Jambalaya

Jambalaya

 1 lb. boneless pork, chopped

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, chopped

1 lb. sausage, chopped

oil

1 onion, diced very fine

½ head garlic, peeled and diced

2 C. rice

5 C. water

Cajun seasoning to taste

Pepper to taste

In a large pot heat a small amount of oil and sauté pork, chicken and sausage over medium heat until very brown and cooked through. Add sausage towards the end because it will brown quicker than the other meat. Add onion, garlic and seasonings and cook until tender. Add water, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Add rice and cook for 20 minutes more or until rice is cooked through. Stir meat and rice; remove from heat and let sit with the cover on for 15 minutes before serving.

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Chinese Pork and Fried Rice

Chinese Pork
3 lbs. country style pork ribs
Oil as needed
Adobo to taste
2 med carrots, sliced
2 med onions, cut into wedges
2 green peppers, chopped
2 C tomato juice
1 ½ inch piece fresh ginger, grated
1/3 C. vinegar
1/3 C sugar
4 tsp cornstarch

Place ribs in a roasting pan. Season to taste with adobo. Drizzle a small amount of oil on top of ribs. Place in a 325 degree oven an cook for 1 hour. While the ribs are cooking prepare the vegetables. Place all the vegetables in a pot with the tomato juice, ginger, vinegar and sugar and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove 1 C. of sauce from the pot and mix in cornstarch, then add back to the pot. Cook 15 minutes more, stirring frequently while it thickens. When ribs are done remove from oven and add sauce, return to the oven and bake for10- 20 minutes more in a 300 degree oven.


Fried Rice
4 C. cooked rice
1 cup diced green onions
1 package frozen stir fry vegetables
2 whole eggs
pinch of salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Heat wok or large skillet, add 3 Tbsp vegetable oil, add eggs and scramble in wok. Add green onions, stir fry one minute. Add rice and frozen vegetables, fry until rice is hot. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper Mix thoroughly.
For more recipes visit Foodie Friends Friday

Fruit Glazed Ham, Layered Pea Salad, and Garlic Butter Red Potatoes

Fruit Glazed Ham
1 ham (canned, on sale, whatever is cheapest)
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 ½ Tbsp. cider vinegar
½ tsp. ginger

Heat ham according to package directions. Combine pineapple, vinegar, and ginger in a saucepan and heat through. Pour sauce over ham the last 10 minutes of cooking. If desired serve sauce over the ham.

Layered Pea Salad
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen peas, thawed
1 stalk celery, sliced
Italian seasoning to taste
½ C sour cream
1 tsp. sugar
1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
½ C bacon bits

Combine Italian seasoning, sugar and sour cream in a small bowl. Layer all ingredients in a bowl reserving bacon bits to add just before serving. Let chill several hours or overnight before serving.


Garlic Butter Red Potatoes
2 lbs. small red potatoes
1/3 C butter, melted
Garlic powder to taste

In a large pan cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until cooked through about 15-20 minutes. Combine butter with garlic powder. Drain the cooked potatoes and toss with the garlic butter before serving.

For more recipes visit Foodie Friday

Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup

2-3 qts. Water
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 potatoes, chopped
Any leftover fresh or frozen vegetables you may have in the house

Cook until tender, about an hour.
For more recipes check out Cooking Thursday

Happy Homemaker Monday

The Weather:::

Right now I am:
In bed, trying to wake up. There is just not enough coffee in the world this morning.

Thinking:I am glad that both my mom and my mother in law are out of the hospital. I am worried sick though because my mom is not eating. My mom has dementia. It could be a dental issue that she can't express or it could be a progression of her disease. People with dementia forget to how to swallow. I am hoping that it is not her forgetting to swallow. Over the past few years I've watched my mom lose one skill after another and it breaks my heart every time.

On my reading pile:::
A Cup of Comfort Cookbook

On my tv:::

The Dark Night Rises
Looper
Bringing Up Baby
Australia
The King's Speech
McLeod's Daughters
Robin Hood
Legend of the Seeker
Downton  Abbey

Favorite Blog post this week (mine or other)::

 

No favorites

Something fun to share:::
Knitted Hearts

I think these are fun but I have a yarn addiction

On the menu for this week:::

Monday-
Monte Cristo Sandwiches
French Fries
Fruit

Tuesday-
Chicken Parmesan over Spaghetti
Vegetable
Garlic Bread

Wednesday-
Swiss Veggie Ham Bake
Corn

Thursday-
Spinach Chicken
Rice

Friday-
Bierrocks
Fruit

Saturday-
Chicken a la King
Green Beans

Sunday-
Teriyaki Burgers
Fruit
Carrot Sticks with Ranch

On my to do list:::
Take my mom to the dentist

Laundry
Homeschooling
Clean the bathroom

Go grocery shopping

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

I have way too many things going right now.

