This was inspired by Vintage Victuals’ Cheddar-Bacon-Ranch Chicken & Rice Bake. The flavors are so great, and this adaptation works perfectly with pork chops too. The original recipe calls for a can condensed cream soup which I didn’t have, so I made a substitute; you can do either depending on your tastes and [...]]]>

This was inspired by Vintage Victuals’ Cheddar-Bacon-Ranch Chicken & Rice Bake. The flavors are so great, and this adaptation works perfectly with pork chops too. The original recipe calls for a can condensed cream soup which I didn’t have, so I made a substitute; you can do either depending on your tastes and time, obviously. I also cut the portions in half since it was just for the Yankee and me, but it can be easily doubled.

You will need:

• 2 pork chops
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, or one recipe cream soup substitute (see below)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 milk
• 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
• Salt and pepper — about 1/2 tsp each
• 1 diced red pepper, optional (I didn’t have one on hand so I omitted)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

You have a couple choices when it comes to actually cooking this; either bake it all together, or pan fry the pork chops to brown them up a bit, then add them to the rice mixture for the last 15 minutes.

Method one:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and mix together rice, soup, water, milk, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper and red pepper. Pour into an 8″ or 9″ casserole dish and lay pork chops on top. Salt and pepper pork chops, then cover dish tightly with foil
2. Bake for 45 minutes; remove foil and stir rice mixture, then top dish with mozzarella cheese; cover again and return to oven for another 15-20 minutes or until internal temp of pork measures 165F

Method two:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and mix together rice, soup, water, milk, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper and red pepper. Pour into an 8″ or 9″ casserole dish cover dish tightly with foil before placing in oven
2. Bake for 45 minutes; when 15 minutes remain on the timer salt and pepper the pork chops and start browning them over medium heat in a heavy skillet. Cook for 4-6 minutes per side till you get some nice color
3. When the timer beeps for your rice, remove casserole from the oven and stir mixture, then lay pork chops on top. Sprinkle over mozzarella cheese; cover again and return to oven for another 15-20 minutes or until internal temp of pork measures 165F

To make your condensed soup substitute (which can be made earlier in the day and popped in the fridge) you will need:

• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt bacon drippings or butter in a saucepan or skillet till foam subsides; add in flour and whisk, cooking for 1-2 minutes
2. Still whisking, add in chicken broth and milk and cook till thickened; add salt and pepper

Enjoy!

These. Are. Amazing. I can say that without bragging because it’s not my recipe; I just made ‘em.

This is a Mark Bittman (I love him) recipe that I scribbled down on a piece of paper without much documentation; I’ll assume it’s either from one of his NYT articles or from How to Cook Everything. These [...]]]>

These. Are. Amazing. I can say that without bragging because it’s not my recipe; I just made ‘em.

This is a Mark Bittman (I love him) recipe that I scribbled down on a piece of paper without much documentation; I’ll assume it’s either from one of his NYT articles or from How to Cook Everything. These top every single homemade tortilla I’ve ever made or eaten, and they’re quick and easy to boot. NO BRAINER.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups (7 oz) AP flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp. lard (yes, lard, people — don’t be afraid)
• 1/2 cup warm water

To make:

1. Dust off your food processor and dump in the flour, salt and lard; pulse about ten times to cut in the fat
2. With the machine running, add the water till the dough kind of all the sudden comes together in a ball
3. Dump it on the counter and knead by hand for about one minute, then wrap in plastic wrap to rest for at least 15 minutes, but up to all day at room temperature
4. Cut the dough into six pieces and heat a large (cast iron if you have it) skillet for 4-5 minutes on medium; roll out or press the tortillas till they’re quite thin, then cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, till little browned spots appear. Eat immediately (duh), or keep warm by wrapping in a towel, or cool then keep in the fridge in a large zip top bag.

I used these to make quesadillas with some leftover steak and cheese, but they’re also heavenly for veggie wraps, or slathered in butter and cinnamon sugar and rolled up for breakfast. Enjoy!

As promised, another recipe from The Cousin! May I say that this pairs beautifully with margaritas?

We made two sheet pans of this to feed the assorted family we had collected at the house that night; The Cousin wrote down the recipe for one sheet pan for a more reasonable size.

You will need:

Y’all, I have somehow done it again. AGAIN I have a lovely camera lens that is now in two pieces. I don’t even know how, but I do know that iPhone photos of food aren’t quite the same. Better than nothing, though, right?

This is based on the Honey Roast Orange Chicken recipe [...]]]>

Y’all, I have somehow done it again. AGAIN I have a lovely camera lens that is now in two pieces. I don’t even know how, but I do know that iPhone photos of food aren’t quite the same. Better than nothing, though, right?

This is based on the Honey Roast Orange Chicken recipe from The Minimalist Cooks at Home by Mark Bittman. The Yankee and I both loved it!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce (lower sodium kind is great)
• 1/2 cup honey
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Combine everything but chicken in a bowl and whisk to combine
3. Lay chicken breasts in a single layer in a cast iron skillet or baking dish and spoon over about half the sauce
4. Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through, turning over halfway through cooking to keep it evenly coated in the sauce
5. When chicken is done move it to a plate to rest, then pour remaining sauce into the skillet; cook uncovered on medium high until sauce reduces and thickens
6. Slice chicken into strips (against the grain) and serve over rice and vegetables, using thickened sauce to finish it all off. So tasty!

