Scalloped Sweet Potatoes & Apples with Pork Chops

Okay, this one came from a book that Erin got from the library (I think). I was really looking forward to this and the smell certainly made it worthwhile. It smelled so amazing and I was so hungry by the time that it was ready. I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed, I thought the chops seemed a little dry even though the sauce was too thin and it seemed like the sweet potatoes were kind of floating in a broth (a tasty broth though). I was ready to say that I wouldn't make it again and then I started copying the recipe into the post and realized that I had forgotten to add the flour (cue the sad horn - mwa mwa mwaaaaaaaa). So I will have to revise my opinion and say that I will probably try it again just to make sure (but on a day when I've had lunch because baking sweet potatoes with brown sugar and nutmeg is just more than one woman can take on an empty stomach).

1 T oil
4 pork chops (I used the thick boneless ones)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 large apples, peeled and sliced
2 large onions, sliced
1/4 c melted butter
1 T brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg (I unintentionally used much more)
1/4 t fresh ground pepper (I also used more pepper)
12 oz beer

Brown the chops evenly on both sides. Layer sweet potatoes, apples and onions alternately into a shallow, greased casserole dish (I used my pyrex 8x8 square dish). Sprinkle them with half of the butter and the brown sugar and place the chops on top of the vegetables. Mix the spices and flour with the rest of the butter and the beer in a saucepan. Bring sauce to a boil and pour over the pork chops. Cover with foil (or a lid if your casserole dish has one) and cook at 350F for 1 1/2 hours (no, that's not a typo). Take the foil off and cook for another 30 minutes.

Okay, what would I change the next time. I'D ADD FLOUR!!!!!

Maritime Brown Bread - Bread machine

So I took a book out of the library "Canada's best bread machine baking recipes" by Danna Washburn and Heather Butt. I've baked a few of the breads - I'll try and remember what I have made and post them. They have all been pretty good!

1.5 lb loaf

1 1/4 c water
1/4 c skim milk powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp shortening
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose or bread machine flour
1 tsp bread machine yeast (I use fast acting)

put all the stuff in like it says in your breadmachine manual, make the well and yeast in, and go.

use the Whole wheat cycle

my bread was kinda wet and was flat across the surface. It looked weird and wrong but in the end was baked and tasted good. The teens ate this with gusto!

Pomegranate muffins

I googled pomegrante muffin recipes and got one from thechubbypanda.com
they are pretty tasty - I substituted orange juice for the grand marnier - they are really moist and would be great for breakfast.

It says it makes 2 dozen - it is lying, I am waiting on the second batch, with just as much in the bowl as when I started!

More Bisquick Bake, Chicken & MMmmmm-Bacon

Tried this one again... sort of. If the recipe looks familiar, it's because I made it with ham and pineapple before. This time it was leftover chicken and some other stuff.

1 1/2 c leftover chicken (was roasted with Hawaiian pink salt and herbes de Provence)
8 pieces of back bacon (on sale at Pal's doncha know)
1 chopped tomato

Sprinkle these in the bottom of a greased pie plate.

Mix together in a bowl:
1 c Bisquick
1 c milk
2 eggs
2 t thyme
Pour this over the chicken and bake for 20-25 @ 400C or till you get a clean knife from the centre.

Sprinkle 1 cup of grated cheddar (I used medium cheddar this time) over the top and put it back in for another 4 minutes. Oh yeah, 6 servings.

Okay, notes: on the first night I probably would have preferred the tomatoes to be chopped and sprinkled over the top after the majority of the baking was done, maybe when I added the cheese. However, on the second day, the tomatoes were perfect right where they were. Meag and Zoran seemed to like it and Meag agreed with me about the second day improvement.

Joe's Mama's Crabmeat Casserole

I've been eyeing this one since Joe's Mama gave me this recipe box. For those just tuning in, this recipe box is packed with cake recipes that her mama used in her many, many years as a professional cake decorator. Those are really cool.

Joe's mama also included several recipes that are family (for "family" read "Joe's") favourites. So far Joe claims that this is comfort food that he doesn't really like the taste of very often but has one clear memory of it being amazing and that's what gives it the comfort food designation. Deep breath.

I set out to make this exactly like the recipe but I couldn't resist playing with the proportions a bit.

1 cup uncooked elbows (I used 2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta)
1 can crabmeat (I used 2 cans)
1 cup white sauce (McCormicks or any pkg white) (I used Knorr)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (I used closer to 3/4 because that's all I had left)
1 egg yolk
3 T melted butter (I probably used more)
1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Cook elbows.
Make white sauce.
Add cheese to white sauce stir until melted
Remove from heat
Add beaten egg yolk
Add crabmeat
Turn into greased casserole.
Mix butter & breadcrumbs
Sprinkle top with breadcrumb mixture
Add cover 350F for 30 minutes.
Also very good with fresh cooked crabmeat.

Okay, it was really delicious. Because I started the pasta water and the white sauce at the same time and had to keep whisking, I wasn't able to wander away from the pasta and lose track of time until I had mush like I usually do so the pasta was perfectly al dente. I don't know how large a serving is supposed to be in Joe's family home but 1 cup of pasta didn't seem like that much to me (not for more than two people anyway) so I doubled it and it filled my small casserole dish nicely, the amended recipe makes for a nice yield for 4. It seemed like the bread crumbs were really wet but because it's covered while it's cooking, they get all melty.

Next time I make it I'd like to try baking it without the lid for at least 10 minutes at the end, maybe all the way through even. I'd like to see if the breadcrumbs crisp up at all. I'd also like to just do the bechemel from scratch, 2 cups of milk with 2 T of flour, a little salt and pepper. I can totally see doing this in individual ramekins, the larger ones. Nice.

Oh yeah, I served it with steamed asparagus spears.

** Editorial Correction: Joe has since informed me that this casserole always attains the status of "good" but sometimes achieves the lofty height of "amazing". I stand corrected on my recollection. It is very likely that I was wrong because if it had only been good one time, I would have heard about it many more times. **