Green Beans in a Snap

I needed a green vegetable for dinner last night but didn't have any fresh vegetables that weren't planned for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to dip into that stash and have to go to the grocery store again before Thursday!

I don't buy many canned vegetables, but I had a can of green beans on hand. I chopped two strips of bacon and fried them up. This bacon was so meaty there wasn't much grease in the pan afterwards. After frying the bacon, I just wiped the pan out and put the bacon back in with some chopped onions.

In went one can of green beans (drained) and some freshly ground black pepper. A few minutes on the heat and they were ready to serve! Quick, easy and good!

Corn Pudding

Remember when we picked corn a few months ago? You missed it? Well take a look here!

Corn pudding may be one of my favorite things to eat.Slice the corn from the cob and saute with a little onion in butter...

... whisk together eggs, milk, half-and-half, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the cooled corn mixture and pour into a baking dish. The baking dish then goes into a bain marie, or water bath. Put the baking dish in a larger pan and add hot water to the pan until it's about half-way up the side of the baking dish. This will keep the edges of the custard from cooking much faster than the middle of the casserole.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes until the top begins to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

The corn is so delicious surrounded by a soft, delicate custard that just melts in your mouth. If you like corn and custard, you're going to love this dish! You can find the recipe here!

Barefoot Bloggers: Herb Roasted Onions

What the heck is a Barefoot Blogger?

We're an [extra]ordinary group of cookers and bakers with a love of all things Ina. We'll be testing (and retesting) Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) recipes as a group and blogging about them on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.

After applying for membership to the Barefoot Bloggers and having passed the strict requirements of becoming a BB, (really, all you have to do is shoot them an email and your in like flynn) I offer my first of Ina's recipes: Herb Roasted Onions. This recipe was selected by Kelly from Baking with the Boys. Thanks, Kelly... I love onions!
This was a simple enough recipe. Ina wants you to use two red and one yellow onion, but I just used one of each. Peel them and cut them into wedges. Leave the root intact so the wedges don't fall apart.

Mix up some lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and whisk in some olive oil.

Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well. With a slotted spoon, put the onions on a baking sheet (don't drink the marinade that remains (it's that good!). Save it - we'll put it over the onions before serving. Bake the onions at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until browned.

Pour the reserved marinade over the onions and serve warm or at room temperature.

The onions were delicious with pork chops marinated in orange juice, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper.

Beer Braised Cabbage

I've seen several different recipes for braised cabbage lately but it seems that most of them take forever to cook. Like 2 hours in the oven forever! I wanted something quicker than that and found Emeril's recipe, which sounded yummy, easy, and quick! You can get this recipe by clicking right here.
Chop 1/2 pound of bacon and cook in a large pan until crispy.

Add sliced onions cook until soft. Add chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

Stir well.

Add sliced cabbage and 1/4 cup mustard (I used Dijon) and stir well.

Cook for 3 minutes. Add a 12 ounces of dark beer (I used Bud Light because that's what was in the fridge!) and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream, stir well and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

This cabbage was delicious! The heavy cream added a smooth, mellow tasting sauce that was just perfect! I served this with grilled antelope chops. Yummy!

Fried Pork Chops and Brussels Sprouts

Oh, I know. Half of you (maybe more) are scrunching up your nose, saying "Brussels Sprouts...ewww!"

That's okay. I remember a time when I didn't like them either. The important thing is to try, try again.

I found some really, really thin pork chops today and thought that sounded good for dinner!

Here's my favorite way to cook the sprouts. I think you'll like them!

Trim the stem end of the sprouts and pull of a few of the little leaves from the bottom. Put them in a colander and give them a bath.

Cut them in half.

Now, boil them gently in water until they're tender.

In the meantime, season some flour for the pork chops. Use whatever you like... I used parsley, black pepper, Tony Chachere's Seasoning, and some granulated garlic.

Dredge the chops in the flour and shake off the excess. You just want a tiny bit of flour sticking to those bad boys. Put them on a rather hot griddle and fry until they're golden brown.

Back to the sprouts... when they're tender, drain them. Put a little olive oil in the same pan and put the sprouts back in. Add some seasoning. I added red pepper flakes and granulated garlic. Now toss those around until they are browned.

Couldn't be easier! My gardener gave this dinner rave reviews!