Sweet and Sour Pork

 

2 large boneless, thick pork chops, cut into chunks                                                                            

salt and pepper to taste                                                                                                                 

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup canola oil

Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

4 T. Ketchup 

1/2 cup rice vinegar  

1 T soy sauce

1 t garlic powder

Preheat oven to 325

Season pork with salt and pepper .Working in two batches, toss the chicken pieces in cornstarch and then coat with the egg.                 

Heat oil over medium high heat. Brown the chicken ,turning it so all sides are browned.

Place chicken on a single layer in a 13x9 inch baking dish. 

Whisk together sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour evenly over the chicken. Turn the chicken so all sides are coated.

Bake for one hour, turning every 15 minutes."

 

First Day of Autumn Meal

I have made this recipe every year on the first day of fall for the past 38 years. I normally make it with pumpkin pie but this year we decided to just go with the spice cookies and pumpkin dip.

I serve it with garlic bread and hot apple cider also. Hope you give this recipe a try come back and let me know what you think.

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (I use 1/2 hot Italian sausage)

2 cloves garlic

2 large onion

1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes

5 cups beef broth

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tea basil

3 T parsley

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped and seeded.

2 medium zucchini cut into 1/2 inch slices

5 oz medium size bow shaped noodles.

In a five qt dutch oven over medium high heat cook sausage until lightly brown on the outside and no longer pink in the middle. Remove from pan with slotted spoon. add garlic and onions, cook stirring occasionally until onions are soft.

Stir in tomatoes, break up with spoon. Add broth, water, basil and return meat back to the pan. return to a boil cover and cook for 20 minutes, stir in parsley, green peppers, zucchini and pasta cover and simmer stirring occasionally until noodles are tender about 25 minutes

Garlic Oregano Parmesan Sourdough Bread

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• I have a lot of extra time on my hand these days and out of boredom I bake. Well I bake really for any reason I can. But here's the brother threw together yesterday and was very pleased with the way it turned out. I'm using my cell phone to make this post so hopefully it makes sense. Because voice to text and me do not get along very well. 😊 Hope you try this bread come back and let me know what you think. I had it garlic powder to mine without even measuring but I was guessing probably a teaspoon it could have even been a half a teaspoon. You do not need to add the garlic powder to yours if you're not a big garlic lover I just wanted to make sure it really had a garlic flavor to it, sometimes garlic bulbs alone do not give it enough garlic flavor. You can use dried oregano also I just happen to have some in my garden. You can switch it out and use thyme or Rosemary whatever you like, make it to your liking.
• 
  
• 2 large bulb of roasted garlic
• Olive oil as needed
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 50 g active starter
• 365 g warm water
• 460 g all purpose flour
• 20 g bread flour (sometimes I use the bread flour sometimes I don't. Also sometimes I use 480 g of bread flour and no all-purpose flour.)
• 20 g whole wheat flour
• 18 g sea salt-divided in half
• 1 T. chopped fresh fresh Oregano leaves chopped (to taste)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400

Cut off tips of garlic and either wrap in foil with olive oil drizzled on top or bake in a oven safe container with a lid. Bake garlic until soft set aside

 too cool then squeeze garlic out of pod and set aside

Mix starter and water in a large bowl. Add flours, half of the salt and mix together. Then add garlic powder,  chopped oregano and the garlic that you baked. Along with parmesan cheese. Mix together and set aside and cover for at least 8 hours. 

After 8 hours  remove dough from container and shape into a round shape. Put on top of parchment paper and set in a medium size bowl to keep its shape. Make sure the bowl is not bigger then the pan you will be baking it in. Let rise 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour and a half.

30 minutes before you are ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 450 add your dutch oven  with the lid. You want your pan very hot.

Use a very sharp knife or a razor and cut a a long slit in your bread or if you want to get fancy even cut any design you want.

Sprinkle remaining salt on top of bread,

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes.  Let it cool completely before cutting. Good luck with that one, there is nothing better than hot bread with butter on it in my opinion. So needless to say I have never let my bread completely cool. But from what I hear it's much better if you do. 😁

Green Tomato Bread

 I wanted to try a little something different with green tomato bread and add some pineapple to it.  This recipe is really good. I hope you make it and come back and let me know what you think of it.

        

 

 4 eggs 

1.5 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups grated green tomatoes, drain liquid.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend in pineapple and tomatoes. Stir flour mixture into tomato mixture. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire racks

Blueberry Scones

 

I also made Cherry Chocolate chip scones, Peach and a Cinnamon Peach with this same recipe. I think a Jalapeno Cheddar would be great also, or Almond, even a  Lemon Poppy Seed. Just let your imagination go crazy.

