Tomato Salad

YUM!

Ingredients:
grape tomatoes
fresh parmesan cheese
pepper
balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:
Cut grape tomatoes in half. Mix in bowl with parmesan cheese, salt/pepper, and about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette. Serve!

Bacon wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin
Teriyaki, garlic and green onion sauce
3 slices of bacon

Directions:
Marinate tenderloin in teriyaki sauce for at least a few hours. Remove from marinade and put in baking dish, Wrap 3 pieces of bacon around the tenderloin. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until pork is done (depends on size...about 30 minutes per pound). Right before it's done brush it with BBQ sauce.

YUM!

Brussels Sprouts

If you don't like brussels sprouts you should try this recipe...they are YUMMMM!

Ingredients:
brussels sprouts
1/2 stick butter
salt
pepper
garlic (about 3 cloves)
fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:
Boil the sprouts for about 10 minutes...you want them to be cooked but not mushy. Once they are done....drain them and rinse with cold water...let cool long enough to be able to hold them. Cut ends off of each sprout and cut them in half.

Melt butter in pan on medium heat. Lay each sprout flat side down in pan. Sprinkle with pepper, garlic and salt. Let cook for about 10 minutes until the bottom of the sprouts are caramelized. Sprinkle fresh parmesan on top of the sprouts right before you serve them. These are DELICIOUS!

Pear Pie

My Mom gave Joel and I the "Fruit of the Month" gift for Christmas this year! I LOVE the fruit of the month. Every month you get a box of different fruits! This month we got pears...yummmmmm. We had so many of them I was afraid they would go bad before we ate them all. I decided to make a pie. I am not a baker...at all. I would rather cook anything then attempt to bake a pie. I found a recipe that was probably the most simple recipe there is...so I figured I might have a shot of making this one edible:-)

It turned out great! If you like Pears you will love this pie. It was VERY simple...and delicious...especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients:
Box of ready made pie crust...top and bottom
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbls flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
5 cups (5 pears) peeled and sliced pears
2 tbls butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Combine sugar, salt, flour, cinnamon and lemon rind on bowl
Arrange pears in layers in a 9 inch pastry lined pan, sprinkle sugar moisture over each layer...dot with butter...repeat with layers until pie is full. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Roll out remaining dough, cut slits to let steam out while cooking....moisten rim of bottom crust...place top crust over filling...fold edge:-) Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on top.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes...then turn heat down to 350 for 35 to 40 more minutes....brush with butter right before it's done. YUM!!

Teriyaki Stir Fry (Chicken)

This was DELICIOUS!!!!!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 orange bell pepper sliced
1/2 red bell pepper sliced
1/2 red onion chopped
about 1/2 cup Teriyaki, garlic and green onion sauce (or any other kind you like)

Directions:
Chop chicken into bite size pieces add to mixing bowl. Also add chopped onion, bell peppers and teriyaki sauce to bowl. Mix together and put in fridge for at least an 1-2 hours.

Saute on med-med high heat for about 10 minutes or until chicken is done and serve over rice,,,YUM!

Green beans:
I had fresh green beans and I cut the ends off....blanched them for about 5-7 minutes in salted boiling water. Drain and dry beans. Add to saute pan with a little olive oil and butter...bring to med heat. Add green beans and saute for about 5-6 minutes...right before they are done add a few squeezes of lemon juice...a few cloves of garlic pressed, a few dashes of soy sauce and some pepper. THESE ARE SUPER TASTY and go great with the rice and chicken:-)

BBQ Sausage Stir Fry

Sounds different huh?? It is...and it's yummy! I usually stir fry sausage, onion, bell pepper and cabbage with a few seasonings....garlic...pepper. This time I decided to change it up a bit and it tasted COMPLETELY different...and GOOD!

Ingredients:
1/2 link smoked beef sausage...YUM!
1/2 head green cabbage chopped
1/2 onion chopped
small red bell pepper chopped
pepper
garlic powder (a few dashes)
cajun seasoning (a few dashes)
BBQ Sauce ( 3-4 tablespoons)
water ( 3-4 tablespoons)

Directions:
slice sausage into bite size pieces and saute on med to med-high heat for about 3-4 minutes...then add onion, bell pepper, garlic, cajun seasoning and a little pepper. Saute for another 4-5 minutes until everything is starting to brown and the veggies are cooked...but still a little crispy. Add chopped cabbage and about 3 tablespoons of water...enough to break up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan (CAN YOU SAY FLAVOR!!!). Continue to saute for another 3-4 minutes until the cabbage is cooked but still has a little crisp to it. Poor in BBQ sauce and stir together for another minute or so and then serve!! DELICIOUS!

Sweet Glazed Pork Chops

OMG! These have a great flavor!!! LOVE THEM!

Ingredients:
4-6 thin boneless pork chops
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp of each:
cayenne pepper
pepper
garlic powder
ground mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

Directions:
Mix brown sugar with spices. This does NOT make them spicy....if you want spicy add more cayenne pepper. Pat rub all over pork chops. Heat skillet to med high heat with olive oil and butter. Cook pork chops about 3-4 minutes on each side until done. If you are using thick chops you can finish them in the oven to keep them from drying out. The brown sugar caramelizes and makes a great glaze!! YUM!

Beef and Cabbage Stew

This is delicious!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 head green cabbage chopped
1/2 yellow onion chopped
3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic pressed
1 lb ground sirloin
1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn drained
2 cups water
24 oz tomato sauce
2 beef bullion cubes

Directions:
Saute chopped onions for about 3 minutes then add ground sirloin until cooked through. (If you aren't using sirloin then you will need to drain the grease before moving to the next step) Add garlic, carrots, cumin a little salt and pepper then stir in water, tomato sauce and bullion cubes..stir. Bring to boil then add chopped cabbage...reduce heat to summer and let simmer until ready to eat...at least an hour. Serve with grill cheese sandwiches! YUM<