Lasso The Moon

Pork Chops and Rice : a one-dish meal my kids love

 

I am no chef, so when I cook, I like to make food that my family will actually eat, with as little effort, time, and money as possible.

This recipe fits the bill.

I learned how to make this delicious dish when I had a job as a caregiver in my early 20s.  I worked for a lady named Bonnie, and I cooked for her, drove her to appointments, helped her remember her medications, and slept in her guest room a couple nights a week.  It was an awesome job.  I got to know her so well, heard a bunch of her stories, and made a friend 60 years older than I was. 

She also taught me a few things in the kitchen...because I only really knew how to make pie.  And cookies.

This is a version of one of those!

Pork Chops and Rice:

Ingredients:

6 pork chops, bone-in or boneless.

long grain rice

beef stock

salt and pepper to taste

grated fresh onion, onion powder, or dried onion flakes

red or green bell pepper

Directions:

Measure out 2 cups of rice.  Pour it into a 9x12 dish.  Measure out 3 cups of beef stock and pour it over the rice, stirring a little to make sure it all gets wet.  Grate a little bit of onion over the top of the rice for more flavor, or sprinkle dried onion or onion powder.  (About 1-2 Tbsp) This isn't science---just dinner!

In a skillet, brown each chop in a little oil, letting each side caramelize a little bit.  Let the meat just start to get opaque. If your chops are cut thin, this will only take a minute or less.  If they are thick, let the meat cook about 1/4 of the way through.  Salt and pepper both sides.

Arrange the browned chops in the dish, overlapping them if they need room.  Push them down into the rice and stock so all the flavors mix together.

Place a slice of bell pepper on each pork chop.  It looks pretty and flavors the meat, but I tell the kids they can push it to the side of the plate if they look at me funny.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes.  Check the rice to make sure it's cooked through and soft.  If not, wait another 5-10 minutes.  If it is, but there is still lots of liquid in the dish, remove the foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more.

Let the meat sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Tonight I served this with some fresh corn, even though we already had a nice starchy carb with the rice.  Because it was sweet corn season.

YUM.

We also ate a small salad, which at our house, is just fresh baby spinach tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.  Because that's what my kids love, and it's EASY.

So there you have it.  An easy meal that kids will eat.  And it mostly cooks itself while you sit down and watch PBS kids or something with the family.  Or is that just me?

Do you have a simple meal you love?  Tell me about it!

And be sure to pin this one for later.  Who doesn't need another easy meal option?

edit: have y'all tried AmazonFresh? I haven't yet as of this edit, but I'm about to!  Check out this 30-day free trial and get all the ingredients for this recipe delivered to your door! (yes, I love technology...!)

 

Spending Freeze - Two weeks in

I didn't go into very much detail about why we decided to freeze our spending this month.  I realize that most people choose this route when money is extra tight, and while I can't say that we are splashing in cash fountains around here, we really are well taken-care of financially.  We really decided to do it on a whim--to see if we could, and to slow the rate of mindless purchases, which would in turn slow the rate of "stuff" piling up on me while I'm trying to unbury us.

We made a few ground rules regarding the spending freeze.  1. No unnecessary spending.  Obviously, this can differ from person to person, so we defined the boundary further...no clothes, no toiletries, no restaurants, no home depot (ouch), no drive thrus, etc.  We can fix the car if it breaks.  We can buy groceries, if they relate to other items in the pantry to complete a meal. We can put gas in our cars.  2. Donnie insisted that we be allowed to spend any saved cash that we had on hand when we started.  That means, if I freak out and head out for a diet coke, it has to come out of my pocket.  Literally.

I have noticed a couple things about myself these last two weeks.  One, I rarely leave the house for any reason unrelated to spending money.  Friday and Saturday last week, I never left the house.   Considering my desire to be more human this year, I'm going to have to change something in my routine.  If for nothing else,  for the sake of putting on pants.  Note to self: A drive to Sonic happy hour does not count as an outing.

Two, when I'm not coming up with excuses to leave my house, I can actually get some stuff done!

Three, I have done the impossible.  I have fed my family, out of my own kitchen, every day for two weeks.  I did not poison anyone, and the task did not kill me.

