Jolene's Recipe Journal

Guys were having Shake N Bake pork chops last night and I am not a fan, so took advantage of being able to make myself French Toast for dinner.   Found some frozen strawberries that were left from picking this summer and we have an overabundance of cream cheese at the moment.     

Totally hit the spot!


* Exported from MasterCook *

              Strawberry & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast


  6             slices  day old Italian bread
  2             ounces  cream cheese -- softened
     1/2           cup  frozen sliced strawberries -- drain, reserve liquid
  1              large  egg
  2        tablespoons  sugar
                        splash milk
  1           teaspoon  vanilla
                        butter -- for skillet
                        real NH maple syrup
                        powdered sugar -- if desired

Spread bread with softened cream cheese.  Top 3 slices with drained strawberries.    Put lids on top, press slightly.  

Combine egg, sugar, milk and vanilla in…

This week I got it into my head that I wanted to make meatloaf or meatballs.    I contemplated the Parmesan Meatloaf that had been a previous hit, but decided I wanted something without a red sauce.     I had some heavy cream leftover from a Perfect Chocolate Cake that I'd made earlier in the day, so I decided to give this recipe a try. 

I thought the meatballs on their own needed a little something, maybe garlic, but I think most things are better with a little garlic  :)      The dish as a whole was excellent and I will definitely make it again.    Thank you to Erin at Erinnish for sharing the recipe!



Meatballs in Cream Sauce with Garlic Butter Pasta

     1/2         pound  ground pork -- used 1/2lb
     1/2         pound  ground beef
     1/2           cup  fresh bread crumbs -- 2 slices, used wheat with crusts
     1/8           cup  seasoned dry bread crumbs -- used seasoned panko
  1         teaspoon  dried parsley
     1/4           cup  shredded Parmesan cheese
  1      …

Trying to bust out of a cooking slump, I pulled this recipe from my to-try file on Sunday.   Unfortunately, I was outvoted by the guys pizza craving, and it got pushed to last night.    With the chaos of a weeknight going on around me, I'm not sure I gave it justice.   My kitchen was a disaster when I was finished, but I had a smiling happy family, and that's what really matters to me.

First I got the chicken soaking.   Critical error- I'd forgotten to buy buttermilk.   No problem, I'll just use regular milk and some vinegar.    Uh, no white vinegar, only apple cider vinegar.   In it went.      I used Sriracha for the hot sauce component.

While the chicken did it's thing, I made the waffle batter.   Bacon in waffles around here has been vetoed in the past, so I cooked it up to serve on the side.   I used dried chives instead of green onions, it's what I had on hand.    Someone had eaten the last of the cheddar, so I used a mexican cheese blend.     Batter ready…

Game day and we wanted a cheesy treat.    We've got several large bags of cheese sticks in the freezer, and visions of crunchy mozzarella sticks danced in my head.   I made up my assembly line, starting with a pie plate with flour in it.   Then a 2nd one with 2 beaten eggs.    I combined panko and regular bread crumbs, added some Penzey's Italian Herb Mix and put that in the 3rd pan.      Once they were breaded, I put them onto a half sheet pan and put them into the freezer.  

For a test bake, I preheated the oven to 400º.  I sprayed a small pan with Pam, put 2 sticks on, sprayed the tops with Pam.  Baked 5 mins, flipped, then another 6 mins on the other side.     They were good, but I had left my sticks whole and they flattened out significantly.    I was missing that supercrunchy golden outside and oozy melty inside.   I had to fry.

I heated about an inch of vegetable oil in a skillet to 350º and fried them in small batches.   When they reached the color I wanted, I moved t…