Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Had this at our monthly recipe swap and it is WONDERFUL!!! Lori
bruught it to the swap, I don't know where she got it...


Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients

   * 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
   * 2 cloves garlic, minced
   * 6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
   * 1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
   * 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
   * 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
   * 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
   * 1/4 cup (2 ounces) Feta cheese
   * 1/3 cup cream cheese
   * 4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops [or 8 THIN-cut]
   * 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
   * 1/2 lemon, zested
   * 2 tablespoons lemon juice
   * 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium
heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the
sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until
combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set
aside.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the
pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried
tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the
outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet
over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until
golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork
to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth
mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits
from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the
broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce
over the pork before serving.

Friday, September 18, 2009

(NOT) Homemade Sour Cream Enchiladas

3/4 C. Sour Cream [about 1/3 of a 1lb container]
1 10.5 oz can Cream of Chicken
small can chopped green chilies
Shredded Cheddar [ I used a cheddar Monterrey Jack combo]
frozen chicken Taqitoes [I used El Monterrey brand]

Mix the soup and sour cream. Add green chilies to your heat preference.

Put the Taquitoes into a glass oven proof dish in one layer. Spread the sour cream sauce on top and then top generously with shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

HAWAIIAN FALLS GIVEAWAY

This is a announcement from http://www.northtexaskids.com

Giveaway: I Wanna' Make A Splash!

It's summertime in Texas, which means I'm one HOT mama (literally!) and I could use a great way to cool off … without breaking the bank. My fingers are crossed (oh, the toes, too) that I can snag the North Texas Kids Splashfest fun pack for the whole family.

This awesome giveaway includes four passes to Splashfest, a water-filled family expo at Hawaiian Falls in The Colony, and a rockin' cabana! Best part(s), well in addition to the total greatness that is free stuff? Radio Disney, 20 family-friendly vendors and Sci-Tech Discovery Center (hello, poolside science for the kiddos? Sweet!) will all be there.Event Details:
North Texas Kids Splashfest
benefiting Sci-Tech Discovery Center?Hawaiian Falls in The Colony
Saturday, July 18
11 am-4 pm
discounted admission tickets available at www.northtexaskids.com

While I'd love to win the golden ticket, I'm a sucker for dishing details—especially when other mamas can benefit. So, here goes. If you, too, would like a chance to soak in the sun, fun and latest in parenting support courtesy of North Texas Kids magazine, simply copy this entry (including headline and the above link to the pub) and repost it on your own mama blog, then shoot the magazine an e-mail at  HYPERLINK "mailto:info@northtexaskids.com"info@northtexaskids.com to let them know you're participating (be sure to include a link to your post). 

Next Thursday, a winner will be drawn from the "inbox" and notified via e-mail … it's that easy!

Good luck ladies, may the "hottest" mama win. ;)

Thanks for your help!
Minette Riordan
Publisher
North Texas Kids magazine

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Advances in Robotics

I read a blog today about this
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/04/08/japan's-child-robot-learns-to-walk/>
it is abotu a robot learning.

I thought it was interesting :-)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Easy Enchiladas (with home made sauce)

Easy enchilada sauce

2 Tablespoon Oil
2 Tablespoon all purpose flour
2 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
2 cups water


heat oil in large 2 quart sauce pan. Stir in flour and chili powder.
Cook for one minute. add remaining ingredients. bring to a boil and
simmer for 10 minutes.


Easy enchilada's : preheat oven to 350 F

ingredients of your choice : shredded Mexican blend, or cheddar, or
Monterey jack; grilled onions (YUMMY!), grilled bell peppers, olives,
cooked meat of your choice...


Prepare corn tortilla's by softening them. The traditional way is to
fry them in hot oil for a couple of seconds. heating them in the
microwave will also soften them but the taste is slightly different.

place a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan before placing
the enchiladas.

insert the ingredients of your choice and then roll. Place in a 9x13
(or smaller pans separating out each family members choices). place
in the pans seam side down. Cover with enchilada sauce and sprinkle
with cheese. heat in the oven for 20 minutes for just until the
cheese is melted and bubbly.

