French onion smothered boneless porkchops

It's a dreary, overcast day outside and I just want to curl up in bed and sleep all day. I force myself to be productive even though it's hard.

I tried to use what I had at home, but realized I had to go out anyway so I picked up a couple items I needed for this recipe.

It is super easy, it was done in however long it takes to brown both sides of boneless pork chops. Maybe 10 min. Thrown in the Crock-Pot on high for 4 hours. Even put in at 2pm. Dinner will be done by 6pm tonight. That's a win in my book.

Ingredients:

6-8 boneless pork chops (I had 7)
1 onion, sliced thinly, halved
1 can Campbell's chicken with herbs soup
1 can Campbell's french onion soup
Season of choice. I coated both sides of my pork chops with Ms. Dash

2tbsp butter and olive oil for browning pork chops

Directions:
Brown pork chops in olive oil and butter.

Place half the sliced onions on bottom of Crock-Pot

Place first half of pork chops on top of onions then layer rest of onions on pork chops. Top with remaining pork chops.

Mix the two cans of soup together and


pour on top of layers of onion and pork chops. Set on high 4 hours. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

I had been going through my Pinterest board looking for ideas for todays dinner.  I knew I wanted something easy and that could be put in the crockpot. I had found a recipe for crockpot sloppy jo's and I was pretty sure I had most of the ingredients for the recipe. I was excited. I had never made sloppy jo's in the crock pot before. As I was going through the ingredient list I realized I didn't have any Worcestershire sauce. I was worried that I would need to scrap the whole idea. But luckily for me, I am creative and not afraid of a little challenge. I decided that I would try to make it with what I had around and what I could try to concoct for a delicious alternative for those of us who don't have exacting ingredients when we find recipes that look and sound delicious but are missing one or two ingredients. We get the joy of substitutions, praying they work. Luckily for me this time it worked splendidly. My husband raved about these, and said they were the best sloppy jo's he's ever had. I thought they were good, too. My children all ate theirs I put on their plates but they didn't eat seconds. Which is fine with me. They snacked all afternoon when I was napping. I am glad I took a nap. 

A side note I even forgot to plug the crockpot in before I took my nap. I woke up and checked dinner at 5pm. Realized I didn't have it plugged in... I set it on high, making sure I plugged it in. And 2 hours later it was heaven. So this is not something you necessarily need to make in the crockpot. It can be heated and cooked on the stove. The chicken or beef is precooked, you just heat the rest of the ingredients so they meld together. The leftovers will be frozen for a future meal when I don't have the energy to make anything or will throw in the crockpot to reheat for a busy school night. I love dual purpose dinners. They make life so much easier. In my opinion.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground chicken or beef (precooked, browned)

1 lg green pepper, diced

1 lg or 2 med onions, diced

2 8oz cans tomato sauce with green chili's

1 1/2 cup ketsup

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby ray's)

1/2 cup soy sauce

5-6 dashes red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Brown chicken (cook), Add all ingredients to crockpot, set on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4 or all day. Enjoy on hotdog, hamburger buns or on baked potatoes. 

Verdict,

My husband said the sauce part would be delicious on any thing such as pork, ribs, or any kind of meat. I think he really liked it, he had 3 helpings. This makes a lot to feed a crowd or to freeze part for a later meal. 

The original recipe called for Worcestershire sauce and no tomato sauce. I think this by far is the best recipe ever for sloppy jo's. No Worcestershire sauce needed for me. But if you'd like to try the original recipe feel free. Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you. Thanks,

Shae ;)

Grilled Beef Kebobs and Mixed Veggie Couscous

BBQ Grilled Beef Kebobs

With the warmer weather here this spring in West Virginia, I wanted to cook outside on the Grill. It had been so hot the last couple of days that I planned this dinner. Come to find out the day I made them, it was cold. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, this recipe did not disappoint. It was delicious and even better the next day. It does however, take a good day to prep, and the day before to marinade the beef and veggies. So I suggest getting a headstart. Unless you marinade first thing in the AM and assemble and cook that evening. I cut and marinade the beef and veggies the night before, so by afternoon the day I wanted to make them, everything was nice and marinaded. I also doubled the recipe as I was feeding 8 people. I got the marinade recipe from Pinterest. I Love Pinterest... 

Ingredients:

2 lb. lean beef steaks, cubed

1 green bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 yellow bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 red bell peppers, cut into cubes

1/2 onion cubed

Marinade:

1 cup veg oil

1 cup cooking white wine

1 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp spicy mustard (prepared)

4 tsp garlic powder

8 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (2 2/3 tablespoons0

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

In a quart size bag or larger add the cut vegetables and 1/2 the marinade, seal and put in the fridge for 12-24 hours. In another quart size bag add the cubed beef steak and the remaining marinade, seal and set in the fridge for 12-24 hours.

Assembly is just alternating veggie and beef on a Skewer. ** Don't stick your self with the skewer... it hurts... (Reserve marinade used on veggies for basting kebobs while cooking). I used metal skewers but you can use bamboo skewers by soaking them for 30 min in water before using them.

I used a gas grill and set it at high. Once it was hot I placed prepared kebobs on the grill and basted with leftover marinade. I cooked about 5 min, per side (depending on desired doneness and thickness of meat) flipped the skewer over with tongs and basted again with reserved marinade. Cooked another 5 or so minutes and then removed from heat. Set aside for 5 min before eating. 

