HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENT!!!

The picture of 38! Tonight Kent requested Slow-cooked Sour Cream Pork Chops, Chocolate Pudding and for a delicious surprise (even to me -- a new recipe!) I added Coffee Toffee Cookies. We'd had the pork chops when the workers were here and we ALL agreed they were a hit and a definite keeper! So, I'll share the recipe with you as well!

Sour Cream Pork Chops
6 pork chops (use thick cuts!)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
½ c. flour (add more salt, pepper and garlic powder to this, too!)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 c. boiling water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbs. flour
8 oz. sour cream

Season pork chops with spices, then dredge in seasoned flour. In skillet over medium heat, lightly brown chops in a small amount of oil. Place chops in slow cooker and top with onion slices. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water, mix in soup and pour over chops. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
Preheat oven to 200º.
After the chops have cooked, transfer chops to the oven to keep warm. CHOPS WILL FALL APART! In small bowl, mix 2 Tbs. flour with sour cream; mix into meat juices. Turn slow cooker to high for 15-30 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve sauce over chops (and rice or noodles!)

For dessert we had chocolate pudding.
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa
2 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch salt
1 qt. whole milk
1 large egg, beaten
4 oz. finely chopped, high quality semi-sweet chocolate (we HIGHLY recommend Valrhona 71% dark, found inexpensive at Trader Joe's)

In large saucepan, whisk together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Once milk boils, continue cooking for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Beat egg in large heat-proof bowl, add hot mixture quickly, making sure to whisk constantly. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour into 6 oz. ramekins, cover with waxed paper and refrigerate until time to serve.

Thanks to a Reynolds Parchment ad for this recipe!

Coffee Toffee Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
½ c. sugar
2 Tbs. instant coffee
2 Tbs. milk (or substitute a shot of espresso for both!)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2½ c. flour
½ c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 pkg. (8 oz.) toffee bits, divided
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ c. sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (or your SilPat!!), set aside.
Beat butter, brown sugar and sugar together until light and fluffy. Dissolve coffee in milk. Beat in coffee mixture, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add flour, cocoa, soda and salt until just blended. Reserve ¾ c. toffee bits; stir remaining bits into dough. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2" apart onto cookie sheets. Combine chocolate chips, almonds and remaining toffee bits; set aside.
Bake 4 minutes (cookies will still be wet on top!) Remove from oven; press cookie flat with the back of a measuring spoon. Sprinkle heaping ½ Tbs. almond-toffee mixture onto each cookie. Using back of measuring spoon again, lightly press topping into dough to form a larger round cookie. Continue baking 8-9 minutes longer or until cookies are set. Do not overbake.
Become addicted!!

A Family Favorite

I was up early this morning to head into work, but before I left I started our lunch. As soon as Tiana heard what I was making she was gleeful! I prepped all of the ingredients last night, and this morning fired up the George Foreman grill to brown the chicken and threw it all in the crock-pot. Serve it shredded over biscuits and you have a FABULOUS meal! Oh, and did I mention? It's low-fat, low-cal (not including the biscuit!) and just awesome!

Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbs. lemon-pepper seasoning
1 lb. fresh soup vegetables, chopped (I use carrots, celery, onion and sometimes parsnip)
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

Coat chicken with lemon-pepper seasoning. Coat a medium nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and warm over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes, or until browned on both sides, turning once. Place chicken in slow cooker. Add vegetables. In a medium bowl, combine soup, half a soup can of water, and rosemary. Pour over vegetables and chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours.

Per serving: 205 calories, 21 g protein, 18 g carbs., 4 g fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 940 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

Diet exchanges: 0 milk, 1 vegetable, 0 fruit, 1 bread, 1-1/2 meat, 0 fat

THE VIDEO

FINALLY!! Here's the video you've all been waiting for!

Ahhh....Fall

Since I'm am, as usual, a day late and a dollar short, I want to take this time to belatedly honor all of our Veterans. If I could find it, I would have also included the photo of my late father-in-law in his Navy picture. My dad (ret.) and brother represent the Montana Air National Guard in this picture, although Justin also served in the U.S. Navy and is now a member of the Oregon Air National Guard. My thoughts also turn to Tiana's former pen pal, Jaime Ibarra of the U.S. Army (we haven't heard from him in awhile -- perhaps due to the stress of lengthy deployment?), and many others. Thank you.

On Monday at school they had a Veterans' Day assembly. Tiana chose to sing a solo in honor of the veterans and the price they have paid that we might be free. There will hopefully be a video of it soon that I can upload (I took it, but my friend has to transfer it to DVD before I can transfer it here!), but if you would like to HEAR her sing, to the right, click the "down" arrow in the "Select a Podcast or mp3" box and select "God Bless USA solo" and the press "play". Like I said, the video will come shortly -- I hope!
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Tonight it is a very typically wet Seattle fall night. I thought it would be quite fitting to have soup for dinner. I used one of my favorite recipes that I got from my mother-in-law and I'm quite sure she wouldn't mind if I shared it with you! This makes TONS!! Beware!!

Main Dish Minestrone

6 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 large carrots, sliced
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
2 medium onions, diced
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 small head of cabbage, coarsely sliced (about 1½ pounds)
1- 16oz can Tomatoes (has anyone ever seen one?!?!)
1/3 c. regular long-grain rice or orzo (I used shells)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. pepper
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 large zucchini, sliced
2-15¼-19 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
1-10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach
½ c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

About 1½ hours before serving:
In 8 qt. Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat, in hot butter or margarine cook carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and cabbage until vegetables are browned, about 20 minutes stirring frequently. Add tomatoes with their liquid, next 8 ingredients, and 8 cups water, over high heat, heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender. Add beans and frozen spinach; cook over medium heat until spinach is cooked and beans are heated through. Add more water if necessary; soup becomes thick upon standing. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Makes about 18 cups or 9 main-dish servings. About 285 calories per serving.

