Honey Mustard Pork Loin and Potatoes

A couple of weeks back I posted a recipe for Marvelous Magnificent Honey Mustard Sauce.  Wasn't it yummy.  Have you dipped chicken tenders in it yet?  Handy hubby and I have.  I have even dipped Home Fries in it.  I posted a picture of the Glazed pork loin in the post.  I thought I better share that recipe with you, if for no other reason than it was tongue tickling yumminess.  And even better it is simple to make.  I buy my pork loin on sale.  Handy hubby and I then cut them down to smaller pork loin roast and pork chops.  Works out great for our budget.  I typically can get 20+ pork chops and a roast for $9 that way.

Glazed Honey Mustard Pork Loin with Potatoes. 

Getting about a teaspoon of EVOO warming in a skillet.  I used cast iron so it could go from the stove to the oven in the same pan, less dishes.  Then I minced 3 cloves of garlic and a medium yellow onion and tossed them into the skillet with the oil on a low to medium heat and let them do their thing while I am getting the pork loin ready.

I had some of my Marvelous Magnificent Honey mustard sauce ready to go in a cute little vintage Pyrex bowl.  I love the pouring handles on these.

I brushed a little bit of the Honey mustard on all the sides of the pork loin.  

I added the Pork loin into the skillet with the onions and garlic.  See how they have started getting some beautiful brown color.  Yum.  I turn the heat up to med high and seered the pork on the top and bottom. That brown coloring adds some good flavor, and some say it locks in the flavor and moisture.  

When it is all seered I pour the  rest of the honey mustard over the top and tossed the entire pan in the oven at 325 for 45 minutes or until the internal temp of the pork is 160.  Then I  served over roasted potatoes.  Made a yummy Sunday lunch.

Healthier Home fries

I don't know about you but I love potatoes in any shape or form, but my favorite is home fries.  If you don't know the term these are french fries made at home or some home cooking places.  They are typically chunky in form and seasoned.  We love home fries at our house.  Well, I don't know about you but I wanted a healthier less guilty way to make these. I figured this out.  They aren't fully healthy but they are better than frying them.  And you can use the same technique for store bought fries and tater tots too (you know the frozen ones).  This is a simple method to have your fries.

First I wash 4 large russet potatoes, then I cut them in 1/2  then in quarters.  After this I cut them into chunks.  I also finely chopped a medium yellow onion and 2 cloves of garlic.

The potatoes cut into chunks, you could cut them into more of a fry shape if you want.  But today I am making them to go with a glazed pork loin so the chunky looked was better.

1 tbsp EVOO in a large mixing bowl.  EVOO is good for cholesterol and this is all the oil we are using.  This is why I say it is healthier plus we are added onion and garlic which are vegetables.

For today's use I added Magnificent Marvelous Honey Mustard Sauce, but if you are making start home fries for  steaks burgers or any other fry use you can add a tsp salt and 1 1/2 pepper, and a dash of chili powder to the oil.  And mix it all together.

Add the chunked up potatoes.

Add the onions and garlic

Stir until it is all coated. 

Spread on a baking sheet in a singlish layer.  Bake at 400 for about an hour. 

 

Here is this batches use with Honey Mustard glazed pork loin.

  You can use the same technique for herbed potatoes, or any mix of seasonings or sauces.  Have fun and experiment with them.

Magnificent Marvelous Honey Mustard Sauce

Who doesn't love honey mustard sauce?  I know we do at our house.  Who doesn't need a sauce that is versatile and can be used for a dipping sauce or a glaze for meats or vegetables.  It is just totally yummy.   It can be adjusted to your taste, but here is the basics.

I had mixed the mustards and honey together.   I have added the cayenne (to taste) and smoked paprika (you can use regular paprika but I like the smoky flavor)

All stirred together, as is it is a great dipping sauce for chicken tenders/nuggets or you can use it as a glaze for meats or for vegetables.  

This is a pork loin and potatoes that have been glazed in my magnificent marvelous honey mustard sauce.  Made a great Sunday dinner with the family.

