Enchanting Garlic Herbed Crusted Pork Chops

This is a new recipe for me and I much say, in the most humble way possible, that I nailed it!  This is one of the best fresh pork recipes I have concocted in a loooong time.  The coating is crispy and crunch and flavorful.  I am still thinking about this meal and I finished eating almost 2 hours ago (like I said it is enchanting).  I will stop trying to entice you now and just give up the recipe.

Ingredients:

2-4 Pork Chops (bone-in, boneless, thick cut, thin cut your choice)
2 cups uncrushed Rice Chex or similar rice cereal (I use Safeway brand)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup softened butter
3 Tablespoons basil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt
pepper

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
2.  Using a food processor crush the rice cereal and the walnuts (Don't turn them into too fine a powder)
3.  Add the softened butter, Parmesan, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
4.  Use the food processor to cut the above ingredients into the crushed cereal and walnuts (make sure there are not large chunks of butter left)
5.  Rinse the pork chops, place on a baking sheet, and pat them dry with a paper towel
6.  Spoon the crust mixture onto the pork chops packing lightly
7.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pork chop is cooked thoroughly

Some tips:

*If you don't have a food processor or don't want to use one crush the cereal in a sealed bag with a rolling pin, chop the nuts as finely as you can, and then cut the butter and the rest of the ingredients in with a fork like a pie crust.

**Experiment with different spices and let us know what you like!

***The crust should be a golden brown when the pork chops are finished

One Pot Chicken and Noodles

I made this for dinner tonight because I wanted something fast with not a lot of clean-up.  It turned out to be a lot of clean-up not because it was messy or hard to cook but because I am a klutz.

To make this dish you will need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 oz. carrots or broccoli or both
1 carton condensed cream of chicken soup (I use Pacific brand)
1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
noodles (I use Tinkyada brand)

1.  Cube chicken, cutting it into bite size pieces
2.  Pour olive oil into a deep frying pan and heat over medium heat
3.  Saute chicken in the oil
4.  When the chicken is cooked through add broth, milk, and cream of chicken soup
5.  Bring to a boil and add salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano
6.  Add the uncooked noodles and veggies
7.  Reduce heat and cover
8.  Simmer until the noodles are cooked through and the sauce thickens (If too much moisture boils off add more chicken broth as needed)
9.  Stir in the Parmesan and cook until melted

Rice Cereal Crispy Treats

This is my variation Rice Krispies Treats.  Kellogg's recently came out with a gluten-free version of Rice Krispies and they are delicious but for this recipe I use crushed Rice Chex or a gluten-free store brand.  I feel like the crushed rice cereal brings a good texture and flavor.  I love this recipe because it is an extremely quick and tasty dessert.  It is also a huge crowd pleaser.

Here is what you will need:

6 cups crushed Rice Chex or gluten-free Rice Krispies
40 large marshmallows
3 Tablespoons butter

1.  If you are using the Chex crush them using a sealed bag (just break them up don't turn them into powder)
2.  Ina microwave on high heat melt the marshmallows and butter together stiring every 30 seconds until conmpletely melted and combined (DON'T BURN)
3.  Mix quickly with the cereal completely
4.  Press into a baking pan or into the shape you would like (buttering your hands or spatula really helps)

Let cool for about 10 minuted and enjoy! 

Gluten-free AND Dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

My wonderful mother has been visiting with me this week.  We made a lot of recipes and this was one that we could both enjoy (she has to eat dairy-free). 

Here is what you will need for these AWESOME cookies:

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine (My mom uses Earth Balance brand)
1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup white rice flour, sweet rice flour, soy flour, and tapioca flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (We use Enjoy Life brand it is gluten and dairy free)

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
2.  Cream the shortening and butter with an electric mixer
3.  Add about half of the flour, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda
4.  Beat with an electric mixer until it is thoroughly combined
5.  Add in the remaining flour
6.  Stir in the chocolate chips
7.  Drop onto a cookie sheet (rounded teaspoons) about 2 inches apart
8.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown
9.  Cool cookies on a wire rack

We store the cookies in a plastic container for up to a week (if they last that long they are yummy!). 

