rice

I have a confession.  Shh….. come closer.  Can you hear me whisper?  Are you sure?  Well, ahem, I have a bit of a confession . . . . I love cookbooks.  Not just any cookbook though:  I love old cookbooks.   I love the colors, the graphics, sometimes the foods/recipes . . .I find great pleasure in reading these old books.   And sometimes, I even make one of the recipes.  Like last night.   

I knew I wanted to make pork chops for dinner.  However, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them.  It’s still winter-y here in MN and our outdoor grill is out of gas.  And I don’t have the patience for our little charcoal grill (don’t even ask).  So, what do?  I’ve got cabin fever, friends!  I didn’t want to bread and bake them.  I didn’t feel like just frying ‘em up any old way.  And then there it was – it was staring me down.  It was laying on the floor . . .likely a casualty of my toddler rummaging the book shelf and it was looking for a good time:  Patio Parties.  Published by Minnegasco circa 1959.

Hm.  Looks interesting enough with it’s bright neon green pages.  I wonder  . . .. 

Oh my.  This little gem “cookbook/pamphlet” has 7 dinner party ideas inside it.

1. Oriental Dinner &      2. Come For Brunch

3. Mid-West Wing Ding    &       4. Sportsman’s Luck

5. Children’s Frolic       6. Winter Cookout

7. Just for Fun

Each menu has 5 recipes in it . . .typically an appetizer, a salad, a protein, a side dish and a dessert.  Intriguing.  Each one has a “Set the Mood” area with table-scaping and decoration ideas.  

And what did I decide on?  Well, first things first – I’m not making a 5 dish meal tonight.  However, in the Oriental Dinner area – they had two recipes I was willing to try (and had ingredients on hand):  Pacific Lamb Chops and Polynesian Rice In Foil.   Granted, I did need to make a few adaptations to the recipes:  swapped out the lamb and used pork chops instead and I didn’t use a grill, I cooked them on the stovetop.  As well, for the rice dish – I didn’t make the individual serving packages and grill them.  Instead, I made it family style and placed it in a casserole dish and baked it.   That’s right baby – I  Minnesota-fied it!

Here are the recipes as they appear in the book.

Pacific Lamb Chops

¼ Cup Melted Margarine

½ Cup Soy Sauce

Pinch of Garlic Powder

6 Shoulder Lamb Chops, cut ¾ inch thick

Salt

Combine margarine, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Dip chops in mixture and place in shallow dish.  Pour remainder over the chops and marinate about an hour.  Remove chops from marinade and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Grill on preheated gas grill over medium to high flame for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.  (If drippings cause some flare-up, change position of chops on grill).  Serves 6.

Polynesian Rice in Foil

4 Cups Hot Cooked Rice

2 TB Butter or Margarine

1 Cup Think Strips of Green Pepper, about 1 inch long

1 Can (13-oz) Pineapple Chunks, drained

½ Cup Bottled Barbecue Sauce

Combine rice and butter;  toss lightly.  Add remaining ingredients.  Place individual servings (generous ¾ cup) of rice mixture on six 12x8inch pieces of aluminum foil.  Double fold seam on top and fold edges securely.  Place foil packages directly on preheated gas grill and heat over low to medium flame.  Turn once.  Allow 10 to 15 minutes per side.  Serves 6.

Okay . . . .  now here’s my version:

Pacific Lamb Pork Chops

¼ Cup Melted Margarine

½ Cup Lite Soy Sauce

Pinch ½ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

6 Shoulder Lamb 4 Pork Chops, cut ¾ inch thick

Salt

Combine melted margarine, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Add to marinade-container with chops.   Dip chops in mixture and place in shallow dish.  Pour remainder over the chops and Marinate about an hour.  Remove chops from marinade and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Grill on preheated gas grill   and cook in frying pan over medium to high flame for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.  (If drippings cause some flare-up, change position of chops on grill).  Serves 6.

Gather up the ingredients and be sure to place a towel ontop of your stove because you don't want your viewers to see the nasty rings around the burners :)

Now, I have to say.  I love this marinade pan.  It's from Tupperware.  I feel like I've had it forever.  It's two pieces and is designed to have a tight seal and can be flipped upside down with ease.  Awesome.  No dripping, no spilt marinade.  For this recipe, place your oleo (margarine) in the top half of the marinade pan and microwave until melted.  Then add in the soy sauce (gawk at my pale and pasty hand) and a healthy amount of garlic powder.  Doesn't the swirl of the soy sauce look like some groovy art project?  And a word about soy sauce:  use lite or low-sodium soy sauce.  Once you try it, you will be addicted.  It is very flavorful and not salty!

