Tag: spinach

Recipes and Cooking

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Brandi C

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup

As promised from yesterday’s post, this is the Garlic Parmesan Chops Soup that is so good! Bart was so impressed, and the pot was instantly all gone! So excited to add a new soup.

Ingredients

Pork Chops (I used boneless)

Seasoning

Bacon grease (or oil)

Butter

Seasoning

Parmesan Sauce

2 c. heavy cream

2 c. parmesan

Garlic

Spinach (chopped)

Fresh mushrooms (chopped)

Onion (chopped)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Addition

Potatoes washed and cubed (with or without skin)

2 c. cheddar

2 cartons of chicken broth (you can make your own or use water and chicken bouillon cubes)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

How to Make

In an electric skillet, pour some bacon grease (or oil) and butter. I pounded my chops and seasoned them well with my seasoning mix. Fry them up. Once done, remove them from the pan. Again, these were leftovers from last night, so all I did was chop them up into bite-size pieces.

Place all of the parmesan sauce ingredients in the same skillet the chops were in. Stir until thickened. This was, again, leftovers from the night before.

Soup Process

Get your chicken broth boiling, and add some seasoning. Put in your washed, cubed potatoes and let them boil. Once they were done, I scooped them into a bowl, leaving the chicken broth water in the pot.

I added the cream of mushroom soup, parmesan sauce, and cheddar to that pot. I whisked that all into the water to get all the lumps out. Then, I placed the cubed leftover pork chops and let them simmer to warm and soften them up. Once that was done, I added my potatoes back in.

So.  Freaking.  Good.

Related Posts

New Mercies Every Morning

 

Recipes and Cooking

Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce

Brandi C

Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce

Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce

Here’s another winner that has quickly become a family favorite—Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce. This dish was not only easy to make, but it also made a fantastic soup the next day! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where I turn this dish into a soup my family loves. Edited to add: The soup was a huge hit too! I absolutely love being able to cook once and enjoy two completely different meals. It’s the perfect way to stretch ingredients and minimize time in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • Pork Chops (I used boneless, but any cut will work)
  • Seasoning (your choice—garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper)
  • Bacon grease (or oil of your choice)
  • Butter

For the Parmesan Sauce:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups parmesan cheese
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Spinach (chopped, a handful or more to taste)
  • Fresh mushrooms (chopped)
  • Onion (chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, for a little heat)

Instructions:

  1. Cook the Pork Chops:

    • In an electric skillet, add bacon grease (or oil) and butter.
    • Season the pork chops well with your seasoning mix and fry them up until golden brown on each side. Once cooked through, remove them from the skillet and set aside.

  2. Make the Parmesan Sauce:

    • In the same skillet, add the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, garlic, spinach, mushrooms, onion, and red pepper flakes (if using).
    • Stir the ingredients together until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. If you’d like to keep the chops warm, place them back into the skillet and simmer on low. Alternatively, you can serve the sauce on the side, spooning it over each chop when ready.

  3. Serve and Enjoy:

    • Once the pork chops are cooked and the sauce is ready, plate your chops and pour the parmesan sauce generously over the top.
    • If you want to take it further, double the batch so you have leftovers for a delicious soup the next day!

Final Thoughts:

This dish is not only simple to make but also incredibly versatile. The Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce are rich and flavorful on their own, but turning the leftovers into soup the next day takes it to a whole new level! It’s the perfect example of how cooking once can give you two completely different meals, saving you time while keeping things exciting in the kitchen. Enjoy the best of both worlds with this tasty and efficient recipe!

Related Posts

Integrity

 

Recipes and Cooking

Spin-on Tortellini Soup

Brandi C

Spin-on Tortellini SoupSpin-on Tortellini Soup

I love Tortellini Soup. Love it. So, today, as I was getting the stuff out of my pantry, I thought I would create a Spin-on Tortellini Soup. The broth is excellent! I did this in my instant pot, but it can be done on the stove.

Caution of warning, do not put your milk-based items in the soup before you seal the soup. You put that in AFTER it is done cooking, releasing the pressure. I made that mistake once, and I will never make it again.

