Baked Pork Loin Chops by Jenny

Gotta prove I’m capable of feeding myself when my sister is off gallivanting in the California Sun… oh wait.. maybe I should be proving I CAN’T feed myself or her niece when she is gone so she will come back?? Hmmmm… thoughts to ponder.

Anyway- headed to Costco Sunday and got these lovely pork loins.  Yum.  Decided to venture out and not just smother them in delicious cream of mushroom soup.  Decided instead to try something different.  Found a couple variations of this on the internet so mixed a couple together and gave it a whirl.  Delicious. 

½ cup spicy mustard

1 cup Italian dressing

¾ cup brown sugar

Patted dry the pork with a paper towel, salt and peppered both sides.  Placed in a baking pan that I sprayed with cooking spray.  

Mixed all the above ingredients together to make a sauce and poured over the pork.  Baked 30 minutes at 400, then broiled for another 5 to get the top brown. 

I also used the extra sauce over Udon noodles as a side.  The negative with that is that even though the sauce was amazing it was all to much the same flavor.. GREAT flavor but the same flavor.  HAHAHAHA. If I had poured the sauce over my salad as dressing the entire meal would have been complete. 

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.. yum.  And perhaps drank the rest. 

Jill here ~ new category, it's not "my sis is hungry" and I'm feeding her, now it's "my sis is hungry and she fed herself"! hahahahaha. Nice job sissy, these look delicious and I'm going to try your recipe for sure!

Tip-sy Tuesday: messy Lily pollen

I love a flower arrangement that includes lilies (or only lilies - one of my favorites is an all white bouquet of them), but if you've ever had them in your house you'll know that the stamens open up and drop this orange dusty pollen which makes a mess - and if you get the pollen on anything good luck getting it out! Here's a little trick I learned a long time ago in a flower class - remove the stamen before it opens up! Just snip them right out of the center of the lily and save yourself a load of trouble. 

In the next picture you can sort-of see the sprinkling of orange powdery dust on my fingers after removing the stamen.

2.4.19: man-day monday
2.4.18: last minute super bowl ideas
2.4.17: super bowl party games
2.4.16: super bowl party planner

obviously super bowl was early this year!

Football Stadium Brownies

Did you see the football brownies that I made for Super Bowl yesterday? They look really cute but more importantly they tasted really good!  (hmmm, is that true? Is it more important they taste good, or look cute?). Baking brownies is always a crap shoot for me, I don't want them over-baked so I usually pull them out too early and the middle sinks. For whatever reason this time they were perfect! I used a box of dark chocolate brownie mix for a 13x9 pan and doctored it with a few add-ins -
I used 2 eggs, replaced the water with cooled coffee, added a pinch of coarse salt, a teaspoon of vanilla, and 1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips. Baked exactly 20 minutes, removed from oven and immediately covered with foil; let cool. They turned out moist and chocolatey, perfectly level with no sinking in the center, and the edges were not dry.

I frosted them with my standard buttercream, added a few white lines and a "50" at the center line; decorated with sprinkles in the end zone sort-of giving the look of people in stands, gummy bears for the players (how much time it took me to figure out positioning was ridiculous!), striped Hershey hugs for the refs.

Tip for making straight frosting lines - I laid a skewer down on the green frosting to make a slightly indented line, then traced over it with my white frosting in a decorator squeeze thing with a small round tip.

 To keep the sprinkles from going everywhere I put them in a funnel - put my finger over the bottom opening and then slowly lifted my finger and directed the sprinkles into the end areas I wanted them. Worked like a charm.


2.3.19: 🔥
2.3.18: football toss game
2.3.17: super bowl party
2.3.16: cookie bites

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 5)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap of what happened at MMDC last week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~
1/26: 🔥week 4
1/27: DIY not DUI
1/28: tip-sy Tuesday: microwaving tip
1/29: lemon rosemary chicken (rotisserie hack)
1/30: tbt: cardinal salad
1/31: Al's Napa salad
2/1:  Miss Lori's wintery wreath

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Face-Off", a compilation of short thriller stories with a cool twist - each story is written by two authors using their main characters. I read the story descriptions of each one - lots of the authors and characters I don't know, so I skipped the ones that the story didn't appeal to me so I can't really give it a good or bad review. I enjoyed the stories by the authors I know, I'm not a huge fan of short stories tho because if it's a good story then I want to read more about it! So I'm only going ⭐️⭐️ and 1/2 mostly because it's not my favorite type of book. 
• also read "Long Road to Mercy" by David Balducci, it was just ok - lots of detail about things not pertaining to the plot line (lots of weightlifting stuff, etc.) and too longwinded about bombs and politics that I don't care about. Still, having said that, I did finish it and it is an interesting story line, I just didn't love it. Also give ⭐️⭐️ and 1/2
• My friends and hiking buddies Mark and Chuck are on their way to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro! How cool is that? I'm so jealous and can't wait to hear about their adventure and see the (what I know will be) AMAZING photos!