Now that the marinade is ready, carefully pour it over your chops.  And if you have a handy-dandy pan like mine, seal the lid tight.  And if you don't, seal or cover whatever container you may be using.  And then for me and my container:  shake shake shake, shake shake shake.  

Let them sit for a while.  When ready to prepare, grill or pan fry them.  Don't they look delicious?  Aha.  And I'm glad you noticed:  there are only 3 of the 4 chops in the pan frying away.  That's because my pan was too small.

Polynesian Rice in Foil

4 Cups Hot Cooked Rice

2 TB Butter or Margarine

1 Cup Thin Strips of Green Pepper, about 1 inch long

1 Can (13-oz) Pineapple Chunks Tidbits, drained

½ Cup Bottled Barbecue Sauce

Combine rice and butter;  toss lightly.  Add remaining ingredients.  Place individual servings (generous ¾ cup) of rice mixture on six 12x8inch pieces of aluminum foil.  Double fold seam on top and fold edges securely.  Place foil packages directly on preheated gas grill and heat over low to medium flame.  Turn once.  Allow 10 to 15 minutes per side.  Place into buttered casserole dish (covered) and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.  Serves 6.

Gather up those ingredients!  Do you have a rice cooker?  I absolutely love mine!  Go ahead and prepare your rice however you usually do it.  While it's cooking, prep the green pepper.

According to the recipe, you need to cut thin 1-inch strips of green pepper.  I'm such a rule follower.  Or am I?  haha.

And because I Minnesota-fied the recipe, I buttered a casserole dish and then placed my rice and remaining ingredients into it.  I love this casserole dish.  It was my granny's.  Rest in Peace Granny!  And rest assured Granny, I use this dish with lots of love :)  I miss my Granny.  She was freakin' awesome.

And stir it up to get all good and combined.  Most people will likely use a spoon or a rubber scraper.  Me?  I opt for gloved hands.  I'm just groovy like that.

And into the oven you tasty casserole you!  I'll see you in about a 1/2 hour after your all nice and warm and hopefully delicious. 

And voila!  A Polynesian delight circa 1959.  A big thanks to Minnegasco :)  And by the way.  It was delicious.  My hubby added a little wasabi to his chop, but other than that - the family voted to eat it again!

Tequilaberry Salad

And so you ask, "what the heck is a tequilaberry?" Well, Tequilaberry was a local restaurant here in the Twin Cities in the Anoka area. They closed a while back, but at one time were very highly popular. This was the house salad there. It's super yummy and feeds a crowd - great for holidays or potlucks because it really does feed a crowd.  Try it. You'll like it. It's delicious.

Tequilaberry Salad

For the Salad:

1 Head Lettuce, torn into bit sized pieces

1 Head Cauliflower, chopped into bit sized pieces

1 Cup Bacon Bits (or more if you really like bacon)

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese

For the Dressing:

1 and 1/2 Cups Mayonnaise

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Milk

Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate  not quite as large, bowl - mix the dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour over salad and toss the salad. Serve immediately.

If you plan to bring this to a potluck, here are a few tips:

- After making the dressing, store it in a separate container from the salad.  When ready to serve, just shake it up a bit before dressing the salad.
- Make sure that both the bowl and salad dressing container have tight fitting lids for travel purposes.
- Always tear your lettuce - never use a knife!  When using a knife, it bruises the lettuce and causes it to brown.  Tearing it does not have that effect.
- The salad and the dressing can be prepared up to 1 day in advance.  Just make sure to store them separately and only combine to serve.

Country Fried Steak

Need I say more?  Well, okay, maybe I do.  YUM.  Best meal we've had all week. The crust was flaky and crispy, the inside cooked perfectly.  I actually had to snap this photo before all the food was consumed (good golly, the gravy was already gone)!  It was soooooooooo good . .. that everyone was a member of the clean plate club last night.  And, everyone had second helpings too. 

Country Fried Steak

1 - 1.5 lbs Beef Cube Steaks - (cut into individual serving sizes if not already done so when purchased)

2 Cups Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Pepper

3/4 Tsp Salt

1.5 Tsp Garlic Powder

1.5 Cups Buttermilk

1 Egg, beaten

1 TB Tabasco (or other hot sauce of your choice)

Vegetable Oil for Frying

To get the party started, you'll need two shallow pans (pie tins work great).  Place the flour in one of the pans.  In the remaining bowl, add your egg and buttermilk.  Stir to combine.  Then add the baking powder, soda, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.  Stir to combine.  Lastly, add in the Tabasco and stir to combine.  Oh, yummy - it adds a little something that I just can't put my finger on.  It's not spicy at all, but definitely provides flavor.

