Chicken 'N' Biscuits

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Biscuit ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

In a saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Stir in flour, basil, thyme, and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in milk and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes.

Stir in vegetables, chicken and Parmesan cheese; reduce heat to low. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Combine milk, oil and parsley; stir into dry ingredients just until combined.

Transfer hot chicken mixture to a greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Drop biscuit batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto chicken mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned.

Skillet Pork Chops

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp grape jelly
1/4 tsp ground ginger
4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp cold water
Rice

In a skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil; drain.

Add onion; cook until tender.

Pour broth around chops; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover simmer for 12-16 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove chops and keep warm.

Stir jelly and ginger into broth. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; add to broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over pork chops and rice.

Verdict:
I liked the simplicity of this recipe. I loved that I didn't have to go to the store for any ingredients! But it wasn't my favorite pork chop recipe. I think would like it to be a little sweeter. The sauce didn't have quite as much flavor as I'd hoped. I think you could add more grape jelly and ginger and solve that problem. The consistency was great and it was very good over hot rice!

Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

From: Martha Stewart magazine

Ingredients:
3 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
24 caramels, halved

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter; beat on medium speed until combined but some pea-size butter chunks remain. Add chocolate chips and beat until combined, then beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Scoop dough into 4-oz balls (about 1/3 cup); make a deep, wide hollow in each center. Enclose three pieces of caramel in each, roll back into a ball. Place 6 balls on each sheet. Freeze 15 minutes.

Bake, with one sheet on each rack, 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, swap sheet positions, and bake until centers are almost but not completely set (press gently on tops with your fingers to check), 7-10 minutes more. Remove from oven. Bang sheets on a counter a few times to create cracks in tops of cookies. Place sheets on a wire rack; let cool completely.

What we did differently:
I halved the recipe and I'm SO GLAD we did. These cookies were MASSIVE!! Other than that I didn't change anything, but I will give you a tip, because I've made a lot of stuffed cookies in my day. Make sure the dough completely covers the caramel on the oven, or the caramel will ooze out of the bottom of the cookie and make it fall apart easier.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Love, love! These are SO good and super easy to make!

Honey Cake

From: Southern Living cookbook 1992

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer. Combine flour and next three ingredients; gradually add to honey mixture, mixing well.

Dissolve coffee granules in hot water and add to mixture, beating well. Stir in flavorings.

Pour into two greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loafpans.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over loaves. Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool loaves in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool on a wire rack.

Verdict: Thumbs up!! First of all, obviously, this is not my picture. Apparently I forgot to take pictures of my finished project. This cake was SO good. I ate it for dessert and breakfast until it was gone. #noshame  It was still really good left over. And sometimes I warmed it in the microwave and melted butter on top. I will DEFINITELY make this again.

Chunky Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Cookies

From: Southern Living cookbook 1992

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) vanilla-milk morsels or 1 6-oz package white chocolate-flavored baking bars, cut into chunks
1 7-oz jar macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Beat butter at a medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in morsels and nuts; drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

What I did differently:
I used only a 4-oz bag of macadamia nuts and it was more than enough.

Verdict:
Well, these weren't terrible, but they didn't taste store-bought. In my opinion, they weren't moist enough and they weren't as sweet as I expected they would be. Honestly, if I were going to make them again (or if you are going to make them), I would double the recipe for the dough, and use the suggested amount of chips and nuts.

Hearty Hamburger Soup

From: Food.com

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 white onion, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/4 tsp seasoning salt
1 envelope onion soup mix
6 cups water, more to desired consistency
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15-oz can corn, drained
1 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup celery leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh carrot, sliced
1 cup white potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
garlic salt, to taste
parmesan cheese, to serve
sour cream, to serve

• Brown ground beef and onion in a large pot. Drain if needed.
• Add spices and onion soup mix.

• Stir in water, tomato sauce and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

• Add the rest of the ingredients up to the potatoes; bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. (Add more water if needed).

• Season to taste with garlic salt.

• Serve with shredded parmesan cheese and sour cream.

What I did differently:

I left out the onion soup mix because they were out at the store the day I went. I didn't do the celery leaves because I bought pre-cut celery sticks (convenience, hello!) Other than that, I didn't change a thing.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! Oh yeah, this was a GREAT soup, and so easy to make! The flavors blended perfectly. I love a good vegetable beef soup and this one did not disappoint!

Honey Grilled Tenderloins

From: Southern Living cookbook 1992

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins (about 3/4-lb each)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
5 cloves garlic, halved
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp dark sesame oil

Trim fat from tenderloins. Butterfly tenderloins by making a lengthwise cut in each, cutting to within 1/4 inch of other side. Place in a shallow container or large, heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic; pour over tenderloins. Cover or seal, and refrigerate at least 3 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove tenderloins from marinade. Combine sugar, honey and oil in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill over medium heat (about 350 degrees). Place tenderloins on rack, and brush with honey mixture. Cook 20 minutes or until the inside registers 165 degrees. Turn once while cooking and baste with honey mixture. (Note: the honey mixture will thicken as it cools, but should thin out really quickly when reheated).

What I did differently:
I didn't have time to marinate these. I thawed them yesterday but I wasn't home today with time to let them sit. So they sat for maybe 15 minutes in the garlic mixture. Honestly, it was FINE. I'm sure letting them sit in the marinade longer will also be delicious! Also, I didn't use tenderloins. We had some pork chop ends from the pig we bought last year, so I just sliced those up. I didn't grill them, either. I just popped them in the oven, on a grill rack, for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping them a couple of times and continuing to baste them.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I liked this a lot - everyone did, actually. This is a really thick cut of ham so I was afraid it would be a little dry and bland, but it wasn't. The flavor was great. I like a sweet flavor of marinade, so I definitely wouldn't mind letting them sit longer next time before I cook them, or even having a dipping sauce made from the honey/sugar mix. I will DEFINITELY make this again because it was so easy to make and it was a hit with everyone (which is tough!)