Are you ready for some football? I heard two guys greet each other this morning with "Happy Super Bowl Sunday" LOL. Like it's a holiday. I made these cute football brownies for our party:

Have a great week - stop by often to see what other things I think of to make at camp :)

Sincerely ~


Jill
camp counselor and wannabe mountain climber


2.2.19: groundhog day
2.2.18: superbowl games
2.2.17: preserved lemons
2.2.16: storing wrapping and tissue paper

Miss Lori's Winter Wreath

Miss Lori sent me these photos of a beautiful winter wreath she made, isn't it gorgeous? Funny, I just said to Dave this morning that it seems like winter is over and I should take down the winter decorations we have up around the condo by the beach - he said no, it isn't even February yet and still very much winter! I forget that Michigan will be cold and snowy for quite a while... in case you're feeling cooped up and want to craft, you still have lots of time to enjoy this pretty wintery wreath. 

Here's what Lori wrote (and yep, I totally get the need to make stuff!):


We were predicted to have a good bit of snow today so yesterday I went to JoAnn’s and gathered items from the 80% off room to create my Mom a winter wreath for her front door.  All the items came to $19 and I put it together tonight so I wanted to share with you!  It’s nice to have someone that understands the need to craft!

2.1.19: baby poop party dip
2.1.18: squat challenge
2.1.17: triple berry muffins
2.1.16: make a hanging wire and cork memory board

Ramen Napa Salad

I almost forgot to share Al's 3rd cabbage recipe from his cabbage extravaganza (click here for fried cabbage with bacon and sweet & sour cabbage ), look at me remembering to post it before like a year went by and I stumbled on it and then had to write yet another long 'oops, I have the worst memory' post! This is a great salad - I have a similar recipe but have always left the ramen in big hunks, in this recipe the ramen gets smashed into little small bits and browned in butter - yum! I love this variation...Dave and I both were crazy for it, keeper recipe for sure. 

NAPA SALAD

1 med. head Napa cabbage

4 Green onions & tops – chopped

1 stick butter

½ c Sesame seeds

½ c Almond slivers

2 packages Ramen noodles (crushed) – discard seasoning packets

Dressing:

1 c oil

¾ c vinegar – apple cider

2 T soy sauce - darrk

¾ c sugar

• Shred cabbage
• Brown sesame seeds, almonds, crushed noodles in butter – drain on paper towels
• In a separate container mix dressing ingredients 
• Combine cabbage, crispy mixture and dressing just before serving.

Note: Al left out the almonds because of Dave's nut allergy and it was still very crunchy and flavorful. I didn't miss them at all - but then again I haven't had this salad with the almonds so who knows, maybe it takes it to a whole new level! 

1.31.19: wire scottie overhaul
1.31.18: Tesha's Texas Caviar (I forgot about this dip, it's SO good I'm def making this again soon!)
1.31.17: hair bump trick (I also forgot about this tip, I did it all the time and am going to bring it back)
1.31.16: pretzel hugs (I did not forget these and still make them all the time)

TBT: Cardinal Salad

Today's throw back recipe from my new/old cookbook is for 'Cardinal Salad'; I wasn't sure what wax beans are, seems they are yellow string beans and the only way I could find them (at least this time of year) is in a can - I give Sarge canned green beans mixed in with his dog food but I am not a fan, mostly because of the texture. However, staying true to the recipe, I included them in this salad and gotta say that they were good. With everything else going on I didn't even notice the texture. This is really good and I will make it again.

I made this salad using store-bought mayo, before I realized that in order to really be following the cookbook I should have made it myself! Sheryl says she has friends that make their own mayo and swear once you homemake it you'll never want store-bought;  I will make it following this cookbook recipe and share on another 'throw-back Thursday' post.

Here's the salad recipe exactly as printed in the book - it doesn't give instructions for what to do with the vegetables (other than the beets - and I bought precooked beets so didn't boil them as directed) so I blanched the asparagus tips just for a minute to soften them up, used thawed frozen peas, and like I said above, added canned wax beans - if using fresh I'd blanch them like the asparagus tips so they aren't super raw/crunchy. I added some of the beet vinegar to loosen up the mayo and make it pourable.

CARDINAL SALAD

• 2 large beets
• 2 T. vinegar (I used apple cider)
• 1/2 cup wax beans
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1/2 cup asparagus tips
• mayonnaise made with vinegar from beets
• lettuce
• radishes for a garnish (I left these off)

Boil beets until tender, slice, cover with vinegar and let stand until the following day. Drain off the vinegar and use it in making the mayonnaise. Arrange beans, peas, asparagus tips and mayonnaise in little rose-like nests of lettuce leaves, and garnish with radishes.

I have no idea how to make 'little rose-like nests of leaves",
so I just spread out a few small romaine leaves and topped
with the mixed together veggies and mayo dressing. 