These delicious steaks are going to be fried in oil.  So, grab your favorite large, heavy duty skillet and enough vegetable oil to fill it half way.  Heat on medium-high until the oil reaches 350 degrees.

To prepare the steaks, it's a 3-step dip:  1.  take a steak and dip it into the flour and make sure it's well coated.  2.  Dip it into the wet ingredients.  3.  Dip that same steak back in the flour, making sure to cover it well with the flour.  Once fully coated, place into the hot oil.  Repeat this process for all pieces of steak.  

Fry for about 5-7 minutes, turning once so that each side of the steak becomes a yummy golden brown.  Drain on paper towels before serving.

Please note, this can also be made in a deep fat fryer. 

We served ours with side of gravy (not pictured), mixed veggies and mashed potatoes.  YUM.  And don't mind my Christmas plate.  I've been too lazy to pack away my Christmas dinnerware.  Don't judge!

Three Cheese Manicotti

It's Friday.  It's the second Friday in Lent.  What's for dinner?  Good question.  It's 4pm here and this is what I am craving:  Three Cheese Manicotti.

Of course, I have none of the ingredients on hand, it's snowing (hasn't stopped all day) and I really don't feel like going to the grocery store.

However, I am going to blog about it :)  It's a pretty killer manicotti recipe   It's one of those recipes you file under "fancy".  Even if it really isn't fancy, it was definitely fancy when I first learned how to make it over 15 years ago.  It was the first from-scratch recipe that I really mastered.  It was always the recipe that you made when you wanted to impress someone.  As well, you can assemble it a day ahead of time - which is especially nice if you are short on time or plan to serve this to guests.  Just put it in the fridge and then bake the next day.  Serve this with a green salad and a nice red wine and voila!  Dinner.  Or, if you have hearty carnivores in your household - use the manicotti as an accompaniment to a good steak (that's how I prefer it).  Or, if you enjoy a meatless meal - have at it!  Enjoy.

Three Cheese Manicotti

3/4 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1-16oz Can Diced Tomatoes

1-8oz Can Tomato Sauce

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1 Teaspoon Oregano

1/4 Teaspoon Thyme

1 Small Bay Leaf

8 Manicotti Shells

2 Eggs, Beaten

2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 and 1/2 Cups Ricotta Cheese

1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons Parsley

1/2 Teaspoon Oregano

For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook the onion and garlic in hot oil until tender but not brown.  Add the undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon oregano, thyme and the bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf.

Meanwhile, cook the manicotti shells according to package directions;  drain.  Rinse the shells in cold water.

For the filling, in a mixing bowl, stir together the beaten eggs, the ricotta cheese, the Parmesan cheese, parsley, a 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, a dash of pepper and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.  Spoon the filling into the manicotti shells.

Pour half of the tomato mixture into a 2 quart rectangular baking dish.  Arrange stuffed manicotti in the baking dish.  Pour remaining sauce over the shells.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top of the sauce.  If desired, cover and chill the manicotti for up to 1 day.

To serve, bake the stuffed manicotti covered in a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven for 35-45 minutes or until heated through.

Butter Mints

Here in the Midwest it's common practice to put out a little dish of mints at dinner parties, bridal or baby showers, weddings and special events.  Often, it's store bought pastel  mints and many times people will mix the mints with nuts when they set them out.  My husband loves those mints.  And I love candy.  What happens when you mix those two statements together:  the wifey decides to make the hubby homemade butter mints.  

These turned out really great!  It took less than an hour from start to finish to make these and the recipe is plentiful.  I had enough for our family to enjoy for a few days and I also packaged them up in little bags along with some peanuts and gave them out to my coworkers on Valentine's Day.  Everyone absolutely loved them. 

Butter Mint Recipe

3 Tablespoons of Butter

1/4 Cup of Half and Half

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Teaspoons Mint Extract

1 Pound of Powder Sugar

1-2 Drops of Food Coloring (optional)

In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave.  Meanwhile, add the Half and Half, Vanilla and Mint into  the bowl of your stand mixer.  Add the Butter.  Next, add about a quarter of the powder sugar and mix well.  Turn off the mixer and add another quarter of the remaining sugar and then blend well.  Turn off the mixer again and add the remaining powder sugar and mix until well blended.  If desired, add your desired food coloring and mix one more time until the color is evenly disbursed.  The mixture should be the consistency of play-dough:  slightly damp, but not too dry.  

