Egg Roll in a Bowl

1 lb ground pork (I did regular, not HOT, since I was feeding my kids)
1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced (I did 1/2)
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 T. Sesame Oil
1/4 C. Soy Sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
2 T. chicken broth (I did beef, because that is what I had on hand)

I doubled the recipe above for my family of 6.

1.  Brown meat and drain
2.  Add oil and onion
3.  In a separate bowl mix soy sauce, garlic and ginger
4.  Add sauce from #3 to meat/onion mix
5.  Add cabbage and broth
Cook for 3 minutes (I cooked longer than that)

*Optional--garnish with green onion

Apricot chops

These were really yummy and everyone in my family liked them.

4 (1 inch thick) pork chops (I did boneless)

1 C. apricot jam or preserves

1 C. catalina dressing (or see below)

1 pkt. italian dressing mix (the original recipe called for dry onion soup mix...but I substituted italian dressing pkt)

1 garlic clove, crushed (or use bottled)

I did not have catalina dressing...so I looked up a recipe on the internet...this is what I did in place of catalina dressing

3/4 C. brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 dash paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 C. white vinegar

1/3 C. ketchup

(the original recipe for the catalina dressing also called for 1 C. vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp celery seed...but I didn't add either)

Place pork chops in a small pan (1 layer of pork chops) (I used a rectangle pan smaller than a 8 X 10). Mix all other ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour sauce over chops. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

I served with pears, watermelon, corn on the cob and green beans.

Weight Watchers points plus was 43 points for all of the sauce (as listed with the substitutions above...italian seasoning pkt and the homemade catalina without oil). So for example...I did 3 boneless chops and cut them in half. The chops were 4 points each (before cutting in half), so 2 points after cutting in half. And 1/6 of the sauce was a little over 7 points. But it really didn't need much extra sauce (I didn't use 1/6 of the sauce on my plate). So I only counted 4 or 5 points per 1/2 pork chop.

Ham

This is a quick and easy way to make ham.

Buy ham that is already cut up (like John Morrell or the like). Or buy some cut thicker from the deli. Either way it is already cooked and cut up, you just have to warm it. You can do this same process for a chunk of ham (not sliced) but sliced is easier.

Spread the ham out in a pan.

Make a sauce one of the following two ways:

Option #1) Mix brown sugar and water. Make it thicker than you think (it will get thinner as it cooks). Pour over the ham. Sprinkle the top of ham with whole cloves. (Remove cloves before eating).

Option #2) Brown sugar, water, mustard, ketchup. Make it thicker than you think (it will get thinner as it cooks). Pour over the ham. Sprinkle the top of ham with whole cloves. (Remove cloves before eating).

You can also put pineapple chunks or rings on top before baking.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

You really cannot mess this up...it turns out no matter how you make it and what proportions of ingredients you use.

I used 1 pkg of John Morrell and it was about $7.99 at Smiths. I could have split it and made two meals from it for my family of 5 eaters.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Pork Roast (Mine was a Pork Sirloin Roast Boneless--but it doesn't have to be this kind)
1 jar salsa (I used about 2 cups of mild Pace Picante---but can use any kind)
1-1 1/2 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1 can rootbeer (I've also hear you can use coke or other pops)

Cook about 4 hours on high in crock pot until roast falls apart and you can shred it.  Pull roast out, shred it, place meat back in sauce.

Note:  My meat didn't fall apart quite like a thought it should.  It was good, just not quite as tender as I would have liked.  Maybe next time I would cook it for 6-8 hours.  Or buy a different kind of roast.

For salad:
start with a fresh cooked tortilla (buy raw ones at the store by cheese)
top with lettuce
beans (Black or pinto) (rinse first)
Mexican rice (from a box)
meat (from above)
buy a small container of cafe rio's tomatillo dressing (there are also recipes on the web, but I haven't tried any...let me know if you have a good one!!!!!!)  It is a little spicy, so if your kids (or you) don't like spicy I wouldn't try it.