This was so fast and easy. Let me know what you think!

Regardless, you should try this. Just, you know, don’t sign it up for a food modeling contest.

You will need:

I looked around at a lot of different taco sauce recipes and none of them seemed exactly right to me, so I kind of cobbled together my own according to what I had on hand. Very tasty!

Combine these:

I tried, y’all. I really tried. But this is just one of those suppers that tastes a million times better than it looks.

A few months back I tried to make something out of an old cookbook of my mama’s; it was similar to this but used polenta and unseasoned ground beef. It was… dismal. So [...]]]>

I tried, y’all. I really tried. But this is just one of those suppers that tastes a million times better than it looks.

A few months back I tried to make something out of an old cookbook of my mama’s; it was similar to this but used polenta and unseasoned ground beef. It was… dismal. So last night I decided to make up my own version. Success! SO tasty and good gravy it smelled amazing. The Yankee ate three helpings for supper; this counts as a thumbs-up, no?

You will need:

• One pound ground beef
• One packet taco seasoning
• Water
• One cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
• One box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. In a deep skillet (I obviously used cast iron) brown up and drain the ground beef; add in taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water and let it simmer (i.e. follow directions on taco seasoning packet)
3. Mix up Jiffy cornbread according to package directions, but use two eggs instead of one to give yourself a little extra batter
4. Turn off the heat under the ground beef and sprinkle on shredded cheese; spread cornbread batter over the top and bake at 400F for about 15-20 minutes or until cornbread is lightly browned on top

That’s it! This is perfect for a quick fall supper that tastes like you put hours of work into it. So warm and filling without you actually having to stand over the stove forever and a day. What’s not to love?

Disclaimer: Jiffy cornbread does not know that I exist; I just love the stuff.

Y’all will not believe how easy this was! The fact that it cooks in the slow cooker is such a bonus, too, because what’s better than coming home to supper already done?

Ready for a long list of ingredients? You will need:

So intimidating, [...]]]>

Y’all will not believe how easy this was! The fact that it cooks in the slow cooker is such a bonus, too, because what’s better than coming home to supper already done?

Ready for a long list of ingredients? You will need:

• A pork roast
• Water
• Salt, plus onion powder, rib rub, or whatever spices sound good
• BBQ sauce
• Buns

So intimidating, right?

Now to create the goodness:

1. Put pork roast in a slow cooker and sprinkle on salt and whatever spices your little heart desires; I did onion powder and a rib rub Yankee had in the cabinet. Add enough hot water to fully cover the roast and turn the slow cooker on low; ignore it for the next 8-12 hours or so, depending on size
2. After it’s cooked through remove meat to a cutting board and chop it up, discarding fat and any bone; pour the water out of the slow cooker (pork broth! Feel free to freeze it for later use)
3. Serve! Either on a plate or on a bun, topped with your favorite BBQ sauce

Side note: some folks return the chopped meat to the slow cooker and add in BBQ sauce so they can cook together for a bit; I don’t because I find that cooking the BBQ sauce down makes it too sugary

How easy was that? This is great with green beans!

When The Yankee and I were first dating he announced one night that he was making me pork chops for supper.

Boy howdy.

I, ah, was not a fan of the chop of pork. The pork chops of my childhood were strikingly reminiscent of the sole of a shoe. An old shoe. In my mother’s defense, the [...]]]>

When The Yankee and I were first dating he announced one night that he was making me pork chops for supper.

Boy howdy.

I, ah, was not a fan of the chop of pork. The pork chops of my childhood were strikingly reminiscent of the sole of a shoe. An old shoe. In my mother’s defense, the recommendation at the time was to cook pork to something like 4,000 degrees, and it was quite a challenge to make it edible (enter: applesauce).

Now, fortunately, pork is safer. And the pork from our CSA? Also yummalicious. These pork chops in particular? Awesomeness. When you add in a brine? Oh my moly. I am never again making pork chops without brining; it’s that good.

Gather up:

1. Pork chops (I made two)
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 1/4 cup salt
4. water and ice
5. 2 Tbsp. AP flour + more for coating pork chops
6. Salt, pepper
7. Oil: olive, vegetable, or bacon grease — whatever floats your boat (and your pork chops)
8. 1 cup milk (I always use whole milk)

To make the Southern fried goodness:

1. Whisk together sugar and salt in cold water, and lay pork chops in the water; add more water if needed to cover chops, and add plenty of ice. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes or so; I did 45 minutes
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. Drain pork chops and heat oil in a heavy skillet, ideally cast iron. When the oil is heated dredge pork chops in flour and put immediately into oil to fry until brown on both sides. Check the temperature of the pork; assuming it’s brown on both sides but isn’t quite done in the middle, spoon off 2 Tbsp. of the grease into a second skillet, then put the chops in the 350 oven to finish cooking
4. In the second skillet whisk in 2 Tbsp. flour to the 2 Tbsp. of pork fat till smooth; whisk in 1 cup milk and heat till bubbling and thickened
5. Serve chops with gravy! The end!