Magnificent Marvelous Honey Mustard Sauce

• 1/2 c Brown spicy mustard
• 1/4 c yellow mustard
• 1/4 c honey
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

Mixed together and taste.  Adjust to your liking.  Enjoy

Meatloaf Lasagana-Pregnancy craving gone terribly right

For my friend Sheri.  Love you girl.

I know I already did a couple of post this week, but this was a matter of great importance.  My friend Sheri has just gotten past the morning sickness stage of pregnancy.  She posted on Facebook today that she was craving 2 things and couldn't  decide which one to have for dinner.  Her cravings were Meatloaf and Lasagna.  I suggested her Husband, Ray a chef, make her Italian meatloaf lasagna. But it got my brain firing.  So we are having meatloaf lasagna for dinner.  It looks and smells yummy so far. I have full recipes for everything at the bottom but you could substitute, store bought sauce, your meatloaf recipe, or your cheese mixture.  It is pretty fixable so have fun and enjoy.

First start the sauce.  To start my homemade sauce, I chop up 1 medium onion, 4 cloves of garlic, a carrot, a stalk of celery,
and 4 mushrooms in about a teaspoon of olive oil.

The carrots and celery give the sauce a little sweetness and a little robustness.  Not to mention that is some vegetables and vitamins that the kids won't even notice.

6 pints (or 6 16 oz cans) of Tomato sauce Some parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes with the vegetables from before.  Simmer on medium low for about an hour.

I learned this sauce from an Italian when we were living in Germany.  It is yummy but the traditional sauce takes a couple of days.  I shorten the process.

As the sauce cooks down and the flavors condense and meld together your sauce may look like this.

Next you need to make your meatloaf and get it in the oven.  Use your meatloaf recipe because everybody has a different idea of meatloaf, but a drier meatloaf is a little better. But instead of adding tomato sauce or catsup to the mix add about 2/3 a cup of your sauce to give it a little more of an Italian flavor.  It just adds a little something to it.

The filling mixture is Ricotta, Parmesan, and Mozzarella cheeses with an egg, a couple of mushrooms some oregano and parsley.  And to boost the vegetable factor I dice up some spinach. 

Cut up your meatloaf into strips for easy layering.

Now to assemble the layers and bake. After that Yummy time.

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Cover the top with  the rest of your sauce.  Then sprinkle some cheese on top.  Throw it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

When it is bubbly and done pull it out of the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes.  Then cut and serve.

Looks so good.  It would be a great date night dinner for you and your husband.  

How good does this look?

Homemade Pasta Sauce

• 6 pints or 6 16 oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c your favorite wine
• 1 carrot, 
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 mushrooms (optional)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp parsley
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp of pepper

Dice the vegetables and saute them in the olive oil.  In a dutch oven or large sauce pan add the tomato sauce, vegetables, wine, sugar and seasonings together. Simmer on low medium heat for at least an hour stirring every few minutes.

Cheese mixture for Lasagna

• 16 oz Ricotta cheese
• 3/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c Mozzarella cheese
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup shredded Spinach
• 4 mushrooms diced
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano

Mix them all together and layer into what ever Lasagna your wish.

Yummy Peach Betty.

Every once and a while we all need a dessert.  This is a yummy dessert that you can feel less guilty for eating.  I mean we do need fruit and oats in our diet.  How about a beautiful peach betty with oats in the crust.  Well, that is the perfect thing on a cold winter day.  Right?!? My answer is yes.  And once you master the crust you can make betty out of any fruit pie filling so you can customize it to what's in season, what's on sale, what you like, or what some body else likes.   Oats are healthy, they are good for cholesterol and more.  This could also be made gluten free  or vegan easily.

This is  a quart of  Peach pie filling I canned last summer.  But you could use 2 cans of pie filling, or a couple of cans of just canned fruit.  You can also use fresh fruit. 

Add the oats to the dry mix and stir.

Added the flour and sugars in a medium mixing bowl.  You can
put 1/2 c of oats in the blender or food processor and turn it into
Oat flour instead of regular flour, or you can use any flour you like.

Use a dough blender or whatever you have to cutter the butter (or what ever solid fat you would like) and continue working it until it is mixed and looks like crumbs.  This will take a little bit of time, but worth it.

