Pork Chops with Brown Sugar Caramelized Onions

I  used a recipe from Susan at Savoring Time in the Kitchen which she used with a pork tenderloin you can find HERE.  Instead of the tenderloin I used center cut pork chops with the bone in.

The caramelized onions with the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar has such a wonderful flavor, the next time I will double the onions and sauce!  Coupled with mashed taters and a veggie medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots made it a perfect meal.

A house I saw tonight has this in the front lawn - they have a son in the service.  A very nice tribute, you can tell we had just a touch of wind tonight, so cold...

Bought Bailey a new toy on Friday and by that evening he had the corner torn apart already..back to the solid toys, no more 'squeakers' for him!

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The Race is On....

Now with Thanksgiving behind us, literally all that food has to go somewhere, it's time to decide what Christmas baking I will undertake for this season.  I've always tried to make some things I have never made and hopefully they will turn out to be a 'favorite'.  So for the next week I will be hitting the blogs looking for those special treats to try.  Until then, I accomplished the most important task in buying some ingredients.  Susan, Savoring Time In The Kitchen, has drilled into my head that you need to use the best chocolate you can find for many of the Christmas treats.  Hopefully, Susan will approve...

Some fudge has already been made with the bittersweet, I've resisted any taste testing but I know from just the aroma it will be good.  Now just to decide what else will be on my list....

My sister Sue, and her family, came home for Thanksgiving.  She stopped at our Aunt Marilyn's or "Mame" as we call her to visit.  Mame's African violet was in full bloom...amazing how they bloom at all different times of the year.

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Foodie Friday - Flashback Friday

Joining Gollum for Foodie Friday and Suzy for Flashback Friday to show you again a beautiful Christmas cookie - Paula Deen's Magnolia Lace Trumpets.  A little time consuming but well worth it, plus they look fantastic on a cookie tray!

After Thanksgiving I will start making cookies for Christmas trays, freezing them until it's time to make the gift boxes.  This is the time of year I really love my food saver!!!

Check out Foodie Friday for some delicious recipes and Flashback Friday for a walk down memory lane...

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Bittersweet Wedding....

On 11-12-11 my nephew Matthew and his beautiful bride, Melissa were married.  Matt is the youngest son of my brother Dick, who  passed away almost 19 years ago.  Matt resembles his Dad so much in looks and personality it's spooky at times!  I was so grateful to be able to attend and watch this young man start his new life with Melissa.... I know Dick was smiling down with pride and joy.

The two young men on the right top and bottom are my handsome godsons Mike and Greg.  Top photo left is of all my sisters and our 'honorary Mom' Karen.  It was great to see all the family that came from Dallas sine we don't see them that often.  Even before I thought about it, a few of my sisters yelled "WAIT" at the reception so I could get a photo of the meal....they are evidently getting used to my quirks of getting photos for my blog!  (Wait until Thanksgiving)

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What's the Secret to Yeast Breads????

Found a great recipe for Best Dinner Rolls from the last issue of Taste of Home which used yeast....they did not turn out what I expected!  I was looking for an easy to make, flaky dinner roll.  They turned out just OK, not great and not wanting  to try the recipe again.

The best part were the toppings I used, they were spot on and gave a roll a special taste.  The first one I used chopped sliced almonds, kosher salt, basil and oregano.  (My version of rosettes)  Carol, if you laugh I WILL put a hex on you!

The second one I used poppy seeds, kosher salt, sesame seeds and minced onion.

Like I said, they tasted just OK...anyone have a fool-proof dinner roll that can be shaped into crescents, cloverleaf, rosette or anything else I would want to make???


I had picked up some Krumcakes at the grocer and wanted to do a filling.  Found one in the same Taste of Home magazine called Lacy Brandy Snaps.  Brandy is not a staple in my liquor cabinet so I substituted  Chambrod liqueur..Yummmmm!!  I should have just halved the recipe since I have a good bowl full left over..thinking of filling cupcakes with them, even use it as frosting.  The filling recipe was so creamy and tasty

 FILLING:


4 cups heavy whipping cream

1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup brandy

Grated chocolate, optional

(I dipped mine in mini chips and toffee bits)

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and brandy; beat until stiff peaks form. Just before serving, pipe cream mixture into cookies. Sprinkle ends with chocolate if desired. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 dozen.

