Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Corn, and Creamy Mushroom Rice

Yay for corn season!!! I love, scratch that, adore corn on the cob when corn is in season and perfectly sweet and juicy! Yummo! So, imagine my delight when I went to the store and saw fresh corn on sale 3 for 99 cents!! I got 8! Lol! I made 4 this night, and two each night for the other two nights for little toot and myself (During the week, husband ate at the chow hall to save us money.)! I'm also a little too in love with mushrooms, and they were also on sale in bulk, so I bought two pounds and had the rest of what I didn't use this night in my eggs for a couple of weeks! Rice a Roni was on super sale as well, so I got a box of chicken rice and doctored it up some, as well!!

Cheapy cheap, tasty, and reasonably healthy!

Win!

For the pork chops with magic mushroomy goodness of love;

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.

4 bone-in pork chops, trimmed of fat

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (Fresh is a little too woodsy for this, in my opinion.)

salt

pepper

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz mushrooms, quartered

1/4 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth

3/4 can condenced 99% fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Heat a large skillet, coated with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. Season pork on both sides with rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook 15-20 minutes on both sides, turning halfway through, until almost cooked through, lowering heat if you need to, and adding more spray to the pan while you have the pork lifted to flip (Off the heat if you're using gas!). Remove from pan, and tent with foil to keep warm. You can cook it all the way if you desire, I take it off a little short so it doesn't over cook during the carry over time, where it will continue to cook as it rests. Do what makes you most comfortable.

Spray the pan with additional cooking spray, if needed, and add onions. Saute until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute 3 to 5 minutes more until mushrooms begin to brown. Add chicken broth to deglaze and scrape up all of the yummy brown bits. Add the mushroom soup and rosemary, bring to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened to desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly! Enjoy with mushroom induced extacy!!

This recipe serves 4.

The rice was super easy;

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to cook.

1 package Chicken or Mushroom Rice A Roni

1/4 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz mushrooms, chopped

1/4 can cream of mushroom soup (the remaining soup from the can you used for the gravy"

chicken broth or milk, if desired

pepper

dried rosemary, crushed

Cook rice according to package instructions.

In a small skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onions until starting to soften, 2 minutes. Add in garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes.

When rice is ready, stir in soup and mushrooms, adding chicken broth or milk to thin it, if desired, and season with pepper (Don't add salt, the seasonings for the rice contain plenty of salt). Simmer to warm through, and garnish with a little crushed rosemary or chopped parsley or basil.

This recipe serves 4.

If I wanted to, I couldn't make the corn easier:

This takes about 40 minutes to make and serve.

4 ears of corn, unshucked

2 tablespoons butter or margerine, softened

1 teaspoon italian seasonings, crushed (Or any dried herbs or spices you desire.)

pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay corn directly on the oven rack and roast 30 to 40 minutes, until the corn feels slightly soft when you press on it.

Meanwhile, combine butter with seasonings and pepper.

When corn is done, pull back husks (It is much easier to remove the silk now than when the corn is raw.), tying one husk around the others to make a handle, if you like. Rub the corn with a little of the butter. Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 4.

Morrocan Spiced Stuffed Peppers

So, our move to California wasn't terribly cheap, and we, like every other non billionaire in America, are needing to save money. What's cheaper than a dish that is mostly rice and only needs half of a pound of meat, while fitting in proper servings of protein, vegetables, and grains? It would be a little more authentic using ground lamb, but that's expensive, so I used pork, since it was on sale. :)

The red pepper really saved this from being

unattractive! It is delicious, though!!

Here's how to travel to Morocco without a passport:

This recipe takes about an hour to prep and cook.

1/2 cup brown rice

4 bell peppers of any color you desire (I chose red for appearances!), tops removed and cored

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 pound ground pork

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon black pepper (any more and it will be too peppery)

Cook rice according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, boil broth and add peppers. Cover and simmer on low 3 to 5 minutes until just starting to soften, turning if need be. Remove peppers, pouring liquid back into pot and reserving liquid. Drain upside down over paper towels.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute onion until beginning to get tender, about 2 minutes, then add pork and garlic and brown. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon, mint, spices, rice, and 3/4 cup reserved broth. Stuff peppers with mixture.

Add water or more chicken broth to pot, if necessary, to total 1 1/4 cup liquid. Stand stuffed peppers in in the broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until peppers are just tender. Garnish with additional mint, if desired and enjoy robustly!

This recipe serves 4.

Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup

Yeah, yeah, yeah, not fancy, I know! This is the first thing I made after we got to California. I needed something fast and cheap to make for lunch, what could fit the bill better than this? I kept all of my spices and non perishables so I wouldn't have to buy more than absolutely necessary, so I only had to buy a couple of things, perfect!

In college, ramen was my perfect go to, so I played around

with it enough to enjoy doctoring it up!

Here is what I did;

This takes 30 minutes to prep and cook.

1 package Oriental flavored ramen noodles (Any flavor would work!)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium carrot, diced

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

pepper

1 large can Swanson chicken, drained

1 1/3 cup frozen peas

1 cilantro buillon cube (I had no cilantro, and Mom had sent me some a while ago, use 2T cilantro, if you want!)

juice of 1/2 a lime

Siracha

black sesame seeds

2 tablespoons salted peanuts, chopped

In a small pot, boil 4 cups of water and season with seasoning packet. Boil pasta 3 to 5 minutes, stirring to break up, until cooked. Drain pasta, reserving water.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot coated with cooking spray, saute onion, garlic, and carrot, seasoned with 5 spice and pepper, over medium heat until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add in pasta cooking water and simmer 10 minutes. Add chicken and peas and simmer another 10 minutes. Crumble in cilantro buillon (Or stir in fresh cilantro.) and stir in lime juice and siracha to taste. Ladel into bowls and garnish with sesame seeds and peanuts. Enjoy!!

If you're concerned about sodium, use only 1/2 of the seasoning packet and replace 2 cups, or all, of the water with chicken or vegetable broth, and increase 5 spice to taste.

This recipe serves 2.

Chicken Fried Steak with Corona Onion Gravy, Broiled Potatoes, and A Rather Unorganized Vegetable Assortment

I. Love. Chicken. Fried. Steak. Ask anyone who knows me even slightly and they will tell you. There was a time that I could not walk into an eating establishment that served it and not order it! That changed when I had my baby and needed to shed that baby weight and got a little anal about what I ate. However, there are still two places where you will not catch me dead with any other item on my plate. Luby's, and Kelly's Country Cookin'! That is the reason I don't go to those places but very rarely! At Kelly's, it is the size of my back, just about, and, for breakfast, comes with a biscuit (Which is the size of a coffee saucer. Everything is huge there. Everything.) and gravy (I get mine with sausage! Oink oink!), two eggs, and grits or hashbrowns (Grits for me!). Start with the eggs, since you don't want to take them home, reheated eggs are gross, and the rest can feed you for four meals. Four. Seperate. Meals. It's $9, too! Value? I think so!

I am aware that "A Rather Unorganized Vegetable Assortment" is an odd name, but this was the last thing I made before I moved, so this was a way of throwing my remaining vegetables together into a hot, tasty, mess of a side dish!

No Kelly's outside of Texas. Boo! So I made my own, and tried to make it a little more healthy.

It reads like it would be super spicy, but it really isn't.

Here's how it went down:

The Chicken Fried Steak and gravy takes roughly 25 minutes to prep and make.

1 pound cube steaks, cut into 4 portions, if necessary

salt

pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 cups fresh bread crumbs (from 4 slices whole wheat bread, torn and processed)

1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning

cooking spray

2 teaspoons Canola or vegetable oil

1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bottle Corona

1/2 cup beef broth

salt

pepper

dash hot sauce

juice of 1/2 a lime

cilantro, chopped

Pat cube steaks dry and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together buttermilk and hot sauce, pour into a Ziplock bag, add steaks, turn in your hands to coat, and let stand 15 minutes.

On a plate, combine bread crumbs, cajun seasoning, and pepper. Remove steaks from bag, allowing excess to drip off and dredge in bread crumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer to a wire rack to allow the coating to set a minute while you heat the pan.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and add oil. Heat over medium heat until oil begins to ripple. Swirl pan to evenly distribute the oil, add steaks and cook for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and just slightly pink in the middle, spraying the pan with more spray, if necessary, when you pick up the steaks to flip. Remove from pan and set aside.

Spray the pan with more cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion begins to soften, a couple of minutes. Pull from heat and add 1/2 bottle of Corona. Return to heat and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add a little more Corona to thin it out a little, if desired, and add hot sauce. Simmer another minute and stir in lime juice. Spoon gravy over steaks and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy, Lord knows I did!!

This recipe serves 4.

