Thursday, March 24, 2011

Honey Glazed Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli


I found this recipe a couple weeks ago in the Sunday paper.  I really like pork tenderloin and I have yet to be disappointed in a recipe I've tried.  I did my standard "that's not enough garlic. I'm going to double it" adjustments.  I also don't have an oven proof pan so I cooked the pork in a skillet and transfered it to an 9x13 pan for cooking.  I over cooked the broccoli and undercooked the potatoes, but it was still amazing.

So, Here's the recipe.

Honey-glazed Pork with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli
Serves: 4 / prep time: 25 minutes Total time 50 minutes

1/2 cup apple juice
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 cups broccoli florets
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 1/2 lb yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped broccoli

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine apple juice, honey, soy sauce and half of the garlic in a small bowl.  Sprinkle pork with cayenne.

Place the broccoli on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil, toss to  coat and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.


In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the pork and cook, turning once, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour juice mixture over pork and transfer to oven along with the baking sheet of broccoli. Bake until pork and broccoli are done, 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into slices and put them in a medium pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the broccoli, but leave on the baking sheet. Remove the pork and transfer to a cutting board. Return the skillet to high heat and cook juice mixture until a thick glaze forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Add sour cream, parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining garlic. Mash until smooth.
Slice pork on a diagonal and put on plate. Drizzle with glaze and serve with mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Adapted f rom Prevention magazine, March 2011 issue.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Monday, March 21, 2011

I'm still here!

I haven't forgotten about this.  I haven't even been side tracked by other things.  I've been working diligently.  Unfortuntely, I just don't have anything to show for it yet.  I've been attempting to make a bunny pattern similar to the owl.  After 2 attempts, it's still a failure.  I'll keep trying, but for now I've started making dresses to sell on Etsy.  I almost have the first one done.   So, keep a lookout for it!

- J

Monday, March 14, 2011

Introducing Oliver and Olivia


These little owls are now for sale on Etsy!  Well, the pattern is.  You too can make your very own owl plushie!  Took me a few days longer than I hoped, but I finally got the pattern made, and boy, aren't they adorable?  So, go quick and buy yours today!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Dresses!




I am in love with these dresses!  I used a pattern I found online and I think they turned out beautiful!  Some people prefer the bigger one, others prefer the smaller.  I love them both, but I think the bigger one is just amazing.  I've already emailed the person who's pattern I used and she gave me permission to make and sell them on Etsy!  I cannot wait to get started and I hope that they sell!  Since these are a gift for my friend's children I need to make a pair for my girls.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Some Bunny to Love


This is my submission to the Makia Contest.  It would be very cool if I won.  If not, you'll probably see this little guy on Etsy.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Pizzaiola Style Steak


On Saturday when there was nothing else to watch, we turned on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals.  She made Pizzaiola-Style Flank Steak Pinwheels.  They looked so good that I wanted to try to make them.  As an FYI, my first rule when making one of her 30 minute meals is, it takes me way longer than 30 minutes to make.  Also, butterflying a steak isn't as easy at it looks.  So, here are my modifications to the recipe:


I used pizza cheese and grated parmesan in place of the shredded provolone and Pecorino.  I also couldn't find canned plum tomatoes and so I used a can of italian seasoned tomatoes.  I had to use curly parsley instead of flat leaf because I couldn't find flat leaf in my grocery store and I didn't think it warranted searching for it.  I didn't do the garnishes because Papa B and Peanut couldn't care less about that stuff and why spend money on things like that?


The Verdict:


This meal was DELICIOUS!  That is a picture of what I had on my plate and it filled me up along with some frozen snap peas I cooked(microwaved).  It was a little spicy, but not too much and full of flavor.  The only issue I had while cooking it was that the meat took an extra 5 minutes.  When I first took it out and cut into it some of the middle was still raw.  I'm all about pink inside, but not raw.  We will definitely be keeping this recipe but saving it for special occasions because of the cost involved.