Monday, February 23, 2009

DID you KNOW that MAGICAL things HAPPEN every DAY?

I want to do a blog highlight!  

I am a part of a group that was started by the founder of the website Magical Childhood.  I am really blessed to be a part of her group.  She is the infamous author of the article:  What Should a 4 Year Old Know?  This article has been sited all over the web by people who believe that children will LEARN so stop forcing flashcards down their throat.  She has a lot to offer,  she is a mom of 5, she has wonderful ideas.  Her main website is A Magical Childhood and it offers up articles on so many helpful things, like how to make homemade ooblek to ideas for art and other wonderful crafts.  

She has started a blog to go along with the Magical Childhood site, and although it just started I know that there will be a lot of great and 'cool' things that will be coming through there.  I definitely suggest that you add this one to your feed reader.   The Magical Childhood Blog   will be one of your favorite reads, I promise.

Find her website here:  A Magical Childhood

Find the New Magical child Blog here:  A Magical Childhood Blog

Find her Home school Blog here:  Magic and Mayhem

Find a wonderful yahoo group of AP Mama's here.

EDIT:  Alicia kindly let me know that she had 4 children and 1 husband, not 5 children as previously mentioned.  

Monday, February 9, 2009

Too much time (and Beer) on their hands

I watched this youtube video today.  I thought it was hilarious.  I am glad I am not theone that had to clean up after them... 

If anyone that reads this can translate this to english I would be interested in know what the text says (just not interested enough to transcribe and input into a translation matrix LOL)


Books for learning

I use google feed reader every day. I subscribe to all kinds of feeds
from Mommy blogs to Frugal/money saver blogs, to home school and
Montessori.

Today on the blog Montessori for Everyone, She wrote about the books
she thought essential in an Elementary classroom (or home school
bookshelf).

I recommend going and reading her blog today I might just be about to
spend a lot of money on books lol.

<http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/recommended-elementary.html>

April
--
Turn off the TV and read a book. It is called thinking outside the 'box'.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Shoe throwing: The new insult

I was minding my own business browsing through my emails in GMAIL and up popped this news piece in the news feed.


It only reminded me of this:


and then I wondered, with all the shoe throwing going on, is there a lot of left wing elitist gits walking around limping because they only have one shoe on?  I mean come on, I don't like you so I am going to throw my shoe at you??  Therefore making my chances of running away (or rather GETTING away by running) unsuccessful.

Is this one of those times where you award an 'I'm Stoopid' sign?

You might think that by calling some imaginary people 'left wing elitist gits' that I am a right wing moral upstanding citizen.

You would be wrong.  I believe in making fun  equal representation of  all political idiots.


Rice pudding is my nemesis

So every month or so, instead of SAVING leftover rice to eat, I decide I just have to make some rice pudding.   Well I call it rice pudding, but growing up it was just called sweet rice.   So whatever you want to call it be my guest.   You take leftover rice and you dump a bunch of milk over it in a pan and you cook it for like 20 minutes at a simmer and sometime in there you add some sugar and spices of your choice.   I like cinnamon and nutmeg.   You simmer away and at about the 12-14 minute mark slowly stir in 2 beaten eggs.   (See the addition of eggs makes it pudding because pudding has eggs.   AND  if it didnt have eggs it would just me some milky sweet rice mixture that was just thrown together but because there is eggs you totally meant to make this gloppy mess)

But hell on wheels I just can't figure out why I make this stuff.   Imean I make it, set it on the counter to cool, have a very small portion of it usually consisting of me walking by about 10 times and jabbing my finger into it and tasting it...  then 24 hours later I come along and throw the stuff away because really I don't like it and no one else here will eat it.


So why do I make it? I don't have a clue.   I mean why does a man not ask for directions and why do Jehovah Witnesses ask you if you know jesus when obviously you are alive and they believe Jesus is the cause of all that so why do they go around asking unless they aren't sure in which case why are they asking me since I totally don't know.


So if you hear me say I plan on making rice pudding please remind me that I don't like it.