Link to the Original Recipe.

https://www.mythreeseasons.com/glazed-lemon-currant-scones/?_gl=1*f04j5g*_ga*ZFNWaWc3QVgxU1VZSlBRNWNYVnExYmJDenhkZjMydEZPeUJHeGhCdGhyZG8yMEhxSkJuQTd4Z1hveXpqc05yeg

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• Zest of one lemon (about 1 tsp)
• ¾ tsp kosher salt (about ½ tsp fine salt)
• 1 ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup heavy cream, plus more as needed*
• 1 egg + 1 tbsp water, beaten, for egg wash

GLAZE:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 2–4 tbsp lemon juice

1. Heat oven & prep pan: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl or food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 
3. Add butter and berries: Toss cubes of butter in with flour mixture. Using hands, pinch butter together into irregular pieces. Form some flat discs and some small pieces of butter, the size of large peas. Work quickly as to not overheat the butter. Stir in blueberries. Transfer mix to fridge for 5-10 minutes if butter starts to soften significantly.
4. Add wet ingredients. In a bowl, mix together 3/4 cup heavy cream, zest and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture. Add additional cream, 1 or 2 spoonfuls at a time until the dough just holds together when pinched. The dough should not be wet and sticky.
5. Form: Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form into a ball and flatten into a 6 to 7-inch round. Do not overwork the dough. Slice into 8 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Place in fridge or freezer for 10-30 minutes for better results.
6. Bake: Brush with egg wash. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the sheet tray, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
7. Glaze & serve: Combine powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency. When the scones are cooled, drizzle with glaze and allow to set before serving. Enjoy.

Corn Chowder

 

This chowder is so good.

My last minute cell phone photo with bad lighting does not do it justice.

Here is the link to the original recipe.

https://natashaskitchen.com/corn-chowder-recipe/

For the Corn Stock:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream

For the Corn Chowder:

• 4 cups corn kernels (from 4-5 ears corn) reserve cobs for stock
• 4 oz (4 slices) bacon, chopped
• 1 large onion finely diced (1 1/2 cup)
• 1 large carrot cut into 1/4" dice (1 cup)
• 3 stalks celery finely diced (1 cup)
• 1 lb Yukon potatoes 3 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick pieces
• 2-3 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
• 2 Tbsp Chives chopped, to garnish

How to Make Corn Stock:

1. Cut the kernels from the cobs and set kernels aside for making chowder.* Place the bare cobs in a stockpot.  

2. Add 4 cups broth, 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 cup cream to pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer un-covered 20 minutes while making the chowder. Use tongs to remove and discard cobs before using corn stock in step 3. 

How to Make Corn Chowder:

1. Place a 5 Qt dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook stirring occasionally until browned. Remove bacon bits with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. In the same pot, add chopped onion, celery and carrot to the bacon fat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft (7-8 min).

3. Add sliced potatoes, 4 cups corn kernels, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Pour corn stock into the pot, bring to a light boil then simmer uncovered 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste**. Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon and chopped chives.

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

 

This is a very easy bread to make. I started mine later in the afternoon so I let it double in size and then I shaped it put it in my pants and put it in the refrigerator and covered it with cheesecloth. In the morning I took it out. Crank the oven up to 500 degrees, take a shower and when I got out I just put the bread in the oven and went off to get ready for the day. My husband even came in the house talking about how good it smells. I will definitely make this bread again. I will also try it and follow the directions and let my bread rise all night and then shape it in the morning to see if there's a difference in the flavor. But the spread is definitely worth making. I posted her link below she gives you a lot of hints so make sure you go over there and check out her page.

https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2020/04/easy-sourdough-sandwich-bread/

• 500 g (4 cups) all purpose flour
• 60 g (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes
• 12 g (1 tbsp.) sugar
• 9 g fine sea salt
• 50 g (1/4 cup) bubbly, active sourdough starter (100% hydration)**
• 270 g  (1 cup + 2 tbsp) warm water

HELPFUL TIPS

** If the weather is not warm enough, sometimes the second rise can take longer than expected. To speed up the rise, increase the amount of starter and decrease the amount of water for best results. Please choose one of the following adjustments below, keeping the rest of the ingredient quantities the same:

1. 100 g starter + 255 g water
2. 150 g starter + 250 g water

Additionally, because temperature controls time you can also increase your surrounding temperature for the bulk or second rise, as needed. Place the dough in a proofing box set to 75-80 F. Or, preheat your home oven to 75-80 F and then shut it off immediately (use an oven thermometer to make sure it’s set to exactly 80 F and not higher!). Place the covered dough inside until it bulks up. Do no use this option overnight- it will be too warm.

