Category: MISC

FIESTA CHICKEN LASAGNA

We have quite a few favorite recipes that I have never blogged about or added to my recipe file.  I’m trying to diligently add these as I make them again and get decent pictures of the finished products. This recipe is so easy and a great change up from traditional beef lasagna. 

FIESTA CHICKEN LASAGNA
1 box Barilla oven ready lasagna noodles
2 jars thick and chunky salsa, 1 jar drained well
1/2 pound chicken breast tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans seasoned black beans, drained REALLY well
2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced
3 cups shredded Jack cheese
1/4+ cup chopped fresh cilantro

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Spread a layer of the salsa on the bottom of the pan.
  • Top with a layer of the lasagna noodles.
  • Top with an even layer of chicken pieces, beans, salsa, cilantro, onions and cheese.
  • Repeat 2 more times, ending with cheese.
  • Cover and bake 20 minutes.
  • Uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes.
  • Recover and let stand 10 minutes before cutting. 

I love my lasagna pan almost as much as the oven ready Barilla lasagna noodles, but the two are not compatible.  The pan was designed for boiled noodles.  So, I carefully break the oven ready noodles into thirds to use and it works really well.

    BEEF & POTATO HAND PIES

    This recipe was something I was going to make while my nephew was visiting, but he became ill and lost his appetite. I finally made it tonight and realized he REALLY would have loved it!  You could change this up to do chicken or pork with various vegetables quite easily.  The key to the flavor was the raisins and paprika combination with this particular recipe.

     BEEF & POTATO HAND PIES
    1 tablespoon Avocado oil
    1 small wall walla sweet onion, diced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1/2 pound ground beef
    1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    1 medium Yukon gold potato, diced small
    1/2 cup golden raisins
    1 package (2 sheets) Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
    Fresh ground salt and black pepper
    2 tablespoons butter, melted

    • Preheat oven to 400°.
    • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  
    • Add onion, cooking until soft.
    • Add garlic, cooking until fragrant.
    • Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat into very small pieces.
    • Add potato, paprika and raisins, stirring to blend well. 
    • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
    • On a lightly floured work surface, gently roll out puff pastry and smooth creases.
    • Cut each sheet into 4 squares.
    • Place 1/3 cup of meat mixture into center of each squae.
    • Lightly brush edges with water.
    • Fold over into triangles and seal edges.
    • Sprinkle with more paprika.
    • Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet.
    • Bake 20-25 minutes until puff pastry is golden and puffed.
    • Brush with melted butter during last 5 minutes.
    • Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

    GARLIC HERB SESAME ORANGE ROAST CHICKEN

    This recipe originally called for roasting the entire chicken and I adapted it for neater serving at the table.

    GARLIC HERB SESAME ORANGE ROAST CHICKEN
    4-6 hind quarter chicken pieces
    Sesame oil
    Mrs. Dash Roasted Garlic Herb seasoning
    Fresh ground salt and black pepper
    Large navel orange, quartered and quartered again
    1 pound baby carrots
    1 tablespoon butter, melted

    • Preheat oven to 500°.
    • Rub chicken on both sides with sesame oil.
    • Sprinkle with salt, pepper and seasoning.
    • Roast 20 minutes.
    • Remove from oven and lower temperature to 350°.
    • Arrange carrots around chicken pieces and add orange slices. 
    • Roast 1 hour more.
    • Brush with butter and roast 5 minutes more.
    • Remove from oven and squeeze oranges over chicken.
    • Enjoy.

    HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

    With the BIG move a few weeks away, I’m at that point of trying to finish up the packing for the moving truck. There are always the little things that need a corner of a tote or box and then the things you really need to use right up to the last minute, but don’t really want to take with you so are trying to gauge the use so you don’t need to buy a fresh bottle or pack an almost empty one.  I’m trying to make menus to use what’s still in the pantry and freezer without doing a lot of shopping except for fruits and veggies.

    Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

    WEATHER OUTSIDE
    It’s heating up again with some higher humidity so I am trying to get all outside activities done first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

    TO DO FOR THE WEEK

    • Finish inventory and ty-wrapping totes closed for the move early in the mornings
    • A couple of appointments for hubby
    • Clean BBQ and pack
    • Put together “1st Week” tote – it will have clean sheets, towels, kitchen towels and sleeping clothes so we don’t have to unpack anything immediately which is good since the trucks (from 2 different places) aren’t going to arrive until a week after we do.
    • Put together “1st Week” suitcase of clothes for each of us.

    CURRENTLY READING

    TELEVISION / DVR
    Since we’ll be moving in 3 weeks, I’m really trying to get EVERYTHING off the DVR that I had saved to see.  In addition to those old shows we’ll try and work in the normal summer shows that are quickly coming to season finales.

    • Astronaut Wives Club 
    • Hell On Wheels
    • Complications
    • The Strain
    • Proof
    • Dark Matter
    • Devious Maids
    • The Last Ship
    • Falling Skies
    • Under the Dome
    • Rookie Blue
    BREAKFAST
    DINNER
    DESSERT
    MONDAY
    Cereal & Fruit
    Y.O.Y.O. / C.O.R.N.
    TUESDAY
    Bagel & cream cheese
    OUT for our ANNIVERSARY
    WEDNESDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    Fiesta Chicken Lasagna
    THURSDAY
    Scrambled Eggs with cheese & Toast
    Ham & Cheese French Toast
    FRIDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    		 Beef & Potato Hand Pies
    SATURDAY
    Biscuits & Gravy
    		 Hobo Chicken Casserole
    HUMMINGBIRD CAKE
    SUNDAY
    Ham & Cheese Omelets
    Sesame Orange Roast Chicken

    LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

    RECIPE FINDS TO TRY LATER
    A few more recipes from the “I promised myself NO MORE recipes until after the BIG move, but couldn’t resist these” file:

    • Tomato and Peach Salad
    • Braised Chicken Thighs with savory marinated peaches
    • Caramel Apple Cookies
    • Maple Sugar Cookie
    • Pumpkin Banana Bread
    • Pull apart Pumpkin Loaf
    • Salted Caramel Cheesecake
    • Apple Carrot Cake Muffins
    • Maple Bacon Cheesecake Bites
    • Cherry Swirl Brownies
    • Pumpkin Raisin Doodles
    • Chicken in Sweet Zesty Raisin Sauce
    • Coconut Lime Curd Bars

    HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

    • To lighten up a homemade creamy dressing you can substitute yogurt for mayonnaise or use a half and half combination.  It’s still creamy, but much lighter and more pourable.
    • Freeze thinly sliced green onions in air tight containers to use in scrambled eggs or salads.
    • When making spaghetti, cook your pasta for less than al dente, drain and add to sauce to finish cooking.  You end up with more flavor in the pasta.

    THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

    • Being married to my best friend.
    • ORGANIZATION!
    • Looking forward to a more settled lifestyle.

    FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

    from a recent car show

    My inspiration for 30 years has been my best friend and husband.  I’m still IN love with you and my love grows stronger each and every day.  Thank you for your undying love through this roller coaster we call life.  The ride keeps getting more exciting each and every year.  You have proven in sickness and health more times than anyone should have to.

    HARVEST MUFFINS

    I LOVE these muffins for a snack or a meal.  Every bite is moist and flavorful!

    HARVEST MUFFINS yields 24 muffins
    2 cups flour
    1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
    2 teaspoons baking soda
    1 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    *2 cups finely shredded carrots
    *1 cup finely shredded apples
    1/2 cup golden raisins#
    3 eggs
    2/3 cup vegetable oil
    1/3 cup milk
    1 teaspoon PURE vanilla
    1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)
    1 recipe Coconut Streusel (optional)

    • Preheat oven to 350°.
    • Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.
    • In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt.
    • Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
    • In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk. 
    • Fold in carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts..
    • Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture, stirring JUST to combine.
    • Spoon mixture into cupcake liners about 3/4 full.
    • Sprinkle with coconut streusel.
    • Bake 22-25 minutes or until golden and plump.
    • Cool 10-15 minutes before frosting.

