Snappy Lunch Pork Chop Sandwich

Here in NC the Andy Griffith Show is a big favorite. Most of us that live here have grown up with Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee as if they were part of the family. The show still airs every week night. 🙂 Though we were all saddened by Andy Griffith’s recent passing he will always be legendary in this part of the south!

The Andy Griffith Show was set in the fictitious Mayberry, NC which was based on Andy Griffith’s home town Mt. Airy, NC.

Many of the places mentioned on the show are real places in Mt. Airy. One such place is the Snappy Lunch Diner. The Snappy Lunch is famous for its pork chop sandwich. Check out this Southern Living video about the Snappy Lunch. If you make it over  to Mt. Airy, be sure to stop in the Snappy Lunch and order a sandwich. For those of you who would like to try it now, here is the recipe.

You will need:

Thin cut slices of pork tenderloin

Oil (for frying)

1 cup flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Burger buns

Yellow mustard

Coleslaw

Canned chili (no beans)

Tomato slices

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Whisk the eggs and milk together.

Add milk and egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil on medium heat Dip the pork into batter and then place into heated oil.

Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Spread mustard on bun

Place cooked pork chop on bun

Add a large spoonful of chili

Add tomato slices

Top with coleslaw

Enjoy the sandwich, y’all! 🙂

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Ranch Oyster Cracker Snack Mix

It’s back to school time and if your kids are anything like mine, they are ALWAYS hungry! Here is an easy snack mix idea that only takes a few minutes to mix up.

You will need:

10 0z. bag of oyster crackers

1 oz packet ranch dressing

1/4 cup oil

3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

Mix oil, ranch dressing packet, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, and parsley flakes together in bowl.

Add in oyster crackers and thoroughly coat.

Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

These are perfect for after school snacking and also a great party mix! Easy and yummy, too! 🙂

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Cornbread Sausage Casserole

I can’t believe how fast summer is flying by! Right now we are preparing for the new school year. This year I have a child in second grade, one in first grade and a preschooler…I think we are going to have a fun and exciting year! My seven year old just started piano lessons this week and has amazed us with how quickly he catches on. I also have lots of fun projects and some new subjects that we will be introducing this school year.

Today I spent time organizing our home school drawers and getting our materials together. Since I have been very busy all day, I wanted something easy to make, but filling and tasty too. So, I whipped up this sausage and cornbread casserole and it was a big hit!

You will need:

1 lb sausage roll

1 onion

1 green pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz. can large black olives, pitted, drained and chopped in half

2 cups salsa

2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (8.5 oz)

2 eggs (for the corn muffins)

2/3 cup milk (for the corn muffins)

8 oz. bag shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

Chop the onion and green pepper.

Fry the sausage, onions, peppers and garlic on the stove top

When the sausage is fully cooked add in the olives and salsa

Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with 1/2 of the cheese

Mix the corn muffin mix according to the package. Spread corn muffin mixture on top of sausage mixture

Sprinkle evenly with the rest of the cheese

Bake for 25 -30  minutes (or until toothpick comes out of corn muffin batter clean) in preheated oven (400 degrees).

Mmmm…comfort food at its best! 🙂

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Campfire Pockets

What a busy week we are having! Right now we are preparing for a vacation and also our upcoming school year. I’m still trying to keep meals as simple and healthy as possible. These campfire pockets are a kid favorite here and I like them because they are easy, healthy and don’t require me to heat the house up.

The ingredients you need are based on how many people you are serving and personal taste.

We used:

1 potato per person

Several yellow plumb tomatoes per person

Several slices of onion and green bell pepper per person

1 hard boiled egg per person

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 lb ground beef, divided between 7 pockets

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper sprinkled into each pocket

Peel potatoes and chop into thin strips

Cut boiled eggs into quarters

Chop other veggies into thin pieces

Fold foil into pockets: Fold in half then double fold both of the sides.

It should look like this (below)

Layer veggies  in pocket

Add meat and sprinkle in spices.

Fold top. Carefully shake a little to mix the contents.

Place packets on grill until potatoes are tender and meat is thoroughly cooked

The best part is you can eat it straight out of the pocket which means NO clean-up!

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Coconut Cookies with Lime Icing

It’s been so hot here, I want to get in the pool and never get out. Such is Summer in the South…wouldn’t trade it for anything, though. 🙂

Today I was in the mood for a light tropical cookie. Something that matched with the tropical feeling my yard is giving me right now. 😉

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Cream butter and sugars together, then beat in egg and flavorings.

in a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Then mix in the coconut.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to sugar mixture.

Roll into small balls and place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes or until cookie is golden brown.

You can eat it just the way it is or for a little added flavor top with a lime icing. 🙂

Simple Lime Icing:

Mix 2 TBSP Lime juice and 1 TBSP softened (not melted) butter or margarine, 1 drop green food coloring and 1 drop yellow food coloring. Gradually add in Tablespoons of powdered sugar (about 12) until the icing is at the desired consistency.

It’s the perfect cookie for a summer luau or cookout!

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Peach Cobbler

Summer is here and it looks like it’s going to be a busy one for us! Along with various summer events and activities, we are going to spend the summer swimming, creating and  reading. My kids will be participating in the summer reading program at our local library which looks like it will be a lot of fun!

Today, after being out and about with the kids, I decided to make a dessert that doesn’t require a lot of effort: Peach Cobbler.

This recipe is neat because you spread the batter in the pan then pour the peach mixture on top…the batter rises to cover the peaches and gets a sugary crust on the top.

