Super simple, it does employ mostly pantry items – I dont make my cream of mushroom soup from scratch, but you certainly could if you wanted to.  I’m busy – and I think sometimes the time investment isnt worth the trade off – this is one of those meals.  Also – it wouldnt taste like it did when I was a kid if I traded the canned store-brand cream of mushroom soup for homemade cream of mushroom.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, I like store brand canned soups much better than name brand – especially cream soups and chicken noodle – dont spend extra on a brand name – not worth it.  Also, I don’t use center cut shops, waste of money and they get really dry – just buy the cheaper “Assorted Chops.”

So this recipe is pretty simple – brown off 4 to 6 pork chops in shortening, salt and pepper really well before you brown them.  When you lay them in the pan, don’t fuss with them.  Leave them set for about 6 or 7 minutes.  If you try to turn them and they stick, leave for a few more minutes.  Protein will let go of the pan when it’s ready for a flip.

While your chops are browning – open 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (or one family size can) and dump it in the crock pot.  Add 2 cans of lowfat milk (1% or 2%) and stir up well.

When the chops are done, move them to a paper towel and use another paper towel to soak up the leftover shortening in the pan – leaving the bits on the bottom.  Add 3/4 cup of water to the hot pan and get to scraping with your spatula or wooden spoon.  Once the bottom of the pan is clean and the water looks golden brown, dump the water and scrapings into the crock pot with the mushroom gravy & stir well.  Nestle the pork chops down in the gravy in the crock pot and put the lid on.  Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 to 8 until the pork chops are tall apart tender.  If you’re short on time, you can also simmer this on the stove top for an hour to an hour and a half like I describe in the recipe I posted at Food.com, or bake in the oven at 375 for the same amount of time.

Serve over mashed potatoes with a steamed green vegetable like broccoli or green beans and a biscuit or two – heaven on a plate, easy, and very economical.

If you try it – let me know what you think!

I’m coining a new phrase, Norwegi-Mex.  I’m not a “Tex” and my cooking certainly isn’t “Mex” but take any “tex-mex” dish – eliminate cotija or asadero fancy cheese, add potatoes and copious amounts of Wisconsin Cheddar, and you’ve got a truly stunning Norwegi-Mex concoction.

I made a really simple Enchilada recipe from Everyday Food this weekend, and as I write I’m enjoying the leftovers for Lunch.  This recipe calls for tomatillos – which I admit have intimidated me in the past.  Such odd little berries (berries, not veggies) with your weird paper wrapper and completely disgusting texture…..when blended and cooked with green chile and onions, you make my enchiladas wonderful.

What’s your favorite spin on traditional Tex-Mex?

I just foudn the document on an old flash drive and had to share.  I hadnt been to Canada as an adult, in fact, the last time I WAS in Canada -I was around 2 years old and all i remember is flying in a very small plane into a fishing camp, falling off a dock and almost drowning, and eating fresh blueberry syrup on pancakes.

Here were my thoughts on Canada as an adult….slightly different

It seems the New Year has brought with it a desire to change some habits.  Both lifestyle and food-style!

Recent Accomplishments:

1. No Caffeine after Noon – In fact, I now CANNOT have caffeine after lunch – because I’m up til 1am or later in the evenings.  I slip sometimes, but always regret it.  I resolve to be more cognizant of what I’m putting in my body and how it will affect me later!
2. DO something every day – even it it’s just a walk.  I was walking every morning until I went to Vegas for PubCon and came back with a HORRIBLE head and chest cold.  As soon as that went away my back was terribly out of place and I spent a few weeks on drugs and in the chiropractor’s office – then all of a sudden it was Christmas – how did that happen?

Recent Decisions:

1. Eat better – Today is Sunday and we’re back to school and work next week.  I’m going to do week-in-a-day food prep so dinner on the table will be quick and easy for the rest of the week.  I’m also going to do some things to help throw lunches and breakfast together faster.  Bagging frozen fruit individually so I can make a smoothie on the fly and hard-boiling some eggs.
2. Exercise MORE – Todd wants to do P90x – I’m terrified – so I might start with Wii Fit and a walk 5-days a week.
3. Shop less & Spend Less – along with a body/mind overhaul – I’m resolving to spend less each week on things I don’t really need.
   • No more lunch out, less eating out (which the planned & cooked for menu will definitely help,)
   • no new clothes unless I’m buying them because the ones I have DON’T FIT!