Ingredients

Kielbasa quartered

Onion, chopped

Fresh garlic, chopped

Spinach, chopped (or kale)

Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

1 can cream of mushroom

6 tsp chicken bouillon paste

1/2 c. sour cream

2 cans of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

Water

Directions

In Instant Pot, saute the garlic, onion, kielbasa, and seasoning mix. Add a bit of water if it starts sticking to the pan. Once that is done, add in cream of mushroom soup; I think I did about 6 tsp of chicken bouillon paste. I will say, at this point, I added the sour cream and mixed it well. It did not explode, so that is a good thing. Then, I added the tomato sauce and the sugar. Next, add chopped spinach and Italian seasoning. I added enough water to thin it out just a little bit. You can always add more water towards the end.

Place on the lid, and move the lever to the “seal” position. I hit the soup function and adjusted it to 10 minutes. Once that is done, I did a quick release. I stirred everything well and tasted the broth to ensure the seasonings were good. A good rule of thumb is to start small. You can always add more, but you can’t ever take the salt out of something.

Bechamel Sauce

3 T. butter

Flour, 3 T.

Melt together while whisking.

Add a cup of heavy cream, and continue to whisk while on medium heat. The flour will thicken up. Once it was thick, I added in about 2 c. of cheddar. Stir well until it is all combined.

From this point, I added some broth to the bechamel pan. I did this to thin it out and make it to that it would incorporate easier into the soup.

Once incorporated and stirred, I added it to the soup.

Cue the angels, singing.

Tortellini

I cook these in a separate pot. I feel the tortellini get too mushy if I do the tortellini in the instant pot. Doing this serves a dual purpose. I boil the water, season it, and scoop out my tortellini. You can keep the starchy pasta in water. I add them to my Instant pot, and if I need additional water, I use the hot starchy water I cooked my tortellini in.

It’s good, people.

 

Recipes and Cooking

Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

Brandi C

Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

I started making just a cheesy type of lasagna, and then my brain started thinking. This quarantine has forced me to do more shelf cooking, which I do. It has also got me thinking outside of the box. So, I came up with a Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna. It was good!

Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

2 packages of no-boil lasagna noodles (you can use the kind you boil, I don’t enjoy that)

2 packets of Ranch Mix

3 cans of evaporated milk

2 cans of canned chicken, drained and broken up with a fork. (I might use a 3rd can the next time)

1 jar of Alfredo sauce (you can make this homemade though)

Seasoning

Nutritional yeast (optional)

Fresh Spinach, cut up

Cheddar

Mozzarella

Parmesan

Directions

Combine your evaporated milk, ranch, seasoning, and nutritional yeast in a saucepan. I stirred that well and brought it up to a boil. Then, I added the alfredo sauce. I stirred until that was good and combined. It allowed it to thicken a bit. Once combined, I added the canned chicken.

In a greased 13×9 dish, place a bit of sauce on the bottom. Then, I layered the no-boil noodles—next, more of the sauce, mozzarella, and cheddar. Then sprinkle with parmesan and add a layer of fresh Spinach. Continue layering until you end with the sauce and cheeses.

Baking

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for about 30 minutes. Then take out and take a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure the noodles are soaked. I put mine back in for another 10 minutes. You could cover it at this time if you want to keep it from burning. This is done to ensure that the noodles are cooked through.

Pull out and sit for about 10 minutes before cutting to help the lasagna set up correctly.

 

Recipes and Cooking

Healthy Chicken and Rice Recipe

Brandi C

Healthy Chicken and Rice Recipe

Let me say that there is SO much you can add to this! When I make this again, and I will, there are several things that I will add. The reason why I didn’t this time is that I am “shelf” cooking. We desperately needed to go to the grocery, so I used what I had on hand.

I will put “optional” on each thing I will use next time. The recipe can be loaded up with veggies and goodness. There was one mistake that I made. I put the rice in raw, which did not cook well. This is a technique that I use with Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole. That always works well. However, I had to add more chicken broth, cover, and cook it longer this time.

Lesson learned.

Healthy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Use 3 chicken breasts (I cooked these in 1 c. of water, with seasoning and minced onions in my instant pot). Once it was cooked, I cut it up into chunks. I used 1.5 c. of the chicken stock. Next time, I will use 2 cups of chicken stock.

In a big bowl, I put all my chicken, broth, 1 can of cream of chicken, a block of cream cheese, seasoning mix, 2 packets of the dry ranch, 1 c. rice (COOK THAT FIRST), and some cheddar.

