Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

I found this on Facebook, but didn't want to post it to my timeline. It sounds delicious!

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops
1 T. olive oil
1 C. parmesan cheese (I used Kraft)
1 C. Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
On a plate combine the last 4 ingredients. Rub the pork chops with olive oil and then dip (coat) each one in the cheese mixture. Press the mixture over the pork chops to make sure they are well covered in it. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the pork chops on the pan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This works best if you flip 1/2 way through, or bake on a rack in the pan, so both sides are crispy.

Source: Janet's Appalachian Kitchen

What a month!!

Wow! A tremendous amount has happened in the past month. I had my gall bladder removed January 31 following a horrendous attack on the 30th, which, btw, was Phil's birthday and during a snow storm! The following week he had a heart cath because he hadn't been feeling well (he has three stints from 10 years ago). So then, guess what? It was recommended he have a 4-way bypass as soon as possible.

I had two tickets to see the Eagles on the 28th, the next open space was the 26th. No brainer! Sell the tickets!!

So, now we are home. It's a challenge so far. Men are horrible patients!

One of the challenges is what to eat? Even though I thought we were eating well, we apparently were not. I blame it on eating out and eating packaged foods. So it's time to go fresh and cooking every night.

I wasn't expecting him home yesterday, so I really wasn't quite prepared. I ran to the grocery and came home with a Harris Teeter plain rotisserie chicken. Probably not the best thing, but I didn't have anything to feed him! We had chicken and roasted carrots.

Breakfast today was two organic, free range chicken eggs (raised and gathered from a co-worker), scrambled with low fat cheese and three slices of turkey bacon. Not bad. I used the rest of the chicken to make chicken salad. I added two organic eggs, carrots, red onion, and craisons. He had that for lunch with mixed greens.

I put a frozen turkey breast in my new slow cooker. I season it with Chef Prudhomme's poultry seasoning. For the side, I was thinking about frozen broccoli but I found some frozen corn in the freezer. I found this recipe from Budget Savvy Diva. I cooked it enough to have grill marks on it, almost like grilled corn. Yum! That was really good!!

Anyway, Phil is going to get better....if I don't pull my hair out in the meantime. We are going to eat better, exercise more, and both of us will lose weight. We're in a win-win situation!

I'm going to try to document our meals. I have been taking pictures of some of the Pinterest recipes I've been making but not getting around to blogging. So maybe I will get around to it this week.

Thanks everyone for listening! Wish us luck! :)

Mindy

Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

I wanted to try something different for Thanksgiving this year instead of turkey. Do I want to do pasta? Perhaps a pork loin. I just don't know!

I was watching the Food Network this morning and Guy Fieri was doing his version of his Thanksgiving dinner. He had pork loin AND pasta. What?? And he did a sweet potato recipe that looked fabulous! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/whiskey-glazed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html

But it has apples in it and Himself cannot do much fruit because of diabetes. 

So I went to the Food Network Website to search for the recipe. Instead I came across Alton Brown's recipe for his Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chipotle-smashed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html

These sweet potatoes had such a great sweet, smokey flavor! So good! 

I forgot to take a picture, but here is the picture from the Website. If I make it for Thanksgiving, I will post my recipe. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Pinterest pet-peeves

Okay, I'm on Pinterest tonight and I just have to say I have one pet-peeve about some pinners on Pinterest. Why do you pin recipes without checking them to see if the links work or if you need to go to another site? Anyhow.....Here is one that looked interesting to me that I will need to try very soon, because I love broccoli. Broccoli Bites from Stacy's Snacks. This is the original pin that I found: http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2011/01/broccoli-bites-for-kids.html

I will update on the results!

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

What a long day. I'm glad it's almost over and I'm able to sit down in front of Facebook and Pinterest. What an interesting life I lead! 

This was posted on Facebook today and I wanted to post it to Pinterest so I could try it later. It sounds yummy!!
This will be great for the tons of zucchini everyone will be having this summer. I would definitely cut it in half. But I do love zucchini. Let me know if you make it and how it turns out! 

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

1 lb. zucchini or squash (about 2 medium-sized)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (heaping)
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (heaping)
1 tablespoon olive oil1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray lightly with vegetable spray.


Slice zucchini or squash into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Toss rounds with oil, coating well.


In a wide bowl or plate, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper.


Place rounds in Parmesan breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides of each round, pressing to adhere. The mixture will not completely cover each round, but provides a light coating on each side.


Place rounds in a single layer on baking sheets. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over the rounds.


Bake for about 22 to 27 minutes, until golden brown. (There is no need to flip them during baking -- they crisp up on both sides as is.) This came from this Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/c4dkn43