I hesitate to call these changes “resolutions” because that has been terribly unsatisfying in the past, but we’ll see how it goes. I made a plan for today and a menu – here it is!:

Breakfast Make Ahead:

• Hardboiled Eggs
• Smoothie Packets

Lunches:

• Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Marinara Sauce

Dinner:

• Sunday: Meatball Subs & Grilled Romaine Caesar
• Monday: Chicken Fajitas
• Tuesday: Grilled Pork Chops & Orzo Pilaf
• Wednesday: Chili
• Thursday: Soy & Ginger Scallops
• Friday: Potato Soup
• Saturday: Steak & Baked Potato

Prep today:

• Chop onion, celery, carrots – Sautee some – leave some raw
• Browned Ground Beef
• Grilled Chicken
• Chili Starter

So – I’ll share my menu – and what I’ll be able to do ahead of time to prepare for the day.  I’d love to hear your “do ahead” tips from your holiday meals also.  Wherever I can I’ll share links to my recipes at Food.com.

• Brined Roasted Turkey – I use Alton Brown’s Good Eats brine – with a couple of omissions.  I cant get allspice berries here so i leave them out – and i felt the candied ginger didn’t add much – and its also hard to find here – so i leave that one out also.
• Wild Rice Stuffing – This has been used in my family for years.  I dont have a written recipe, but should put it in Food.com this year so my daughter has access to it as she grows.  I think this recipe is a Minnesota thing, as wild rice is very popular there.  Its pretty simple w/ cubed dried bread, onion, celery, butter, poultry seasoning and chicken stock.  My mom used to boil the giblets and dice and add, but i’m not an “innards” fan – so i skip that step.
• Homemade Cranberry Sauce – I use the recipe on the oceanspray bag – its easy, simple and tastes great.  You’ll be spoiled and never open another can of cranberries again.
• Mashed potatoes – pretty simple thing to make – nothing fancy – but I do boil the potatoes a few days ahead of time, then heat them up in a steamer the day of and mash them with milk, butter, salt & pepper
• Sweet Potato Casserole – Mashed sweet potatoes – mixed with butter, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and a pinch of salt – top with a few tablespoons of brown sugar and chopped pecans & bake.
• Green Bean Casserole – its cliche – but so awesome – holidays arent complete without it!
• Overnight Salad – this is a recipe from my mom – I just love it and so do the kids.
• Gravy – I’m a good gravy maker – but even the best ends up with lumps sometime – its okay – have a fine mesh sieve handy and strain it – its all good
• Pies are Apple & Pumpkin – and the whip cream is made from whipping cream…not from a can or a freezer section container…that’s a new tradition I started, my dad loves Cool Whip – i think its foul.

What are your favorite holiday goodies?  Is there something you make that is tradition in your family – but sounds odd to others?  What about a spouses favorite that you cannot stand?  My husband’s family boils and mashes turnip – its freaking disgusting and luckily he doesn’t expect me to do it when I cook the holiday meal……

Every maven needs a day off – today I baked cookies and dipped pretzels – with a horribly sore back.  SO for Sunday dinner we’re waiting for that amazing invention, the frozen lasagna, to finish baking in the oven.  I love homemade lasagna, but its time intensive -and expensive to put together – so the Frozen One serves several purposes, including dinner, leftovers for dinner the next night – and a night off for mom.

Pair it w/ some great frozen garlic bread and a quickie green salad and you’re set.

Courtesy alancleaver_2000 on Flickr

ME: “So Doc, I’m not sleeping – and I think I could lose a few pounds.  I know you have a magic pill for that right?”

DOC: “So Carrie – How much are you exercising every day, how about diet -what are you eating? how much? when?  what do you do when you cant sleep? Do you have a good bedtime routine…..” and on…and on….and on…..

I walked out with a long list of “todo’s” and no prescription – what the heck!?!