Next time, I will add 1 steamed bag of cauliflower rice, possibly broccoli, fresh mushrooms, and chopped-up spinach. Oh, that would be so good.

I put all of that in a greased 13×9 dish. The topping was 2 sleeves of ritz crackers with some butter in them. I ran that through the food processor. Spread that over the top of the casserole and add a bit more cheddar.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes, covered. Then, I uncovered it for about 20 minutes. It was delicious.

Related Posts

Not All Scars Can Be Seen

 

 

 

Recipes and Cooking

Chicken and Orzo Recipe

Brandi C

Chicken and Orzo Recipe

This Chicken and Orzo Recipe made more than I had anticipated. I made one 13×9 pan for tonight and a smaller pan to freeze for later.

Chicken and Orzo Recipe

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • Seasoning
  • 30 ozs chicken broth (can be broth or water/chicken bouillon)
  • 2 c. spinach, chopped
  • Cauliflower rice, 2 c. (I buy it frozen and thaw it)
  • 28 oz. diced tomatoes
  • 2 c. orzo, uncooked
  • Minced onion
  • 2 c. cheddar (reserve some for the top)
  • 1 can cream of chicken
  • 2 packets of Italian dressing mix

Directions

Cook the chicken and then cut it up. Mix everything in a giant bowl. Place in a 13×9 greased dish. This amount made that 13×9 and an 11×8 pan. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Bake at 350, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.

I didn’t have many children here; only 5 kids ate here. We were able to eat the entire smaller dish. The 13×9 dish I wrapped and froze for next week!

Substitutions

You can substitute Ranch packets instead of Italian packets. Also, taco seasoning can be used as a substitute, and maybe add a can of corn to that and make it Mexican-flavored. This chicken and orzo recipe was delicious. It is one I will make again because I can sneak so much goodness into it without my family thinking I’m killing them.

Related Posts

The Power of Small Breaks

 

 

Recipes and Cooking

Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole

Brandi C

Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole

Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole

This Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole is something you can slip in SO many good things. You can mix regular rice with cauliflower rice. Also, add some spinach or kale to the mix. Chop up some fresh mushrooms. Use your imagination! I have started sprinkling a bit of nutritional yeast on top, along with some cheddar cheese. Also, cashew cheese would be good, although it would totally screw with my brain. I’m not sure I could use cauliflower rice and cashew cheese. That may be too much for my little heart to manage.

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • Sausage (1 lb)
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Seasoning
  • Green Pepper (optional)
  • Fresh mushrooms (optional)
  • Fresh spinach, chopped (optional)
  • Cauliflower rice (optional)
  • 2 c. rice
  • Cream of Chicken, 2 cans
  • 2 cans Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Cheddar
Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole Directions

Fry sausage, beef, onion, garlic, seasoning, chopped-up peppers, and chopped-up mushrooms.  Drain.

In a large bowl, add meat and veggies, thawed out cauliflower, spinach, UNCOOKED rice, soups, and a handful of cheddar.

Pour into a greased 13×9 dish.  Sprinkle with a bit more cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

 

Recipes and Cooking

Copycat Alice’s Chicken From Outback

Brandi C

Copycat Alice's Chicken From Outback

Copycat Alice’s Chicken From Outback

We love this Copycat Alice’s Chicken From Outback. It is one of our favorite dishes.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Seasoning

Honey Mustard

1/2 stick butter

1# bacon, fried (save the grease)

Colby/Jack Cheese

2 c. fresh spinach

Fresh mushrooms

Directions

Cook your bacon on your broiler pan. It does not shrink up, and the grease catches in the bottom.

Cut your chicken into thin strips. Marinate them in the honey mustard for about an hour. In your electric skillet (well, that’s what I use), put in your leftover grease and the 1/2 stick of butter, and let that meltdown. Put your chicken in the skillet and put some seasoning on it.

When that is done, put it in a single layer in a greased 13×9 pan (I used 2 aluminum pans). On top of the chicken, put the crumbled bacon (I also used some bacon bits because I was cooking for *a lot* of humans). Next, put a layer of Colby/jack, spinach, and then Colby jack. Pour the leftover grease, butter, and the honey mustard’s drippings over your chicken’s top.

Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Thoughts

Outback Steakhouse makes great Alice’s Chicken! I mean, it is good. There are so many ways to alternate the recipe, and this is one of those ways.