Leftover Stuffing and Friends

Apple Pork Chops with Stuffing is a recipe that I have been meaning to try for a while.  I have lots of leftover stuffing from my Christmas turkey, and I looked at a lot of recipes for using up stuffing.  We like it just plain, but that gets old after a little while.

I love pork chops and I am always able to get a couple more meals out of them, so here we go!

First night - Apple Pork Chops with Stuffing.  These were fantastic!  I was a little skeptical about the apple pie filling - I used some that my mother in law had canned last fall- but it was really good.  Also, instead of the stuffing from a box (I avoid boxes if at all possible), I of course used leftover stuffing from the freezer.  If I can get my in-laws to agree, I will post the super-secret stuffing recipe sometime.  Please guys?  Anyway - it turned out wonderfully. 

Second night:  Pork Fried Rice.  This is my go-to recipe for leftover pork.  It is a family favorite.  I usually omit the scallions and use a chopped medium onion and a couple of chopped carrots instead.  I saute the carrots, onions and pork until the vegetables are soft (you probably don't need to add any oil for this - the pork fat just from the pork will be enough), then I remove them and cook the rice and eggs according to the directions.  Remember to heat the oil BEFORE adding your rice.  Otherwise the rice soaks up the oil and tastes greasy. 

The third night:  Soup.  What else?  It seems to be the inevitable end of most of my meals.  For this one I took all of the leftover bones from the pork chops, placed them in a stockpot and barely covered them with water.  I brought the whole thing to a boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer for a few hours.  This could be done in your crockpot too - just put them in the morning and let them simmer away all day.  I then strained the stock into a bowl, put it back into the stock pot and added all of the leftover stuffing and sauce from night #1.  I then picked all of the meat off of the bones and added it back to the stockpot too.  This was a pretty good soup, but it was a little sweet for me - probably because of the apple pie filling.  I think that next time I will add some extra celery and maybe some bread to damp the sweetness.  Or maybe I will just cook the pork chops over regular sliced apples.  Hmmm.  We'll see.  Sorry I forgot to take a picture!  Maybe next time.  :o)

Happy cooking!

Apple Crisp

My parents were here over the weekend, and I made apple crisp. This is one of my absolute favorite desserts. I got the recipe from a friend many years ago and have tweaked it just a bit. I meant to take a picture when it got out of the oven, but Jake and I were bringing supper to some friends, then I forgot, and now it is gone (inhaled would be more accurate). I needed to use up some apples anyway (they are starting to look a little wrinkly aren't they?) These are windfall apples, so they are great for baking, but they shouldn't be eaten raw because of E. coli concerns. Here is the recipe:

Fill a 9x9 pan with sliced apples almost to the top. Sprinkle with:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl cut 1 stick butter into:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour

with a pastry knife until it forms coarse crumbs. You could use a food processor too, it would probably be easier. Mix in 1 cup regular oatmeal. Sprinkle on top of apples. Bake at 325 for one hour.

Eat and Enjoy!

NOTE:  I messed up once and forgot to sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar over the apples, and it was still very tasty, so skip that 1/2 cup of sugar! 

Pancakes verses Waffles

Every weekend my five year old and my husband argue about what is better. Pancakes or waffles. Both contest that their favorite absorbs more syrup and is therefore superior. This weekend was Waffle Weekend, much to my husband's delight. This is a great way to make the weekend a little more special, without going out to eat. Every few weekends we eat half a pack of bacon from our pig. This bacon is fantastic and is still meaty and wonderful after it has been cooked. I like to put apple butter on mine - it is less expensive, tasty and something I can easily make myself.  This Apple butter recipe is close to what I make, but you really don't need Jonathon apples and you could just chop up the peeled and cored raw apples in your food processor before adding directly to the crock pot and enjoy a chunky apple butter or blend afterward to make it smooth.

Anyway, here is my go-to waffle recipe from the Joy of Cooking:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl:

1 3/4 cup flour (I use 1 cup wheat and 3/4 cup white)
1 TBL baking powder
1 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix in another bowl:

3 large eggs, well beaten
4-16 TBL butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix only until just blended (should look like muffin batter - pebbled). Pour into the center of a heated waffle iron (yours may need to be greased or sprayed with cooking spray. You will need to pour in less than you think - the batter rises quite a bit while cooking. It usually takes about 4-5 minutes to cook. If your iron does not open easily after this amount of time - give the waffle more time to cook. If you force it the waffle will come apart and you will have a big mess on your hands.

Waffles. Thrifty and fun!