Golden Crispy Pork Chops {+A Crazy 2 Months}

Posted in Entrees, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

Holy cow, how is February almost over?! I feel like life has been a whirlwind over the past two months. This is the first weekend since Christmas that we have NO plans and it feels amazing. Between guests in town, work commitments, and traveling for various events – husband and I are feeling a little worn out.

We spent the morning brunching at a local spot, Sleepy Bee Cafe (highly recommended!) and then took the pups on a long walk. I cannot believe this weather, it is 65 degrees in February! I know that this is just a tease, but I’ll take it! I think everyone is feeling a little sleepy with full bellies and tired legs.

I’m sharing this not-so-healthy but delicious recipe with you today. I usually bake Pork Chops in the oven, but I decided to switch it up for a little much needed comfort meal. These crispy pork chops turned out great and didn’t take long to make.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 boneless Pork Chops (1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness)
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup Italian flavored breadcrumb OR panko
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1.Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in a deep dish plate. Mix together bread crumb and flour in a separate deep dish plate.

2.Start by dipping the chops completely in the egg mixture.

3.Coat pork chops in breadcrumb-flour mixture and pat to adhere breadcrumb to pork chops.

4. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in large skillet over medium heat. Place pork chops in skillet and cook for approximately 6 -7 minutes per side, until golden brown. Once fully cooked, transfer to a plate. Serve with desired sides.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

15Sep2011

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

I needed to bake and I wanted to make something simple. What’s more simple than chocolate chip cookies? This is a great recipe and the cookies turned out delicious 🙂

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light margarine, melted (original recipe called for unsalted butter)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. (or rubber spatula…)
Drop tablespoon fulls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

15Sep2011

Chocolate PB Oatmeal

Posted in Breakfast, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

I recently discovered a new blog, Katshealthcorner and found an oatmeal recipe on there that I just had to try! I’m pretty much obsessed with any chocolate-peanut butter combination and this chocolate PB oatmeal, was no exception. It’s a simple recipe and something I will be making again!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
2/3 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon splenda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon cocoa pepper
Spoonful of peanut butter
Extra chocolate chips for topping

Instructions:

1. Put oats in to bowl. Add water, salt, splenda (if you like your oatmeal on the sweeter side), and vanilla.

2. Cook your oats on either the stove top or in the microwave. (I was in a hurry so I put mine in the microwave for a bout 1 min, 10 seconds).

3. After they are done, separate evenly in to separate bowls. In one bowl add cinnamon and in other bowl add cocoa.

4. Now, in the bowl you will be eating out of, combine cinnamon and cocoa oatmeal. Keeping them on separate sides of the bowl. (On the original recipe, she made a pretty swirl with the two).

5. Melt a spoonful of peanut butter (about 20 seconds in microwave) and spread over the cinnamon side of the oatmeal.

7. Top with as many chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chunks) as you’d like and enjoy!!

8Sep2011

Bow Tie Pasta with Italian Sausage

Posted in Entrees, Pasta, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

So I have a confession to make. You see, Mina hates sausage in his pasta. I was tired of doing pasta with a simple meat sauce…so I decided to try to be sneaky by taking the sausage out of it’s casing and I treated it like ground beef to make a pasta sauce. So when I came to serve dinner, I didn’t mention that there could possibly be sausage in the pasta… just to see if perhaps he would give it another chance. Sneaky sneaky, I know. And well, I failed. I suppose it was a worth a try though! He noticed the sausage and wasn’t a fan. On a more positive note, I liked it and so did a friend who was having dinner with us! So, if you’re a fan of sausage then I think this recipe is worth trying!

Ingredients:

1 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausage (I used spicy)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can (15 ounces) tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces bow-tie shaped pasta, or farfalle
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Remove Italian sausage from casing.

2. Heat olive oil and brown garlic, onion, and sausage. Drain excess fat.

3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.

4. Cover and put on low, allowing it to simmer for about 20 minutes.

5. Cook pasta and drain water. Mix sauce and cooked pasta together. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

I ran out of lettuce for a traditional salad, so on the side I made a cucumber, tomato (I had red and yellow tomatoes), feta cheese, and dried cranberry salad. I seasoned it with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and some parsley. It was delicious!

