Ranch Pork Chops

Found this recipe on Pinterest (yep, again :). Originally, it came from here. I did make the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, but my 2 critics like my mashed potatoes best so I've stuck with my old tried & true mashed potatoes ever since. 

Ranch Pork Chops

6-8 boneless pork chops (1/2" to 1" thick)

1 packet of ranch dressing mix

1 can of cream of chicken soup

I put the cream of chicken soup & dressing mix in the crockpot & mixed thoroughly. Then tossed in the pork chops. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. 

Serve with mashed potatoes. 

**Let me just say, I don't normally like pork chops. These, however, are REALLY good! You can easily cut them with a fork & they just melt in your mouth.**

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Today's recipe is another great find on Pinterest...I just LOVE that site! 


This one comes originally from here and below is her picture of the finished product, because it is much prettier than any I took :)

 She has several other recipes that look worthy of trying (like Zesty Pasta Salad & Lone Star Steak House Cheese Fries - can't wait to try these!!!) so be sure & hop over there & take a looksie for yourself.


I love chicken-n-dumplins' (as we always called them), but I had never made them myself. I just figured they were one of those meals that only a grandma could do the right way :) I made these today & they are delicious, super easy to make & a fairly budget-friendly meal. 

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (3-5)

2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 cans (10.5 oz ea.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth

1 medium white onion, diced

4 large flaky refrigerator biscuits

(I also tossed in a little pepper & salt, but that's up to you & your family's personal preference.) 

Place chicken in crock pot & top with butter. Add cream of chicken soup, chicken broth & diced onions. (I used frozen diced onions - maybe 1/2 - 3/4 cup & added a little extra chicken broth about halfway through cooking that I will add at the beginning next time - maybe an additional 1/2-1 cup). Cook on high for 4-6 hours. 

Remove chicken from crock pot & use a fork to shred. Return chicken to crock pot. Cut each uncooked biscuit into 9 pieces & stir into the chicken mixture. Continue to cook on high for at least 30 minutes (I let mine cook longer). 

I love using my crock pot & I'm super excited that not only have I found another "keeper" crock pot recipe, but I've found a superb chicken-n-dumplins' recipe as well! 

Hot & Sour Soup

One of Toby & I's favorite Chinese restaurant menu items has always been their Hot & Sour Soup. Recently, though, our local restaurants' versions just haven't been the same. So when I came across a recipe for Hot & Sour Soup in a Taste of Home booklet that came with the cookbook I got for Christmas I was super happy!! 


One note I need to make 1st: in a small rural area like ours, finding some (one in particular) of the ingredients wasn't all that easy. Fortunately, once you find them, they are ingredients that you can use more than once for future batches. 

Hot & Sour Soup

3/4 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1-1/2-inch x 1/4-inch strips

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms

6 cups chicken broth (it actually takes 1 & 1/2 of the boxes shown above)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons chili garlic sauce 

** This is the hardest one on the list to find in our area - I eventually settled on this: 

Sriracha Sauce

but really, it's suppose to be this:

Chili Garlic Sauce

3/4 teaspoons pepper

1 package (14 oz) extra-firm tofu, drained & cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 can (8 oz) bamboo shoots, drained (I cut these in half lengthwise - that's just personal preference)

1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained (I cut these in half, again just a personal preference)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup cornstarch

5 Tablespoons water

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

In a dutch oven, brown pork in oil until no longer pink; remove meat & keep warm. Add mushrooms; saute until tender. Set aside and keep warm.

Add the broth, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and pepper to the pan. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 10 minutes. Return meat & mushrooms to pan. Stir in tofu, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch & water until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; gently stir in sesame oil. Garnish with onions.

Makes about 2 quarts. 

Nutrition facts:

Serving size: 1-1/2 cups

240 calories

10 g fat

37 mg cholesterol

1,779 mg sodium

18 g carbohydrates

2 g fiber

21 g protein

**Although this doesn't taste exactly like the old restaurant version we remember, it is VERY good. We had plenty left over for tomorrow & I'm anxious to see how it tastes then because I have a feeling the overnight marriage of flavors is going to make for an even better soup tomorrow.  I do think having the right chili garlic sauce would make it even better so maybe I'll see if I can find it online & order it.**

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Pinterest is quickly becoming one of my very favorite internet past times. (As if I needed another way to waste time on the internet! HA!).  I have found some really great ideas & recipes on there. Today I tried something I read on there a couple weeks ago....baking potatoes in the crockpot.