Note:  I took some shortcuts tonight...I did not cook any tortillas (we just had it without), I did not do mexican rice (I just used white rice from the night before)

For a smothered burrito
Fresh cooked tortilla
beans (Black or kidney)

Mexican rice (from a box)

meat (from above)

Wrap up in tortilla

Place on oven safe plate (or on a cookie sheet or cake pan).  Smother with store bought green chile enchilada sauce.  Top with mozarella cheese.  Broil in oven for a minute or two until cheese is melted.

Baked Beans

Ok...so this is not a BBQ recipe...but if you are going to a BBQ this is one of my favorite dishes.  These are my Mom's baked beans.

3 (15 oz each) cans of Van Camps Baked beans (remove small piece of fat from each can)
1/4 bottle BBQ sauce (any brand and any flavor)
1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot sausage (comes in a tube)
1 large chopped onion
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. green pepper (chopped) (optional---I usually use, my Mom doesn't---good either way)
2 T. worchestershire sauce
2 T. mustard
1 C. apples (2 apples) (great way to use apples that are a little mushy)

Sometimes my mom adds in hamburger also I usually don't, but either way is good.  Brown sausage and onions (also hamburger and green pepper if using).  Mix remaining ingredients in a large oven safe pot.  Bake covered at 325 for 1 hour.  Refrigerate overnight.  Then reheat before serving.  You can freeze and reheat also.  These are 200% better if you will let them cool completely and then reheat.  So make a day ahead for best taste.  These are a little runny, so if you are taking to a party or something you might want to bring cups or bowls for people to put them in separately.  We love these so I always make a double batch.  We can eat these as a meal in and of themselves.

Erika...I need a ringing endorsement on these!  Post a glowing comment!

Lemonade Pork Chops

So Shannon...I have been dreaming about your lemonade chicken since you posted it.  So finally yesterday I made a special trip to the store to buy the frozen lemonade concentrate... I came home...got ready to start it...and discovered I had no chicken!!!!!

So I looked up a lemonade recipe for pork chops (which I did have in the freezer).  Here is the one I used.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemonade-pork-chops/detail.aspx

It got 4 out of 5 stars and I would give it the same.  It was good.  Not my favorite meal ever.  But very good.

I didn't have celery salt so I just skipped it.  And I didn't let it marinate overnight (only for 2 hours).  Here are the directions the way I did it...

• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (I thawed mine in the mocrowave for 30 seconds)  (I bought yellow because that was the only kind they had at Target)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt (I didn't use)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 pounds thick cut pork chops or steaks

I doubled the sauce because that was the whole can of lemonade...but I had tons of sauce...so I probably didn't need to double it.  I let it marinate for 2 hours (24 hours would be better).  Sear on high heat to brown outside.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center (mine took a  little longer).  

I was going to make rice as suggested on the original recipe.  But I forgot.  So I made cornbread muffins, peas, cooked carrots and sliced oranges.  My family and I love cornbread (we like bread better than muffins---but that's not what I made yesterday).  I have made all kinds of recipes for cornbread and just keep coming back to Marie Calendars mix.  It is just add water.  (But the cornbread kind, not the corn muffin mix).  It is moist and delicious.  It is not quite as good as at the restaurant...but almost!


I am still going to make the lemonade chicken though someday Shannon.

Parmesan Pan-Seared Pork Chops

I made this for dinner tonight.  It was a new recipe and was really yummy.  Everyone liked it, even the kids!  I am definitely going to add it to my regular recipes.

2 eggs
1 C. dried italian style bread crumbs
3/4 C. parmesan cheese
4 pork chops-boneless, center-cut, 1/2 inch thick
salt and pepper
6 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 lemon (optional)

Whisk eggs in pie plate.  place bread crumbs on separate plate.  Place parmesan on separate plate (3rd plate).  Sprinkle the pork chops with S&P.  Coat chops completely in parmesan.  Dip chops in eggs.  Coat chops with bread crumbs.  Heat 3 T. oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pork chops (2 per batch) and cook until golden brown about 6 minutes per side.  Serve with lemon wedge.

I made a few modifications...
I forgot to S&P at the beginning so I did it once they were in the pan.  I used an electric frying pan at 300 degrees for 6 minutes on each side (cooking all 4 at once).  I cut one open and it was still pink.  So I put the cover on, reduced the heat to 200 degrees and cooked until no longer pink.  We did really like the lemon squirted on top, but it was good without also.