    COCONUT STREUSEL
    1/4 cup flour
    1/4 cup brown sugar
    1/4 cup COLD butter, diced
    1/2 cup shredded coconut

    • Combine flour and brown sugar.
    • Add butter using a pastry blender until coarse crumbs.
    • Add coconut and blend well.

    ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
    8 ounces cream cheese, softened
    1/4 cup butter, softened
    1 tablespoon orange juice
    2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    3 cups powdered sugar

    • In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
    • Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
    • Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended, smooth and desired consistency.

    *or any combination of your choosing
    NOTE: # On a personal note I like to soak golden raisins in Malibu rum before making this recipe.  Be sure to drain them well before adding to the batter.

    CHATTY CATCH UP TIME

    When I started blogging it was an outlet for some serious frustration on an investment house that we were lied to and misled, and cheated and… and… that story is the Chronicles of a Bungled Real Estate Deal and something that is long in the past and we don’t talk about!  But, the bottom line is that I have met some truly wonderful people here in the blogosphere and made some real life friends!

    I found this graph on facebook last week that truly and accurately depicts my life!  I made a few adjustments to keep with my positive attitude LOL.  Life has certainly taken some serious twists and turns…

    • Hubby was forced to retire from his civilian job after a bad deployment and bungled surgery that prevented him from doing his job and we set off from the west coast to God’s Country to restore a Queen Anne Victorian investment house while we were working on hubby’s VA claim.
    • A few years later FIL called asking for help to close their house as they were in their late 80’s and so we packed up everything and headed cross country again to the desert putting all our things in storage there.
    • From there we ended up in the southern midwest helping care for my aunt with advanced Parkinson’s disease which in the end was advantageous for me as we were where I needed to be when I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. 
    • After a year and a half we headed back across country, twice and ended up here in the Pacific Northwest where we spent several seasons trading houses with my mom and getting projects accomplished for her so we can now head across country again to settle once and for all for ourselves.
    • Now we’re headed back to the south, voluntarily and are happy about it since we have family and friends there.

    Our life has been in storage for several years now in 2 different states!  It is not going to be an easy move, but it is a move we are anxious to make.  We’ve made multiple lists and plans for the work on the fixer upper and are ready to get it done!

    The collage below was day one in the local storage unit getting ready.  When we brought these belongings here in a two part move we had a HORRIBLE experience with not one, but two moving companies that left us missing multiple things, broken things and missing paperwork – original articles here.  The second company at least settled with us so I did remove the negative comments about them.  So, this time we are ty-wrapping all the totes closed, labeling, taking inventory and numbering each piece.   Today was a a little slow going, but as you can see it is a bit more organized.

    Because these items won’t arrive for a week or so after we do I am also looking for certain things as we go and pulling them out to take with us which makes it a little slow going.  The biggest thing is my rainbow vacuum and all the pieces!  We’re purchasing a fixer upper (my grandparents old place) and it has been unoccupied for almost a year so will be in need of some deep cleaning and LOL I do have my favorite cleaning tools.

    And now a BIG FINAL move to start a new project. Let the Good Times roll!

    HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

    Seems like summer is passing by pretty quickly.  We’ve been really busy with multiple projects and now we’re finishing up some medical appointments and packing before our move.

    Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

    WEATHER OUTSIDE
    It was supposed to be several degrees cooler today, the day I have to work in the steamy hot storage area, but evidently that weather pattern has stalled until later in the week, but I need to get this done now in preparation for the BIG move.

    TO DO FOR THE WEEK
    Monday – STORAGE! Prep and organize for the BIG move
    Tuesday – not sure yet – it is so rare to get a free day 😀
    Wednesday – Hubby Physical Therapy & grocery shopping
    Thursday – Hubby Eye surgery
    Friday – Post Op appt.
    Saturday – Blackberry Festival (if hubby is up to it)
    Sunday – D.W.Y.W. day (Do What You Want day)

    CURRENTLY READING

    TELEVISION / DVR

    • Astronaut Wives Club 
    • Hell On Wheels
    • Complications
    • The Strain
    • Proof
    • Dark Matter
    • Devious Maids
    • The Last Ship
    • Falling Skies
    • Under the Dome
    • Rookie Blue
    BREAKFAST
    DINNER
    DESSERT
    MONDAY
    Cereal & Fruit
    Y.O.Y.O. / C.O.R.N.
    TUESDAY
    Bagel & cream cheese
    EXPERIMENT NIGHT
    WEDNESDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    THURSDAY
    Scrambled Eggs with Toast
    FRIDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    SATURDAY
    something Peach
    SUNDAY