-J

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Secret project

I'm still catching up on Christmas gifts. Fortunately my friend is very forgiving. As soon as I give it to her I'll be sure to post pics. I think it's the prettiest thing I've ever made to date.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Konbit Sante finished product

Here is a completed birthing kit for Konbit Sante. The blankets are 2 sided. The side you see is flannel and the other side is solid cotton. I bought 1 yard of each, squared them, and then just sewn around the edges leaving a hole to flip them. Then after I flipped it right side out I did a top stitch around the edges to close up the hole. Easy Peasy.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Konbit Sante



As mentioned in my previous post, we are working on birthing kits for women in Haiti. These are the stuffed animals I made for the kits. I made my own pattern for the owls using the ones I found here, on Etsy. I then got bored making owls and drew up my own pattern for the bunny.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Peanut's 3rd Birthday Party





Here are the pics from Peanut's birthday party! I love how everything turned out. The cake was amazing and everyone seemed very impressed. The flowers were made using Martha Stewart's tutorial. Each one is actually 2 pom poms that were then attached to a piece of dried bamboo. The tissue paper came from the dollar store and the bamboo from my Stepmom's gardening supplies. My Stepmom and I used plaster paris to put the bambo into the flower pots (Target, 2/$1.00). The cake was home made using a bundt cake pan, 2 boxes of white cake mix, and food coloring. The balloon rainbow was 6 dollars from a party store and the white balloons are filled with regular air. We had rainbow chip keebler cookies and hand dipped chocolate covered pretzels. The pretzel rods were from the dollar store (2 bags at $1 a piece) then, we rolled them in melted white chocolate chips and rolled them in sprinkles. They were delicious.

The favors were plastic totes from Michales ($1 each). In each tote was a twisty straw (bag of 6 at dollar store), a kleidoscope (1.74 on clearance at target), a big old fashioned rainbow lollipop (dollar store), and a little baggie with pony beads and a piece of elastic to make bracelets. I also put their names on the front with paint markers to make them more personal. When the kids first got there they sat at a table and made rainbow bracelets with the beads. The other activity I had planned was a color treasure hunt. The premise was that the cake was white and the kids had to find an object in each color in order to fill the cake with color. I made two part clues to find each object. The first part was to figure out what color they were looking for and the 2nd was to find out what object they were looking for. We had a red flower, an orange pig, a yellow bird, a green present, a blue crown, and a purple birdhouse. Here is a picture of the flowers. I thought I had pics of the others, but I can't find them.



Sunday, February 13, 2011

Birthday Banner



This is the banner I made for Peanut's birthday party using the circut. I'm going to use yarn and a hole punch to hang it by punching holes in the sides and stringing the yarn through. I can't wait to see what it looks like hung up.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Birthday Cake Topper



I was very inspired by the little girl cake toppers you find on lots of blogs these days. Specifically this one: http://buggieandjellybean.blogspot.com/2010/04/its-official-i-am-mommy-of-4-year-old.html. So, I decided to try my hand at making my own. The dress is a lot harder to make than what I thought it would be at first glance. I'm still really happy with how she turned out and I can't wait to put her on top of Peanut's cake.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Birthday Party Invites


I can't believe Peanut is turning 3! We will be heading to PA to throw a birthday party so our families can attend. This is the front of the invitation I made using the Cricut.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Baked Potato Soup


I've wanted to try baked potato soup for a long time now. Papa B was not excited but willing to try it. He ended up really liking it. Here's the recipe I used: http://diaryofarecipeaddict.blogspot.com/2011/01/baked-potato-soup.html

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Craft Hope


Craft Hope is a great organization. Nothing better than the combination of charity work and crafting! My friend is organizing some people together to make birthing kits for women in Haiti. Here's a link to the project on Craft Hope: http://crafthope.com/2011/01/project-11-konbit-sante/. I'm working on fabric combinations for the baby blankets right now. I can't wait to get started!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hockey


The in-laws are visiting right now to play in a pond hockey tournament with Papa B. I've been spending all my time getting ready for the visit and I'm sure I'll have a lot to clean up after they leave.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

French onion Soup



I love using the crockpot. In my life it always seems that the girls get needy, clingy, or fussy right around 4 pm when I need to start working on dinner. This is one of my favorite crockpot recipes these days. I'm amazed by this woman's creativity in cooking with the crock pot for a whole year! You can find the recipe here: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/french-onion-soup-crockpot-recipe.html

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Catching up on Christmas


With all the drama surrounding the house buying and moving, I didn't get all the Christmas gifts done. So, as I'm seeing family members again I'm giving them their gifts late. This is for the in-laws. I used the tutorial found here at Explanation Required: http://explanationrequired.blogspot.com/2010/07/messy-masterpiece.html and my Cricut. I love finding new and creative ways of using it.

Monday, January 3, 2011

PIzzas


Not a lot of crafting going on. We went to PA for a week right after Christmas and now I'm trying to get us settled in the new house. In hopes of keeping Peanut busy and enjoying life we made English muffin pizzas for lunch.