Little Smokies Hash Browns

Little Smokies Hash Browns for breakfast today. Yummy-licious!

 I love hash browns. I love going out to breakfast and getting pancakes and hash browns. They are my favorites! But today I just stayed home and made my own breakfast skillet creation; Hash Browns with Peppers and Little Smokies.
Little Smokies Hash Browns

Ore Ida Potatoes O'Brien is the start of a yummy skillet breakfast.

 I start with the Potatoes O'Brien. They are cubed hash browns with onions and peppers. Then I added a handful of Little Smokies sliced up. I put them in a hot skillet with some olive oil and fried them up for 5 minutes. Lastly I added a few slices of fresh avocado



I added some fresh, sliced pears, strawberries and mini oranges called CUTIES and toast. It was a yummy breakfast. I love fresh fruit now that we have so many in season.



It was a yummy breakfast. The hubs even thought so too!

Pantry Organization Part 1

Pantry Organization After Picture - Syrups and Sauces on Lazy Susans. 

I'm on a roll organizing my house this year.  I've been working on purging the kitchen of all the extra clutter, and buying Lazy Susan's to keep all my stuff organized that I am keeping. I'm starting now on the pantry organization.

Pantry Organization After Picture. Now all my vinegars and sauces have a home in the pantry. It is much easier to see what is there. Also, there is a limit to how many can go on each Lazy Susan. 

Pantry Organization Before Picture.....not so pretty. I have so many canned goods that I have to sort and make a place for. So this is my March challenge. Organize the pantry and make it look neat and tidy. 

I found containers for the puddings and the jellos. It makes them easier to sort and to see what I have too. I like how it turned out. Baskets are cheap to buy at a thrift store and you can get all sorts of sizes for a buck. 

Baskets are cheap at the thrift store. They come in all sorts of colors and sizes. I have been buying them for 50 cents to a buck. It is the perfect thing to sort things in the pantry. 

Then I lined up all my cake and brownie boxed mixes onto a shelf that we will call the baking shelf. It will house all my flour, sugars and baking tools. They are all organized now on their own shelf. Such an improvement!  

In January and February I worked on all my kitchen drawers and cupboards. They went from this messiness.......

To this Kitchen Organization....check it out HERE at Weekday Chef.

Finished! Pantry Organization looks great! At least this first shelf! Now on to the canned goods!
Check out my January post on kitchen drawer organization HERE. 

Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy

I LOVE these finger lickin good pork chops. I use the thicker pork chops from Costco and coat them and fry them in a little olive oil before backing them in this tasty gravy. They come out super tender and delicious. My family loves them! 

Breaded Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy....chicken fried!

PORK CHOPS IN MUSHROOM GRAVY
4-6 pork chops
A few shakes of  Lawry's Season Salt
A few shakes of pepper.
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs (optional for more of a coating)
Roll chops  in egg then in flour. Then repeat for a thicker coating or dip in bread crumbs if you want a crispy, thick coating. I just lightly floured mine after dipping in a whisked up egg. 

Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy.....better than a pork chop on a stick! 

My hubs and I once went to a family reunion in Iowa to see all my relatives who are farmers back there. While we were there the Iowa State Fair was happening so we went to see one of the greatest State Fairs in the whole U.S.A. My hubs best memory? Eating a pork chop on a stick! He LOVES his pork chops. I love this recipe for cooking them. It is a great one to do with mashed potatoes because the gravy is so delicious you will lick it off your fingers, I promise!

I just did a light flour dusting this time on my Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy.If you like them with a thicker breading, just leave them setting in the flour for 10 minutes then season them and fry. The more flour, the thicker the breading is. 

 Bread the pork chops with egg mixture, dip very lightly in flour, and season with Lawry's seasoning salt and pepper.Then fry them up in some canola oil.

You could also bread them heavily in egg, then flour, then egg then flour again if you like that crispy chicken fried style of pork chop breading. I've done it both ways.

Then blot the excess canola oil from your pork chops dry on a paper towel.

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help

Put them in a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with Pam. Then put them in the oven on 300 for 45 minutes covered with foil.  

While they are baking in a foil covered pyrex 9 x 13 pan mix up the mushroom gravy with 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup, 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 cup cooking white wine, and 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms, and then season with pepper and a few shakes of Lawry's Seasoning Salt. I have used thick and thin pork chops with this recipe. If they are really thick I would bake them for a couple of hours on 300 degrees covered in foil. If they are thin, bake 45 minutes covered.