    SUCCESSFUL RECIPES  FROM LAST WEEK

    RECIPE FINDS TO TRY LATER
    I promised myself NO MORE recipes until after the BIG move, but couldn’t resist these:

    • Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cobbler
    • Bananas Foster Bake
    • Blackberry Apricot Slump
    • Pear Cheese Danish Slab
    • Pumpkin Pan Pie
    • Ginger Cookies
    • Sweet Raisin Tamales
    • Pluot upside-down cake
    • Bacon Buttermilk Scones
    • Salted Caramel Pie
    • Summer Corn Chowder
    • Oven Roasted Tomatoes
    • Mandarin Sunburst Salad
    • Tandoori Chicken
    • Marinated Skirt Steak
    • Skirt Steak Pinwheels

    • You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
    • You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
    • You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
    • You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
    • You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
    • You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
    • You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.”
     ~  Abraham Lincoln

    THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

    • Fall approaching – it’s my favorite season
    • Completed Projects
    • Sweet Pineapple
    • Cool breezes

    FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

    INSPIRATION

    AJI QUEEN TRIBUTE – ROASTED PEPPER BEEF GOULASH

    If you type in Aji Queen into google near the top of the list is my cousin, Beth who owned and operated Peppermania. Beth made her life ALL about peppers, from seeds, spices, hot sauces, earrings… right down to her panties LOL and this is why she was known as the pepper queen.  Unfortunately if you read that link you’ll see it’s a tribute to her passing.  I’ve been wanting to make a recipe that was a tribute to her without using one of her spices or peppers that I can no longer get or replicate.  I miss her all the time and that will only intensify soon, but that’s another story. So for now this recipe is for her.

    ROASTED PEPPER BEEF GOULASH
    1 1/2 pounds skirt or flank steak cut diagonally into 3-4 inch strips
    3 pieces bacon, cooked crisp, save grease
    1 large Walla Walla onion, halved and sliced thin
    8 small sweet red, yellow and orange peppers roasted and sliced* (save a few for garnish)
    4 cups beef broth
    1/4 cup tomato paste
    2 tablespoons Worcestershire
    2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    2 tablespoons Penzey’s Sweet Paprika
    1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes halved
    Wondra
    1 tablespoon Avocado oil
    Fresh ground salt and black pepper
    sour cream

    • Add the avocado oil to bacon grease over medium high heat in a large skillet.
    • Lightly dredge the steak pieces in Wondra.
    • Add steak to hot oil, salt and peppering generously, browning both sides well, about 5 minutes.
    • Transfer meat to cutting board and cut into bite sized pieces. Keep warm.
    • Add onions and pepper slices to oil stirring until onions are soft.
    • Whisk together the beef broth, tomato paste, paprika and vinegar.
    • Add broth mixture and potatoes to the onions bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
    • Add meat back in and heat through.
    • Serve with veggie, pepper rings and sour cream.

    *Roast on the BBQ or over an open flame.

    NOTE:  When I’m in a hurry I halve the potatoes in advance and store them in the broth mixture.  This is also good using egg noodles instead of potatoes.

    TRICK:  I like to use 2 pans so the meat and the sauce art are ready about the same time – the meat can get tough otherwise.

    MEXICAN COBB WITH JALAPENO RANCH DRESSING revisited

    I originally posted this recipe for the beach party at Seaside Simplicity.   It was perfect to accommodate Martha’s Jalapeno Poppers. But that was last year and this year I’ve updated it to include taco meat, black beans and marinated tomatoes. The dressing remains the key element of this salad.