Potato Pancakes Version 2.0 (More Traditional)

My mom is visiting this week and she brought a new recipe for potato pancakes.  They were super delicious and FAST!  I truly believe you can have more than one tasty recipe for the same food.  This potato pancake recipe is more traditional.

For this you will need:

3 medium potatoes
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon onion powder (or 1/2 onion)
1/8 cup potato starch
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
Butter (or oil)

1.  Peel potatoes
2.  Using a cheese grated grate potatoes onto a paper towel
3.  Using a second paper towel press the extra water out of the potatoes
4.  In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs
5.  Add the cornstarch, onion, and potatoes
6.  Mix well
7.  Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet
8.  Using an ice cream scoop place potato mixture into the skillet
9.  Cook until each side is golden brown

Serve the potato pancakes with sour cream or applesauce.  We had them at lunch today with sandwiches.

Semi-homemade Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich

I wanted to make and post this recipe this weekend but we ended up finishing up some leftovers from last week instead.  I say this recipe is semi-homemade because I used the Bisquick gluten-free mix.  I love making these biscuits because they are light and not grainy.  They are also super quick and easy to make. 

So here is what you will need to make the sandwich and biscuits:

Biscuits:

1 box of Bisquick mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Sandwich:

Eggs (Enough for the number of sandwiches you would like to make)
Sausage (You can also use bacon, turkey bacon, ham, or any kind of breakfast meat)
Cheese (I used two types one was grated into the eggs and the other was sliced I put on the sandwich)
Milk

1.  Follow the directions to make the biscuits on the back of the gluten-free Bisquick box
2.  Cook the breakfast meat over medium heat in a skillet
3.  Drain and discard the fat (if there is any)
4.  Scramble the desired amount in eggs and cook in a skillet over medium heat
5.  Cut the cooked biscuit in half
6.  Layer the sliced cheese, eggs, and sausage on the biscuit

It should look something like this when you are finished.  Please excuse my messy photo the eggs were a little crumbly.

Scrumptious Coffee Cake

As much as I love chocolate I was looking to bake something a little different today.  As I was bouncing ideas off my husband he really liked the idea of a gluten-free coffee cake.  I already had all of the ingredients so here is the best gluten-free coffee cake recipe you will be able to find.

For the cake:

2 sticks butter (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup tapioca, sweet rice, soy, and white rice flour
2 cups sour cream

Cinnamon Sugar mixture:

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Grease and flour a bunt pan
3.  Cream butter and sugar together using a mixer
4.  Mix in vanilla and eggs
5.  Mix in baking soda, salt, baking powder, and flours (This batter will be VERY THICK!)
6.  Stir in sour cream
7.  In a separate bowl mix sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts
8.  Pour about 1/3 of the batter into prepared bunt pan
9.  Sprinkle in about 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture
10.  Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon sugar mixture
11.  Bake for 60 minutes or until cooked thoroughly
12.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes
13.  Flip out of the pan and onto a plate or whatever you will use to store the cake

*I don't always use all of the cinnamon sugar mixture because it can be a lot.  I do, however, save the extra to put on toast with a little butter.

**You will probably need to use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the batter around the pan.

The Not so Mysterious Disappearing Box of Cookies

Like most people I don't have time to make a fresh batch of baked goodies every time we crave some or finish off the prior batch.  I also understand that not everyone likes to bake.  These cookies are one of the first things I discovered when I started eating gluten-free.  At that time there were so few choices available in the gluten-free market that there were days I lived on them.

The cookies are made by Glutino and are called the Sans Gluten Free Wafer Cookies.  I can't even put into words how delicious they are but I am still going to try.  They have creamy chocolate on the outside with more chocolate on the inside and wafer cookies that do not have a funny texture but instead are light and crispy!  The whole cookie is light and make your mouth water kind of delicious.  I like the chocolate cookies but the line has several different flavors.  I have been able to find these cookies in the regular grocery stores, at health food stores, and of course at dedicated gluten-free stores.  They are also easy to find on the internet. 