                      Bake your finished pork chops in a foil covered dish for 45 minutes to 1 hour if they are thin, 90 minutes if thick.

Mushroom Gravy

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup White wine or sherry 

1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

pepper and seasoning salt to taste

1/2 cup mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic for 5 minutes

You don't need much salt as the soup is very salty already. Then pour it over your chops after they've baked for 45 minutes.  Let them bake another 15 minutes covered.  When they are done they should be pretty tender and very moist. The gravy is the best part so you can double the recipe if you are having mashed potatoes to go with your pork chops. Yummy. Enjoy!

Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy - I think we did these over rice, but Mashed Potatoes are great too!

Navajo Tacos with Indian Fry Bread

Navajo Tacos with Indian Fry Bread is one of my favorite ways to use leftover chili you made the night before. It is a type of scone. You fry up or bake flat round pancakes of bread dough, and then top them with chili, cheese and your favorite taco toppings. 

I start with a basic bread recipe for 2 loaves of bread. I use this one from allrecipes.com Here. It is kind of a foolproof bread recipe that my family loves. 

I rolled mine out pretty thick but if you like light Navajo Tacos, roll them thin like less than 1/4 inch. Flatten them into 6 inch round pieces with a rolling pin. Then put 1/4 inch Canola oil in a fry pan to medium temperature. I have an electric stove so I put mine to 5 them moved it more toward 6 later. 

One bread dough recipe will make about 8 Navajo Tacos. I used a 2 loaf recipe of bread and made about 14 pieces of Indian Fry Bread. Fry them up like a donut. But you will know one side is done when they start to bubble, like a pancake does. 

 Navajo Tacos are great meal to make when you have leftover chili at home. Fry up the Indian Fry Bread for about 2 minutes per side...... then lay out on a paper towel to drain excess oil. 

Fry up the dough in a frying pan with 1/2 inch of hot, canola oil. 

Then dry the Indian Fry Bread on paper towels to soak up excess oil. 

Here is the Indian Fried Bread....this would be good with honey and butter OR cinnamon and sugar on top for extra pieces. I do this with the leftover dough and make small "donut" twists.  That's a fun thing for kids to do with the dough.  

Spread the warmed up chili on top of warm fry bread and add your favorite Mexican shredded cheeses and salsa or sour cream. Then add your toppings like tomatoes, lettuce, olives and avocados! Yummy! 

I cut up all the veggies while the leftover chili was warming up on the stove......and then put them in individual bowls. Everybody just made their own Navajo Tacos. Some added salsa or sour cream to theirs. (I added both since I like them spicey). Depending on how spicy your chili is, it will not need salsa sometimes. 

Navajo Tacos with Indian Fry Bread

And there you have it!  Navajo Tacos are a great way to use up your leftovers from Chili Nights! You can also just BAKE the flattened dough pieces if you want to reduce the calories. We baked ours for about 8 to 10 minutes at a Girl's Camp one year. It was almost as good. :D

Now Dig in! Yum! (sounds of yumminess)....

Homemade Pizza Crust

We wanted pizza tonight. So I made some homemade dough and we had fun adding toppings. It is the easiest thing. And it always turns out delicious on my pizza stones. 

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
1 C warm water
1 T sugar
1 T Active Dry Yeast
1 t salt
3 T  canola oil
2 1/2 to 3 Cups of white flour
2-3 Cups of mozzarella cheese, grated
Pizza Sauce (I use Prego with mushrooms)
Toppings of your choice for 2 large (12 inch) pizzas
Mix up all the ingredients. 

Be sure you let the dough rest for 5 minutes,  after you mix up all the ingredients and roll it into a ball. Then drop a bit of oil on each of the stones and rub it around before placing dough on the stone. If you made a super large pizza I usually bake it for about 6 minutes first before adding any toppings or sauce to be sure the middle will cook through and not be doughy. (I use a hot oven 450).

 But if you are doing medium like 12 inch pizzas, don't worry about it. Use a pizza stone and roll out the divided dough onto 2 different stones. I used one round one and one new rectangle one I bought recently. Be sure they are oiled.

 We did one pizza in pepperoni with mushrooms and olives.

 The other one we did in canadian bacon and pineapple tidbits. Yum. That's my favorite. We left part of it just cheese pizza for the kiddos.