     

    MEXICAN COBB SALAD
    Bed of Lettuce
    Grilled chicken breast, chilled and chopped
    1 roma tomato, chopped
    1 avocado chopped
    1/8 cup chopped green chiles
    1/4 cup grated jack cheese
    1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
    Juice of 1 lime

    JALAPENO RANCH DRESSING

    2 cups buttermilk
    2 cups mayonnaise
    1 tablespoon onion powder
    1 tablespoon crushed parsley flakes
    2 tablespoons Penzey’s California crushed jalapenos
    1 tablespoon garlic powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon celery salt
    1/4 teaspoon white pepper

    • Whisk all together and chill overnight before serving

    HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

    So, I missed doing Happy Homemaker Monday and Menu Plan Monday last week and then the week felt like it was only 2 days long just flying right by me.  We were at a destination wedding the weekend of the 24th for my brother and got home late the 26th and by the time I picked up the dogs from the kennel, drove home, unpacked and did the laundry I was beat. That 72 hours seemed to take the whole week.

    The wedding weekend started out iffy with no water at the Bed and Breakfast on Friday night and then ran out again on Saturday morning while I still had soap in my hair (but that’s a story for another post).  We ended up with water in time to get showered after the BIG 7 course breakfast that I could not really enjoy because I had soap in my hair and fortunately the rest of the weekend was fairly drama free, but that is for an upcoming post I’m working on.  I’m getting caught up again on everything around the house and blog just in time to start the final packing for the BIG multi-layered move.  That too will be an upcoming future post with lots of before and after pictures.

    Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

    WEATHER OUTSIDE
    Last week was SUPER hot with record breaking temperatures and compromised respiratory health from the smoke of all the fires in and around the area.  Yesterday it rained and that helped cool things down a lot though it didn’t do much for the smoke lingering in the air. LOL while I loved the cooler temperatures, I hate wet smoke smell.

    TO DO FOR THE WEEK

    • Physical therapy twice for hubby
    • Paperwork
    • Cleaning
    • Packing

    CURRENTLY READING
    I’ve been slacking a little on reading lately. I’m hoping to get some done this weekend while we are away.

    TELEVISION / DVR

    • Astronaut Wives Club 
    • Hell On Wheels
    • Complications
    • The Strain
    • Proof
    • Dark Matter
    • Devious Maids
    • The Last Ship
    • Falling Skies
    • Under the Dome
    • Rookie Blue

    CRAFTS & PROJECTS
    I finished my Christmas Cards!  I’m so impressed with myself.  Unfortunately I packed them all up for the move before I remembered to take a picture. But here’s a picture of halfway done.  I even got labels for the new address made and pasted into each one and the return address labels are on the envelopes.

    MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK
    BREAKFAST
    DINNER
    DESSERT
    MONDAY
    Cereal & Fruit
    Y.O.Y.O. / C.O.R.N.

    TUESDAY
    Bagel & cream cheese
    Ground Beef Reuben Melts

    WEDNESDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    Spinach Salad with warm Bacon Dressing



    THURSDAY
    Scrambled Eggs with cheese & Toast
    Sideways Taco Salad

    FRIDAY
    Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
    		 Mexican Cobb Salad with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

    SATURDAY


    SUNDAY


    SUCCESSFUL RECIPES  FROM LAST WEEK

    So often we become so focused on the finish line 
    that we fail to enjoy the journey. 
    ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

    HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS
    Are you getting bitten to death by bugs this summer? Don’t go buy pricey bite creams.  Instead saturate a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar and dot the bites.  Apple cider vinegar is an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-bacterial all rolled into one and a pantry staple 99% of us have in our kitchen. It will stop the itch, reduce the swelling and heal the skin all at once naturally and inexpensively.

    HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP
    I keep a tray of vinegar ice cubes in the freezer to use once a week in my garbage disposal to keep it fresh and help sharpen the blades at the same time.  I also use a lot of lemons in my cooking and try to time cleaning the disposal to also grinding the rinds of the lemons for not only a fresh smelling disposal, but also a fresh smelling kitchen.

    THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

    • HUGS from my favorite neighbor kids!
    • Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies!
    • When an experimental recipe turns out PERFECT like the Aloha BBQ Pork Ribs did!
    • Reading a book that I get so lost in that I forget ALL about time.

    FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

    View from our room in the Light Keeper’s cottage for 2 glorious days and nights!  There were so many pictures to choose from, but I have to say this was one of my very favorites. I’m doing a post about the entire destination wedding soon where I will be sharing all the other photos.

