Pork Chops and Rice
When I was growing up we got to pick what my Mom made for dinner on our birthdays, I always chose this meal. Always. It surprised me when I realized that as an adult I had never actually made it. The sauce is a little sweet, but not sugary, and the onions get all soft and carmelized while it cooks.
Pork Chops and Rice
4 pork chops (bone-in, or boneless, whatever you prefer)
1 yellow onion, cut into thickish slices
1 10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup ketchup
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon or other brown/spicy mustard
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 cups cooked rice, brown or white
Season pork chops with salt and pepper. I also use Penzey’s Pork Chop seasoning because I love it. Brown chops on each side. Whisk together soup, ketchup, Worcestershire and mustard. Turn heat to medium and top each pork chop with a thick slice of onion (I use two slices each because I love the onions when they’re done cooking). Cover chops and onions in sauce and cover, cook 50-60 minutes until chops are cooked through and tender. I used a large frying pan with two pieces of foil for a lid, my Mom always used an electric frying pan.
When chops are done, serve with rice and spoon the sauce over the whole thing. The sauce is my favorite part. This is particularly delicious with a side of apple sauce sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Apple-Blueberry Muffins
I wanted to make these for St. Patrick’s Day–dyed green, of course–but didn’t get around to it until today. Now, it is tricky to find a recipe for Apple-Blueberry muffins, and after trying two with very unsatisfactory results, I decided to kind of wing it. I used Janssen’s recipe for Blueberry Banana muffins as a base, and made up the rest as I went, jotting down notes so I could replicate it here for you all. You’re welcome.
Apple-Blueberry Muffins
Preheat oven to 350*
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup pulverized oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 smallish apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Kiku apples)
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries
Mix butter, sugars and applesauce together until creamy, add eggs and vanilla. Sift flour, salt, soda and cinnamon, dump into sugar mixture with pulverized oats and mix. Mix in apples and milk, fold in blueberries. Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners (or spray with cooking spray), spoon in batter filling each cup about 2/3 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Makes 16-24 muffins (depending on how full you fill your cups)
Tomato and Cucumber Polish Pasta Salad
My sister-in-law lived in Poland in her twenties and she introduced me to this dish. She told me she used to eat it every day for weeks on end because she loved it so much, and I can see why! The key component is a spice mix called Vegeta which is a mix of bunch of dehydrated vegetables (carrot, parsnip, onion, celery, parsley) and salt and pepper. I have a little jar of it in my pantry. This recipe is ridiculously easy and you can double and quadruple it for more servings.
Polish Tomato and Cucumber Pasta Salad
Approximately 1.5-2 cups cooked pasta, I like these wheel-shells
1 baby cucumber (the snacking kind, not the English kind)
big handful of cherry tomatoes
1-2 TB Vegeta
Parmesan cheese
Cut the cucumber into thick slices and then quarter each slice. Slice the cherry tomatoes into smaller pieces. Mix the warm pasta, cucumber and tomato together, sprinkle with Vegeta and Parmesan, toss together and eat immediately. I usually put all the ingredients in a lidded container, shake it all up, and then eat right from there. Makes 1 serving.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Buttercream-Rum Frosting
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Recipe from DanishMama
Pre-heat oven to 350′
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cake flour (I used regular flour)
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Cinnamon Sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs, one at a time and mix well after each egg. Add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Line cupcake tin with papers, fill each 2/3 full of batter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I got 24 regular sized cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes out of a full batch. Bake 20 minutes, remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes in pan before removing cupcakes to a wire rack.
Cinnamon-Rum Buttercream Frosting
Recipe adapted from DanishMama
2 cup butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon rum flavoring
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cream butter and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy, add remaining sugar slowly, mixing well. Add rest of ingredients and beat until fluffy and delicious–about 3 minutes. I have done this with a hand mixer, although it is infinitely easier in a stand mixer with the whip attachment. When cupcakes are completely cooled, it is time to frost.
Using a frosting bag (or ziploc with a frosting tip) is easier and faster than spreading the frosting on with a knife. So that’s what I did with the largest tip I had and a frosting bag. (If you have frosting bags, they are much easier than ziploc bags, they twist easier to remove any air pockets in your frosting bag, and they fit in your hand better. Well worth any clean-up hassle, and that is coming from a girl without a dishwasher. However, if you are going to go the knife route, you should cut the frosting recipe in half, knife-application uses far less frosting than piping it on with a bag.
The (pseudo) cook is back!
One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to make 40 new-to-me recipes. I decided to piggyback on that a resurrection of this very much neglected cooking blog. When I started taking classes at the University again in the evenings I grossly underestimated how that would cut into my cooking hobby. But, I am finally graduated and have started reclaiming the rest of my life. Come back tomorrow for my very favorite cupcake recipe!
heidikins cooks 