 Once you spread the dough out evenly all over your two pizza pans or stones, then Pour 3/4 to 1 cup Prego sauce over the pizza. Then you can add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese on each pizza and your own choice of toppings.

 Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a 450 oven. When it looks ready and bubbly take it out and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it with a pizza cutter. I usually try to do 8 to 10 pieces, making some large and some small for the adults and the kids. Then dig in brutha! It's done!

Homemade Pizza is so much better than boxed pizzas from the supermarket. And it is just as good as the pizza shops make! Just be sure you use a good pizza dough recipe. That's the secret! 

Salted Caramel Samoa Cake

We had such a fun time watching the Super bowl on Sunday and having the family over for pulled pork sliders, side salads, and Salted Caramel Samoa Cake for dessert. It was so delish!

Salted Caramel Samoa Cake 

 I made a regular chocolate cake in a sheet cake pan. But I doctored it up a little with some sour cream and a small box of chocolate pudding (dry) like I always do. Then I added 1/4 cube of butter melted to the batter. It makes it have a much richer chocolate taste. But the real hero is the caramel ice cream topping in the buttercream icing. Salted Caramel Samoa Cake was an idea swiped from the Girl Scouts Samoa cookies.

Girl Scouts Samoa Cookies are a treat, but not like this Salted Caramel Samoa Cake! 

 It is made with coconut, caramel and chocolate, just like Samoa Cookies. I used caramel ice cream topping in the deliciously delectable salted icing. I was eating it by the spoonful, I swear. I still dream about how
yummy the icing was!

This Salted Caramel Donut I got from Beyond Glaze was good. But not as good as the Salted Caramel Samoa Cake. Nope. 

It kind of reminded me of this Salted Caramel donut I had recently. Super yum![/caption] The best part is  you add toasted coconut to the Salted Caramel Samoa Cake icing, then add caramel bits or melted Kraft caramels, and then drizzle warm chocolate bark or chocolate chips melted in the microwave on top. It is the yummiest of cakes. My family all raved about it. And making it in a sheet cake pan really made it go a long way. [n top of the Salted Caramel Samoa Icing It is a new favorite recipe of mine.

Toast the coconut in a non-stick pan for about 3 or 4 minutes. 

Then let the coconut cool a bit before sprinkling it all across the caramel icing. 

Here is how I did mine: I used a regular chocolate cake boxed recipe and added a cup of sour cream and a small pudding dry mix to the batter and 1/4 stick melted butter. Everything else is just as the boxed mix calls for. Then I greased a 13 x 18 one inch deep cookie sheet with Pam and poured the batter. I baked it at 375 for about 20 minutes. I bakes a lot faster because it is not a deep cake. Then I made up the icing. I got the recipe for the salted caramel buttercream from Chef in Training.

Here is her recipe for the Salted Caramel Buttercream Icing:  I tweaked the recipe slightly

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 2 cups powdered sugar (hers calls for 3 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes to 25 minutes depending on your oven. It is a lot quicker because you are using that large sheet pan that is 1 inch deep.

Chocolate 

et cake pan that is only 1 inch deep. Chocolate cake batter made richer with sour cream and a pudding mix and some melted butter.  While it was cooling I made up the icing. Then I frosted it with the Salted Caramel icing. Oh my it is good. I kept licking the spoon and had to fight my granddaughter for the beaters.

This Salted Caramel Samoa Cake icing is so decadent and delish! I was licking the spoon AND the bowl! 

Salted Caramel Samoa Cake Icing. It is so rich and delish! Then comes the real magic. I put  1 1/2 cups of coconut into a non-stick fry pan and toasted it for about 4 minutes watching it closely and turning it over and over with a spatula. Lay it out on a plate to cool. Then sprinkle it on the top of the Salted Caramel icing

 Salted Caramel Samoa Cake
   Then I microwaved the chocolate chips for 30 seconds and added a little bit of oil to thin them. I've used chocolate bark too. Either one works well with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of canola oil to thin it. Drizzle chocolate all across the cake back and forth. Then lastly get Caramel Bits or Kraft caramels and melt them down and add a little water for drizzling. OR you can just drizzle some Caramel ice cream topping over the drizzled chocolate.  It was a great treat at the end of a Super Bowl Game to remember. Congrats to the Patriots who pulled it out at the last minute.

Salted Caramel Samoa Cake.  Now I owe my son-in-law a Snickers candy bar, since we are a betting family. And, yes, I lost the bet. :D