Happy Monday!

Would you look at that! It's Monday! What a busy weekend we had around here! It was pretty cool! On Friday night my friends, Robert, Big T, and Vicky came over. I really like Robert! He gets down on my level and let's me "rassle" with him!! He even shows me lights! He's just about as cool as Jolyn! After they all left we had LOTS of kids knock at the door! I didn't really care about most of them, but there were some really little cute ones and I sure would have liked to have said, "hi"! For some silly reason, though, mom and dad wouldn't let me do it! Oh well! Maybe next year! After sister got home on Saturday (and I got to see all of the same cool people again!) we even got to have EMILY over!!! She's so cute, but she seems kinda scared of me. I don't understand! I mean, I'm taller than she is on all fours, but... I just don't get it! She and sister sure have a lot of fun together! I think maybe sister was supposed to be cleaning her room or something, but it seemed like there was lots of "hair-doin' " goin' on! See?

Being a "rocker girl"! Being who I REALLY am! A pretty princess!


This was the Sunday that I get left out of the house. It always sounds so nice (until I'm a bad boy and bark!). There's singing and general quiet which I like. I'm kinda sad, though, because I never get to meet anyone! They always leave before I get to come back in the house. I'm thinking, though, that this week might be pretty special, too, because not all of the chairs are being put back where they belong! Could we be having company?!?! I hope so! I LOVE people!

Today is looking sunny, but for some reason I'm just too lazy to go outside. I'm afraid it might start to rain and then I'd get wet before I got back in the house. Silly fall weather!

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to meet you someday! If mom and dad have their way, I'll just shake with you, but I LOVE to give kisses and hugs!

Happy Haunting!

Yoko Ono (?), Christine and The Phantom of the Opera

Tonight, Big T, Robert, Vicky and Tiana went to the Corn Maze for a spooky, after-dark, get lost sort of night! Haven't heard from them, so not sure if they made it through! The girls will have a sleepover and then take coffee to some friends in the morning and help them move some stuff around in their being-remodeled house. I'm sure they'll have TONS of fun!
We didn't end up with too many trick-or-treaters tonight, but there were definitely some cute ones! One really disgusting one, too, who had "blood" dripping all over his face mask! EWWW! Bummer! We have extra candy left over!!!

YOWZAA!!!...

...It's been 10 whole days since I was here last!! Good grief where does the time go?!?! Let's see, Wednesday I got to spend some time with Toriana and Jill. Jill didn't get to get anything done that she wanted to, but we did get a walk in! Thursday I spent a good portion of the day chatting with my friend. (I hope I didn't wear her completely out?!?!) We had gentle conversations about politics (I know! That's not supposed to be discussed in polite company!!), children, just life in general. Friday night, Kent and I celebrated our anniversary in style (Sorry, Mom and Dad! Spendin' the time with you was great, but not much of a fancy celebration!!). We ate at a restaurant called Trellis and then spent a night by ourselves in a hotel. Poor Coda had to spend his 6th birthday night all alone! The next day we just meandered the day away by going to Fry's, IKEA (where we picked up a very fun crown chew toy for the birthday boy!) and Pike Place Market. Sunday I had to work nice and early, but for that I'm done at 10, still make it to Meeting (always a refreshing quietness after the morning rush!) and then the rest of the day is spent with family. It sure seems like I've had lots of work going on, but I have managed to get some cooking done! Monday night was Rinderrouladen (I'll post the recipe after!) with Spätzle (German egg noodles) and Rotkohl (sweet and sour red cabbage), Thursday was Borscht (Russian beat/veggie soup) and Pelmeni (Russian tortellini) day. I made another new recipe, too, but transposed a measurement on two different ingredients and so it turned out, well, not so great. The family didn't like the texture, although, if not for the extreme vermouth-iness, I liked it a lot! I have managed to get a few cards made, but not near enough! Tonight we had Tiana's charge, her BFF Toria and my friend Jenna's daughter for the evening. We ended it very nicely with a sing at Kelvin and Carie's. So, not really just a whole lot to talk about here, but, now you
are up to speed! Have a great weekend!



















Toriana enjoying a nice filet of fish!





Birthday Boy Coda enjoying ripping his crown apart!!









Rinderrouladen (German Beef Rolls)

4 slices of beef, pounded to 1/4" thickness (from a chuck roast works!)dijon or German mustard
salt
pepper4 slices of bacon
2 gherkins (not really dill, not really sweet!!, but err on the side of sweet)
1 small onion cut into strips
flour
Oil
1 small celery root, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and chopped

Spread mustard on each beef slice. Salt and pepper. Put one slice of bacon, 1/2 of a pickle, some onion on each slice and roll up; fasten with string or toothpicks. Dip in flour.
Heat oil in large covered skillet. Brown rolls good on each side. Add vegetables and allow them to cook a bit with the meat. Add water to cover; bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour. Turn rolls often and add water if it is evaporating too much. Remove rolls and keep warm. Remove and discard veggies. Make a water and flour slurry and add to liquid. Bring to boil and allow to thicken. Guten Appetit!!

So, I didn't make these, but they look similar to mine!