Good Homestyle Dinner

Pork and Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

• 1 pork roast
• 1 medium onion
• 1 can of sauerkraut
• 1 T. oil
• ½ c. water

Directions:

1. Rub the roast with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
2. Brown the roast on all sides in the oil. Put the roast on the crock pot.
3. Chop up the onion and fry it in the remaining oil and grease from the roast. Add more oil if necessary.
4. Once the onion has browned, add the sauerkraut. After a minute or two add the water and scrape off the remains from the bottom of the pan. Pour all over top and around the roast and cook on low for 4 – 5 hours.

Nummy Mashed Potatoes

 Ingredients:

• potatoes
• cream cheese
• onion
• garlic
• salt and pepper
• butter
• oregano
• milk

Directions:

1. Wash, peel, and chop potatoes. Add potatoes to pot of water and boil until fork tender.
2. Drain potatoes. Add next 7 ingredients and mash the potatoes up until creamy using fork, potato masher, or hand mixer.

Drawing

A sketch I did...

And... My first attempt at using color pastels. I drew it with pencil, I think next time I'll try pen. The pencil just kept smudging and I couldn't use the pastels very well... Hmmm...

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice

Recently I decided to over indulge myself in Pride and Prejudice. I read the books Pride and Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I also watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and just happened to catch the new version of Pride and Prejudice on t.v. PHEW. I am done Done DONE with Pride and Prejudice. But! Here's a look at what I thought of all of the above... :)

 Pride and Prejudice ***1/2

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ***

Pride and Prejudice ***1/2

 Pride and Prejudice ****

 I think I've decided that the new movie is my favorite of them all. It is shortish... Has a FANTASTIC soundtrack. And I thought that it was acted very well. But, I didn't love the book, so that's probably why I preferred it over the BBC version. It is JUST like the book. SO, if you LOVE LOVE LOVE the book, the BBC version will rock your world. But, I do have to agree with the rumor that Collin Firth is a fantastic Darcy. :)

Scarf

Just a homemade scarf I made for Russ!

A Delicious Valentine's Day

Sliced Steak with Green Olive and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tsp. hot sauce
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless shoulder steak or top round steak
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. large pitted green olives, chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• juice of one lemon
• 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 3 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler on high. 
2. Combine the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, a liberal drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and smear this mixture over the steak. 
3. Put the steak on a broiler pan on the rack closest to the flame. Broil it for 6 minutes per side. 
4. Remove it from the broiler and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered with a piece of aluminum foil.
5. While the steak is broiling, make the green olive and tomato sauce.
6. Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat with the 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, twice around the pann.
7. Add the onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. 
8. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes; let the onions take on a little color. Add the chicken stock and cook until it has reduced by half.
9. Add the olives, parsley, lemon juice, and tomatoes. Stir them to combine, turn off the heat, and add the cold butter, stirring until it is completely melted and incorporated.
10. Slice the rested steak very thin against the grain and on a slight angle. Serve the sliced steak with some of the green olive and tomato sauce.

Sauteed Artichokes and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 1 15-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until they take on a little color. 
2. Add the garlic and season the darkened mushrooms with salt and pepper, cook them for 2 minutes more, then add the artichokes and chicken stock to the skillet and cook them together to heat through. 
3. Add the parsley to the skillet, toss to combine, and serve.

Charred Asparagus Tips

Ingredients:

• 1 bundle asparagus
• olive oil
• salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Hold a spear of asparagus at both ends, then snap it. Where the asparagus breaks naturally can be your guide to trim the bundle of spears. Save the tough ends to make soup, if you like.
3. Dress the spears with oil, salt, and pepper. 
4. Scatter the spears on a thin pizza pan or baking sheet and roast them for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they are charred at the edges.

We originally found these recipes in Rachael Ray's 2,4,6,8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds cookbook. It's FABULOUS.

Leftover Chicken, or not!

So a SUPER quick fairly cheap dinner when you just don't feel like making anything is a roasted chicken. You can get one at pretty much any grocery store (Wal*Mart is cheapest, BUT they stop selling them pretty early.) Anyway, whenever Russ and I pick up one of these roasted chicken we always have a ton of extra chicken! So, this is one of our FAVORITE ways to use up those left overs. It's probably even better with fresh chicken... But it is still great like this!

Chicken Enchiladas

source:  Sarah Fuller
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin

Sauce:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans diced green chilies
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put chicken and next 3 ingredients in frying pan and heat through. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix ingredients in sauce. 
4. Add 1/3 of sauce to the cooked chicken and mix. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with 1/2 of remaining sauce. 
5. Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas. Roll up tortilla and place in pan in a row. Mixture should fill about 1 package of tortillas. 
6. Once all of chicken mixture has been used, pour the remaining sauce over top and place in oven.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until sauce begins to bubble. 
8. Once the enchiladas are heated through, put grated cheese on top and let melt. Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, fresh tomatoes, olives, green onions, and extra cheddar cheese.

Gentlemen Broncos

Gentlemen Broncos ...

BUH. PAINFUL. I don't even know how to rate this movie. Seriously. So bizarre. But, if you like Napoleon Dynamite or Nacho Libre you MIGHT like this one. SERIOUSLY weird... Yeah. It's kind of like stabbing yourself in the eye with a pencil. Repeatedly... Kinda :) 

**According to Russell on the Napoleon Dynamite scale, it's a 10 out of 5. :)