You will need:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 cans peaches in syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

sugar to sprinkle on top

Cream butter and sugar

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in separate bowl

Add flour mixture and milk to creamed butter and sugar, alternating them

Spread batter in greased pan

Mix peaches with syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon together

Pour on top of batter

Sprinkle lightly with sugar. <Edited> Sorry everyone…I forgot a very important part: Baking time! I used a 9 x 11 casserole dish and baked at 375 degrees. Mine took about an hour to bake, but you may want to check it after 45 minutes. When the center is no longer doughy and it doesn’t ‘give’ a whole lot when you touch the top, it should be done.

It is especially yummy with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! 🙂

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Adorned From Above

Cilantro Shrimp Scampi

Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary! Nine years ago we met online and fell in love. After a two month courtship (yes, you read that right…two months) we eloped. Here we are nine years later enjoying life in our happy little house with five beautiful children and 130 lb dog running around! I can honestly say that I have never regretted  the decision to marry him even for a second! 🙂 He is a loving husband, a great dad and never fails to earn my respect over and over again!

Me and my sweetie, nine years ago. 🙂

Anyway, I suppose that’s enough mushy stuff…on to the recipe! I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner tonight and he asked for shrimp scampi. So here is the recipe I came up with.

You will need:

53-68 medium shrimp, fully cooked, deveined and tails pulled off

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 onion, minced

1 bell pepper, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup butter

1/8 cup olive oil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

black pepper, to taste

Angel hair pasta, spaghetti or linguini

fresh chopped cilantro and black pepper to garnish

You won’t need both bags of shrimp…I thought I would need more

Melt the butter and olive oil together

Stir in the onions and garlic and saute

Add bell peppers and lemon juice

Stir in green onions and cilantro

Last add shrimp, onion powder, salt, pepper and sugar and stir until heated through.

Serve over cooked pasta and garnish with fresh cilantro and black pepper.

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Seafood and Pesto Lasagna

Today has been a busy day. In fact, this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down all day. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be a busy day as well, but I don’t mind…things are getting done. 🙂

Today I decided to try a recipe I’ve never tried before: seafood lasagna. My husband loves seafood, so I thought this would be a pleasant change of pace from the usual sort of lasagna (not that I mind the usual lasagna).

You will need:

15 oz. ricotta cheese

8 oz cottage cheese

2 egg yolks

8 oz mozzarella cheese shreds

2   8 oz jars of pesto

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium zucchini

1 lb of whiting fillets (or other sort of white fish), chopped and flaked

12 oz cooked, peeled shrimp, with tails removed

16 oz box lasagna noodles (though it is doubtful you will need them all)

Boil your lasagna according to the directions on the box. While you are waiting you can chop the zucchini, onions and fish. When you chop the fish, flake it with a fork (I also removed the skin). I also pressed paper towels onto the shrimp and fish to absorb any excess liquid.

Put the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and pesto together in a bowl…drain off excess liquid.

Mix well

Lightly sauté onions and garlic together in a little oil

Add in zucchini slices and sauté them as well. Drain off excess liquid.

Spread a thin layer of the cheese and pesto mix into the bottom of your casserole dish.

Place your noodles over the cheese mixture on the bottom

Add another thicker layer of the cheese mixture over top of the noodles

Next put a layer of zucchini and onions

Then shrimp

Next fish

And finally cheese. Repeat this process for as many layers as you want.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 – 40 minutes. Be careful of the top…hehe. As you can see, mine is a bit more ‘golden’ than I would’ve liked. Oh well, tastes fine!

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Easy Manhattan Style Clam Chowder

Lately, I’ve been missing the beach…the sound of the waves crashing…the fresh air…pretty much everything. It’s only been a couple of months since our last visit, but already I’m wishing we could go again. We actually don’t live too far from the beach, but it’s far enough away that we would need to stay over…time to start saving to buy a beach house! Oh well, I can dream, can’t I? 😉

I’ve also been craving seafood and even though it’s pretty warm here, it was the kind of day you need a bowl of soup and some fresh bread. So I made some Manhattan clam chowder and some big homemade rolls.

This chowder makes a huge pot, so it’s ideal if you are feeding a crowd.

You will need:

1 onion, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

6-7 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cut

4  10 ounce cans of whole baby clams, with juices

2  14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, with juice

2 cups tomato juice

8 cups water

3 bay leaves

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup apple juice

3 TBSP powdered chicken boullion

5 TBSP sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Lightly sauté onion and garlic in a little oil.

Add chopped potatoes, clams (juice and all), diced tomatoes (also with juice), tomato juice, water and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Turn the burner down to medium-low. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Add in the lemon juice, apple juice and spices. Adjust seasonings to taste. Continue to simmer until potatoes are tender. Garnish with sour cream and parsley flakes and serve.

Delicious, easy and frugal, too! 🙂

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Hawaiian Wedding Cake with Whipped Cream-Cream Cheese Frosting

So far this week has been uneventful. We are trying to transition school assignments from one grade to the next. Not a lot of excitement, just a  relaxing pace here! 😉

A few years ago I made this Hawaiian wedding cake for my husband and he really enjoyed it. I kind of forgot about it until the other day when I found it in my recipes. I tweaked the recipe a little to bring out the natural flavors and added a cream cheese frosting made with whipping cream.

For the cake you will need:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup finely chopped (or crushed) walnuts
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Then mix in the eggs, vanilla and crushed pineapple with all of the juice.

Pour into a well greased pan 9″ round or 9″X13″ rectangle

Bake for about 35 – 40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until toothpick in the center comes out clean). You can serve it this way if you want…or you can kick it up a notch with a simple creamy whipped cream-cream cheese frosting!

For Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting you will need

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (let it come to room temperature for easier blending)
1 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Gently fold the cream cheese mixture and whipped cream together.

I topped mine with a little toasted coconut. 🙂

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