1.30.19: chocolate mint crackles
1.30.18: baked ham and cheese sliders (and other Super Bowl ideas)
1.30.17: heart cork wreath or trivet
1.30.16: sweet sunrise mocktail

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken

This recipe/non-recipe is from Janis, who got it from a friend who... got it from a friend who...something like that. All I know is that it's amazing - amazingly easy, amazingly moist and flavorful, amazingly clever, did I already say amazingly easy? Guys, you have to try this!

I don't know if it works with any store-bought rotisserie, Janis said the friends friend only uses Costco rotisserie chicken so that's what I've been doing. No guarantee that it will be so so amazing with other chickens, if you try other brands let us know.

I have no idea why this works - I kept questioning Janis on why it doesn't get all dried out without adding any liquid to the baking dish, and how does the flavor develop so quickly? It's still a mystery. 

Ready for the recipe/non-recipe? Slice up a Costco rotisserie chicken and place in a baking dish; top with lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary. Seal with foil; bake about 30 minutes at 350' until heated thru. That's it. For whatever reason the chicken is still super juicy and you totally get the lemon/rosemary flavors. Be prepared to be amazed. 

1.29.19: curly willow branches

1.29.18: folded paper pouch

1.29.17: creamy roasted tomato soup

1.29.16: homemade playdough

Tip-sy Tuesday: microwaving tip

Cathy told me that when Al microwaves something that is potentially going to splatter, he covers the dish with a paper towel and a regular plate. I was all 'that's not really amazing because I already cover my bowl with a paper plate and stuff still splatters everywhere' and sort-of ignored her. Until the other day when I was melting my microwaving nemesis butter - for real, why does it go from solid to exploding in like .0001 second? ARGH - and it occurred to me that if I followed Al's tip and top my paper plate with an actual plate (a) the regular plate won't fly off like a paper plate does and (b) I won't have to clean the plate from splatters because the paper plate is protecting it. Ah ha! Al - you're a genius! 

little side note: I don't use a paper towel because I feel like it absorbs the melted butter instead of just shielding it like a paper plate does... 

1.28.19: DIY glass cleaner
1.28.18: salsa verde pork enchilada casserole
1/28/17: mimosas
1/28/16: guest room tips

DIY not DUI (wine corks in a vintage Mason jar)

My mom sent me this for Christmas, she found an old vintage Mason jar and put this project together knowing my obsession/compulsion with all things wine cork (I made that part up, maybe she didn't send it because of my vast wine cork crafting history LOL). A friend of hers wrote the funny "instructions" with the label on the front "WARNING: This gift is a "DIY" not be confused with "DUI". Therefore, craft responsibly!" hahahah, cute right?



Wait just a minute - I assumed she sent this because of my love for corks and this old Mason jar but as I'm reading thru the instructions now I'm wondering if it's more because she thinks I'm a wino?!!!

I scanned in her instructions but it's pretty small to read, here's what they say to do:

Here's a special gift for you
It's something you will love to do!
Just closely follow every script
And by the end, you should be "ripped"!

• Select your wine of choice for the evening.

               Wine is just a hug in a glass! So hugs to you!

• Uncork your chosen wine and save that cork. You will need it later!

               By the way, life is what happens between coffee and wine!

• Grab a wine glass!

               May your glass always be half full, never empty! Life is good!

• Pour wine into your glass...NOT the mason jar, your glass!!

              Relax, take a sip or two, and just breathe...That's what wine does!

• Begin placing corks in the jar. OOPS! Take that last one out and have another sip! Now put that cork back in! Let's celebrate with a "chug-a-lug"! Let's see, you have some raffia here. Don't throw it back because...

               The only thing we are throwing back is a glass of wine on Thursday!

• As you're putting your cork jar together, you are probably thinking...???

               If I ever go missing, I would like my photo put on wine bottles instead of milk cartons. This      way my friends would know where to look for me!

• That's a great thought! Take 2 sips, or 3!! OK! Let's toss a few more corks in your jar.

              You know what? You can't buy happiness, but you can buy wine, and that's kinda the same thing, isn't it?

• You have been sitting for a while, so get up, take a drink, and venture out for a short walk.

                But beware!! You may just end up in a Wine Bar!!

• Respect is an important thing, and you have earned respect because...

               You always rescue wine from a bottle!! Cheers to you!! SIPS!!

• Place all but 1 of the remaining corks in the Mason jar. At this time your jar should be almost full and your wine glass almost empty. Time for a refill for Jill!! Now, let's tie that raffia around the lid. Oh, no...don't get frustrated...You are probably one glass away from saying what you really think!!??

           When wine goes in, wisdom comes out! (No, you are not slurring...you are speaking cursive!!)

• Raffia attached! Jar looks great! Tie that last cork to the outside of your jar! Toast to a job well done!

           And always remember, in your next life, you may come back as a CORK!!

I played around with adding the other stuff she included but
I like just the raffia for now. Will change it with the season!