So here are the new rules – some from my DR – some from me:

• Apparently I’m not allowed to call it a “damn diet” anymore
• 45 minutes of exercise , 4-5x a week – apparently racing to the front of the store for the fresh french bread doesn’t count….RATS!
• I need to lose 70 pounds to get out of the “nasty” BMI categories – i cant repeat them – it makes me throw up in my mouth.
• I meet with a nutritionist in a few weeks.  Apparently “Fried, Bread and Pasta” are not in her vocabulary – I don’t think we’ll be lifelong friends – more like “frienemies”
• Every meal has to be portioned out on my plate, and no 2nds and 3rds
• Only eat meals at home while sitting at the table – no standing and eating at all
• no sampling from the pot as I cook (this one is not my rule – i’m not very fond of it)
• Bedtime routine – starts at 10:30 – includes some herbal/natural goodies – a warm shower and 15 mintutes of soft music and meditation.  I’m not a patient person – so we’ll see how the meditation goes
• No more sleeping pills – altho I did get the OK for a dose of benadryl if I need help…..nice!
• Oh, and I’m not supposed to eat anything heavy after 6:30pm – i can handle this – but that leaves like 4 hrs ’til bedtime, hopefully I’m exhausted from all the exercise and weight loss and am asleep by 7:30 – less time for temptation.

So the upside to my grumbling is I’m healthier, I sleep 8 hrs a night w/o pharmaceutical help, I set a good example for my kids, and hopefully I’m not so EXHAUSTED all the time……

My first step?  I ate an apple for dessert while everyone else had homemade rice pudding.  It wasn’t fun, but I didn’t die…….yet

I was watching the Last American Cowboy last night – love that show – and realized that I should be living that life.  As a child, my happiest memories were of my Aunt & Uncle’s cow/calf operation in northern Minnesota.  I can remember working cows in the summer, finding calves in snowbanks in the spring, and working from sunup to sundown alongside them – and never being happier (except maybe that one summer i sunburned my back and arms so badly i couldn’t move.)

I think that ship has sailed tho – as much as i love horses and cows and goats and chickens – my city-boy husband is not a fan.  I try to convince myself he’s not a fan because he’s never lived the life, but I’m pretty sure 5am cow feeding before the ‘day job’ is something he’s not going to sign up for.

I thought about a chicken coop – but chickens attract snakes around here – I’m not a fan.  And the neighbors will not be happy about cows in the back yard.

Maybe I’ll just get a horse, the dogs have a really big back yard, maybe they’ll share it?

Probably not……..

Todd made dinner tonight, grilled chicken & instant mashed potatoes -the Idahoan ones in the packets are awesome, don’t knock it for a quick dinner til you try it.

I – on the other hand – am hungry but dont know what I’m hungry for.  I think chicken noodle soup sounds good. I think I have some Mrs. Grass’ in the pantry.  It’s what my mom made for me when i was sick as a kid.

I have a list of comfort foods -and every single one dates back to a variety of childhood ick.  The time I had strep throat REALLY bad – 2 weeks out of school bad.  Chicken Pox one summer was pretty miserable too.  I gave them to my mom – so once i was better – she was miserable .

Here’s my top 5 list:

1. Mrs. Grass’ Chicken Noodle Soup
2. Chow Mein Hot Dish
3. Meatloaf Sandwich
4. Grilled Cheese
5. COLD Watermelon

As a result, my pantry looks like this:

I have taken to planning menus so I know I at least have something I can cobble together into a meal.  This pantry can probably make a few meals (ok more than a few) but my downfall is looking at the shelves and trying to decide if the kids will eat Triscuits and baked beans for dinner…..likely not going to happen.

By planning out what we’re going to eat for the week I accomplish a few things

1. I know I have something in the house that will make into an edible meal
2. I look at my veg and perishable situation and make sure to use what I need to use up
3. The menu for the week is set, and I dont have to stare at the fridge or pantry and try to THINK Of something to make, which we all know is the hardest part of making dinner
4. I can use store ads to get the on-sale stuff and save some dinero – always a good thing.
5. I Don’t spend $200 a week at the grocery store on stuff i have no room for in my pantry. (Altho I do admit one or two things i dont have on my list make it into the basket every trip.)

I know a lot of people who dread the after work, kids are cranky, what’s for dinner, rush rush rush.  Planning things out on a Sunday before we go grocery shopping saves me SOME of that headache.

That’s not to say I don’t have some frozen pizza or lasagna stockpiled for those nights when I just cant bring myself to stand in the kitchen after a 10+ hour day.  I’m okay with that, no guilt at all