Famous Pork Chops

Ingredients

* 1 cup crushed butter crackers
* garlic salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 4 pork chops
* 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, garlic salt and pepper; mix well. In a separate bowl beat eggs.
3. Dip your pork chops in the egg batter and then in the cracker mixture. Place the pork chops in a casserole dish. Place chunks of the butter around the pork chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Notes: I used Saltine crackers instead of Ritz, I used 2 eggs and when you place the butter make sure you don't put the butter on top of the chops. On some of my chops I put it on top of them and it made the cracker mix soggy. The ones I didn't put the butter directly on top of...I LOVED the crunch! Loved this recipe and the simplicity.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Serves: 6 Edit
Yields: About 12 cups or 6 accompaniment servings
Total Time: 5 min
Prep Time: 5 min
Ingredients
* 1 pound(s) strawberries, hulled and sliced
* 2 tablespoon(s) (plus one teaspoon) white balsamic vinegar
* 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
* Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
* 2 bag(s) (5 to 6 ounces each) baby spinach
* 3 ounce(s) (3⁄4 cup) goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
* 1/4 cup(s) sliced almonds, toasted
Directions
1. In blender, puree 3/4 cup strawberries with vinegar, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Transfer vinaigrette to large serving bowl.
2. Add spinach and remaining straw­berries to bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Crumble goat cheese over top of salad and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Side note: I had this salad a few months ago and LOVED IT. As you probably notice I love strawberries b/c I have already put 2 or 3 recipes with strawberries. :)

Best Tuna Salad

Maybe I've only had bad, bland tuna salad in the past, but I've never cared much for it. I've been trying to eat healthier lately, so a couple weeks ago I found myself glaring at unused cans of tuna in my pantry, trying to think of a bearable way to eat them, somehow. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com ("Barbie's Tuna Salad"). It's a recipe originally from a caterer who serves it as an appetizer with gourmet crackers. I made sandwiches. It was so good, my kids gobbled it up--no complaints--and I ate it straight out of a bowl, no bread needed. It was that good! This changed my mind about tuna salad (and sweet relish) forever. I'm surprised to be actually looking forward to eating it again tonight. I didn't have any parmesan cheese on hand; still excellent! Let me know if this changes your mind about eating tuna salad, too. :)

Best Tuna Salad

3 cans (5 oz) White Tuna, drained and flaked

1/4 c. mayonnaise -- or as little or much as you prefer

1 T. parmesan cheese

3 T. sweet pickle relish

1 stick of celery, minced (optional--not called for in original recipe, but I like some crunch)

1/8 t. dried onion or onion powder

1/4 t. curry . . . trust me . . .

1 T. dried parsley

1 t. dried dill

1 pinch garlic powder

Stir together the tuna, mayo, parmesan cheese, relish, onion, and celery. Season with remaining ingredients. Mix well, and serve with crackers or on a sandwich. Makes 3-4 regular-sized sandwiches.

Thai Pizza

This is one of our favorite meals. It's super yummy, light, healthy. I love to serve it with the fruit salad below. The ingredients are easy to find year-round, which is nice. Try it- you gotta try it.

1 regular size Boboli pizza crust
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 Tb. butter, melted
1/3 C. creamy peanut butter
2 Tb. honey
2 Tb. rice vinegar (or just a touch less)
1 Tb. soy sauce
1 tsp. shredded fresh ginger (this is the ingredient that puts it over the top!)
red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut in small slivers
carrots, shredded
green onion, chopped
cilantro
bean sprouts

Spread butter and garlic on top of crust and bake at 425° for 7-10 minutes until slightly browned. Cool. Whisk peanut butter, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger in bowl, then spread evenly over cooled crust. Combine veggie toppings in a bowl. Pile veggies on top of peanut sauce. Enjoy.

Favorite Fruit Salad

I love this fruit salad. It's different, quick, and delicious. Doesn't make for good leftovers though, so eat it all.


½ C. vanilla yogurt
½ Tb. orange juice concentrate
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1 medium apple, chopped
1 C. green grapes, halved
¼ C. dry roasted peanuts


Beat together yogurt, orange juice, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Serve immediately.

Large Shells Italiano

1 package (16 oz) of Large Shells, uncooked noodles
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup water
2/3 cup (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms drained, (optional)
1 beef bouillon cube
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. In large skillet over medium heat until thoroughly cooked; drain. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Toss hot pasta and sauce; sprinkle with cheese.

Make 8 servings

Note: My kids loved this recipe!!!!!! I also got this off of the back of the noodles package (American Beauty brand)

Easy Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

1 package (12 oz) Bow Tie noodles, uncooked
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup of milk
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. In large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt; cook 2 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Add milk and heat just to boiling; stir in cream cheese and basil. Reduce heat, stirring constantly until cream cheese is completely melted and chicken is thoroughly cooked. Removed from heat, stir in Parmesan cheese. Toss hot pasta and sauce; serve immediately.

Makes 6-8 servings
NOTE: I would double the milk and cream cheese to make more sauce. We like lots of sauce with our noodles. Really enjoyed this recipe and got it off the back of the noodles package.

Pineapple Chicken

Garlic salt
3-5 pounds of chicken pieces
Cornstarch
Beaten egg

Sprinkle garlic salt on chicken pieces. Dip in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in oil until browned. Place chicken in a casserole dish, pour the sauce over the chicken, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sauce
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup crushed pineapple
½ teaspoon salt

Mix and bring ingredients to a boil
Add rice or noodles with a veggie to complete the meal.

Note: I would suggest making more sauce... every time I forget to make more sauce and the sauce is really good to poor over the chicken again when it is over rice or noodles. Another note... when browning the chicken is does not have to cooked all the way through. If you do that then when it cooks in the oven you will dry out the chicken slightly. Enjoy!