Tuscan-Roasted Veggies with Pork Bake

This tasty little recipe we tried to night comes via kraftfoods.com. It called for pork tenderloin pieces, but I just bought simple boneless loin chops and cut them in half and it worked just fine. My kids of course loved the roasted veggies, they were the first to disappear off their plates. It was simple to toss together and the parchment paper made for a snappy clean up. We would eat this one again. I will more than likely add more veggies then called for because the kids love them.

This recipe says it serves four, we stretched it to feed 3 kids and 3 adults. Our visitor M.H. was a bachelor for a few nights while his wife and kids were out of town. Told me that I couldn't tell his wife he ate the veggies. He said he didn't think he had ever eaten a sweet potato--shocker! By the end of the night he said, "You can tell my wife. I don't think she will make this recipe though because she is not a fan of pork. I love pork...." So N.H. if you feel up to trying pork one night, M. will eat this ;-) (It will be our little secret!)

We served this with French bread and a side Toss-salad, followed by a P.B. chocolate chip cookie. Love simple dinner nights like this one!

Tuscan-Roasted Vegetable and Pork Tenderloin Bake

4 cups coarsely chopped sweet potatoes, celery, red onions.

(I used 2 sweet potatoes, 3 ribs celery, and a sweet onion)

1/4 cup Tuscan House Italian Dressing and Marinade

(I didn't have this, but I did have a Good Seasons dry mix that I mixed up and then used)

2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

(I left this out--I sure find out all the ingredients I forget to put in when I am blogging the recipes lately! Duh. Good thing is we liked them with the items missing so it works great!)

1 Baking apply, coarsely chopped (I used golden delicious)

1 lb Pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces (I used 4 loin chops cut in half.)

1 pkt. Shake N' Bake Extra Crispy seasoned coating mix

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss vegetables with dressing and cheese (or forget it like me;-}); spread onto parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes.

Stir in apples. Coat meat with coating mix as directed on package; add to baking sheet. Bake 20 more minutes until meat is done (160 degrees) and vegetables are tender.

Chicken Curry-Family Fun Magazine

I got this recipe from familyfun.com; they provide our family with yet another keeper! Their caption stated, "A great way to introduce kids to international food. This simple, fast curry is made rich and creamy by adding canned unsweetened coconut milk (available in the international section of most supermarkets.)"

Our kids already like the flavor of curry so I thought we'd give it a try seeing that I had all the ingredients on hand minus the fresh spinach which I simply substitute another great "green" broccoli which my kids love. It was a SUPER QUICK throw together kind of meal. Jack really liked it and said it is probably his new favorite out of the curry dishes, "because it is lighter" he tells me. I would have to agree with him. The texture is creamy, the meal light, but filling. The kids weren't crazy about it but still ate it well (maybe snacks were to late today or something!?) We will definitely be trying this recipe again soon.

Chicken Curry (from Family Fun Magazine or .com)

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I use sweet onions they are my fav!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 can (12-14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk

1 can (14 ox) diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste (freeze the leftovers in the can for the next time)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cups packed fresh baby spinach (we used Broccoli)

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the salt. Cook until softened, about 7 minutes, stirring often. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

Stir in the coconut milk, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken, stir well, and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in the spinach and cook for 3 minutes or until wilted, stirring occasionally. (Broccoli doesn't take that long to become fork tender either). Season to taste with salt. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings

**We ate this for at least two meals so the serving sizes must be huge! Or they are adult size servings. We always seem to stretch the meals by adding a side salad. This dish really could be eaten by itself because it has the carbs, protein, and veggies all in one.

Oatmeal Pancakes

We made these pancakes this morning and enjoyed them. (No picture coming! A pancake is a pancake! ;-)) I am excited about the added oatmeal; it is what drew me to the recipe. I have hopes that with the added grains and fiber that they will "stay with" the kids a little longer than regular pancakes. I got this recipe from eatbetteramerica.com. I didn't however have all the exact ingredients so you will find what I used in parenthesis. It only makes 6-8 pancakes with 1/4 cup scoop.

Oatmeal Pancakes

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats

(Regular Oats placed in a blender until it looked like quick-out texture)

3/4 cup Whole Wheat flour (all-purpose white)

1 cup fat-free milk (1%)

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I forgot to put this in! oops)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

In a medium bowl, beat pancake ingredients with wire whisk until blended.

Spray griddle or skillet with cooking spray. Heat griddle to 375 degrees or skillet over medium heat. Pour 1.4 cup batter onto griddle. Cook pancakes until puffed and dry around the edges. Turn; cook other side until golden brown. Serve with topping.

Serving size is 2 pancakes (310 calories, Fat 7 g--don't know what it is if you forget the oil?! ;-) I thought they were fine without it. I didn't realize I had missed it until I went to post it! They were a little on the dryer side, but if you are using a homemade syrup it will soak it up great.)