Four, not spending money inspired some creativity.  We take the kids for ice cream after school every Friday (known around here as Fun Friday) if they get good behavior reports from their teachers.  The past two weeks, I actually dug out the ice cream machine that we got as a wedding gift 10+ years ago, and made the kids ice cream from scratch. 

And it was awesome.  Chocolate chocolate chip, and toffee caramel swirl.  (Oh.  My.) We may just have a new Fun Friday tradition!

Five, when you go on a spending freeze, things start breaking.  Yep, on day two the check engine light came on in my car.  We dropped some (a lot of) cash into it for some new spark plugs, and the light went off.  And then last night it came on again.  AGGGGGGHHH!  Oh well, at least we have some extra money in the account to deal with it.  Although we may have to go on a second spending freeze to pay for this month's spending freeze.  Honey...?

 

 

Best of 2013 :: Getting Comfortable in the Kitchen

Welcome to my look back at 2013, and its goals and resolutions.  I find it helpful to look back at accomplishments in order to get a sense of what I'd like my goals to be for the upcoming year.

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

 

You can read more about them in the original post: Welcome, 2013!

So, what about resolution number 2? In my original post, I talked about my desire to expand my dinner planning options, and maybe have a few more recipes memorized as well.  (I don't know why, but pulling out a cookbook seems daunting sometimes.  And then I just want to grab for the box of mac and cheese!)

Here are a few food posts from the past year.

This super-simple meal is one of my most-pinned posts of all time.  I guess I'm not the only one who is looking for simple healthy meal options.

The most delicious breakfast casserole I've ever tasted.

 It doesn't have to be from scratch to be pretty and delicious.

 

Ok, not a meal...but so fun to make!  Great for your Valentine!

And this one isn't from 2013, but it was still part of my kitchen resolution. 

Seriously.  The Best Chocolate Cake.  Ever.

Looking back at these food posts, it might seem like I spent a lot more time making desserts than I did dinner for my family.  Let's just say that this resolution is going to take a few more years to really "take". 

I also feel like I need to make a meal several times to be sure that my family actually likes it.  And that I like it.  So, just take my word for it that I made lots of meals for my family, that I improved in the area of home cooking, and that I am looking forward to expanding my skills.

I have found several sources for dellicious-sounding meals, and I'll keep you up to date on my progress!

If you'd like to check out yesterday's post, you can find it here:

Best of 2013 :: Making our House a Home

Shredded Chicken Tacos :: Crock Pot Recipe

Oh my goodness, this week completely got away from me.  I cannot believe it is Friday already!  That seems to always happen to me when there is a Monday holiday.  Mondays are kind of my 'reboot' day after the weekend where I get back into my routine of laundry, housework, meal planning, etc.  And as much as I love spending extra down time with my family on Monday holidays, they nevertheless seem to throw the rest of the week out of whack.

I have actually been very productive this week, which will account for my whereabouts, since I obviously have been now where near this blog!  On Monday we threw a spur-of-the-moment Labor Day party and ended up serving 2 dozen grilled burgers to our family and neighbors.  In doing this I have discovered a deep passion of mine: Serving food to hungry children.  Whether they are chronically hungry due to poverty, or have just worked up a big appetite playing in the sprinklers (we had both types at our party!), there are few things in this world that have brought me as much joy as helping fill a hungry child's tummy.  I have to find ways to do this more often!  Although we didn't invite anyone over til around 11:30am, we ended up with 19 children (plus adults) in our backyard over the course of the next 4 hours.  It was hectic, exhausting, and heavenly!

Later that night, we went out as a family to pick up a lens for my new camera.  This is another reason I have been so scarce this week.  My old cameras finally gave out altogether, the camera I was borrowing from Donnie's ministry is in the shop, and the new camera and lens we found off CraigsList is just complicated enough that I have to take 6-7 pictures of everything before I get one that I like.  Oh well, I'll get better at it I'm sure.

The rest of this week has been playing catch-up, working on a couple projects, and some really good thrift store shopping.  As soon as I get some good pictures of them, I have to show you what I've done for Ethan's curtains!  Yes, I actually started them.  And they are turning out adorable.  

