Apple walnut stuffed pork roast

I had defrosted a pork roast for a meal that wasn't going to happen. What to do? I needed to cook it, raw meat doesn't last that long. I typed "pork roast" into Google and my mouth watered when this came up. 

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/59599/apple-walnut-stuffed-pork-roast

My prayers were answered, I had all the ingredients. I had never cooked with pork roast before, just not a big pork eater. When I pulled it out it looked like a blob of meat. How was I going to stuff this? What weirdos came up with a stuffing for pork blob? I understand a turkey or a chicken, but this was new territory.

So I researched.

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-trim-stuff-and-roll-the-pork-loin-that-s-on-our-october-cover

Seemed simple enough. Not really. Evidently the pork is supposed to come out fairly even, this is how mine looked.

I then realized that I didn't have a meat tenderizer. That's what a cast iron skillet is for. I used plastic wrap to cover the meat and pounded away. It actually worked pretty well, still wasn't as flat and even as the picture on the website but it was good enough.

The meat was laid out in my stoneware bar pan (I don't know if a regular cookie sheet will work but I assume so. Time to work with the stuffing. (For multi taskers the meat part can be done while the stuffing is cooking)

I took an apple, couple stalks of celery and one onion. Cut them into manageable chunks and then used my manual food processor to chop.

Simply beautiful. No onion smell hands and these are already mixed nicely.

I forgot the walnuts (about a half cup) so I had to chop them separate.

I had a French bread loaf that I had accidentally left out and never used...for a couple weeks. It was super stale, but I didn't want to waste good, albeit super hard, bread.

First I broke it to bits and smashed it with a rolling pin inside a plastic bag. I then put it in my manual food processor to even out the chunks.

The celery, onion, apple, walnut mixture was placed in a heated up pan on medium with 4-5 tablespoons of butter and sautéed till soft and lightly golden. Next time I make this, here is where I'd add any seasonings like cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever you want)

I then added the bread and about a cup of water.

I scooped the stuffing on top and all around the flat pork, letting the extra spill over the sides. I was in a hurry so for seasoning all I did was sprinkle cinnamon and ground mustard over the flat surface before rolling, and then I rolled it up. I laid the rolled pork lengthwise and spread the stuffing all around, like a nest.

Oven was preheated at 325. I put it in and cooked it for an hour. Cooked through and the extra stuffing has a nice crunch.

For microwaved leftovers, I made a brown gravy to top the pork and stuffing. It was a great idea. Yum!

Egg toast

I've always called this Egg Toast but I learned that Sean calls them Eagles Nests. I like his name better. It's as simple to make as frying an egg.

I learned how to make these using a biscuit cutter and just cut a hole in the center of the bread. I have also simply used my fingers to tear a hole out. But my favorite is to use cookie cutters and experiment with different shapes.

I melt some butter. 

A spray oil is a healthier option. I don't like using cooking sprays because of what is in them but this is a kitchen spritzer from pampered chef, and I'm sure other companies make them. I put in olive oil, pump it up and spray. Real nice an the oil lasts a while so it's also much cheaper. 

Place the bread with the hole, into the pan. Then crack an egg in it. I like my yolks slightly runny but you can always break the yoke by poking it with the cracked eggshell or a fork.

This is the best time to add your seasonings. I like ground sea salt and ground pepper.

When the egg is cooked to your liking, usually only takes a couple minutes or so, then flip it over.

As an experiment, I tried making it with scrambled eggs, no milk.

It doesn't really work out.

I can't see the pumpkin shape, not even a little.

In a separate pan or after cooking all the eagles nests, lightly toast the centers.

Both sides.

The shapes aren't perfect but with the browned centers you can always tell what shape you made.

I like to use a griddle when making multiple breakfasts. Much faster and they are all done at the same time.

After flipping the eggs, I can get the centers started browning without them being in the way.