Served with mixed veggie couscous. So yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups couscous (cooked per package)

4 carrots, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 cup cooking white wine

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

REAL Salt and Pepper to taste

Make couscous per package directions and set aside. In a separate skillet melt the butter with the olive oil, over med/hi heat. Once hot and butter is melted add the diced veggies to soften. sprinkle with salt and pepper. cook down until onions are translucent and veggies are slightly softened. Once the veggies are cooked, add the white wine and deglaze the pan. cook down and reduce. Once reduced add the prepared couscous and mix together. Once warmed through pour lemon Juice on top and mix again. Serve warm with Kebobs.

Clean Eating Fajita Taco's with Caramelized Onions

Fajita Taco's with Caramelized Onions


4 - Chicken Breasts, sliced thin
3 (1 of each) Red, Yellow, green or orange Bell Peppers, Sliced thin
2 - Onions, sliced thin(reserve one for the caramelized onions)
1/2 packet fajita spices (low sodium)
1 cup salsa (homemade)
Romain Lettuce Leaves


Cook the chicken, bell peppers and 1 of the onions until the chicken is cooked through, onions translucent and peppers are soft. Add fajita spices and salsa, add 1/3 cup water and simmer down. In a separate pan, slowly cook on low/med heat, add onions in 1/2 a tsp of  heated coconut oil, and a sprinkle of kosher salt until they are tender and browned. 


Spoon the fajita mixture into romaine lettuce leaves, then add a light layer of the caramelized onions on top of the fajita mixture. 


ENJOY! These are so super tasty and full of flavor. The sweetness from the onions and the spice of the fajita meat are a perfect combination. I made these for a dinner with my husband and they were so supper tasty! WE ate them all up.

Orange Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Roast with Caramelized Onions

This recipe was a creation and a conglomeration of several recipes that I read when I was looking for something to do with my pork roast. I read several recipes and my mouth was just watering. So, of course, I had to create my own version of these recipes... Unfortunately, I forgot to write down my exact measurements. I also, forgot to properly measure. :( however, I can tell you approximately what I used. I seem to do a lot of my cooking my non exacts except when I baking. That is definitely more precise. Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

1 pork roast approx. 3-5 lbs (keep netting on)

4-5 oranges- fresh squeezed juice (making sure no seeds make it into the glaze)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

4-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp stone ground mustard

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp corn starch

salt and pepper

1 medium onion sliced

Preheat the oven to 350F. Rinse and dry the pork roast, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl blend together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, mustard, brown sugar, corn starch and salt and pepper. Mix well. In the bottom of a covered roasting pan, place the slices of the medium onion. Then place the pork roast on top of the onions. Then glaze the pork well with the glaze. Then cover and place in the oven on the center rack, and bake for 1 hour, then remove lid and reglaze the pork. Return pork back in the oven with no lid. Then after another 30 minutes reglaze the pork and cook for another 30 minutes. Once the internal temperature reaches 160F then remove from the oven. Reglaze again once after the pork has left the oven. Let rest for 15 min at least. After it's rested, remove the netting and throw the netting away. Cut into the roast, and enjoy.

Verdict, My husband said it was so EPIC that he would even do the dishes anytime I decided to make this again. :) Plus, he's cleaning the kitchen tonight. I really enjoyed eating the roast with the caramelized onions that caramelized on the bottom under the pork roast in the glaze. OH... So yummy! :) my kids even had the onions and extra glaze on their pork.

Chunky Veggie Beef Stew

Ok, So I had a little left over from my beef roast yesterday. I decided I didn't want to do too much mess today, since I'm still trying to finish from the mess this weekend. So I decided to use up some veggies in the fridge, and the left over beef from dinner last night. Here's what I created.

It looks like a yummy beef stew, with chunks of veggies, big carrot bits, potatoes, zucchini, squash, spinach, and onions. With bite size chunks of the yummy roast from last night. Ah, my mouth is already watering. Because most of my carrots are still raw, I cut them up and layered them on the bottom of the pan, to help them cook better. Then I placed the red potatoes that only need heating from yesterday on top of the carrots. Then the fresh veggies went on top of that. Covered in the gravy from the beef roast last night, which had carrots and onions in it. Then cut up the beef into small bite size pieces and put that on top. I had found about 1 cup or 1 1/2 cup of beef stock in the fridge to add a little extra beef flavoring and liquid to the meal. Now it's all sitting in the slow cooker. Dinner will be yummy. I will either make biscuits, or rolls to go with it. I haven't decided yet. along with an apple pie for dessert. Tempted to make another dutch apple pie like I made last night, it was a huge hit!

Chucky Veggie Beef Stew

Ingredients:

6 carrots, cut into chunks

1 zucchini sliced and chunks

2 small squashes sliced and chunked

5 baby red potatoes (mine are left over from a previous meal, and precooked)

Brown gravy about 2 cups (mine is is from a previous meal, leftover)

1 box chopped spinach (drained)

1 1/2 cup beef broth

about 1 lb or 1 1/2 lb beef roast (leftover from previous meal) cut into bite size pieces

1/2 onion for flavor, cut into large chunks

Add all ingredients into slow cooker, low for 6 hours. High for 3 hours.

Serve with rolls or biscuits.

The verdict> I was surprised by how well this turned out. My husband didn't think the kids would eat it. I had my reservations, but I had hoped they would. And to his surprise and my gratitude,... they ate it all, well at least all of their portion. I have enough for a second night of soup. That will be part of our leftovers night. :) But they all said how yummy it was and that they liked the spinach and the zucchini. Those were amazing words coming from my kids. It was a tasty and satisfying soup. I'll be making this again. :)