Sweet & Tangy Pork Chops

Because most of the items in this recipe are things I already have in my cupboards, it is an easy choice for dinner when I have nothing planned. It goes together quickly because there is virtually no prep time needed. If you don't have pork chops, you can substitute chicken. If you don't have canned tomato sauce, try pre-made spaghetti sauces like Prego or Ragu (I always have leftover spaghetti sauce in the fridge so this is a great way to use it up). Don't be afraid to experiment.


Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 30 minutes or less
Recipe By: Jani Jones ... I got this recipe from my mom, but I do not know where she got it from. I would love to give credit to the chef so if anyone knows who created this recipe please let me know so I can update this blog. Thanks

Ingredients:

4 pork loin chops, 1 in thick (they need to be completely defrosted, if you forget this step the recipe takes A LOT longer)
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 TBSP cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. (Oil is ready when it crackles if you flick a drop of water into it)
2. Brown outside of pork chops in hot oil. (You do not need to cook through at this point since you will be boiling them later, this is just to give them nice color)
3. Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to just a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through.
5. Serve pork chops with sauce

Birthday Cake

Today we celebrated Van's first birthday. He has changed and grown so much in this last year. We absolutely adore him and are so proud of his accomplishments. For his birthday we wanted him to have his very own cake he could make a mess out of (which he did). But we didn't want him to have all the sugar that comes with cake and frosting. So we made him a carrot cake frosted in whipped cream.
Nutrition Facts:
(whipped cream 25 cal/1g sugar per 2 tbsp, frosting 140 cal/20g sugar per 2 tbsp)

Carrot Cake

Serves: 14
Start to Finish: 2 hours, 15 min (not for the faint of heart)
Recipe By: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of a rectangular 9 x 13 pan with shortening and lightly flour. (Can also use two 8 x 1 1/2 round pans)
2. Beat sugar, oil, and eggs in large bowl with an electric beater on low speed for approx. 30 seconds.
3. Add remaining ingredients except carrots, pineapple, nuts, and coconut. Beat for 1 minute more.
4. Gently stir in carrots, pineapple, nuts, and coconut and pour into pan.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (for round pans - 30 minutes) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack completely for about 1 hour
7. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Crepes For Breakfast

In our new ward, church meetings don't start until 1:00 pm. Which means Sunday morning is a great time to spend as a family doing something fun. This morning Mike and I decided to make crepes for breakfast. Not only was it fun, but they were delicious. We made ours with french vanilla pudding, strawberries, bananas, and nectarines (yummmm ... my favorite). Then, topped them with whipped cream. Okay, I will admit it, it was more like dessert than breakfast but I'm not complaining.


Crepes

Serves: 12 crepes
Start to Finish: 35 minutes
Recipe By: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
2 cups milk
2 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients with a hand beater until smooth
2. Lightly butter a skillet and heat over medium heat until the butter is bubbly
3. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet. Immediately rotate the skillet until a thin layer of batter covers the bottom
4. Cook until light brown. (Overcooking will make them crunchy and hard to roll up)
5. Run a wide spatula around the edges to loosen. Flip and cook the other side.
6. Place crepes between wax paper to stack them.
7. Repeat this process until all the crepes are made. You will need to re-butter the pan often.

Fillings:

Fresh fruit, diced
French vanilla pudding
Whipped cream
You can also use jam and powdered sugar

Floors you can really eat off

Those who know me, know I think cleaning is a great way to relieve stress. Having recently moved, being 3 months pregnant, and raising a 1-year-old you could say stress is a factor in my life. So today I set out looking for something that needed a good cleaning. Anyone who has ever been a parent to a small child knows that if there is something on the floor it will eventually end up in their mouth. Van is no exception. So the floors are something that continually need cleaning. When we moved we were required to leave most of our cleaners behind, including any kind of floor cleaner. It was just the motivation I needed to try one of those "homemade" cleaners. My little experiment turned out better than I had planned. The floor is spotless with no leftover reside, there are no harsh fumes that I need to worry about, and (surprisingly) it doesn't smell like vinegar. Now Van can eat off the floor, heck he can lick the floor, and I wont have to worry about a thing.

Homemade Floor Cleaner

Ingredients:
1 gallon warm water
1 cup white vinegar

Directions:
Mix in your cleaning bucket and use this to clean vinyl type floors.

If you are interested in more "homemade" cleaners check out this website. Maybe when your kids make faces on the window panes you wont have to worry about what kind of cleaners are on there.
www.thefamilyhomestead.com/homemadehouseholdcleaners.htm

Summer Pasta Salad

While I was pregnant with Van I craved fresh vegetables. However, I was usually too sick to prepare real meals, so I ate a lot of TV dinners and sandwiches. It was a treat for me to have someone else cook a meal and bring it by. One of my good friends, Crystal, was always quick to invite me over for dinner if she knew Mike was out of town on business. On one such occasion she made this pasta salad. It was heavenly! Maybe it was all the freshness and simplicity of it or maybe it was because I hadn't eaten anything besides dry cereal, crackers, and a lean cuisine. Whatever the reason. I still remember it as one of my favorite dinners during that time.

Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 20 minutes
Recipe By: Crystal Ross

Ingredients:

1/2 box bow-tie pasta noodles
1 (6 oz) can tuna I prefer solid, white albacore tuna packed in water
1 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped a head of romaine lettuce is smaller than a head of iceberg lettuce. So if you are going to substitute, you will probably only need 1/2 a head of iceberg. Note: romaine lettuce has significantly more vitamins than iceberg lettuce and there is hardly a taste difference.
1 large tomato, diced
2 TBSP low-fat mayonnaise or ranch dressing I don't like mayonnaise, so I substitute it for the ranch dressing but you can really add any kind of salad dressing, Thousand Island, French, Bleu Cheese, etc ... as long as it is thick enough to hold the salad together.

Directions:

In in a large stock pot, boil water for the noodles. Meanwhile, wash and chop the lettuce and tomato. When water begins boiling, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool. Drain tuna. You can run a knife inside the tuna can to break up the chucks and cut down the larger pieces. In a gallon-sized Ziploc bag combine all ingredients: cooked noodles, tuna, chopped lettuce and tomato, and dressing. Close and shake. Can be served immediately or refrigerated for later.