MEAT MEAT ITS GOOD FOR THE HEART?

I saw this picture and got instantly hungry. 

Once again I started making this without reading the entire recipe first.

Will I ever learn?

Probably not.

This recipe is basically just for the cabbage... you're on your own for the chops.

"Pork Chops with Sweet & Sour Cabbage"

(If you click on the picture it will pull up the the source of the recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 pound of shredded red cabbage

1 large sliced red onion

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

4 cooked pork chops (find another recipe for these)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. 

Add the cabbage, onion and brown sugar.

Cook until tender, about 10 minutes

Add 3-4 tablespoons of vinegar and cook for another minute.

Now I didn't have a recipe for the chops... so I had to wing it.

I used my grill pan and cooked these guys. I coated them with a bunch of seasoning:

paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, & dill. 

Grill them on each side for about 4 minutes. 

I partnered this meal with Roasted Roots.

TASTE TESTER TASTEBUDS:

ME: I did a pretty good job on those chops... juicy. The cabbage was a little over cooked and lost some of the crunch. The flavor was good though. 

CJ: The chops were really good and cooked perfectly, especially for not using a recipe. The cabbage lost its texture and I didnt taste the "sour" part of the sweet & sour. 

3 out of 5 stars

✭✭✭☆☆

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE TIME

It's Fall (my favorite season) and I plan on baking a lot.

I bought these pretty cool silicon baking sheets and this will be my first

time using them. 

I have a few of my friends over tonight and while they are making dinner I will be

making dessert.

I thought I lucked out and got the easy job... but I was wrong.

"PEANUT BUTTER MONSTER COOKIES"

(If you click on the picture it will pull up the the source of the recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup of sugar

2/3 cup of packed brown sugar

2 large eggs at room temp.

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup rolled oats 

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 bag of Reese's Pieces candies

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla, and beat to combine.

Slowly add dry ingredients, and beat just until combined.  Don’t over beat at this stage.  Stir in oats, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.  I ended up stirring these in with a spoon instead of my mixer. 

Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes, meanwhile preheating oven to 350 degrees (F).

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or your silicon baking sheets.  Pour Reese’s Pieces candies onto a plate or into a flat bowl.

Using a large cookie scoop (about 3 Tablespoons) drop cookie dough into the bowl of candies.  Gently use your hand to press the dough down into the cookies and flatten the dough into a disc, then transfer to cookie sheet.  

Bake, six at a time, for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to darken.

Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes.  If you skip this step, the cookies might break when you transfer them to a cooling rack.

I made the mistake of not paying attention to my baking time. The first batch of cookies were pretty burnt. Im sure I will still eat them...I love cookies.

OOPS

My second batch came out the best, I under cooked them so they would stay warm and gooey in the middle. My final batch came out a little overdone but still edible.

TASTE TESTER TASTEBUDS:

ME: The soft batch was pretty good. They actually taste like peanut butter... last time I tried to make PB cookies they were pretty bad. I really love chocolate so maybe I would add more chocolate chips than what the recipe calls for.

CJ: You could actually taste the Peanut Butter... the added oats added a good texture as did the crunch of the Reeses Pieces 

MARY: These are good peanut butter cookies... you can't really taste the chocolate chips in them though. I couldn't really tell there was oats in them.

4 out of 5 stars

✭✭✭✭☆

THESE COLORED ROOTS

I saw this recipe while flippin' through a magazine & was sold.

I love veggies and so does my husband.

I plan on making something easy tonight. Today was my day off and I 

have been gardening all day...and I am pooped.
I will also have a few glasses of wine while cooking...and eating.

"Roasted Root Veggies"

Ingredients:

6 cups of chopped:

carrots

parsnips (my store did not have any, so I got a beet instead)

1 rutabaga

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt & Pepper

6 Fresh Sage Leaves

6 Fresh Thyme spings

2 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˙ F

Peel all veggies & cut into 1/2 inch slices

In a baking dish, toss veggies with olive oil & a few pinches of salt and pepper.

Add the sage and thyme.

Cover & roast for 20 minutes.

Uncover & give the dish a shake to loosen the veggies.

Roast for another 15-20 minutes until tender

Remove the sage and thyme and add the parsley before serving.

TWO TASTE TESTERS:

ME: EHHHHH... they are a little greasy. Maybe they could have been cooked longer, or have been put under the broiler. I would try it again with the parsnips instead of the beets.

CJ: I thought they were great, seasoned well. You could taste the sweetness of the caramelization. The colors were awesome.

2 out of 5 stars

✭✭☆☆☆