Baking Schedule: this is an overnight dough which takes approximately 10-12 hrs to rise @ 68 F. Start the night before, in the evening, and plan to bake the following day. If it’s warmer than 68 F the dough will take less time to rise. Alternatively, start in the morning and bake in the afternoon or evening. 

MIX THE DOUGH

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, butter, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed until combined; the butter should look like crumbs.

Add the starter and warm water. Mix until the flour is fully absorbed (get in there with your hands to finish mixing). The dough will feel slightly sticky and elastic at this stage. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, replenish you starter with fresh flour and water.

After the dough has rested, switch to the dough hook and run the machine on medium-low (#3 on a KitchenAid) for 6-8 minutes. The dough will feel soft and supple and not stick to your hands. If it does, add a dusting of flour.

Note: If you do not have a stand mixer, the dough can be made by hand. After mixing and resting for 30 minutes, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes, or until smooth, soft and elastic. Do not worry about under/over kneading. Relax into the process and focus on the texture, not the time.

BULK RISE

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise overnight at room temperature (68 F) until double in size, about 10-12 hrs. Please refer to the Baking Schedule above for additional rise time options.

SHAPE THE DOUGH

In the morning, coat a 9×5-inch pan with butter.

Remove the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently flatten the surface to release any large air bubbles.

Roll the dough into a log tucking the ends underneath. Rest for 5-10 minutes. With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you to tighten its shape. Using a bench knife, place the dough into the loaf pan seam side down.

SECOND RISE

Cover the dough with lightly oiled or buttered plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until it has risen to about 1-inch above the rim of the pan, about 1 1/2-2 hours depending on temperature and the amount of sourdough starter used. Check the height by looking at the domed center portion of the dough.

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Note: For higher oven spring, preheat to 500 F instead. Reduce to 375 F once the dough goes into the oven and bake as directed.

BAKE THE DOUGH

Bake the dough on the center rack for about 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

This sandwich loaf will stay fresh for up to 3 days, stored in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Sourdough Cinnamon Bread

 This is another sourdough recipe from King Arthur. I felt it was a little dry but the bread itself was light and it had really good flavor. I did not add raisins to this one but the second love I made does have raisins in it.

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• 1/2 cup (113g) sourdough starter, ripe (fed) or discard
• 3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (8g) salt
• 1 large egg
• 5 tablespoons (71g) butter, softened
• 2/3 cup (152g) lukewarm water

Filling

• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup (74g) raisins

1. To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead — using your hands, a stand mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2. Place the dough in a lightly greased container, and allow it to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it's just about doubled in bulk.

3. To make the filling: While the dough is rising, make the filling by stirring together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

4. Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.

5. Roll and pat the dough into a rough rectangle approximately 6" x 20".

6. Brush the dough with the egg/water mixture and sprinkle it evenly with the filling and raisins, leaving a bare strip about 1" wide along one short edge; this will make the log you're about to roll easier to seal.

7. Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the ends to seal, and pinch the long seam closed.

8. Transfer the log, seam-side down, to a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan. Cover and allow the bread to rise until it's crested about 1" over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.

9. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

10. Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after the first 15 to 20 minutes. The bread's crust will be golden brown, and the interior of the finished loaf should measure 190°F on a digital thermometer.

11. Remove the bread from the oven, and gently loosen the edges. Turn it out of the pan, and brush the top surface with butter, if desired; this will give it a soft, satiny crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Cinnamon Bread

 I found this recipe on Taste of Home. The dough was a little heavy after I let it rise so I was a little bit worried. But it ended up being a good recipe. I also made a cinnamon bread with sourdough starter that I will post also.

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1 cup warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, butter, salt and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into an 18x8-in. rectangle; sprinkle each with about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans, seam side down.
• Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350°.
• Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Orzo Salad

 https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/easy-orzo-salad/

Original recipe link above.

This is a great salad. I added feta to half the recipe since I do not like Feta. 

12 ounces orzo pasta

2  heaping cups baby arugula  

1 English cucumber, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

15 ounces chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ small red onion, diced

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup chopped fresh basil

For the Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of one lemon 

3 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey 

3 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

 

• In a large saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and cook the orzo until al dente, according to package instructions.
• While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
• Drain the orzo in a strainer and rinse well with cold water. Pour the cooked orzo in a large bowl.
• Add the arugula  cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, onion, feta, and basil to the orzo and gently stir. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and stir again. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.