5Sep2011

Fresh Peach Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

I think breakfast might be my favorite meal of the day. But I typically don’t get the chance to really enjoy breakfast as classes start most mornings by 7:30. So, I try to make muffins or other quick, on the go breakfast type items at the beginning of the week. Today I made peach muffins since I had a couple of really ripe peaches. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com but I as usual I couldn’t help but tweak it a bit. Before peaches are completely out of season, I definitely think these are a must-try!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup light margarine
3/4 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup yogurt (I had peach greek yogurt, so I used that)*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh peaches (Be sure to remove peel from peaches)

*You can substitute the yogurt for sour cream, in which case you wouldn’t need to add the baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Add egg, yogurt, vanilla, and honey, mix well.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.

4. Fold in peaches. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack.

5Sep2011

“Pigs in a Blanket”

Posted in Appetizers, Recipes, Side Dishes by Cavities & Cravings

Mina was invited over to a buddy’s house for a fantasy football draft party. This is a conversation we had several hours before the party:

Mina: They’re having wings tonight and they asked me to bring a side dish.

Me: Ok, what do you want to take?

Mina: I don’t know…what do you think about some ranch dressing?

Me: (dying laughing) Um. Well, I don’t think that constitutes as a side dish…

So, I took charge of the side dish situation and made a newer version of pigs in a blanket. They were a huge hit and now that football season is in full swing, I know that we’ll be having many football watching parties and these will definitely be made again!

Ingredients:

1 package of reduced fat crescent rolls
1 package chicken italian sausage
Slices of your favorite cheese, I used muenster cheese because that’s what I had
Parmesan cheese
Garlic salt

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Boil sausage in water for 5 minutes. Slice sausages in four equal pieces (I cut them in half horizontally and then again in 1/2 vertically)

3. Unroll dough in to triangles. Place 1/2 a slice of cheese per triangle along with a slice of the sausage. Wrap triangular dough around dog and cheese. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Sprinkle each with a pinch of parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

5. Bake on 350 for about 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

6. Dig in and enjoy!

4Sep2011

Stir Fry Overload

Posted in Entrees, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

Yesterday for dinner my friend Mary and I made some chicken and vegetable stir fry. I think we made enough to feed a small country. It’s an Egyptian thing…Egyptian mothers only know how to cook for armys of people and I think I have inherited this gene. I rarely can get the portions right. I guess the theory is, I’d rather everyone be stuffed and have tons of left overs then for someone to walk away from the table a little hungry. Crazy, I know.

Anyways, I think I went a little (by a little, I really mean a lot) overboard on the fresh veggies I bought to put in it: broccoli, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms, carrots, onions, zucchini, eggplant, sugar snap peans…I couldn’t help myself but pick up every vegetable I love. This combination worked out perfectly! It couldn’t have been better.

I’m not going to make an ingredient list for this recipe, because everyone likes different vegetables. So I’ll just walk you through the steps of how I put this all together!

1 Get some rice cooking. Rice typically takes awhile to cook so I started that first.

2. Chop 1 pound of chicken breast into cubes. Season with 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (for spice)

3. Brown 1/2 cup of chopped onions and cubed chicken in pan.

4. While chicken is browning, chop vegetables in to cubes. Add about tsp of olive oil to lightly coat vegetables, along with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp of ginger, and 1/2 tsp red pepper (same spices that were on the chicken!).

5. Put vegetables in separate pot on medium-high heat. Allow vegetables to cook through, mixing regularly.

Mary while mixing the vegetables, "I feel like a real housewife of Columbus."

6. Add 1/2 cup of soy sauce. (I had a lot of veggies, so this might be too much soy sauce for you!) I used a light, low sodium soy sauce from the grocery store. It was perfect. Some soy sauces are too salty. So taste yours before adding a ton to your veggies.

7. Once veggies are cooked down and tender. Add chicken.

8. Serve on rice. Dig in and enjoy!

After dinner a group of us went and saw a comedy show at the funny bone. Mina got to see the third love of his life (#1. Me, #2. Diesel) Tommy Johngin. He says I’m jealous of his love that he has for Tommy…but that’s not true. I know I’ll always be number one. Overall it was a successful dinner followed by a successful evening of friends and laughter. What more could I ask for?