Striped afghan for my daughter. It's not a beautiful intricate pattern but it will keep her warm. I am hoping to get this done before it gets too hot to work on.

 

Love Dishcloth I wanted to do this for Valentine's Day but I don't have the cotton I need yet. I'm going to the store today.

Valentine Heart Dishcloth Need the yarn, same thing as above

Very Easy Bath Mitt- I have the yarn for this and I want to do this one very badly. I bought a soap sack and after using it once it started to fall apart. I did love how the yarn scrubbed my skin so I'll make my own.

Modified Feather and Fan Dish Cloth-I have attempted this 4 times and will try again. I keep adding to many stitches somehow.

Three Dishcloths-I kept knitting dishcloths for everyone else and have none for myself. I love this pattern because I can buy I ball of Sugar and Cream or Peaches and Cream and I can get 3 dishcloths out of it. That will give me a jump start on what I need for myself. I only have 2 dishcloths and I like to change them out every day.

Ruffle Scarf- I started this for my mother in law but wound up knitting her several dishcloths instead. I'm going to finish it up and give it to her for her birthday instead.

Coaster Set-Another project i started but haven't finished yet

 

Diagonal Knit Baby Blanket-About 64% done at this point.

White Rabbit wristees- making these for my daughter for Christmas

Garter Stitch Slippers-I need to make 6 more pairs of these for friends and family 

Plaid Dishcloth- this is another dishcloth that is giving me fits- I've ripped it 3 times. I will try again soon.

Homemaking Tips:::
Wash towels in 1 Cup of vinegar on hot, then again with 1/2 cup of baking soda on hot. Gets them so clean. I wash regular after that.

Looking around the house:::
I need to clean. There has just been so much going on. It's only going to get worse because softball season is coming.  

 

From the camera:::

To join in visit Sandra at Happy Homemaker Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-

Fettuccine Alfredo   
Garlic Bread

Tuesday-
Jambalaya 

Wednesday-
leftover Jambalaya

Thursday-

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce
Fettuccine Alfredo
Green Beans

Friday-

BLTs with HP Sauce

For more menus check out Menu Plan Monday

BBQ Meatballs

BBQ Meatballs

1 (2 lb) pkg frozen meatballs
1 bottle bbq sauce


Place frozen meatballs in a crockpot. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until heated through.

Grilled Italian Chicken, Garbanzo Bean Salad, and Tomato French Dressing

Grilled Italian Chicken

6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast pieces
1 small bottle Italian salad dressing, divided

Marinate chicken in about half the salad dressing overnight. Grill or broil chicken until done, basting occasionally with dressing.


Garbanzo Bean Salad
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can green beans, drained
½ C red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
Italian seasoning to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine everything and chill before serving.


Tomato French Dressing

1 (10 oz) can condensed tomato soup
½ C. oil
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ C vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients well.

For more recipes check out Foodie Friday

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Beef Stew with Dumplings

6 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb. beef stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 (8 oz) pkg. mushrooms, sliced
3 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 oz) can beef broth

Dumplings:
1 ½ C flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ C. milk

In a large pot cook bacon until browned. Add onion and mushroom and cook on med. high for about 10 min. until softened. Add beef, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about an hour and 15 min. Prepare dumplings by combining the ingredients together and drop on top of the stew, cover and let cook without lifting the lid for 10 minutes or until raised and fluffy.

For more recipes check out Foodie Friends Friday

Pepper Lime Chicken

Pepper Lime Chicken 

Juice from 1-2 limes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp basil

Salt free seasoning to taste

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine everything except chicken in a bowl; mix well. Add chicken to marinade and allow to marinate overnight. Remove chicken and discard marinade.  Grill chicken until cooked through.

For more recipes check out Cooking Thursday

Pineapple Cake

Pineapple Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges in juice (do not drain)
¾ C. oil
4 eggs
Nonstick cooking spray

Combine cake mix, oranges with juice, oil and eggs. Pour into greased cake tins. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until done. Cool and frost.

Frosting:
1 (8) oz container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple

Mix the pudding with the pineapple then fold into the whipped topping. Use as a filling and to frost cake.

For more recipes check out Tasty Tuesday