 

Since every new recipe is trial and error I can't expect every one to turn out perfect.  We KNOW it has to be the recipe and not me!!!  :)
 

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Crispy Honey Walnut (Pecan) Shrimp

Last week I took my boys out to lunch at a Chinese place.  Nick ordered the Crispy Walnut Shrimp, and of course I took a bite!  So good, the sauce just made the dish, something I knew I had to try and recreate.  Hit Google and YouTube to get as much info as possible, couldn't believe what a simple dish it was to make.

Luckily I had one last bag of shrimp left from my last purchase of seafood from Fabians Seafood truck that makes the rounds in the midwest straight from the Gulf. (Fantastic shrimp).  I used the recipe from  the CookBook People, it turned out perfectly.  The taste was 98% 'spot-on', I will definitely be making this again.  The leftovers were just as good the next day.

The only variation I had to make were the nuts...I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that I had walnuts, they turned out to be pecans.....tasted just as great with the pecans!

Joining Gollum at Foodie Friday..stop by to see lots of great recipes...

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Apple Filled Phyllo Pockets

By pure mistake, I had a package of phyllo in my freezer (thought I was grabbing puff pastry) so after seeing this recipe in my magazine I thought I would give it a try!  I do NOT have the patience to work with phyllo on a regular basis, but this time it wasn't as horrific as I had remembered.  I had some great Honeycrisp apples (my all-time favorite apple) which were perfect for the little delictable dessert ... Apple Filling in Phyllo Pockets from Cooking Club.

Being in a hurry I made a monumental mistake ( I was in "Carol" mode)!  Since I only had about 4 Cups of apples I decided to just half the recipe,simple enough.  But  after I had peeled and chopped all the apples to make 4 cups, that's where I ended halving the recipe!  Long story short, I had to spoon off some of the liquid and the apples were a little too cinnamonny but still quite delicious. 

The final conclusion was a very good and flaky dessert

To cut some of the cinnamon I topped one with whipped cream. Vanilla ice cream would be fantastic with it also.  Since the taste was well worth the effort in dealing with phyllo I can't wait to make them again and follow the recipe correctly.  Since the box of phyllo has TWO rolls in it....

there will definitely be a next time!

I had phyllo left over from the first roll, the idea of a savory dish popped into my head.  I had a ground beef mixture made up for my loose meat sandwiches so I used that as a filling.  Another success.

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Last flowers of the year

About the only thing still blooming are the Glorious Daisy... love these!  The ornamental pepper, Black Pearl I'm going to bring indoors and try to keep it through the winter.  If I can get diamond frost make it through the winter the black pearl should be easy! (fingers-crossed)

Cleaning out the fridge again used a half jar of Prego over chicken breasts made a nice yummy meal... Baked in the oven was quick and easy

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October Harvest Moon

 The other night we had a gorgeous moon... the clouds were eerie.  Would be a perfect moon for Halloween coming up for Kathleen's witches to fly by......

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Leftovers of the Season ....

Hard to believe summer is almost over, kids are back to school and I'm starting to make a list of what needs to be done before the snow flies!  Not a happy thought to say the least.

Spent the week using up some year end fruit and veggies.  First off, I had about four Colorado peaches sitting on the counter.  I had my fill of just picking them up, washing them off and eating like an apple so decided to use the rest with some puff pastry.

The peaches were just luscious...what's nice about the puff pastry is you can use this as a dessert or as a pastry for morning breakfast...so it didn't last long.  One sheet of thawed puff pastry, sliced peaches placed on a diagonal..bake..brush a little apricot preserves on top..Enjoy!

Next... using up cukes, onions and peppers to make a small batch of refrigerator pickles.  I remember my Mom having a huge gallon jar filled with these all summer long.  She and Dad would have them as a side for almost every meal.

Slice up desired veggies, add some salt and celery seed.  Make a cold brine of sugar and vinegar, pour over the veggies and refrigerate.  Simple and so good.

My coleus medley has turned into a giant..it is taking up alot of space but I love it..

Love my whimsy Cosmos...

Bought a little cat bed for the kitties...they are even learning to share, which surprised me

I was going through some of my Mom's old "button jar" items.  She used to throw everything in here from buttons, zippers and some "other treasures" that I hadn't seen for many, many years.  Can you pick put the special 'treasure'?????

Hint... used before the invention of pantyhose!  LOL, But I'm sure Carol still uses them with her fishnets!!

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