These cookies are so good you can eat them by the box.  I have had six while typing this short blog!  Maybe they should be called "glutton uh oh!"  Ok...ok...bad pun sorry, I thought it was punny!  That was the last one...sorry.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I have had a cold for the last several days and since I had left overs from last night's chicken I thought I would make some soup and see if that made me feel any better.

Here is what I did to make the soup:

1 already cooked chicken carcass
1/2 onion
3 celery sticks
Chopped carrots or baby carrots
Already cooked chicken (like from the post yesterday)
Chicken broth (Swanson's is GF)
Gluten-free noodles (I use Tinkyada see older posts for a picture of the packaging)
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large pot with enough water to cover the chicken carcass and vegetables simmer for an hour
2.  Using a strainer pull out the chicken carcass making sure you get any loose bones
3.  Shred the chicken and place in the pot
4.  Add the already prepared chicken broth to the pot (this adds extra flavor and is not entirely necessary)
5.  Place back onto the stove and continue to warm
6.  In a separate pot cook the noodles
7.  When the noodles are finished drain and add to a small bowl
8.  Cover with broth

*Store left over cooked noodles separately to avoid having them be soggy

You can also make chicken noodle soup with a couple of containers of broth that you just heat up and add ingredients too if you don't have the chicken carcass or the time to simmer your own broth.

Wonderful Roast Chicken

We had some wonderful friends over tonight and I made a roasted chicken that was amazing and flavorful.  I also made some rice and green beans to make everything come together.  Don't be frightened by the amount of garlic it does not come out too garlicky.

To make this you will need:

1 whole chicken
40 cloves of garlic
2-3 Tablespoons rosemary
1/4 onion
2-3 Tablespoons butter

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
2.  Peel 40 cloves of garlic
3.  Pull the giblets out of the chicken and discard
4.  Cut the 1/4 onion into large but edible chunks
5.  Put the garlic and onion on the bottom of a roasting pan or baking dis with half the rosemary and butter
6.  Place the chicken on top and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary
7.  Place the rest of the butter on top of the skin in a few places
8.  Tent with tinfoil and bake for half of the time
9.  Remove tinfoil and finish baking (to 165 degrees with a thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken with out touching bone)
10.  Move onto a separate surface to carve and place the roasted garlic and onion in another bowl to serve if desired. 

*I made a 5lb chicken and it took about 2 1/2 hours to cook and it fed four people with some leftovers.

**At the suggestion of my mother-in-law when I made the rice I added one part chicken broth to the water I used to cook the rice and it gave it a really nice flavor to go with the chicken.

***We used some of the juices from the chicken and garlic as a kind of au jus instead of a gravy and it was delicious.

As Simple as Steak and Potatoes

This is my "duh!" post of the week.  I often focus too much on what I can't have and not enough on what I can.  Today, I would like to encourage you and myself to not focus on the things we can't have but the things we can.  We can have all of the fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, chicken, pork, and fish that we want.  Isn't it healthier that way?  Pre-packaged foods have a lot of salt and fat that people don't really need.  This weekend we made steak and potatoes.  It is one of my favorite meals because the meat (in moderation is delicious and good for you) and potatoes are just yummy.  We had it with a vegetable and it was very filling!

To make the steaks I sprinkled a pinch of salt and about 1 teaspoon of pepper on each one.  I also added a little garlic powder.  THAT'S IT!  We grilled them outside on our little inexpensive charcoal grill.  I made the potatoes in the microwave (poke holes in them...) and our dinner was ready in less than 20 minutes! 

I know many people don't eat meat but you can take the simplicity of this post an apply it to other things.  It is easy to overlook great things that are right in front of us!

*Make sure you cook the meat to an appropriate temperatutre so you do not become sick!