Leftover Fabulous - chicken and rice quesadillas

Went to the Veterans Day Parade in Antioch. Super fun but afterwards we were all tired and hungry. Augustina fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep. We had 50 minutes before Sean had to lead some boyscouts out on an orientiering course. With both Sean and baby napping I searched the fridge and cupboards and found one chicken breast  soaking in lemon herb marinade left over from dinner. (A crockpot meal where I place raw chicken breast in a crockpot covered in the marinade for a day and then slow cooked for 7 hours on low yum.) I found a mostly empty box of minute rice a friend gave me when her family moved and a tupper of green beans also from dinner. 

So I chopped up the chicken and green beans (pampered chef manual food processor makes the process fast, painless, and cuts pretty small) poured the 2 cups marinade, chopped chicken and green beans in a pot and brought to a boil. (I measured the marinade so I'd know how much rice to add, but typically, measuring is not my thing.) Added the rice and put a lid on. My first time using minute rice, evidently it's ready in 5 minutes.

That gave me time to set out the griddle, pre-heat at 325-350 and pull out tortillas, cheese, mayonayse, oil, small bowl, pastry brush and a serving dish.

I then started cutting cheese only to learn a valuable lesson. Freezing cheese is great, it makes it last longer, but when freezing block cheese, it no longer slices. Instead you end up with cheese crumbles. Perfect for quesadillas.

I spread a very light layer of mayonayse. I love mayo and even though I can not cut it from my diet, or do the "light" stuff, I can portion control it...usually.

Crumble on the cheese.

Scoop up some chicken and rice mix. 

Use the basting pastry brush to lightly oil the now hot griddle. This too is pampered chef and is made to withstand high temperatures. (Though I do not sell the products and don't want to own everything, pampered chef does have some nice stuff) I almost always use butter but have found that when I feed my 9 month old something that has been cooked in butter (like pasta, grilled cheese etc) she ends up with a red rash on her arm and face. Now I don't know if it's an allergy to butter or if it's because she keeps rubbing it in her eyes while eating and it irritates. Either way, I decided on brushing oil.

Made four quesadillas and folded in half to lay on the griddle.

Brushed the top half with oil. 

Made four more while waiting. Flipped over in between. 

Wow they came out gorgeous. I ended up making 17 out of one chicken breast.

I did make 3 plain cheese to use up the last of the cheese and tortillas.

There is a restaurant in napa that is known for their burgers cooked with the cheese hanging over and crispy. Guess that makes these quesadillas extra special on accident.

Serve with sour cream and salsa. Ready with 5 minutes left for hubby to eat before running out the door. These would also be good with guacamole, fresh made refried beans, and such but I didn't have those. 

45 minutes to lunch, not bad. And I got high reviews from not only hubby but from baby as well.

Microwave potato chips

So I've had this microwave chip maker for months and never used until just the other night I noticed I had a 5lb bag of potatoes that needed using. I didn't want to make French fries and heat up the house or deal with the oil mess and mashed potatoes has ALWAYS been my fall back so I figured it was time to try something new. ( I used pampered chef products but I'm sure there are other products out there that will work.)

First I filled a sink with water and washed all my potatoes, then I laid them out on a towel to dry.

I them used the simple slicer on setting 1 for the skinniest slices. Within seconds I had perfect slices.

I tossed the ends and laid out the rest, patted dryish with a paper towel and salted. Only one side, I tried salting both sides and it was waaaay too salty.

I used the pampered chef microwave chip maker and then experimented different ways of setup and cooking times to find my favorite. Too many chips and they come out soft. 

I found that between 6-8 potato slices per level for the ultimate crunch. I then cook for 2 minutes and then flip each chip over and cook an additional minute.

When making a single snack this is a fast, tasty, and healthy option. Though, as I found, when making a bowlful, it took me nearly 2 hours (I was caring for a 9 month old as well so times may vary extremely) still it was fun and simple and could be done in stages while feeding, holding and entertaining my child.