Monday, May 30, 2011

Greek Lamb (or Pork) Chops

I love trying new recipes and when I came across this one, it sounded good, except for one thing.  It was for lamb chops.  I do not like lamb, but I thought I would try it with pork and it was yummy!  I really loved the sauce that goes with it.  This one I got from a Betty Crocker Cookbook. 

What You Will Need:
4 lamb shoulder, arm or loin chops abut 1/2 inch thick (or pork chops)
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sliced, olives
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1.  Sprinkle both sides of meat with oregano, salt, and pepper.  Press garlic into meat.

2.  In skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Cook meat in oil 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until brown.

3.  Add broth to skillet; reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until the meat is tender.  Remove lamb from skillet; keep warm.

4.  Heat broth in skillet to boiling.  Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly reduced.  Stir in lemon juice and butter.  Cook and stir just until slightly thickened.  Stir in olives and parsley.  Spoon sauce over meat, and top with cheese.

I honestly really love this one, though like I said before I have only done it with pork.  I also really enjoy sauce so I like to double the sauce just to have a little extra.  I have also not been able to use the feta cheese (since I am pregnant).  I have just used Parmesan cheese in the past, which was also yummy, so try that if you aren't a fan of feta cheese.  Hope you enjoy!   

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Couple of Things

I know I am a big slacker with this blog.  In all honesty, I thought no one ever looked at it.  I'm certain there are not a lot who do.  I mean I love to blog, and I love to cook and I know there are some AMAZING food blogs out there. This dumb little blog does not compare at all.  So because of that, I honestly thought of quit doing it. Plus, cooking is not my favorite thing to do still, since I still feel sick a lot.  At least my baby will be here soon and then maybe my zest for cooking new things will come back! 

I decided to stick with it for now though, so I promise to try and add at least a couple recipes a week.  That was mostly because my friend Teri encouraged me to do it still, since she looks at this blog every now and again.  Thanks Teri, I really did need that little boost.  This is something I enjoy doing, even if I am the only one that does look at it. 

I am going to post pictures (I know it's always better to have a picture, I myself love cook books that have them), I'm just not very good at taking food pictures. I promise to work on my skills but until then, you will have to excuse the lousy pics that you do see. 

So that is it for now! 

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

On Mother's Day I was in charge of dinner for my husbands side of the family.  I wanted something easy and that I could do in the crock pot.  I knew I would not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen that day.  You may have noticed that I really love the crock pot.  Anyway, we recently ate at a very yummy place called DP Cheese Steaks.  If you have one around I highly recommend it.  This was my first experience eating a cheese steak sandwich.  So after that I kept craving another yummy cheese steak sandwich.  I knew that a lot of the people in my hubby's family are fans of them too so I decided I was going to make my own version of it for Mother's Day.  Now, I'm sure there are more amazing recipes then this one, but I got great reviews from my family, they loved it, and they love cheese steak sandwiches. So here it is:

What You Will Need:

Beef Roast (sounds weird I know, but I thought it would be cheaper and go further than actual steak)
Can of Beef Broth
Pepper
Garlic or Garlic Salt
Green Pepper
Onion
Hogie Buns
Cheese (we used provolone and cheese whiz.  A true Philly Cheese has cheese whiz)

1.Pour your beef broth in the crock pot. 

2. Season your roast with the pepper and Garlic.  I love to cook with fresh garlic but I actually used garlic salt this time and it was just fine.  I rubbed the pepper and garlic salt in well, all over the roast before I put it into the crock pot.

3.  Cook on low 7 to 8 hours.

4.  Once done, pull the roast out, and shred the meat.  I strained the fat and everything off of the broth and put some back in the crock pot.  I then put the shredded meat back into the crock pot to cook a little more, but I don't think that part is to crucial.  

5.  Dice your onions and green peppers.  I sauteed them in some olive oil in a skillet together, to serve with the meat, since not everyone likes peppers and onions.  You could very easily dice them and add them into the slow cooker with the roast back on step 2 though.

6.  You could toast your hogie buns if you want or leave them as is.  Let everyone make their own sandwich to their liking and enjoy.  I know my family did!