But here I am going on and on about whatever, when you really just clicked on this post to find out about some chicken tacos, right?  Sorry to be so wordy--I guess I just missed you this week.  But, I won't make you wait any longer.

If you like feeding hungry children as much as I do, you must have this recipe in your repertoire.  It is so easy I can make it in my sleep!  I try to have the ingredients in my house at all times, because as easy as it is, it is equally delicious, and my kids also love it!  That is the trifecta of recipe criteria right there.

To make these chicken tacos, you only need three ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts, thawed

2 cups salsa

1 packet chicken taco seasoning

That's it!

To accompany, you might also want to have:

tortillas or taco shells

re-fried beans (I always go for the fat free)

grilled onions and bell peppers (this is my favorite addition)

sour cream

shredded cheese

These take 4-6 hours in the crock pot, so I defrost my chicken in the fridge overnight.  Around lunchtime, rinse the chicken and cut off those gross white globs of fat.  Those will liquefy and turn sludgy in the crock pot.  Nobody needs that.

Next, set the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Sprinkle the seasoning packet over the chicken, and pour the salsa on top of that.  Set your crock pot on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. 

About 30 minutes before dinner, take out the chicken and shred it with a fork.  It should be very easy to do.  When it's all shredded, put the chicken back in the crock pot to mix with all the salsa and seasoning.  Set the crock pot to "low" or "warm" until it's ready to serve.

This is when I put the onions and peppers in the skillet to grill, heat up the beans and tortillas, and set the table.  By the time this is all done, the chicken is perfect.  Serve it with tongs or a slotted spoon.

I'm pretty sure this is my kids' favorite homemade meal.  It might be mine, too.  I'm fairly obsessed with the shredded chicken tacos at Taco Cabana (a local fast food chain), and these are very close in flavor.  They cost way less, too.

::

Sorry about the lack of pictures on this one. I took tons, but I didn't want to put them on here.  The photos themselves were okay, but raw chicken is just very very ugly.

::

Don't forget to pin this recipe for later, or share it with a friend!  Because who doesn't need another never-miss dinner idea?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO, Anna

 

Eggs, Potatoes, and BACON in a Casserole dish.

I am not a fearful person in general.  I love heights.  I might even like heights too much, since I always have the urge to inch up right to the edge of whatever tall thing I'm standing on and imagine what it would feel like to jump off.  (Please don't analyse that...)  I like scary movies, dangerous parking-lot-carnival roller coasters, sharp power tools, and creepy-crawly creatures, to name a few.

But there is one thing that sends me in to a panic-induced cold sweat whenever I think about it.  And that is: a meal sign-up.  You know, those opportunities that we church ladies have so often to "bless a new mommy with a meal" or "bring a dish to share" or "pot luck" or "bible study snack rotation". I think I'm getting hives even typing this.

I don't know which of the variables in these situations causes the most pain.  What if they don't like the kind of food I like?  What if I burn it? What if it's undercooked? What if I make them sick? What if they had the exact same meal from three other people? What if the kids won't eat it?  What if they think I have no idea what I'm doing in the kitchen!

This series of freak-out-causing questions is why I usually avoid these situations altogether.  Or at the very least I take something I can't mess up.  How would you like some bagels and cream cheese? A pre-cut tray of veggies and dip? Could a pick up a box of cereal and milk for you?  Have a pizza delivered? I know I'm not the only one, although we casserole-phobes tend to think that we are alone in our ineptitude.  

And it is you--my fellow sign-up-avoiding sister--for whom I am writing this post.  You are not alone. You can do this.  It's time to dust off your hot pads, because I have found the perfect recipe for you.   People will like it.

 And it is really really easy.

So here it is:

Best Ever Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole

1 lb bacon

6 eggs, beaten

4 cups frozen hash-browns, thawed

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup of shredded swiss cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

Directions: Chop up the bacon into 1-inch pieces.  Cook until just crispy, then drain fat and set aside.  Mix eggs, potatoes, and cheese in a large bowl.  Stir in bacon.  Pour mixture into a greased 9x12 pan and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

That's it! 

In the sea of frozen lasagnas and gooey burritos, any new momma would be thrilled to accept this hearty breakfast treat.  (Wait until the baby is two months old, and cook it in a disposable pan for extra points.) 