For the vegetable hodgepodge;

This took maybe 10 minutes to cook. If that.

cooking spray

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

cajun seasoning

pepper

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 can (or baggie) red kidney beans, drained

juice from 1/2 a lime

In a medium skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Season with cajun seasoning and pepper (no salt, the seasoning blend has enough) and add the bell pepper and carrot. Cook until beginning to soften, roughly 5 minutes. Add thawed corn, peas, and beans and heat through. Stir in the lime juice, and any remaining Corona from the gravy, if you have any. Sprinkle cilantro over the top, and, tada!! You are done!!

This recipe serves 4.

The broiled potatoes may be even easier than the vegetable montage;

This takes about 25 minutes to make.

2 descent sized potatoes, sliced moderately (not terribly thick but not paper thin)

2 teaspoons oil (It's up to you!)

salt

pepper

whatever seasonings you so desire

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a foil lined baking sheet (Or two, depending on how many slices you get.) with cooking spray. Toss potatoes in oil and seasonings to evenly coat and spread in an even layer onto the baking sheet(s). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Pull out any that may have crisped enough (any thin ones will be crisp to a little burned by now), flip on the broiler, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes until the tops begin to brown. Eat them up!! This is one of few things that, if I leave sitting on the stove, my husband will stand in front of, after having finished his meal, and finish off what's left, even if it's an entire sheet pan full!

This recipe serves 4. (Or 1 if my husband gets to them first! Lol!)

"Fried" Catfish with Carrot and Red Cabbage Slaw, Okra Crispies and Hubby's Tartar Sauce

I do love fried catfish! My waistline, however, does not. I know I've posted my oven fried catfish recipe before, but this time I pan fried them in cooking spray and used more of a blackening seasoning. I did shallow fry the okra, but one fried thing won't kill me, right? :) I also really rather enjoy my husband's version of tartar sauce, so I'll give you a quick overview of how he makes it!

I like fried okra sliced thin better than thick, 

then it's crispy and almost like a chip!

Here is how to get the fish on your table!

This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prep and cook!

2 catfish filets, cut in half crosswise on a bias

2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Splenda
1/4 teaspoon pepper
cooking spray
2 teaspoons flavorless oil (Canola or vegatable)
1/2 lemon, sliced

Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat and add oil, swirl around to coat.

Mix seasonings together. Sprinkle over both sides of the fish, coating them well. Add to the skillet and cook for about 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness, on each side until cooked through, spraying the pan with additional spray once you lift up the fish to turn it. Once it's firm and flakes easily with a fork, you are finished, pull it out of the pan and onto your plate, topping with a slice of lemon!

This recipe serves 4. (Although my husband would have eaten two servings, anyway, so I just left his whole and is the one I photographed!)

Sexy Hubby's Tartar Sauce goes a little like this;
mayonnaise
mustard
dill pickle relish

Add everything into a bowl in whatever amounts suit your tastebuds and stir until well combined! Simple to make and really yummy!!

On to the Okra!!
This takes about 15 minutes to make!
A handful of okra (I think it's about 1/2 a pound, I'm not sure.), sliced thinly on the bias
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon cayenne
salt
pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
canola oil

In a shallow bowl, combine cornmeal and seasonings, and pour buttermilk into another bowl. In a small pot, add about an inch or two of oil and heat over medium heat until a sprinkle of cornmeal sizzles when you put a little in.

Run the okra slices through the cornmeal, dip in buttermilk, and dredge again in cornmeal (Add more cornmeal and seasonings if you need it). In small batches, carefully drop into the oil and fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until crisp and slightly browned. Using a spider, fish them out of the oil and onto a paper towel lined plate. Blot the top with another paper towel and season with a small sprinkle of salt. Continue with remaining okra. Use it to prettily garnish your plate and enjoy! They are crunchy and delicious!

This recipe serves 4 to 6.

For the yummy slaw;
This recipe takes about 5 minutes to assemble and 30 to marinate.

4 cups grated carrot
4 cups finely shredded red cabbage (about half of a head)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Splenda (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon Canola or vegetable oil
salt
pepper

In a large bowl, toss together carrot, cabbage and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, splenda, oil, salt and pepper. Taste and reseason accordingly. Pour over vegetables and let sit 20 to 30 minutes until the vinegar starts to soften the onion a bit. If you want the onion to stay in it's raw state, wait to toss the dressing into the vegetables until you are ready to serve. That's it! Easy peasy!

This recipe serves 6.

