Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Teamwork-

Did you ever have to participate in those lame team-building exercises at work? Due to things beyond my control, I had to tell DH how to prepare dinner last night. HE had to follow the instructions EXACTLY. It drove us nuts.

If you don't use Bisquick impossible pie recipes, you are missing out. It's an easy way to dress up veggies, use up leftovers, and just switch things up. I had him put together a spinach souffle using chopped spinach and shredded mozzerella. I had to get him to use everything, in the simplest way possible. Ok, not too bad.

Then I had to talk him thru the best pork-chops ever.

1 pack 3-6 porkchops
mayonnaise
salt, pepper, seasonings
cracker crumbs-about 1/4 cup per two porkchops

Heat the oven to 425 (the impossible pie is already in there....!) Find the cookie sheet, and put a wire rack on top.
Coat each of the chops with about a tablespoon of mayo, and season the chops. Roll the chops in cracker crumbs, and lay onto rack.

When all the chops have been coated, bake for about 25 minutes. Yummmmmm!

Dinner was great and no one died.




Sunday, October 18, 2009

It took 50 years to come up with that dish!


Sorry, it's been stressful at Chez Leftovers. Lots has happened, and it messed up my cooking zen.

We've been on Sugarbusters for the past two weeks. I've been trying to come up with interesting things that we can eat. Which led me to acorn squash.

Acorn squash was a plague of my childhood. Lima beans, cantaloupe, and brussel sprouts were on the "heck no" list, and acorn squash wasn't far behind. I think it was because my dad wasn't a fabulous cook, and my mom didn't do all that great cooking American food. Picture, if you will, an acorn squash with a greasy lump of Jimmy Dean sausage in the cavity, cooked beyond recognition.

I bought a squash Friday, and cooked it tonight. I split it half, seeded it, and nuked it in a casserole with a dribble of water for about 5 minutes. I let that cool down, then chunked and peeled it. I wrapped the chunks in foil with 2 T of olive oil and 1 t of Penzey's Jerk Chicken seasonings. And threw it on the grill for an hour.

Yum. No, really, YUM. Notice that there's NONE left?

Speaking of Penzeys, they are offering a free jar of Cinnamon with your next order. The code is 43537C for online orders. Standard shipping rates apply, and the offer ends 30 November.