cajun spiced pork chops

If you're looking for a good pork chop recipe, you've happened upon the right place. I discovered this version a few years ago on All Recipes and it has never disappointed. It's quick, easy and incredibly flavorful (but not too spicy, which I worried about with "cajun" in the title). And, to boot, I can bet that you'll already have most of the ingredients in your spice cabinet. You may be able to get by with only buying a few pork chops at your local grocery store or supermarket.

Cajun Spiced Pork Chops

1 tsp paprika   

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp rubbed dried sage leaves (I usually leave out this ingredient)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

 4 center cut pork chops

Mix paprika, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sage and garlic salt on a plate. Liberally coat each pork chop with the spice mixture. (I go ahead and mix these spices with some olive oil too. It makes the mixture stick to the pork chops a little better.)

Heat olive oil and several pumps of non-stick, butter-flavored spray (um, of course I use regular butter - not the flavored spray) in a large skillet over high heat. Place the pork chops in the skillet, reducing heat to medium. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. 

fall dinner party

One thing I love about fall is that it just makes you feel like cozying inside with friends, making a homecooked meal for dinner, and gazing out the windows at the beautiful fall foliage (that is, if you live in the suburbs, I guess.) But, as a city-dweller, we can at least take advantage of the first two. And this past weekend, I did!

I tried to construct a menu that consisted of all things fall. Here are the recipes I used:

Hot Caramel Apple Cider (yields 12 ounces)

1 1/2 cups of apple cider

1 1/2 tablespoons caramel sauce (I used the stuff that is used for ice cream sundae toppings)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine apple cider, caramel, and vanilla into a sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until apple cider is hot and caramel has melted. (Be careful, it gets REALLY hot!) Pretty simple, huh? And very delicious!

Cowboy Stew (courtesy of my good friend-chef, Caylen)

1 onion

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 lb ground beef

1 lb sausage

1 lb mexican velveeta cheese

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

And, 1 can of each:

Black beans

Kidney beans (I used Pinto beans in place of this... because I like them better)

Rotel tomatoes

Stewed tomatoes

Corn

Chop veggies into small bite-sized pieces and saute in 2 tsp. olive oil until soft. Brown the meat, then add the veggies. Cut velveeta into chunks and melt into beans and meat, then add spices. Simmer until heated through. (Basically, I just cooked and opened everything and then poured it all together in a huge pot!) And believe me, it will feed an army!

I might have shared the recipe for these here before, but I'll share them again because they're that good!

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

2 cups buttermilk baking mix

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients until soft dough forms. Drop dough by heaping tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine ingredients. Brush on warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

A nice, not-especially-fallish salad (everything can't be fall-esque, I guess). Katherine majorly contributed to this, and Brendan got the cranberries and walnuts. The salad was his creation...too bad I forgot to snap a picture of it.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes by Maggie (get her recipe here!) They taste as good as they look!

And, a delicious Pumpkin Crumple made by Ann-Marie (and I think Jon did the crumple on top). I don't have the recipe for this, or a picture, yet. But believe me, you'll want to add it to your recipe box as soon as I get it!

scotcharoos

My friend Ashley makes these delicious snacks for almost every gathering. And... they are an incredibly easy recipe, which makes them more inviting than they already are. And because of their ease and popularity, I decided to share the recipe here. But, before you read, make sure you notice that I never said they were good for you!

Scotcharoos

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup light karo syrup

1 cup sugar

Melt the sugar and syrup together in a saucepan. Then add peanut butter to the mixture. Continue melting until smooth enough to stir easily. Take off heat and add 6 cups rice krispies. Pour into a pan.

Chocolate chips

Butterscotch chips

For the topping, melt half a bag of chocolate chips and half a bag of butterscotch chips together. Pour over the rice krispie mixture.

Enjoy!

fourth with the fam

As per the normal routine with this blog lately, I'm waaay behind. But the pictures from the 4th of July in Alabama were just too cute not to share, even late. On Saturday July 3rd we celebrated: we cooked out, rode 4-wheelers (or, some of us did), ate, spent time together, watched performances and napped (or, at least I did). Then on Sunday night we shot some beautiful fireworks, mostly sparklers since Monica got nearly 144 of them for free...

Monica's delicious & patriotic cake

Note to self: Be VERY careful holding a 2-year-old when he has a sparkler in his hand...

mini-cinnamon rolls

My sister got the recipe for these, here. Then she gave the recipe to my mom who then gave the recipe to me. And coincidentally, I woke up with a big craving for cinnamon rolls last Sunday morning. So, I whipped these up (very easily, I might add) and they were delicious. And I decided to share the love.

Cini Minis

1 can crescent rolls

Butter

Cinnamon Sugar

Confectioners Sugar

Milk

Unroll and press the two triangles (the crescent rolls) together at perforations. (You'll have one big rectangle!) Spread soft butter over the crescent rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll up, along the long side of rectangle. Cut the roll into slices (like slice-n-bake cookies!), and bake according to the crescent roll package. (I baked mine on 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, and they were cooked perfectly!)

For Icing

Mix approximately 1/2 cup confectioners sugar with a tablespoon of milk and stir until it reaches the right consistency. (I had to add a little more confectioners sugar...hence the reason for the icing all over the cookie sheet in the photo above!) Drizzle icing on mini cinnamon rolls.

7 layer brownie bars

I've made this dessert twice now (for 3 different occasions) and it seemed to be well received in all three circumstances, so I decided to share the recipe here. I have to say that I cheated a little and just got this recipe off the back of a brownie box, but no one will ever believe that you didn't slave for hours making these. One guy at a cookout this past weekend couldn't believe that I hadn't made these from "scratch"! They're easy and delicious, so try them out!

Seven Layer Brownie Bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 box brownie mix

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans (I left these off because I don't like mixing nuts & sweets!)

1 1/4 cups (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom of 13x9-inch pan with melted butter. Sprinkle brownie mix over butter. Top with coconut, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and pecans. Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk. Bake 30-35 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Cool thoroughly (really, let it cool ALL the way, preferably overnight if possible!) before cutting. Makes 24 bars.