I've tried this casserole at home, on retreats, and at a ladies' bible study brunch, and it has gone over very well in every case.  And unlike the bread-based egg casseroles that are similar, you don't have to soak this one overnight.

So it's great for forgetful procrastinators, too.

Not that I know anything about that...

::

This post is part of my 2013 resolution to get more comfortable in the kitchen.  Read about that here, and find more recipes here.  It doesn't have to be from scratch to bless your family.

Not-From-Scratch Cherry Pie

 

I used to love to bake from scratch. 

My mom had a gorgeous kitchen with a wide island in the middle that was perfect for piling up ingredients and bowls and pans. 

There were six kids at home, so there was always someone eager to try my newest creation.  At one point I was obsessed with finding the perfect hand-rolled pie crust.  Week after week I rolled them out, but this one was too bland, and that was a little dry.  One day I was pressed for time, so I thawed out a pre-made frozen pie crust, and hoped no one would notice.

My dad took a big bite and proclaimed, "Anna! You've done it! This is the best crust I've ever tasted!"  I thanked him, did not let on my secret, and silently celebrated the fact that I'd never have to roll out another crust again.  And I haven't!

Now that I'm a mother of four, I almost never bake.  Our kitchen literally has eight linear feet of counter space.  The kids love dessert, but I'm the one who is usually faced with the temptation hour after hour while I'm at home with them.  So I just don't do it.  But occasionally, I break out the pie plates and get to work.

Sort of.

The prep for this pretty cherry pie was about 5 minutes.

I used a pre-made pie crust AND canned pie filling.  The secret is in the presentation.

1. Place the bottom crust in the pie plate.  Pour in two cans of cherry pie filling.

2. For the top crust, use a pizza cutter to cut into 1-inch strips.  Using every other strip, lay the vertical stripes 1 inch apart on top of the filling.  Then, starting at the middle of the pie, fold back every other strip half-way, and lay down a horizontal strip to form a lattice.  Fold those strips back down and fold up the others before adding a new horizontal strip.  Repeat to finish one side, then do the same on the other side.

3. Trim off the edge of the crust and crimp with a fork or your fingers.  Flatten a small bit of the leftover crust and cut two hearts out.  You can use a cookie cutter, but I just free-handed with a knife.  Finding the right cutter might have doubled my prep time!  Place the hearts in the center of the lattice.

4. Right before you put the pie in the oven, wash the top with a beaten egg and sprinkle on some clear sugar sprinkles.  I add these to almost every cake I make. They look sparkly and have an excellent crunch.

5. Bake pie according to the directions on the can of filling.

Seriously. It's so easy to make someone feel special without killing yourself or buying store-bought.  I love to be creative in the kitchen, but in this season of life, I just don't have the energy or time to bake from scratch.  I know many of you are in the same boat.

::

And speaking of not having time, take a few moments to read my essay, The Bible Study Guilt Trip, on my other blog.  It's something the Lord put on my heart to share with the the other end-of-my-rope mommas out there.

 

Pink Juice

I started  using a juicer when I was pregnant with Esther and on a strict sugar restriction.  It took some time to figure out how we could incorporate super-healthy juices into a kid-friendly diet.  I think the trick is to combine the powers of the juicer and the blender.

To make pink juice, we start with a few carrots, about 1/2 beet, and a slice of lemon (optional).

I would like a little more beet, but the flavor has a pretty strong dirt earthy taste, and my kids are pretty sensitive to it.  But the beets are what give the juice it's amazing color--in addition to being full of vitamins. Add a couple more carrots if the beet is still too strong.

Gorgeous!

Next, pour the juice into your blender and add a handful of frozen strawberries and blueberries.  If the seeds are too much (blueberries are FULL of tiny seeds) use fresh berries in the juicer, and plain ice in the blender.  Make sure you have enough liquid to cover the frozen stuff.  Add milk to make up the difference.

Blend until smooth.

They have no idea their yummy pink juice is so healthy!

Perfect for this hot summer weather. (It was 103 yesterday!)

::

Do you use a juicer?  Have any good recipes to share?  How do you incorporate super foods into your kids' diet?

 

Pizza

Had a little help with dinner tonight.