Tommy's the one in plaid!

1Sep2011

Chicken Enchiladas

Posted in Entrees, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

Tonight was Mexican night in the Doss household! We had chicken enchiladas and beef nachos! Yum! I even made Mina wear a sombrero throughout all of dinner and only speak in Spanish…just kidding. Although that would’ve been pretty entertaining.

Tonights recipe isn’t all that healthy for you, but the enchiladas were full of flavor and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. Hope you enjoy them too!

Ingredients:

1 pound chopped chicken
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced fat cream of chicken Soup
1 (8 ounce) container light sour cream
1/2 cup corn
2 cup of your favorite salsa
1 chopped green onion
1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 tsp ground red pepper (*optional, add for spice)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp back pepper
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup of refried beans (or black beans)
10 low carb tortillas

Instructions:

Heat oil in pan. Brown onions and chicken.
In a medium sized bowl mix together cream of chicken, sour cream, corn, salsa, green onion, diced tomatoes, red pepper, pepper, salt, shredded cheeses, and cooked chicken.
Warm up tortillas in microwave. If using black beans add to mixture in bowl. If using refried beans, line tortillas refried beans.
Fill tortillas with chicken mixture from bowl. Place filled tortilla, seal down in a large baking dish. This recipe makes a lot! It made about 10 full sized tortillas.
Top tortillas with extra filling and extra shredded cheese.
Cover with foil and bake in oven on 350 for 40 minutes.
Dig in and enjoy!

We had some friends join us for dinner so I also made a plate of nachos on the side!

31Aug2011

Stuffed Green Peppers

Posted in Entrees, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

Brace yourself for an AWESOME recipe. I made green bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and rice for dinner tonight. Growing up my mama always made these for dinner. She gave me her recipe and I swear I was following it, but mine never turned out as good as hers. The stuffing always dried out. Perhaps I wasn’t putting enough love in to it. But tonight, I had no such problem! I combined my moms recipe with a couple other ones that I found online…mission successful.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 large green peppers
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 can diced tomatoes (8 ounces)
1 can tomato sauce (16 ounces)
1/2 cup rice
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper (*optional, added for spice)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used a blend of cheddar and mozzarella)

Instructions:

Cut tops of green peppers off. Chop off enough of the tops of the green peppers to have 1/4 cup diced green pepper. Remove seeds and membranes from inside of peppers.
Place whole green peppers in pot of boiling water, uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and invert on paper towel.
Heat olive oil in skillet. Brown onions, ground beef and 1/4 cup of chopped green pepper. Drain off excess fat.
Add 1/2 can of undrained, diced tomatoes, 1/2 can of tomato sauce, rice, water, salt, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and black pepper to ground beef mixture in skillet.
Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover until rice is tender. I used brown rice, so it took about 45 minutes for my rice to cook. (white rice should take ~20 minutes)
Stir in cheese. Sprinkle salt on inside of green peppers. Stuff peppers with meat and mixture.
In a casserole dish deep enough to hold green peppers up right, add remaining 1/2 of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of water. This will act as a “bath” for the stuffed peppers to finish cooking in.
Place stuffed peppers in casserole dish. Sprinkle peppers with a little extra cheese. Cover and bake on 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Dig in and enjoy!

31Aug2011

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by Cavities & Cravings

It’s been a great first day of “summer” break. I slept in, ran some errands, had lunch with the hubby, and when I got home I tried to fight the urge to bake…and I failed. These cookies turned out amazing! They are so so moist and chocolatey and well, they hit the spot. Unfortunately they were soo good that I’ve already eaten three…and they’ve only been out of oven for 30 minutes. Epic. Fail. Hopefully I can pawn them off on friends before I eat them all!

Side note: You know who’s not having a good day?? Diesel. Poor puppy has an ear infection and a hurt paw…he looks so sad and helpless. He’s on pain killers, ear drops, and antibiotics!! Poor pumpkin. His favorite treats are ice cubes (weird right?), so he’s been getting extra ice cubes and lots of love today…. hopefully he feels better soon!

Anyways, back to the cookies. Here’s the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar (or splenda!)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dig in and enjoy!