Coke Pork Chops

1 cup ketchup
1 cup coke (or miscellaneous cola-type beverage, but we all know coke is best!)
2 tbsp brown sugar
8 pork chops
salt and pepper, to taste

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. mix together ketchup, coke and brown sugar.
3. place pork chops in a baking pan, and cover with coke mixture, coating well. sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. bake for about one hour, depending on the thickness of the pork chop.

prep time: 10 mins
bake time: 1 hr

**this is also a good recipe for chicken. for chicken breasts, cooking time is approx. 40 mins for thick breasts.

i am SOOOOO making this for supper tonight!!! i'll update later with the verdict!

Super Easy Donuts

Ingredients
2 Tbsp white vinegar
3/8 cup milk
2 tbsp shortening
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 quart oil for deep-frying
½ cup confectioner's sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Stir the vinegar into the milk, and let stand for a few minutes until thick.
   
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture alternating with the vinegar and milk. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/3 inch thick. Cut into donuts using a donut cutter. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
   
3. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry donuts in the hot oil until golden, turning over once. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioner's sugar while still warm, and serve immediately.
   

Review

"Super Easy Donuts"?! more like "Super Yummy Donuts"!!!!

Now granted, i'm not a baker. In fact, i ran into a minor glitch when i realized i don't even own a sifter! but i have one now, likely only to be used when making these donuts!!! They're yummy! Be warned, they're not like timmie's donuts. These are old-school, homemade donuts. So crispy and good..... sorry, started drooling there. Yeah. Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum. (and yes, staci, that's 7! Le wink) so, yeah. These are lovely.

One minor complaint though. I don't think they were very realistic when they said "serve immediately." To be honest, you're going to want to eat these all yourself. Make a separate batch to serve, and sneak the rest of the batch into your mouth before anyone notices!

We’re gonna give this a whirl, and see how it goes

OK, so if you know me, you know that if there is one thing on this earth i hate, it's housework. I mean, really, blech. Can't stand it. I think the lack of a housework fairy was a grave oversight in creation. So, needless to say, if i had to choose something to do with my time, it would not be housework. And oh, look how! Every day i end up falling further and further behind in this area.

And i hate it.

So it's gonna stop.

Now.

But really, i hate it enough that i can't simply say, "oh, yes, i know i hate it, but i'll be uber-diligent from now on." I know you'd think i could do it, but really, i can't. And i'm not going to say how i know this about myself, but trust me, it's true. So here's what i'm gonna try. A schedule. Break up the housework by day, and then set aside a certain time in the day for it.

So, here we go:

Daily Routine

Kids to school at 8:45

"homeblessing"

pick up Bram/lunch

work while boys are napping

pick up Blithe/snack

homework

supper

dishes and tidying

bedtime

"me" time

 

Oh, i suppose i should have mentioned something. "Homeblessing" is what my dear friend Annie calls housework and chores. I like it. So i'm stealing it. Maybe it will help change my attitude about it if i call it something else. That's the theory, anyway. We'll see if it works.

Now, for the "homeblessing" time block: every day, i'm going to do one major task, and then of course the little things like sweeping, etc. My grandmother had a weekly "homeblessing" schedule, and it worked for her, so i'm giving it a whirl. Besides, if i have a day for laundry, i'll know the kids will always have clean underwear, and NO ONE wants to run out of clean underwear! lol

Weekly Routine

Monday: menu planning, groceries

Tuesday: cooking, baking (it happens... sometimes!)

Wednesday: laundry

Thursday: clean bedrooms, wash bedding and towels

Friday: bathroom/kitchen, floors, dusting

 

So, yeah, i'm gonna give this a whirl. But haha, you'll note that this morning, i'm blogging instead of menu planning and groceries! So i'm already off to a rip-roaring start! LOL but now i'm going to get to work on the menu, and take the boys shopping this afternoon.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:
12-18 large pasta shells, cooked
1 lb lean ground beef
3 tbsp taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup salsa, divided
1 cup grated cheese, divided
750 ml tomato sauce
chili powder
green onion (garnish)

Directions:
1. brown ground beef. drain.
2. add seasoning, water, onion, 1/2 cup salsa, 1/4 cup cheese.
3. mix together remaining salsa, tomato sauce, cheese.
4. spread thin layer of sauce in bottom of 9x12 baking pan.
5. fill each shell with ground beef mixture and place in pan.
6. pour remaining sauce on top. sprinkle on the rest of the cheese on top and garnish with green onion.
7. bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 mins (or in my kitchen, "until it's done.")
8. if desired, sprinkle additional cheese on top after baking and return to oven for 5 mins longer or until cheese melts.

Verdict:
YUMMU!!! this was really, really good. my mom can't handle spice, so i didn't use much chili powder, and instead of tomato sauce, i used crushed tomatoes and 2 big garlic cloves. and it was lovely!

breathe deeply. smell that? it's simplicity.

this afternoon was beautiful. the sun was shining, the air was cool and crisp, and the snow was all gone.

ok, so the snow wasn't all gone, but the sidewalks were clear.

and really, as much as i love my tek, the day was far too perfect to drive. no, today was the perfect day for walking.

after a short nap, the boys and i put on our coats and shoes (no boots today!), and i put asher in the stroller. and then.......

we walked to pick up blithe from school.

yup, you read that right. we walked.

and it was the perfect day for it.

and we all loved it. :)

Ok, seriously, someone i know needs to make this..... and then give it to staci and me! teehee

Inside-Out Turkey Bacon Cheeseburgers with Oven O-Rings

Ingredients

6 slices turkey bacon, chopped

1 tbsp EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp smoked chipotle powder or 2 tsp chilli powder

All-purpose flour, for dredging, about 1 cup

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1 large sweet onion, sliced ½ inch thick and divided into rings

2 lbs ground turkey breast

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup spicy brown mustard

¾ cup shredded or crumbled sharp Cheddar cheese

½ head of redleaf or other lettuce, chopped

1 beefsteak tomato, sliced

4 kosher dill pickles, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Arrange the bacon in a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat. Slowly crisp up the bacon, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the bacon from the skillet and, when cool, chop. Add the EVOO to the remaining drippings and set aside.
   
3. While the bacon is crisping, combine he cornmeal and chipotle powder in a shallow bowl. Set up two more shallow bowls, filling one with the flour and the other with the buttermilk. Dip the onion rings in the buttermilk, then dredge the rings in the flour, tossing them lightly in your hands to remove the excess. Dip them once again in the buttermilk, and finally coat them fully with the cornmeal mixture. Place the dredged rings on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy, 15 to 18 minutes.
   
4. While the onion rings are baking, place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and mix in the mustard. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a burger, making a well in the center. Fill the well of each with one quarter of the crisp bacon pieces and 2 tbsp of the cheese. Carefully form the burger around the cheese and bacon filling, making sure the filling is completely covered. Return the skillet you cooked the bacon in to medium-high heat. Add the burger patties to the hot skillet and cook for 2 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the burgers for 5 to 6 minutes longer, turning occasionally. Do not press down on the burgers as they cook.
   
5. Serve each burger on a bed of lettuce topped with sliced tomato, chopped pickles, and a few oven o-rings.
   

Serves 4

so, we're setting the table for dinner tonight, and as i'm wiping the table, Bram is playing with his plate, tapping it on the table and making a lot of noise of it. i say, "bram, please stop that. thank-you."

bram says, "but don't you like it, mommy? it's my song that i wrote. it's called the plate song."

what do you say to that?! lol i kissed him on the forehead, and blogged it. :)