Pork Roast with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

Dale seasoning sauce
Pork tenderloin (about 2lb)
Roasted Garlic (from a jar)
Raisins
Pine Nuts

~Place Pork tenderloin in a shallow pan.
~Pour about 2/3 c. Dale's seasoning sauce all over Pork tenderloin.
~Add about 2-3 c. of water to the bottom of the pan.
~Top Pork roast with 1 tsp. roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and pine nuts.
~Add sliced carrots to the Broth
~Add raisins in the last 15 minutes

Bake uncovered for 1 hour on 425°

Ours' turned out perfectly! The carrots were perfectly soft and flavorful, and the roast was very flavorful.

Serve with loaded mashed potatoes, and a side salad with pear, raisins, pine nuts, and creamy balsamic vinaigrette.

SIMPLE creamy asparagus and penne pasta

1/2- 3/4 box small penne pasta
1 bunch asparagus
3 chicken breasts
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
2 tbs. flour
1/4 c. cream
garlic salt, to taste
3 tbsp. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam the asparagus (chop off the ends, then cut into thirds.)

Add chicken breasts to 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter. Cook 7-8 minutes, rotating as you go. Add garlic salt and dried onion (as it cooks, or at the end).

You might want to cut the chicken into pieces— especially if it is thick.

After transferring chicken, pasta, and asparagus to a baking dish, make your cream sauce. Start with a roux.  Melt the butter, and add flour as it melts.  Slowly add 1/4 c. cream, may need more butter and/or cream to reach desired thickness.  At the end, add 2 tbsp. of parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese is melted through.

Add sauce to the pasta, chicken, and asparagus, and add the rest of your parmesan to the top. Put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Turn to broil and cook for 5-10 more minutes, watching so it doesn’t burn!

I had to quick stop and write this down the other night after I made it. I adapted it loosely from a recipe I found on Cooking Classy (correction: Nell found it and linked to it on her blog). In the interest of honesty rather than full disclosure, I tried that exact recipe with the bacon and it took me no less than 2 AND A HALF hours to make.  So I recreated it as SIMPLE creamy asparagus and penne pasta and wa-la. Here it is. SO GOOD. This is at most a 30 minute meal- promise.

The Perfect Pregnancy Smoothie

As you know, Stephen and I are really into making juice in our juicer, and smoothies, peanut butter, and desserts in our Vitamix. I have tried a lot of variations of smoothies in my day.  I have to say, though, that this was THE BEST smoothie I have ever tasted. Yum, yum, yum.

Mango Smoothie (with mango nectar)

1/2 bag frozen mango chunks
1 c. strawberry yogurt
1 c. milk
1c. mango nectar
ice
2 bananas

another alternative: I found the Jamba juice mixer at Publix. It makes all the difference in taste, and the fun thing is, I didn't have any yogurt on hand, but the bag included cubed frozen yogurt, so it didn't matter. The extra bananas make it sweeter and fill it chock full of potassium.


Peachy Strawberry Smoothie (with peach nectar)

1 bag Jamba All Natural Smoothies Mix (contains frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, and frozen yogurt cubes- no alcohol! ) 

2 cans peach nectar

2 sliced frozen bananas

Put all in Vitamix and turn to Smoothies program. Press start and wait until the cycle is finished.

Don't forget the peach nectar- so good!

Enjoy!

Baird McClure's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. almond flavoring

1 c. brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. chopped almonds or pecans

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs.

Add sour cream and flour alternately.

Add the rest of the ingredients. For best results, let stand until batter reaches room temperature.

Grease pan, add half the batter for one cake. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar. Add the other half for one cake. (makes 3 cakes total). Sprinkle the top with crushed almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Bake 25 min. @ 350 °. Freezes well.

Baird Mclure was a friend of my Granny B's. I think she lived near us when we had a house on Richardson St.  She was a dear lady and an excellent cook.  Her coffee cake recipe can't be beat!

Nutella Mint Hot Chocolate

1 large spoonful Nutella
1 large piece mint chocolate (my Mom brought us back some fine mint milk chocolate from Seattle. I can't remember the brand, she got it in the airport), but a few Andes mints would work
1 1/4 c. milk
mini marshmallows

1. Melt the nutella for 30 seconds on high in the microwave.
2. Break up the mint chocolate into pieces.
3. Microwave the mint chocolate pieces into the Nutella, for 30 sec. and stir.
4. Add cold milk into the chocolate mixture and stir really well.
5. Heat milk until hot but not boiling. Stir really well.
6. Add marshmallows and enjoy!

I know mint + nutella sounds strange, but it was actually creamy and excellent.

Granny B's Sweet Corn Pudding

Granny B’s Sweet Corn Pudding

1 jiffy corn muffin mix

1 c. sour cream

3 eggs

1/2 stick of butter (original recipe called for 1 whole stick)

1 can creamed corn

1 can whole kernel corn

1/4 c. cheddar cheese (opt).

Mix all ingredients, not cheese

Bake in a 2 qt. Casserole for 40 min- 1 hour, if desired add cheese 

put back for 10 min. in oven to let the cheese melt

3 Types of Stuffed Squash

A few notes on baking squash: First, it's either stuffed, or it's not. Second, make sure you cook until it is totally soft! Undercooked squash is not so good! Thoroughly scoop out seeds and throw them away, or bake them with a little spice (We like wasabi powder), salt, a little olive oil, and pepper. 

Always coat the baking sheet with olive oil, and add a little butter to the cavity of your squash. The time varies depending on the type of squash.. Otherwise, it is as simple as that!

Stuffed Acorn Squash ~ With Apples and Cinnamon

Halve and Bake flesh-side up @ 400° for 1 hr, 15 min.

Add: Baked apples, cinnamon, butter, and a "crust"~ use this recipe for apple crisp

Stir the apple crisp into the the baked squash

Serve with pumpkin muffins

This was delicious!

Stuffed Butternut Squash ~ With Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper

Halve and Bake flesh-side up @ 400°F for 1 hr, 30 min.

Add to the cookie sheet red and yellow peppers, halved and sunny-side up

The peppers will start to brown around the edges- that's fine and makes it taste good. You can wrap them in tin foil (I didn't do this, but I've heard it helps keep them more crisp as they brown).

Dice the roasted red and yellow peppers, add to squash with butter, salt, and pepper.

This made a very nice side to Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper soup!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash~ With Sun-dried tomato pesto sauce

Halve and bake, flesh side down @375°  for 1 hr, flipping halfway through.

Add store bought sauce-

 this one looks good

I can't find the kind I bought, but it was from Whole Foods. 

Toss baked squash with this, add a little grated parmesan and you're ready to eat!

Enjoy! Bon appetit!