Apricot Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is easy enough to make for a week night dinner, but impressive enough to make for guests and special occasions.

Even though the recipe calls for apricot preserves or jam, you can use a variety of flavors including blackberry. In fact if you look at the picture of the ingredients I used to make this dish you will see orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves. I didn't even realize that I had picked up orange marmalade until I opened the jar and noticed it didn't smell like apricots. Now I am not an orange marmalade fan, but the dish turned out great!

The recipe also calls for Chinese 5 Spice powder. This blend include star anise, cloves, cinnamon, sichuan pepper and fennel. For many years I couldn't find 5 Spice in my grocery store so I just used cinnamon, which works just as well. Just rub the spice mixture all over the pork tenderloin.

You should try this soon!





Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
2 TB Chinese 5 Spice powder or cinnamon
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 TB butter
3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
3 green onions, chopped
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB dry sherry, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend 5 Spice powder, salt and pepper. Rub all over pork tenderloin. Bake tenderloin in oven for 30 - 45 minutes until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add jam, green onions, soy sauce, dry sherry. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand until tenderloin is ready to serve. Let tenderloin sit for 10 minutes after removing from oven. Slice and serve with apricot sauce.

Creamy Stove Top Mac & Cheese

For week two of the Wednesday Mac and Cheese Challenge I made this recipe with an unusual ingredient, Worcestershire sauce. I got the idea for this mac and cheese after reading a recipe from Cooking Light magazine. My recipe is not light, but it is delicious. It even gets the Puppy Daddy seal of approval. You should try it soon.









Ingredients
8 oz macaroni
6 oz evaporated milk
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic, crushed
salt & pepper

Directions
Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions. In a medium sauce pan heat evaporated milk over medium heat. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted. Then add cheddar cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. Next add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk until incorporated. Drain macaroni and add to cheese sauce. Toss to coat.

Easy Cheesy Ranch Rice and Beans

Yes, as you can tell if you read my posts, Puppy Daddy and I love, love, love Mexican food. Of course, some type of rice and beans are a must for sides with a Mexican meal. Last night at our house was tacos and football night. I love tacos on football night because they are quick, and easy to eat while we watch TV and cheer on our favorite team. This recipe accompanied our tacos perfectly and thankfully our FSU Seminoles won the ACC championship. This recipe is super easy and really delicious!

All you need for this recipe is a package of yellow rice mix, a can of ranch style beans and some cheddar cheese. Just make the rice according to package directions. Then drain a little of the liquid out of the beans. Mix them with the rice and cheese.  Put mixture in an oven proof dish, top with a bit more cheese and bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Garnish with green onions to make it pretty.

Ingredients
1 package yellow rice mix, prepared according to package directions
1 can ranch style beans
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare yellow rice mix according to package directions. Drain about half of the liquid from canned beans. Mix beans and 1 cup of cheese with rice. Put in oven proof dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I know that a few weeks ago I said that my stuffed shells were Puppy Daddy's favorite meal that I make. Well, when I made this casserole this week he said I might have been wrong and that Mexican Chicken might be his all time favorite. I first had this recipe when I was a teenager. My grandmother, Mimi Bates, who loved to cook, found the King Ranch Chicken recipe in Southern Living magazine. Every year she spent several months with us and cooked up a storm, preparing one delicious dish after another. This one was a big family hit! This is my own version which doesn't include canned creamed soups, though you could definitely use those instead of my mayo and sour cream combination.

This is also a great way to use up left over chicken. This week I used left over turkey breast and it was equally yummy. It's also a great way to use up corn or tortilla chips that may be getting a little stale. If you use chips larger than Fritos you should crush them a bit. I encourage you to give this a try soon!

