Pork with Peaches and Pecan Sauce

First of all, thank you Campbells for this recipe! You can find it on the back of the Golden Mushroom condensed soup can. This recipe is flavorful and my kids ate it up!

1 T olive oil
1 lb pork tenderloin (I used 2 thick boneless pork chops, butterflied and cut into slices)
1 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, sliced (separate 2 and 1)
1 can Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 can (about 15 oz) sliced peaches. Drain juice and set aside (you will use juice and peaches separately)
3 T (low sodium) soy sauce
2 T (Local) honey - I'm a local user ;)
1/4 C pecan halves, toasted and broken into pieces

1 C cooked rice

Heat oil in deep sided skillet over med-high heat. Add pork and cook until well browned on both sides. (Pretty much cooked) Remove pork from skillet and set aside.

Add onion (2) and garlic to skillet cook for 1 minute - don't let it burn though. Stir in soup, peach juice, soy sauce and honey. Heat to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until soup mixture is slightly reduced.

Return pork to skillet and heat to a boil. Stir in peaches. Reduce heat to low and cook until pork is cooked through. Stir in pecans.

Serve next to or on top a bed of rice. Sprinkle/Garnish with remaining green onion.

Farmhouse Pork & Apple Pie

Yes, this is for dinner! This recipe makes servings for 10. So please cut amounts accordingly. It calls for 1 lb of bacon. If you want to go healthy and use something like turkey bacon that does not give off a lot of drippings then when it comes to that step you'll have to sub with butter or oil to saute onions in.

1 lb sliced bacon, cut into 2" pieces

2 medium onions, chopped

3 lbs boneless pork, cubed

3/4 C all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil, optional

3 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped

1 t rubbed sage

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 C apple cider (or apple juice)

1/2 C water

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 C milk

5 T butter, divided

Fresh parsley, chopped (do not sub dried!)

Cook bacon until crispy. Remove and lay on paper towels. In drippings, saute onions until tender; remove and set aside. Dust pork lightly with flour. Brown in pan in batches, adding oil as needed (you may want to wipe the pan with a paper towel to clean prior to adding oil each time). Add all pork to pan; add bacon, onions, apples, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in cider and water. Transfer to a 12" baking dish (or other baking dish), cover and bake at 325 for two hours or until pork is tender.

Boil potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain and mash potatoes in a mixing bowel with milk and 3 T butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove pork from oven and spread potatoes over the pork mixture. Melt remaining butter and spread over potatoes. Broil for 6 minutes or until topping is browned. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.

Chicken Teriyaki

Sometimes I'm not the brightest and it takes me a while. Forever I wanted good, yummy teriayki like the restaurants or the mall. Well, after looking online here's what I've come up with. Please let me know if you have a better version. I am a little confused (if anyone knows, please spill) on the sake. Is sake rice wine? I have rice wine at home, but it doesn't state sake on it. (???)

2 T sake (Japanese Rice Wine)

1/4 C mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

1/4 C soy sauce

2 T light brown sugar

2 t grated fresh ginger root (3/4 or so dried)

splash sesame oil

1 3/4 lb chicken pieces

1 t peanut oil (please remember to sub all oils for allergies!!!)

2 C rice

Cook rice as directed. This is a side dish.

Combine sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and sesame oil in a deep dish/bowl. Add chicken and let marinade for 15 minutes (refrigerate). Heat peanut oil in a deep sided pan that has a lid over medium heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to oil. Saute chicken until it looks cooked on the outside, flip as needed.
Add the marinade to the chicken and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmer, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked prior to moving on ~170 deg F.
Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Raise heat to med-high to thicken marinade to a syrup consistency. Return the chicken to the pan, stir well to coat. Serve with rice.

Broccoli for Chinese Night

I have to have a veggie with dinner. And unless I do take on brown rice, I'm bored with having just a veggie. So, I tweaked my broccoli.

Cook broccoli according to package. Set aside.

Heat together:

1 t sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T vegetable oil

2 T soy sauce

If you want to bring it to a boil, then only do so for a minute. You really only have to heat it through then pour it over your broccoli. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds or toasted almonds.

It's all in the cap

I love stuffed mushrooms. Fill it with almost anything. Here's three ways to enjoy stuffed mushrooms at your next event. To clean a mushroom cap - take a damp paper towel or washcloth (not soaked!). Lightly wipe off dirt. That's it. If you get too much water on them..... well, that's not the mushroom you want. (Thank you Publix magazine)

Spring Veggie

1/2 C bread crumbs

1/2 C shredded carrots

1/4 C sliced green onions

1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 C sour cream

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Place them on a baking dish. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Bacon Cheddar

1/2 bread crumbs

4 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 C sour cream

2 minced garlic cloved (2 t)

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Also bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until lightly brown and heated through.

Cheese Herb

1/4 C pesto (buy it if you don't want to make it)

1/4 C bread crumbs

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 C toasted pine nuts

Brie slices, extra pesto, extra pine nuts

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Top each cap with a thin slice of Brie, a small dab of pesto, and 2-3 pine nuts. Bake this one at 425 for about 9 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through.

Summer Time Chill

Picture this: A sunny spring day. Temperatures in the high 70's. Your kids are playing outside while you and other mommies and relaxing on the porch. Here's what you have in your hand....

Strawberry Sangria

9 - C fresh strawberries, trimmed and halved; separated

2/3 - C sugar

1/2 - C water

1 -750 ml bottle white winse, such as Sauvigon Blanc or Pino Grigio

2 C sparkling water, chilled

1 orange, sliced

In a large saucepan combine 8 C strawberries, sugar and water. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Cover, cool to room temperature. Press mixture, a little at a time, through a sieve; discard solids. You should have about 3 C syrup. In a 2-quart container, stir together the syrup, wine, and remaining 1 C strawberries. Cover and chill up to 24 hours. Stir in sparkling water before serving. Decorate glass with orange slice or toss in glass.

Cute little side dishes: make a cone out of parchment paper. Tape the side. Fill with fresh blueberries.

Slice whatever fruit you like. For the dip: 1 container marshmallow fluff mixed with 1 container whipped cream cheese.

Pizza Pasta

My family tends to love it when I take two recipes and make one. Here you go:

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage (Italian, Sage, or whatever suites your mood)

8 oz pasta

1 Jar spaghetti sauce (any flavor)

2 C mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package. Brown sausage in a deep sided frying pan. Add sauce. Mix well and let simmer a few minutes to heat through. Drain pasta and let cool till steam stops rising from pasta (this helps sauce stick to pasta better). Add pasta and cheese to meat mixture. Serve!