It's a homemade pizza crust.  She's actually just posing here, because in reality she is terrible at rolling out dough.  Really no help at all. But cute.

We found the recipe in one of Pioneer Woman's cookbooks.  You can find it here.

We made three of them with simple toppings.

I hope you let your kids in the kitchen sometimes.  It's so fun to watch them work, even if their technique could use a little work.

How to make Chocolate Covered Strawberries in Tuxedos

I made these little guys for Donnie for Valentine's Day this year.

They are so much easier than they look.

Here's what you need:

white chocolate or candy coating

dark chocolate or candy coating

large strawberries

toothpicks

wax paper

************

Make sure your strawberries are clean and dry before you start.

Melt your white chocolate according to package instructions.  If you are using the microwave, please stop and stir it every 30 seconds, because it has a tendency to hold its shape, and will burn without you realizing it.

Dip each strawberry's front into the white chocolate.  You only need to dip the front, as this is the "shirt" part of the tuxedo.

Dip each one, and let them cool completely on wax paper.

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate, again stirring frequently to prevent burning.

Dip each strawberry into the chocolate at a tilted angle...

First one side:

And then the other.

Be careful to leave a triangular patch of white in the front.  The chocolate should form a "v" around it.

If your chocolate is starting to cool at this point, heat it up a little and grab your toothpicks.

Use a toothpick to draw a little bow-tie and some buttons on each one.  It might take a little practice to find your groove, but you can always eat your mistakes, right?

I picked the best three for my sweetie, and stashed the rest in the fridge to share with the kids.

So cute, and SO much cheaper than buying them at the store.

If you make some, let me know how they went over!

 

Welcome, 2013!

Do you make resolutions?

I do it every year.  Sometimes I mention them here on the blog.  Like this.

And sometimes they are too personal.

But I always keep them.  Every year.

I love making resolutions. I see the beginning of each year as a fresh start.  A time to take inventory of my life, and decide if I'm really on my way to becoming the person I want to be.

I have never made a weight-loss resolution, or one with a definitive ending (like I'll save $5000 or something like that.)  I don't want to look back at the end of the year and realize I gave up, or just missed the mark.  So my resolutions are always about a direction of improvement, not an end goal. 

Here they are for this year:

I'll explain a little. 

1.  Half-way through last year we had a college student over at our house, and he looked around and asked Donnie and me, "Do you think your house represents who you are?"  To my disappointment, my answer was no.  We have lived here for three years, and we've done a few things to improve the place, but there are still 7 rooms (out of 10) that are the same dingy brown as the day we moved in.  This year that's going to change.  I plan to move from room to room, starting with the entryway, with the goal of making our home pretty, comfortable, welcoming, and functional.  (That last one is a constant concern of mine.)  Some rooms will take very little work--maybe just a coat of paint or something new on the wall.

There's just one tiny hiccup in this plan.  Cash. I'm going to have to be extra clever, because this resolution coincides with an extremely tight budget!  (You know...new babies are small, but they require big budget cuts!)  So I have decided to fund the entire home-making project with money that I'm able to bring in outside of our family income.  My birthday is coming up, too.  I'm asking for gift cards from Home Depot, Home Goods, etc.  I am so excited to see where this resolution get us by the end of 2013!!

2.  I have mentioned before that while I'm creative in many areas, cooking is just not one of them.  This year, I'm working on that.  If you have an excellent, simple, healthy(ish), and yummy recipe you'd like to see me try, please send it to me!  I have already found a few recipes that are perfect for me, and I'm going to share them with you as I go along.  I'd really like to start filling a notebook with family-approved options, and maybe have a few of them memorized by the end of the year.

3. This has continued to be important to me.  At the same time, it is VERY difficult for me. Slow down, keep calm, don't try to do too much, don't try to save the whole world.  Just do small somethings that will make life better for my family, my neighbors, and myself.  The Lord continues to teach me what doing something small even means, and if I listen to Him, surely I'll be able to keep this resolution, one small something at a time.

So, there they are!  Do you make annual resolutions?  Do you keep them?  Do you hate the idea and want to tell me why?  I'd love to know!  Leave me your opinions and resolutions in the comments!