Chicken Noodle Cassarole

This was originally a recipe for tuna noodle cassarole. My husband despises warm canned tuna more than just about any other food. I never really noticed it's weirdness, as I grew up happily eating super cheesy tuna cassarole, but it is a little funky, although I still enjoy a good cheesy bowl of tuna, noodles, and peas! So, to satisfy my craving and in the interest of my husband eating, I made it with chicken! I also let go of most of the cheese, in favor of my girlish figure, and went with a homemade cream of mushroom base. 

If you want tuna, make it with tuna!

Here is how to comfort your poor little grumbling tummy!

This recipe takes about 45 minutes to prep and cook.

cooking spray

3 1/4 cups curly egg noodles

1 chicken breast, cubed

salt

pepper

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and sliced, stems chopped

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 cup sherry (or chicken stock or apple juice)

2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup evaporated skim milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice (It only takes about 1/4 of a lemon.)

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

3 slices whole wheat bread, torn and ran through a food processor for coarse crumbs

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, or a mixture of any of them, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

fresh basil and/or oregano, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package directions.

Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs until cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Spray again with cooking spray, lower heat to medium, and add onions. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until they start to give off liquid, about two minutes. Add soy and saute, stirring, until liquid has evaporated, just a couple of minutes. Add sherry and boil, stirring occasionally, until evaporated. Add broth and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Slowly pour 2 tablespoons of the hot broth into the cornstarsh, whisking continuously, and slowly pour the mixture into the pot, whisking continuously. Return to a boil if it isn't still boiling, reduce heat to medum low to low, whisk in milk, and simmer, whisking occasionally 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken. Stir in lemon juice and chicken. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Gently stir noodles amd peas into pot. Pour into prepaired cassarole

In a small bowl, toss together bread crumbs, cheese, and dried herbs. Toss with oil and sprinkle over cassarole. Bake until bubbly and top is crisp, about 30 minutes. Garnish with basil and/or oregano. Devour!

This recipe serves 6.

Southwestern Shephard's Pie

I really love Shephard's Pie! I have always made it as a way to use up leftover meatloaf, since I have some strange aversion to leftover meatloaf, so most of the time it consists of crumbled meatloaf mixed with whatever vegetables I have on hand and topped with potatoes and cheese! When I was doing my meal plan, I was really craving a shephard's pie, but I didn't want meatloaf, so I thought I'd actually make one all the way through, and change it up a little, so this is what I chose to do!

In a perfect world, the potatoes would have been all sweet potato. But, I'm trying to get my husband out of his sweet potato issue from having way too many sweet potato dishes growing up, so I used part sweet and part Russet potato, but you can use whatever you like. I'm trying to slowly introduce him to savory sweet potatoes. That's why I picked cheddar for the cheese, so he wouldn't see orange, realize it was sweet potato, and decide he didn't like the potato portion of the meal before trying it (By the way, he loved it!! Hopefully I've broken the sweet potato problem...)! I don't blame him for his aversion, however, he's always had them in sweet dishes, and I'm not the biggest fan of that, either. Sweet potato waffles, on the other hand, are amazing!! I should make some again, soon!

To put this big cassarole of amazing on your table, this is what you do:

This recipe takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to prep and cook.

1 pound sweet potatoes, cubed small (Leave on that yummy, healthy skin!!)

1/2 pound Russet Potatoes, cubed small (Or whichever potato you like, use all sweet if you want, I was just trying to dilute the flavor a little for my weird husband! Haha!!)

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup evaporated skim milk

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

salt

pepper

Cooking spray

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced (about a tablespoon)

1 medium jalapeno, minced (a tablespoon or so)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt
pepper
1 pound lean ground beef (I use 94/6 or 96/4)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup black beans (Rinse if you're using canned or if you salt your beans when you cook them.)

1/2 cup chredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add potatoes to a large pot, cover with cold water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender, but not mushy. Drain, add butter, milk and spices and mash to desired consistency.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno and spices, cook for two more minutes before raising the heat to medium high and adding beef. Cook and stir until brown, about 10 or 15 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook 2 more minutes  and add tomatoes, lower heat and simmer until liquid reduces, 10 to 15 minutes. Add corn, beans, and cilantro.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, and spoon meat mixure in. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Top with cheese and broil for a minute or two until the cheese has melted and started to brown. Garnish with additional cilantro, and a wedge of lime, if desired. Stuff your face, but blow it, it's hot!

This recipe serves 6, or 8 if you serve it with other yummy stuff!