    INSPIRATION

    HAWAIIAN POTATO SALAD

    The original recipe I found said it was where Macaroni salad meets Potato salad in a Hawaiian classic.  I’ve made a few adjustments due to my mustard allergy and family likes/dislikes. I also made a couple instructional changes to make it easier to prepare.  This is the perfect accompaniment for my Aloha BBQ Pork Ribs. I make EVERYTHING without mustard due to being deathly allergic, but hubby always adds mustard in so it is up to you whether or not to add mustard.

    HAWAIIAN POTATO SALAD
    1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, diced into bite sized potatoes
    1 1/2 cups pasta shells
    1 can LeSeur Peas, drained well
    4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
    2 ribs celery, sliced thin
    2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    1/2 cup mayonnaise
    1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
    1/2 cup chopped red onion
    1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
    3 large sweet pickles, chopped
    1 can crushed pineapple, drained well
    Fresh ground salt and pepper

    • Add potatoes to salted boiling water, cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse in cool water.
    • Add pasta to boiling water, cooking to al dente. Drain and rinse in cool water.
    • While potatoes and pasta are cooking and cooling, prepare dressing. Whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sweet pickle relish, salt and pepper.
    • Fold in pineapple, pickle pieces, red onion and grated cheese.
    • Fold in potatoes.
    • Fold in pasta.
    • Fold in peas.
    • Top with egg slices.
    • Chill 12-24 hours for best flavor.

    SWEET & STICKY PORK CHOPS with DIRTY RICE

    I found this recipe in a pile to try and instantly fell in love with it.  I am trying better to remember to write down where I cut recipes from, but have not mastered it yet, LOL.

    This is NOT a spontaneous recipe.  You have to plan!  This is best when the chops are marinated for the full 24 hours. I also make the dirty rice the day before while making the brine so that the flavors meld together.

    Many dirty rice recipes also call for cumin and cayenne pepper.  I prefer to use more paprika and omit the cumin and cayenne pepper.

    SWEET & STICKY PORK CHOPS with DIRTY RICE
    DAY 1
    BRINE
    4 cups water
    1/2 cup kosher salt
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    1/4 cup molasses
    4-6 cups ice
    4-6 thick bone in pork chops

    • In a large sauce pot whisk together water, salt, brown sugar and molasses.
    • Bring to a boil.
    • Remove from heat, add ice blending well to melt.
    • Add pork chops.
    • Cover and refrigerate 12-24 hours.

    DIRTY RICE
    1/2 pound ground pork
    1/2 pound ground beef
    3 teaspoons paprika
    3/4 cup chicken broth
    2 cups water
    3 gloves garlic, minced
    Fresh ground salt and black pepper
    1 tablespoon butter
    2 tablespoons Dark Roux (recipe below)

    • In a large skillet brown the beef and pork together with garlic until well browned. Drain.
    • Whisk together water, chicken broth, paprika, salt and pepper.
    • Return meat to skillet and add chicken broth mixture, mixing well.
    • Add butter and roux, blending well.
    • Add rice, mix well, cover and simmer 20 minutes until rice is fluffy.

    DARK ROUX (makes 1/2-2/3 cup – can be kept refrigerated for several weeks)

    1/2 cup flour
    1/2 cup avocado oil

    • Whisk together the flour and oil.
    • Bake  at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until dark golden brown.

    DAY 2
    GLAZE
    3/4 cup maple syrup or equal parts light molasses and maple syrup
    3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

    • In a small saucepan whisk together the vinegar and syrup.
    • Heat to boiling.
    • Reduce heat slightly and simmer 30 minutes or until reduced by half, whisking as necessary.

    ASSEMBLY

    • Preheat oven to 375°.
    • Remove pork chops from brine and pat dry.
    • In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat.  Add pork chops and generously salt and pepper.  Sear pork chops evenly on both sides.
    • Spray large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
    • Evenly spread rice into baking dish.
    • Add pork chops to baking dish in single layer.
    • Top with glaze.
    • Bake 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
    • Garnish and serve.