To shape, pinch a piece of dough off and roll into a small ball.  Then, on a clean surface, roll out the ball into a small log.  I rolled my dough out so that it was roughly the same width of my pinky finger.  Continue to do this until all the dough is rolled out.  Then, line the rolls up and slice pieces into a 1/4-inch to 1/2 inch pieces.    Place on a cookie sheet, uncovered, and let dry out for a minimum of 1 day.  The longer they air dry, the harder they will become - but will still melt in your mouth when eaten.

Yield:  I don't know.  It made a lot.  I used two jelly roll pans to dry them all out.  If I guessed, I would say it would fill 3 regular regular-sized sandwiched baggies.

I really, really liked these.  I know I will be making them again sometime soon.  I have some Cinnamon extract that I've been dying to use . . .and I think this would be a great recipe to try it out with (skip the Mint and use the Cinnamon).  

JELLO Pinwheels

Okay, I cannot lie:  I LOVE JELLO!!

There.  I said it.  I do. I really, really do.  Always have.  We ate it weekly when I was a kid.  Typically, it would be a Saturday night and served as a side dish with whatever sandwich we were eating for dinner.  Sometimes though, my mom would use it as an ingredient in other things - such as cookies or cake.  Those were delicious too.  But this post is for something I found while cruising the internet.  I found the recipe at www.joyofjello.com .  It looked fun, cute and yummy - right up my alley.  Plus, half of my family isn't really too impressed with Jello in general.  My youngest is only two - so we'll see if he follows mom.  I'm hoping he enjoys these.  And if not, the recipe doesn't make a whole bunch - rather, enough for he and I to enjoy.  I used raspberry Jello - but this would yummy with whatever flavor floats your boat.

Gelatin Pinwheel/ Fruity Roll-Ups

1 (3 oz.) pkg. jello

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch pan square pan with non-stick cooking spray and make sure it is spread well.

Stir together water and jello powder in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute.   Remove bowl and stir well making sure jello is dissolved.  If necessary, return to microwave for 20 seconds or so to make sure jello is dissolved and stir again.

Add marshmallows and return to microwave for 20-40 seconds or until marshmallows have just begun to puff.  This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer!  If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your roll-up will not have two distinct layers.

Whisk quickly until marshmallows are dissolved.

Pour quickly into prepared pan and chill in fridge for 45 minutes or until well set.  Creamy layer will float to the top.

Remove the pan from fridge.  At this point,  the jello should be very firm and easy to handle.  Gently pull one side away from pan and lift entire sheet onto counter.  Starting at one end, roll up tightly.  With seam side down, cut into 10-12 (1/2) inch slices.  We found it easiest to cut with a piece of thread or dental floss.  Just put the string around roll-up, cross and pull.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Mmmmmmmmm . . .tender, shredded chicken.......savory green chiles.......creamy, melty monteray jack cheese .......... oh my, my.  This recipe is (singing) awesome!  And I cannot take credit for it.  I am merely passing it on.  I first enjoyed these enchiladas in college.  A friend of a friend used to make them.  Not sure what she's up to anymore, but I can assure you that I told my friend whom I do still keep in touch with that I made these enchiladas this week.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 Cup Onion, diced

2 T Butter, 3 T Butter (5 in total)

4 oz Can of Green Chiles

1/4 Cup Flour

3/4 tsp Salt (optional)

1 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, Diced

2 Cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded

1 T Ground Coriander

2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (I prefer low sodium)

1 1/2 Cups Monteray Jack Cheese, Shredded

12, 6-inch Flour Tortillas

In skillet, melt 2 T butter and add the onion and green pepper.  Saute until softened.  Transfer to large bowl and add the chicken and green chiles.  

In skillet, melt 3 T butter and stir in the flour and corriander.  It will form a thick paste or dough.  A little at a time, start adding the broth.  Stir in a little at a time and mix thoroughly with a whisk.  Continue to add a little broth at a time and keep whisking until all broth has been added and the sauce is smooth.  Once smooth, add the sour cream and 1/2 cup of cheese and whisk until sauce is nice and velvety and the sour cream and cheese is fully incorporated.  At this point, taste it.  If it needs salt - add the salt (all or part of it).  

Take 1/2 Cup of the sauce and add it to the chicken.  Stir together.

Grease a 9x 13 baking dish.  Take 1 cup of the sauce and spread it on the bottom of the pan.  

Fill each tortilla with approximately 1/4 cup of the filling and place in the pan as you go.  Make two rows of 6 rolled enchiladas.   

Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes in 350 degree F oven.  

These can be made a day ahead of time and store in the fridge.  When ready to bake, bake covered for 1/2 hour and then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.