Soda Pork Chops

I found this recipe in a local school cookbook and thought it sounded intriguing. It has very few ingredients and it seemed too easy. And the outcome? Loved by everyone! My son said they were the most awesome thing he's had in a long time. I've noticed a theme with us though, you can put ketchup and brown sugar on anything and they will eat it! These would be good to make for a large crowd and would go splendidly with the Country Club Potatoes.
Enjoy!




6-8 porkchops, boneless and thin cut
salt and pepper
1 cup ketchup
1 cup cola (such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi or Dr. Pepper, not sugar-free)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray large, shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Place chops in dish, leaving enough room for sauce to get in between, sprinkle chops with salt and pepper. In smaller bowl, combine ketchup, sugar and cola then pour over chops. Bake uncovered for an hour or until tender.

Country Club Potatoes

Maybe it was the long, hot day at the pool. Maybe it was because we were hungry for real food. Maybe it was this, maybe it was that. Who knows but these potatoes were awesome and devoured by the whole family. Even my husband, a potato non-lover, thought they were awesome. They were quick and easy and stayed hot for a long time! Now I understand why they are served at buffet style events. Love them.



1 pkg frozen shredded hash brown style potatoes
2 cups half and half
6 TBS butter
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Paprika

Heat half and half to a boil. Stir in potatoes, butter, salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened. Place in 9x13 casserole dish. Top with Parmesan and Paprika. Broil until brown and bubbly or bake in 350 degree oven until browned and bubbly. That's it.

Grilled Shrimp

I would have sworn I had posted this recipe since it is our favorite grilled shrimp. However, I couldn't find it on here so sorry if you've seen this before! When I first saw this recipe, many years ago, I thought there was no way it would be as good as it is. Shrimp usually goes best in a white sauce, not a tomato sauce, but you don't really taste the tomatoes in the end product. You just taste scrumptiously moist shrimp with great flavor. It only takes a couple minutes to grill either on skewers or in a grill pan. This doesn't serve but a couple people so double as needed.



1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS dried basil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place shrimp in shallow glass pan. Mix rest of ingredients together in small bowl. Pour over shrimp. Marinate in fridge, stirring occasionally, for 2-4 hours. Thread on skewers and grill over medium heat or place in a grill pan and toss until cooked. Discard marinade. Do not overcook.

Penne Rosa

We love pasta at our house, if you couldn't tell. We also love zucchini. It's a good thing they go together so well! This is a good light, cream sauce with fresh tomatoes and zucchini. I love Summer produce. This was a family hit that seemed to please both the white sauce and red sauce lovers in our house. It would have been even better with shrimp or chicken but I didn't have any so I served it without.

1 zucchini, sliced and quartered

3-4 small, ripe tomatoes, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

5-6 leaves of fresh basil, chopped (roll up leaves tightly and slice)

1/2 pound penne

1/2 cup to 1 cup cream

olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add zucchini and tomatoes, pepper and salt. Let simmer for approx. 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to bleed and thicken. Add garlic and basil to soften but careful not to burn. Add the cream and simmer over low heat until sauce is as thick as you would like. Combine sauce with pasta and top with fresh grated Parmesan.

Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

I've been trying to use my slow cooker once a week to conserve energy and keep the heat out of the kitchen. I came across this recipe and thought it had potential. You never know with sweet and sour sauces, everyone has their own style they prefer. This is a great family friendly meal. It's a ketchup based sauce so it's more like a meatball sauce than an Asian sauce. However, we gobbled it all up and there wasn't any left! It would be great for a party but you would have to triple the recipe. It's a perfect size for a young family. Enjoy!


3 TBS butter
1 white or yellow onion, sliced
1 cup packed brown sugar
14 oz. ketchup
3 TBS cider vinegar
1 long squirt of spicy brown mustard
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
A shake of hot sauce (or more if you prefer)
1 lb. turkey kielbasa, cut into 1 in. pieces
slow cooker bag (to make life easy)

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender. Stir in brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put slow cooker bag in crock. Place sausage in slow cooker and top with sauce/onion mix. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. The longer it simmers, the better it is. Great with steamed rice.

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla

I ran across this recipe on another food blog and thought it would be great for our family. And oh my gosh, we LOVED it! I love the BBQ Chicken pizza from Papa John's and this tasted just like it. It's quick and easy, especially if you have left over chicken. I used fresh pineapple but I don't think canned pineapple or frozen, pre-cooked chicken would compromise the flavor at all. Quick, easy and scrumptious, yum!






4-6 tortillas
1-2 grilled chicken breasts
grilled pineapple rings
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's and it's perfect for this dish)
scallions

I made two quesadilla's with 1 chicken breast and fed 3 people so judge accordingly. I grilled the chicken and the pineapple on my indoor grill after I seasoned the chicken with a BBQ rub. Grill pineapple then chop into tidbits and slice chicken breast. Heat griddle or skillet. Place tortilla on griddle, top with sauce, cheese, chicken, pineapple, scallions and a little more cheese and sauce. Grill for a couple minutes on each side until cheese melts. Cut intowedges and serve warm.

Eggplant Parmesan

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Independence Day. We started celebrating Friday night and didn't stop until Monday! I had a lot of wonderful food over the weekend but nothing new to share. I haven't made many new recipes lately so I thought I'd post an old favorite that we recently had. Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite Italian dishes. It's my standby dish that I order frequently at restaurants. This is my favorite version of it and my entire family loves it too. I'm not sure if there is any valuable nutrients left in the eggplant after you fry it, but it still feels good that my kids love it too!



1 large eggplant or 2 small
Texas Toast brand seasoned croutons
couple shakes of basil, salt & pepper
2 eggs, beaten
olive oil or canola oil for frying
1-2 cups pasta sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella


Put 1/2 pkg of the croutons into food processor/blender and pulse until they look like breadcrumbs. Peel skin from eggplant, slice horizontally into disks. Combine basil, salt and pepper with breadcrumbs in medium bowl. Beat eggs in small bowl. Dip eggplant into egg and dredge into breadcrumbs. Fry in oil until crisp. Place in 9x13 casserole dish. Layer eggplant if needed, top with sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm and enjoy!!
Serves 6.