You can read about this technique at the original place I found it (if you like) here...

Or I can just briefly tell you how it works :) 

Wash potatoes

Wrap in aluminum foil

Place in crockpot

Cook on high 6-8 hrs

Remove from crockpot, unwrap & load 'em up with all your favorite toppings!

Doesn't get much easier than that, does it?!? No heating up the kitchen with your oven & no waiting your turn to microwave your potato while everyone else is eating (and, I have to add, these are WAY better than microwaved ones anyway!)

*Note: you have to wrap them in foil & you do NOT add any water to the crockpot...this seems to be the 2 main questions asked over at the blog linked above*

Feel Free To Follow, Comment or Both!

By the way, if you've hopped over here from Pinterest, feel free to become a Follower of my blog or just leave a comment. I'd love the added Followers, comments, ideas, suggestions, etc. =)

Omelet In A Bag

I heard about making omelets in baggies several years ago. We made them a couple of times & then, like so many good ideas & recipes I have, I forgot about it. I was thinking about making omelets the other day & this technique came to mind again. It works great & is a wonderful way for the whole family to get to sit down to breakfast together & everyone's eggs still be hot. (Let's be honest, most of us moms have cold eggs by the time we get seated & ready to eat!) It's also great for when everyone can't agree on what add-ins they want in their omelet. With this method, each omelet is custom made for each person :) 


The idea & whole process is all over the internet (including a clip on the Rachel Ray Show, a Paula Deen version & how-to videos on several sites).  I'm recording it here for me & so that it'll be included in my collection for LiviGirl. 

Photo from Food Network  

Omelet In A Bag


2-3 eggs (depending on how hungry you are :)
salt, pepper, milk
add-ins (cheese, ham, mushrooms, veggies, onions, bacon, salsa, etc. - whatever you like in your omelet...*Note* meats should be precooked)


BRAND NAME quart size baggies. Both ZipLoc & Hefty would work fine, but many store brands are just not high enough quality or thick enough plastic to work. I prefer the kind that zip or slide shut for this recipe. 


Take a sharpie or other permanent marker & label each bag with its owner's name. Then, break 2-3 eggs in each baggie, add salt & pepper to taste & I also added a dash of milk because I usually add a dash to my scrambled eggs. It's purely a personal preference. Throw in the add-ins each person wants, seal up baggie (be sure to get the extra air out). Knead baggie to "beat" eggs & mix all the ingredients. 


*Note* I've read several places where people find the above step easier if you put the baggie in a mug or cup & roll the top down over the sides of the mug/cup while filling so that the baggie doesn't fall over. Sounds like a good idea to me!


Use a large stock pot so that the baggies can freely move about in the water. Bring water to a rolling boil. Then turn temperature down to a simmer & drop sealed (extra air removed) baggies into the boiling water. 


I've seen instructions that say boil for as little as 7 minutes & as long as 15 minutes. As a general rule, I boil 13 minutes for 2 egg omelet, 15 minutes for 3 egg omelet.  


Use tongs to lift baggies from water. Lay on a paper towel for a few seconds, then open baggie & roll omelet on to each person's plate. 


*Disclaimer* Some people have a great aversion to eating anything heated in plastic. Snopes.com disputes this claim here. Some schools of thought think that by simply turning down the heat & simmering the bags you can prevent the negative aspects of cooking your food in plastic. I'm of the mindset that a large percentage of us still heat in "tupperware" or "gladware" & this is really no different. In fact, IMO, it's probably much healthier than many of the restaurants we're willing to go out to & eat breakfast. Regardless, if you have a problem with cooking in plastic, then this is obviously NOT the method for you.

Cookie Balls

I'm not sure where I originally found this recipe, but you can find it at AllRecipes with close to 100 user photos so I'm thinking it's probably a family favorite for many families. =) My recipe is jotted down on a notepaper with LiviGirl's name at the top so I'm going to guess that she had something to do with the finding of this recipe. 


She & I made these several years ago. They're messy to make (think Oreo crumbs everywhere), but they are delicious & messing up the kitchen with your cooking buddy is really part of the fun, isn't it?

Cookie Balls

1# chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (*read "Oreo" here. I think we used the double stuffed ones)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 # vanilla candy coating (I probably used white chocolate almond bark, because I've found it to be the easiest to use white chocolate coating.)


Combine crushed cookies with cream cheese. Roll into balls & dip with a fork into melted white chocolate/candy coating. Set on wax paper to cool. 


Makes about 36.