Asian Pork & Noodles

I had not purchased Top Ramen in many years, but when I saw this recipe I wanted to give it a try. I'm sure glad I did; it's a big hit at our house. It's like tasty Asian comfort food. Do they have that? I'm sure they do.  I've made it twice in the last month and the leftovers don't last very long.

Asian Pork & Noodle Skillet

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, peeled

1 medium red bell pepper

5-6 green onions with tops (about 1 ¼ C. sliced), divided

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 lb. each)

2 T. toasted sesame oil

2 T. Asian Seasoning Mix (used an Asian stir fry sauce)

4 pkgs. (3 oz. each) oriental-flavor ramen noodles

1 T. vegetable oil

4 C. water

Cut carrots into julienne strips. Cut bell pepper lengthwise into ¼ in. strips. Slice green onions; set aside tops for garnish.

Trim fat and silver skin from pork tenderloins. Slice pork lengthwise into four strips. Thinly slice strips crosswise. Combine pork, sesame oil, seasoning mix or sauce and two of the ramen seasoning packets. Mix well.

Add vegetable oil to skillet, heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering.  Add half of the pork. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until browned; remove pork from skillet and keep warm. Repeat with remaining pork.

Add carrots and bell pepper to skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and remaining ramen seasoning packets; stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add ramen noodles and white parts of green onions to skillet. Cover; bring to a boil and cook 4-5 minutes or until noodles are softened. Add pork; stir to break apart noodles. Remove skillet from heat; let stand, covered, 3-4 minutes or until pork is heated through. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

Serving: 4-5

Recipe Given By:  The Pampered Chef

Chocolate Trifle

This is a basic Chocolate Truffle. It only tastes better the longer it melds. Enjoy!

Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (18 ¼ oz.) chocolate fudge cake mix

1 pkg. (6 oz.) instant chocolate pudding mix

½ C. strong coffee

1 carton (12 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

6 Heath candy bars (1.4 oz each), crushed

Bake cake according to package directions. Cool. Prepare pudding according to package directions; set aside.

Crumble cake; reserve ½ cup. Place half of the remaining cake crumbs in the bottom of a 4 ½ or 5 quart trifle dish or decorative glass bowl.

Layer with half of the coffee, half of the pudding, half of the whipped topping and half of the crushed candy bars. Repeat the whipped topping and half of the crushed candy bars. Repeat the layers of cake, coffee, pudding and whipped topping.

Combine remaining crushed candy bars with reserved cake crumbs; sprinkle over top. Refrigerate 4-5 hours before serving.

Serves: 8-10
Recipe: Taste of Home

Homemade Caramel Sauce

A friend gave me a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk that she had boiled in the can for a couple of hours on the stovetop.

This was the purest tasting caramel dip that I've tasted, much better than the containers you buy in the produce section. No preservatives!

When talking about this idea to others I've heard horror stories of the banging of the can in the pot and even worse of the explosion of the can.  So doing a little research I found these safer preparations for Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel sauce.  Just follow this link to learn more.

We're still enjoying the first can, but I look forward to trying one of these alternative preparations soon.

Easy Parmesan Knots

A new easy bread choice; the kids loved it!
The kids could make this too. So yummy!

Parmesan Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

1 tube (12 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

¼ C canola oil

3 T. grated Parmesan Cheese

½ t. garlic powder

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried parsley flakes

Roll each biscuit into a 12-in. rope and tie into a knot; tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; brush the warm knots with the mixture.

Serving: 10 knots

Recipe Given By: Taste of Home (Garlic Knots)

Baked Garlic Chicken

This is the moistest chicken I bake. It is very rich and we don't eat it often, but there are rarely leftovers.   It's best served with a simple side like mashed or baked potatoes and a salad. It has a lot of flavor and you don't want it competing with other items on your plate. It wants to be the star of the show, so to speak, in a comfort food kind of way.  Enjoy!

Baked Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

2 C (16 oz) sour cream

2 T. lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 t. celery salt

4 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 t. paprika

½ t. pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 C crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 50)

½ C butter or margarine, melted

¼ C vegetable oil

In a large shallow glass dish, combine the first seven ingredients.  Add chicken; turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.  Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl; roll chicken in crumbs until coated.  Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 baking dish.  Combine butter and oil; pour over the chicken.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Servings: 28

Recipe Given By: Quick Cooking 

Pinterest Crack Potatoes

Found these Crack Potatoes on Pinterest. Although they sounded rich, I thought I'd give them a try.

We were not a fan. The consistency was a little too dense, the taste a little too cloying.  Some folks like a rich starchy side and if this recipe appeals to you, by all means. My family would prefer to stick to mashed, roasted or baked potatoes. Too bad, 'cause they looked good.

We ate most of the leftovers so the recipe wasn't inedible,  it was just not to our liking.  Pinterest has a never-ending supply of recipes! It's so much fun perusing them; I'm pretty sure I gain weight just looking at the pictures.

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

It's been awhile, I know. I changed computers, lost my photo editor and just haven't been as organized as I would like. However, I have been trying new recipes so during Christmas break I hope to add a few of those on the blog and wrap up 2012. Sound good?

These are our go-to cinnamon rolls. So yummy. They taste very similar to Cinnabon so if you have a bread machine, break it out and give this recipe a try. You won't be sorry!

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls 

Ingredients:

1 C milk (70-80 degrees)

¼ C water (70-80 degrees)

¼ C butter, softened

1 egg

1 t salt

4 C bread flour

¼ C instant vanilla pudding mix

1 T sugar

1 T active dry yeast

FILLING:

¼ C butter, softened

1 C packed brown sugar

2 t ground cinnamon

FROSTING:

4 oz. Cream cheese, softened

¼ C butter, softened

1 ½ C confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ t  milk

½ t  vanilla extract

In bread machine pan, place first nine ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer.  Select dough setting (check dough after 5 min of mixing; add 1-2 T water or flour if needed.)  When cycle is completed, turn dough onto lightly floured surface.  Roll into a 17 x 10” rectangle.  Spread with butter; sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side; pinch seam to seal.  Cut into 21 slices.  Place 12 slices, cut side down, in a greased 13 x 9 x 2” baking pan and nine rolls in a 9” square baking pan.  Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 min.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. or until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks for 5 min.  In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients.  Frost warm rolls.  Store in a refrigerator.

Serves: about 21 rolls

Recipe Given By: Quick Cooking S/O 2000 p. 28

The frosting just melts all over the warm roll...mmmm.