Ingredients
2 TB butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 TB dry taco seasoning
2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded
6 oz Fritos Corn Chips
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 TB chicken bouillon powder
2 TB dry mushroom gravy mix
1 can Rotel tomatoes, choose your own spice level, drain partially
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in frying pan. Saute onions, peppers and celery until softened. Add taco seasoning and mix together. While vegetables are sauteing spread Fritos in the bottom of an 8 X 8 baking dish. Pour chicken broth or stock over chips. Spread vegetables over corn chips. Then spread chicken over the vegetables. Mix
mayonnaise, sour cream, chicken bouillon powder, dry mushroom gravy mix and partially drained Rotel tomatoes. Put this mixture over the chicken. Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Alton Brown's Stove Top Mac and Cheese

OK, here is the first recipe in the Wednesday Mac and Cheese Challenge. I love Alton Brown, and his show Good Eats. I use several of his recipes for staples such as baked potatoes and chicken wings which both turn out spectacular every time I make them. So, I was excited to try this version of stove top mac and cheese. Like his other recipes that I have tried this one was delicious and easy. I especially liked that it made plenty of cheese sauce. I like my mac and cheese very creamy and I find that many recipes call for to much pasta so I have to double the cheese sauce. This one was perfect! You should try it soon.

I haven't picked out next week's mac and cheese recipe. If you have a suggestion for me, please post it as a comment!

 

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

6 ounces evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

3/4 teaspoon dry mustard

10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Directions

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Charleston Cheese Stuffed Chicken

As I've written before, I LOVE cookbooks. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to find a locally written cookbook. I especially love Junior League and Church cookbooks with recipes from local families. I have these types of cookbooks from Apalachicola to West Virginia to Maine. This recipe is from the cookbook Music, Menus and Magnolia's by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League.




I bought this cookbook over 15 years ago on a Bayless family vacation, and when I say Bayless family vacation, I mean the whole Bayless family. When my son Brandon was young we took a summer vacation every year with my husband's parents and his brother. On this vacation we spent a week renting cabins outside of Gatlinburg and stopped for a couple of days in Charleston on the way home. I have wonderful memories of this trip because Brandon was at the truly delightful age of about 14 and entertained us thoroughly the entire trip, including his imitation of the ribbon dance routines we watched during the summer Olympics. Oh yes, today he will try to deny it, but it is the stuff of legends in our family!

I spent the trip back from Charleston reading this cookbook. Once I found this recipe, I couldn't wait to get home to try it. In fact, we had it the very night we arrived home. It is simple and delicious!

Begin this recipe by pounding out your chicken breasts very thin. Then make your cream cheese mixture which includes green onion and tarragon. Dip the chicken breast in lemon juice and put the cream cheese mixture in the middle.

Next wrap the chicken breast around the  cream cheese mixture. Wrap with 2-3 slices of bacon and secure with toothpicks. Bake at 350 degrees.











Ingredients
(serves 6)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup green onions
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 - 18 slices bacon
toothpicks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flatten chicken pieces by pounding between plastic wrap. Dip in lemon juice. Combine cream cheese, onions, tarragon and salt. Place 3-4 tablespoons of this mixture on each piece of chicken. Roll chicken around cream cheese mixture and wrap with slices of bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Place in a shallow 9x12-inch buttered baking dish and bake, uncovered for about 30 - 40 minutes. Then turn the broiler on high for about 5 minutes to crisp up the bacon.

Mom's Oatmeal Pie

Our Thanksgiving Dinner at my dad's house was wonderful. We had a great time catching up with friends and family members and eating delicious food. One of the best items on the menu was the Oatmeal Pie that Sister Ruth made. She found the recipe several years ago in a magazine and it has become a family favorite. This pecan-pie like desert, topped with cinnamon whipped cream is absolutely delicious!









Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten 3/4cup maple syrup
1/2cup granulated sugar
1/2cup packed brown sugar
1/2cup milk
1/3cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
3/4cup regular rolled oats
1/2cup chopped walnuts
1 9 -inch unbaked pie crust
Cinnamon Whipped Cream (optional) (see recipe below)

Directions
1. For filling:In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, maple syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir together well.
2. Stir in the coconut, oats, and nuts. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until set.
4. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours. Cover for longer storage. Serve with Cinnamon Whipped Cream, if you like.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash ground nutmeg

Directions
In a chilled mixing bowl, combine whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Beat with chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.