Category: Side dish

main dish · Side dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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Country home!

This is the backyard of my soon-to-be new home.  I’m loving the thought of being out in the country!  As I was typing the title of today’s post, I realized that this title will need to change soon!  I think I will change it to, “What’s Cookin’ in the Country?” Or maybe, “What’s Cookin’ in my Country Kitchen?”  Yep, I like the sound of that!  Even more, I love the thought of it!!!!!!  I’m getting geared up for this move and am so excited about all that the Lord has done and is doing for us!  It’s been a roller coaster ride, and a long one at that, but He has been faithful, as He said He would be. 

Deuteronomy 7:9 
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.


Yesterday’s Sunday dinner was just the two of us. After a very busy week, it was kind of nice to be alone and a little slower paced.   I tried two new recipes that were a hit with the parson!  Here was the menu:

Italian Seasoned Chicken Breasts
Mashed Potato Casserole
Fried Green Tomatoes


Mashed Potato Casserole

Let’s start with the potatoes because who doesn’t love a great potato dish?  This potato dish from Cooking Light is a fantastic way to make mashed potatoes on Sunday because they can be made the day before.  These are DELICIOUS!


Mashed Potato Casserole
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place potatoes, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
3. Place a food mill over a large bowl, and place potato mixture in food mill. Press mixture through food mill into bowl. Stir in reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cream cheese.
4. Spoon potato mixture into an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
5. Preheat broiler.
6. Combine Parmigiano-Reggiano and panko; sprinkle evenly over top of potatoes. Broil 4 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with onions.
Note:

Make-ahead tip: Assemble this dish a day ahead, and bake shortly before serving

Italian Seasoned Chicken Breasts


I’m not sure what makes this Italian, but I do know what makes it good…all the herbs and lemon!  You mix up rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice salt (I didn’t have the fennel seeds) and olive oil and tuck this under the skin of the chicken breasts and let them roast.  Makes it very flavorful.  I had all kinds of pan juices and I served it with the chicken.  Makes it nice and moist!

The “before” picture!

Italian Seasoned Roast Chicken Breasts

Ingredients
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Loosen skin from chicken by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub rosemary mixture under loosened skin over flesh; rub over top of skin. Place chicken, bone side down, on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Coat skin lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast registers 155°. Remove chicken from pan; let stand for 10 minutes.
Nutrition Note: Since chicken breast meat is low in calories and saturated fat, you can eat the skin and still keep saturated fat within allowable limits. If you like dark meat, which is higher in saturated fat, remove and discard the skin.

I don’t have a recipe for my Fried Green Tomatoes – I just dipped them in egg wash, then seasoned flour and cooked them in a little cooking spray and oil.  Yummmmmmmm!

Let me close by asking you two questions:
What was cooking in your kitchen?  How have you seen God’s faithfulness in recent days?

From my parsonage kitchen,

Pork roast · Side dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer2 Comments

Pork roast and mashed potatoes with rich dark brown gravy. MMMMM. Sunday dinner at its finest. BUT what if you top that roast with a blueberry sauce? Yes, please. That was our Sunday dinner yesterday. Though the pork roast was a little on the dry side (maybe from being in the oven too long, I’m thinking), the blueberry sauce compensated nicely!

Menu
Pork Roast with Blueberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy

For the roast, I simply seasoned it with salt and pepper, then browned it in a little oil. I place it in a roasting pan and added about a cup of chicken broth. Cook low and slow. 

Blueberry Sauce – (From Taste of Home) They served this with pork chops, but it was great with the roast, and they also suggest using this on chicken. I don’t think you could go wrong serving this on anything!

  • 2 cups blueberries
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage leaves

Directions

  • In a small bowl, combine the garlic, pepper, salt and cayenne; sprinkle over pork.
  • In a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, brown pork chops. Bake, uncovered at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Remove pork and keep warm.
  • In the same skillet, add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 8 minutes. Serve with pork. Yield: 4 servings.

Later in the day, we had a Sunday school fellowship and I signed up to bring a side dish. I made this Mexican Cornbread Salad from Southern Living.  We love this salad, and this has a Mexican flair. You could tone down any heat by just using regular cornbread (which I did). I’d also suggest you mix the salad ingredients just before serving. This is how it is usually served so that the cornbread isn’t dry. It makes a pretty salad, and tastes just as good as it looks!

Southwest Cornbread Salad
  • 1 (6-ounce) package Mexican cornbread mix
  • 1 (1-ounce) envelope buttermilk Ranch salad dressing mix
  • 1 small head romaine lettuce, shredded 
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped 
  • rinsed and drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
  • 1 (8-ounce) package shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 
  • 5 green onions, chopped
Preparation

Prepare cornbread according to package directions; cool and crumble. Set aside.

Prepare salad dressing according to package directions.

Layer a large bowl with half each of cornbread, lettuce, and next 6 ingredients; spoon half of dressing evenly over top. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients and dressing. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

Have you had a Cornbread Salad? If not, you need to try this! What’s been cooking in your house this week? Any blueberry recipes?

main dish · Side dish

Herb & Cheese-Stuffed Hamburgers w/Garlic Fries

RefreshHer11 Comments

We grilled out recently and made hamburgers, but not just any hamburger.  These were Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers.  The pictures posted today came from my plate.  It tasted as lip-smacking as it looks!  I saved this recipe to share with you today so you could have a super Labor Day menu to cook on your grill. (Can you believe that’s right around the corner?!)   I found this recipe clipped in my file from a Taste of Home Magazine.  One of my family members declared this hamburger to be “the best she’d ever eaten!”  I think I may have to agree.  It didn’t need ketchup, mustard or mayo.  The tomato and lettuce were a lovely addition to all the great flavors in this delicious burger.  Here’s the recipe:

Continue reading “Herb & Cheese-Stuffed Hamburgers w/Garlic Fries” →

Pork chops · Side dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer3 Comments

Grits. . . does not only stand for Girls raised in the south, but I think it also is an acronym for Great, really intensely terrific side dish!  In the last several years, I have come to really love them!  I’ve posted about cheese grits, but friends, I’ve found a recipe that just may top the cheesy version!  I found a recipe on Pioneer Woman (super site…check it out!), then I did a little tweaking of the recipe to make it less fattening.  We didn’t miss any of the other ingredients.  My husband’s words were, “You knocked it out of the park with that, one, Baby!”  I love it when he says that – it means he really  likes it!  If you’re tired of potatoes as a side dish, then try this!

As the main dish, I also tried Pioneer woman’s Pork Chops with Apples.  Mmmmmm. So yummy!

My Menu:
Green Beans
Fresh Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese
Here are some pics of the chops:

My “tweaked” recipe for the grits was this, instead of using bacon fat, I did the bacon in the microwave and sauteed the onions in reduced-fat butter.  I used 2% milk instead of heavy cream and I found that the grits were so good it didn’t need the cheese!  Pioneer woman would die if she saw my version of her heavenly dish, but the reality is I don’t live on a ranch where I rope cattle and burn off all those calories!  Something has to give, folks!  =)  I’m telling you, they were great even with these changes!

You can’t get a better salad than this…

Fresh tomato slices, on a lettuce leaf, and a spoon of cottage cheese on top.  It’s pretty and delicious!

See my pretty quilted runner I just got?  It’s Waverly and I nabbed it at TJ Maxx for $7!  It goes the entire length of my bar counter adding softness, texture and color to that otherwise cold space.  ~Love~

So, what’s been cooking at your house? 

From my parsonage kitchen,