We just used maple syrup, but eatbetteramerica had a recipe for a topping that if I had the items on hand I may have tried.

Topping

1 bag (10 oz) Frozen mixed berries, thawed and drained

3/4 cup real maple syrup

In 2-quart saucepan, cook topping ingredients over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to simmer. Remove from heat; set aside.

Refrigerated Salad

This is one of those dishes I made a LONG time ago! (June to be exact.) It was crisp and refreshing during those hot summer months. This is one I don't want to forget. It is a recipe of our family friend Camille Fowler.

Refrigerated Salad

Break up one head of lettuce in a bowl

Then layer the following ingredients on the lettuce:

layer of fresh sliced mushrooms

Bean sprouts (I can't typically leave this out)

Grated Carrots (I use my Julienner; I love it! It makes the perfect little sticks.)

Frozen peas

Water chestnuts [optional] (I leave them out)

Ice with mayonnaise and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and bacon bits.

I typically use: (It is a one to one ratio--example: 1/2 cup mayo. 1/2 T. sugar)

1 cup or less of Mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon or less sugar

Stir it together and then spread it on top. I omit the ice part because I don't want to deal with the sogginess that it can make it I don't think the entire salad will be eaten. Simply make what you think would be appropriate for your size of salad. Enjoy!

Rainbow Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my Taste of Home June/July 2000 (p.51) issue. This is another recipe I made back in June and discovered that I hadn't posted yet. It is a great salad to use up some of the fresh veggies from the garden.

Rainbow Pasta Salad

1 pkg (16 oz) Tricolor spiral pasta

2 cups chopped broccoli florets

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup tomatoes

1/2 cup cucumber

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained

1 jar (6.5 oz) marinated artichoke hearts (optional! I never have used them-don't typically have them on hand anyway.)

1 bottle (8 oz) Italian Salad dressing

Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a bowl; add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Yields 12-14 servings

This recipe we have been using this recipe for a few years now. I love that I can buy 6-8 chicken breast and get two or three meals out of them. When I buy the breast and cut them in to 1/4-inch slices I can get two sometimes three roll-ups out of one breast. The smaller portions are perfect for the children and everyone is happy that they have their own special looking meal. This recipe came out of a Taste of Home magazine. It is a great meal to serve on special occasions or "just because". A great part about it for me is that I can do all the prep-work one time and freeze the others for later or to take into a family who might be in need of a meal from time to time.

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lbs)

(Or Cheat and buy Chicken Cutlets if your store carries them)

8 thin sliced (4 oz) Deli Ham (I loved Virginia Baked Ham)

4-8 slices provolone cheese, halved

2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup milk

Flatten chicken to 1/4-inch thickness (skip this step with cutlets). Place a slice of ham and half a slice of cheese on each piece of chicken. Roll up from a short end side and tuck in ends; secure with a toothpick. In a shallow bowl, combine crumbs, grated cheese and parsley. Pour milk into another bowl. Dip chicken rolls in milk, then roll in crumb mixture.

Wrap and freeze four chicken roll-ups for up to 2 months. Place the remaining roll-ups seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Spritz chicken with non-stick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove toothpicks.

To use Frozen chicken: Completely thaw in the refrigerator. Unwrap roll-ups place on a greased baking sheet. Spritz with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

We like to serve sides of rice pilaf, steamed seasonal veggies, or a salad.

We also like a slice of ciabatta or French Bread with it.

Hearty Potato Soup (Crockpot)

We liked this recipe and I loved that it was so quick to chop up and toss in the crock-pot, and that I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry or food storage all the time. With the exception of half-and-half I never have this on hand. This recipe comes from www.myrecipes.com it listed this soup with a bread bowl recipe "Italian Bread Bowls."

Hearty Potato Soup (myrecipes.com)

6 (2 1/2 lbs) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used 3-3 1/2 lbs)

2 medium onions, diced

2 carrots, thinly sliced (I used 5--carrots are my kids favorite part)

2 celery ribs, thinly sliced (I used 3 celery ribs)

2 ( 14 1/2 oz) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth (I used 4 cans or make the broth or make it with bouillon cubes)

1 teaspoon dried Basil (I used 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Salt (I used about 2 teaspoons by the time I was done)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups fat-free half-and-half (1 cup half and half or what milk I have on hand. If I use milk I add a little more flour to help thicken it.)

Serve in Italian Bread Bowls

(* One note to self: We love the bread bowls but they are so filling. The recipe recommends making 8 bowls out of the recipe. I am going to shoot for 16 next time.)

Combine first 8 ingredients in a 4 1/2 quart slow cooker (If you use my measurements then toss it in a 5 quart crock-pot).

Cook, covered, on High for 3 - 4 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Stir together the flour and half-and-half; stir into soup. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve in Italian Bread Bowls, and garnish with fresh celery leaves, if desired.