Jarred Pineapple

Makes about 10 pints

Each pineapple you cut up will give you a little over 2 cups, depending on size

After you cup up your pineapples, put the core and any other meaty skin parts into a large stock pot. Add enough water to just cover the pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes, strain with cheesecloth after it cools a bit

Place 20-24 cups of pineapple chunks to a large kettle with 2 cups of sugar and 6 cups of the pineapple juice you just made, simmer 10 minutes

Add pineapples and juice into jars up to 1/2 inch headspace

Remove air bubbles and add more mixture if needed to bring it back up to 1/2 inch

Wipe rim, apply lid and ring

Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath canner

After 24 hours have passed, remove rings and wash jars.

Label jars with date and store. Do not stack jars.

Any leftover juice you have can also be canned to use later for cooking or beverages!

Friday Pizza Check In!

Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella on the left side

Tomato and Mozzarella on the right side

So good!  Cant wait for leftovers tomorrow!

Creole Chicken Marsala

This dish has a bit of kick to it, but it is real good!

Creole Chicken Marsala

This recipe will make 4 servings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 1/2 cup Marasla wine divided
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (recipe at bottom of post)
4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups sliced mushrooms

Marinate the chicken breast in 1/2 cup of Marasla wine for at least an hour

Add Creole seasoning to the flour

Coat chicken with flour mixture

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat

Cook chicken breasts on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes each side, until lightly browned

Add mushrooms to skillet and cook about 3-4 more minutes

Add Marasla wine to skillet

Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes

Remove chicken to a serving plate

Add butter or margarine to skillet

Turn heat off and stir until everything is blended

Serve chicken with Marasla sauce on top

This recipe has a bit of kick, but it is so good!

Enjoy!

Creole Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combing all the ingredients and keep in an airtight container.

Easy Meatloaf

This recipe will make 1 loaf

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon Adobo or other seasoning you prefer
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground pork or other ground meat

* Optional Glaze
1/4 cup catsup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard or 1/2 teaspoon liquid mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine all the ingredients until mixed well

Form mixture into a loaf

Place on a greased cookie sheet or in a greased loaf pan

Bake uncovered for 55 minutes

Remove from oven and let it set for a few minutes before slicing

* If you are adding the glaze, remove loaf from oven 45 minutes into baking

Pour glaze on top of loaf and return to oven

Bake an additional 10 minutes

I have been making this meatloaf recipe for over 27 years. It came in one of my first cookbooks I ever owned. I have tried other recipes, but I always come back to this one.

I will normally make an extra loaf. I refrigerate it for a day then cut into slices. I freeze the slices into serving size portions. These are now ready for a quick meal or for meat loaf sandwiches.  I have also broken up the pieces and put them into pasta sauce.  So much you can do with this recipe.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

I am not a huge fan of Pork Chops, but, this came out really good! I will be making this often!

 

Oven Fried Pork Chops

Makes 4 Chops

4 Boneless Pork Chops
2 eggs beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Stir together eggs, milk and pepper

Dip pork chops in flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until no pink in the center. Internal temp of 160 degrees

When I baked these, I placed them on a greased cookie rack over a foil lined cookie sheet. They didn’t need to be flipped and were crispy.

If you don’t have a cookie rack, place them on a greased cookie sheet and flip 10 minutes into baking.

We served it with a salad, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce and orange wedges.

Enjoy!

 

My daughter also made these Pork Chops. Here is her plate. She is one of the reasons I have this blog going. She made hers with a side of Peanut Pasta.  Nice job Sami!  Looks great!

Chicken Scampi

I made this for lunch today.  I used Angel Hair pasta this time.  It was awesome!  Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Korbyn ate 2 plates full.

 

This recipe will serve 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks or left whole
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped scallions or onions
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
Linguini cooked according to package directions
Parmesan cheese to taste

In a large skillet, add butter and oil over medium heat

Add scallions or onions, garlic, salt and pepper

Sauté for a few minutes until onions start to get soft

Add chicken, lemon juice, and parsley

Sauté for 7 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink

Add parmesan cheese to the linguini and mix well

Serve the chicken over the linguini and enjoy!

Sisters Cantina, Tamaqua, PA

Sisters Cantina

1315 East Broad Street
Tamaqua, PA

Local Mexican Restaurant

I ordered the Carnitas Nachos with bbq pulled pork $8.48. They were on special that night. Menu said it was served with sour cream. It was not brought with our meal and it took a while for the waitress to return to our table so I could ask for it. She said it is served on request. (Not what the menu stated) Could have used a bit more pulled pork but overall it tasted good. I would order it again.

Korbyn had the Kids Chicken Tenders with French Fries. 2 pieces of boneless white fried chicken tenders with fresh cut fries, $4.99.

Ed ordered the Mexican Fiesta $7.29 Came with one beef taco, one cheese and onion enchilada, Spanish rice and refried beans.

Adam ordered Boneless Wings with hot sauce, $5.99 bleu cheese and celery, .75 and a side order of Fresh Cut Fries $1.99

He had cheesecake for dessert, $3.99

Korbyns meal came with a cup of ice cream

Ed and I ordered the Fried Ice Cream, $4.59

Sodas are $2.25 each with NO free refills.

Our bill for the 4 of us was $61.00

Jarred No Bean Chili

No Bean Chili

Makes 18 pints

6 pounds of ground pork
6 tablespoons of chopped garlic
6 large onions chopped
6 teaspoons dried oregano
6 teaspoons hot pepper sauce, or to taste
6 28 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons mustard
Few shakes of ground anise seed
Few shakes of Adobo

I take 2 greased roasting pans and work the recipe this way

In a large skillet, brown 3 pounds of ground pork

Drain cooked pork in a strainer

Sauté 3 onions in same skillet while pork drains in strainer

Dump the drained pork and cooked onions into 1 of the roasting pans

Brown the next 3 pounds of pork, drain, sauté the next 3 onions, dump into other roasting pan

Add half the ingredients to each roasting pan and mix well

Place roasting pans in a 300 degree oven for an hour

Stir occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom

Ladle Chili into jars to a 1 inch headspace

Remove air bubbles, add more chili if needed to bring it back to 1 inch

Wipe rim, apply lid and ring

Process pints at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes, quarts for 90 minutes

After 24 hours have passed, remove rings and wash jars

Label jars with date and store. Do not stack jars

Sugar Cookies for Cut Outs

Someone turned 4 today and needed cookies for school!

Sugar cookies for cut outs

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup shortening, I used butter flavored Crisco

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar

Add eggs and vanilla and mix well

Slowly add flour and salt, continue to mix

Refrigerate dough for at least an hour

Roll out dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch

Cut into shapes, repeat until all the dough is used up.

Place cookies on parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes

Let cool before decorating

I didn’t decorate these cookies. We wanted them as is. They seemed to get hard quick. I put them in an air tight container with a slice of bread. This will help keep them soft.

Enjoy!

Italian Grilled Chicken

I don’t BBQ, ever! My boyfriend is the grill-master. He can make grilled chicken like I have never tasted before. I don’t know how he does it, but it is perfect every time!

I took boneless, skinless chicken breast and marinated them in Zesty Italian Salad Dressing all day.

He did the rest!

I served this with rice, pineapple casserole, and cranberry sauce.

There were no leftovers!