Then pile it on tome of the fruit filling and  place in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour or until the crust is golden brown and some of the filling is bubbling up.  For  some  pans like this one where the betty reaches the top of the pan, I pan it on top of a cookie sheet to make cleaning easier because it is likely to bubble over a little bit.  And I hate cleaning the oven,


For a  real treat  on warmer days, you can eat with vanilla ice cream on top. That is Handy Hubby's favorite way to eat it.  Especially if it is peach, strawberry, or blackberry betty.


Betty Crust Recipe

• 1/2 c flour 
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 3/4 c oatmeal
• 1/2 c or 1 stick of butter
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt (1/4 or less tsp)

 For filling 

2 cans of pie filling or any other fruit in other forms.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.  Until golden brown and bubbly.

Southwest Hashbrown casserole

This morning we had a major dilemma for breakfast, sweet or savory?  Well, I settled on savory.  So I got my tell in the kitchen and started cooking.  Handy Hubby helped me out.  He grated cheese and potatoes for me as well as  went to get the eggs and other ingredients.  He also took a couple of pictures for me.  So if you see my hands doing something, he took those pictures.  These are only a smart part of the reason I call him Handy Hubby.  

With this recipe you could omit things or substitute frozen hash browns for fresh grated potatoes.  It is really simple for anybody to make.  You could even make the night before and bake in the morning, or even freeze it.   

Shred the potatoes but you can substitute frozen hash browns if you want.

Brown Sausage if it is still frozen just use a fork and scrap cooked meat off then turn and repeat until all the meat is cooked.

I love my antique egg beaters for beating eggs.  It takes less time than a mixer. 

Combine all the ingredients but 1/4 c cheese save that for the top.

When the sausage, peppers, onions, and garlic are done drain them on a paper towel to cut the grease and fat.

The sausage draining on a plate with 4 paper towels.  See all the yucky grease on the paper towel.

Mix and pour into the buttered casserole dish.

Add cheese and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Southwest Hash brown casserole

• 5-6 good sized potatoes  washed and grated (skin on or off) or one bag of frozen hash browns
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 oz breakfast sausage 
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 can Rotel drained 
• 1 3/4 c shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1/4 shredded cheddar cheese for top 
• 8 oz sour cream 
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Add  butter and a little bit of EVOO to a skillet, then add your onions, peppers, and garlic and cook on medium heat until they are almost translucent.  Then add the  sausage  and brown it, Then drain the mixture on a plate layered with paper towels. Then in a large mixing bowl combine everything but leave out  1/4 c of cheddar cheese and mix well.  Then use butter to grease a casserole dish and pour in the mixture and top with the 1/4 c of Cheddar and bake at 350 for about an hour. 

It doesn't have to look good as long as it taste good.

John (aka Handy Hubby) doesn't always have a sweet tooth, but every once and a while, he gets a craving for something.  This time it is a strawberry tart.  Well I am not good at tarts and I don't own a tart pan. So I decided on a compromise, strawberry pie, at least I hope it is a good compromise.  So I set out gathering the stuff to make it. I used the Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pie Crust recipe.  I followed the directions and made the crust. And while the crust was chilling, I started on the filling.

I really suck at pie crust. So I gave up on rolling it out and just pressed it into the pie plate with my fingers.

I started by putting frozen strawberries in a bowl (could be any berry or fruit) and sprinkled with a tbsp of cornstarch.

I finished off the edges with a fork,  okay so I wanted it to look somewhat nice.

I placed the strawberries, poured the simple syrup mixture over the top, and sprinkled with a little flour.

Added crumbles of leftover crust on top of the fruit and into the oven.

Baked and ready to eat , Yummy!!!!

Strawberry Pie.

• 1/2 lb (give or take) strawberries
• 2 tbsp cornstarch,
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 cup water
• Pie crust recipe

On the stove in a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, water, and 1 tbsp of cornstarch and bring to a boil.  In a mixing bowl toss the strawberries in 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Prepare your pie crust, whether your roll it out or press it into the pan (  you can use ready made crust too)  Place the strawberries in the crust.  Then pour the sugar and water mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with a little flour on top.  Add crumbled up left over crust and bake at 350 for about an hour.