Simple Fried Pork Chops

Pork chops were on sale this week, so I picked up a couple of packages. 
Mr. Picky Pants LOVES pork chops. 
Me on the other hand, I have finally gotten back to loving them. 

 When I was pregnant with my last baby, I could not stand the look of them.
Even years after having Taylor, they turned me off.
But now, some 12 years later, I am back to LOVING them, especially fried and served with mashed potatoes and country gravy!

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces Thin Bone-in Pork Chops
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• Extra Salt And Pepper, To Taste

 Directions:

Rinse pork chops, do not dry. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Combine all dry ingredients in a shallow bowl or plate. Mix the dry ingredients well. Dredge each side of the pork chops in the flour mixture, then set aside on a plate. Heat canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add butter. When butter is melted and butter/oil mixture is hot, cook 2-3 pork chops at a time, 2 to 3 minutes on the first side; 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. (Make sure no pink juices remain.) Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining pork chops. Serve with mashed potatoes and country gravy. ENJOY.

Homemade Bagels

I made fresh homemade bagels for breakfast this morning. 

 I thought they would be hard to make, but they really weren't.  

They took a little time because you have to let them rise for 2 hours, but it was worth it. 

 I made sesame seed and cheese.  

We ate them straight out of the oven, still nice and warm and slathered in butter. 

I found this recipe at What's Megan Making?

Homemade Bagels

Ingredients:

Bagel Dough:
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 - 4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water

Water Bath:
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook to knead on medium low speed for 5-10 minutes. You can also knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes. Start with 4 cups of flour and add extra if needed as kneading. The dough should be stiff enough not to stick to your fingers much, but will still be pliable and smooth once it has finished kneading. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it is noticeably puffy.
Transfer the risen dough to a work surface and divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth, round ball. Place the balls on a lined or lightly greased baking tray and cover lightly. Let them rest for 30 minutes. They’ll puff up very slightly.
Once they have rested, use your thumb to poke a hole through the center of each ball then twirl the dough and use your other fingers to stretch the hole until it is about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The entire bagel will be around 4 inches across. Place the shaped bagels on a lined baking tray (the same one that you’ll bake them on).
Prepare the water bath by heating the water and sugars to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. Preheat your oven to 425.
Transfer the bagels, three or four at a time, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gently simmering boil, if necessary. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes, flip them over using a wide spatula, and cook 1 minute more. Using a wide spatula, carefully remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels.
Top the bagels with your desired ingredients. If you are going to use a dry topping, such as sesame seeds or poppy seeds, whisk together 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush each bagel with the mixture before topping heavily with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc. If using cheese, there is no need to brush the bagels with an egg white glaze, simply place the shredded cheese on the bagels.
Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re deep brown. Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack

Key West Shrimp

These shrimp were out of this world yummy.

Mr. Picky pants and Taylor ate almost all of them in 5 minutes flat.

I got 4 shrimp.

I literally had to put them in a container and hide them behind the vegetables in the back of the refrigerator.

I saved them for my lunch the next day.

OMG

I am in love.

 I marinated the shrimp for about an hour before grilling them.

I doubled the marinate. 

I like to make sure everything is well coated while it marinates.

The shrimp were so good, we made it with chicken the next week.

Also super yummy.

I highly recommend putting this on your menu this week!

 Key West Shrimp

* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

* Juice of 1 lime
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used 2 cloves)
* small bunch of cilantro, chopped
* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast or 1 bag raw shrimp (I used medium sized shrimp)

Place chicken breast/shrimp into the mixture, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. For chicken, grill on medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.For shrimp grill on skewers for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes each side. ENJOY!

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

This was really, really good. Taylor just loved it.  I served it over fritos which we loved, next time I might serve it over rice, that would be great also. It cooks in the slow cooker all day so it is great for these hot summer days we are having.  No heating up the whole kitchen. The recipe calls for cumin, but since Mr. Pick pants doesn't like anything really spicy, I left it it out, it was the safe thing to do. 

I topped ours with cheese, because EVERYTHING is better topped with cheese.  I used a cheddar and white cheddar blend, but I bet a pepper jack would jack up the flavor if you like things spicy!

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can rotel

1 ranch dressing mix packet

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 8 oz package cream cheese

2 chicken breasts

Drain the black beans and rinse them off.  Put the frozen chicken breast in the slow cooker first.  Add all the other ingredients on top.  give it a good stir and cook for 6 hours on low.  About 1 hour before serving, break up the chicken breast (shred) and stir. I cook half way through with the lid off so it will thicken up a little bit.  Serve over rice, noodles or chips!