Need Ideas for Dinner

Here are 3 recipes that I have made recently that my family likes (just thought I'd share)

Tex-Mex Meatloaf

Serves 6. If you follow Weight Watchers, then this is a Completely Filling Foods Recipe or 4 points per serving.

1 1/2 lbs hamb. (5 % fat or less)
1/2 c. FF salsa (divided)
1 egg white
1 tsp. chili pwd.
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. ground cumin (which I normally don't like-but I can't taste it in this recipe, so it's okay)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 C. shredded FF Cheddar Cheese (I only use the FF on my portion, because it is more expensive, everyone else gets regular cheese)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine hamb. 1/4 C. salsa, egg white and seasonings. Mix. Transfer half of the mixture to baking pan or muffin tins. Top with cheese (if using loaf pan-leave 1/2 inch border around edges without cheese). Spoon remaining hamb mixture over top. Spread top with remaining salsa. Bake muffin tins 30-35 min or loaf 65-70 min. Meat thermometer should read 160. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cut loaf into 6 slices. My book says that you can also use pico de gallo instead of salsa, just make sure it is FF. I added this to my regular recipes (not just my Weight Watchers Recipes). Taken from Weight Watchers Pure Comfort Book. This is an unusual meatloaf recipe because you don't add oatmeal or any other fillers (but maybe you could-I don't know).

Balsalmic Vinegar Pork Chops
4 pork chops
S and P
2 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2/3 C. Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp sugar

Season chops wtih S and P. Heat oil in pan over Med-high heat for 1 min. Cook chops for 5 minutes, turning half-way through. Remove chops, place on a clean plate. Turn down heat to Med. Cook Vinegar and sugar in same pan. Cook until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Return chops and any juices from chops into vinegar mixture. Cook 4 minutes, turning to coat with sauce. It smells really strong, but tastes very mild.

Jason’s Pork Chops (Jason found this one on the internet and made it for dinner the other night)
½ C. soy sauce
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. Honey
2 tsp. Garlic powder
4 pork chops

Make marinade. Marinade for 2-4 hours in the fridge. Preheat grill to high. Pam the grate on the grill. Grill for 5-8 minutes per side. (Jason only marinaded them for about 20 minutes). They were very moist and delicious. The website said you can do chicken also. Some readers thought it was too salty, but we didn’t think so. Some readers added fresh garlic.

Biscuits

I found this recipe in an old ward cookbook of my Mom's. I thought they were great.

3 C. flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 C. margarine, room temp.
1 egg, beaten
1 C. milk

Combine dry ingr. Cut margarine in. Separately beat together egg and milk. Add egg and milk. Mix well. You may need to add more flour until dough is not sticky. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into biscuits. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Bake on highest rack. Makes 24. For my family of 4/5 I would probably half this recipe.

Breakfast Casserole

This is the recipe from the Ward Christmas Brunch.

1 lb of Italian Pork Sausage (Cooked, drained, crumbled) OR 1 lb. ham or bacon
4 1/2 C. cubed day old bread
2 C. shredded sharp cheese
10 eggs, slightly beaten
4 C. milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
Pepper, to taste
1/2 C. mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1/2 C. tomatoes, peeled and chopped (optional)

Butter a 9 X 13 pan. Put bread in pan. Sprinkle with cheese. In separate bowl combine eggs, milk and spices. Pour egg/milk mixture over bread/cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients on top. At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 min before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Chocolate Wheaties

This one was also from Dix at girls night out. I liked the cheater cookies better, but this was so fast I thought it would be good for a family night treat.

1 bag choco chips
1 box wheaties cold cereal

Melt choco in saucepan on low. Take off heat. Pour about 4 C. wheaties in and mix. Add more wheaties until it is easy to spoon up. Spoon onto cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in fridge or freezer until cooled and hardened. We thought you could probably use other kinds of cereal also.

Cheater Cookies

This recipe is one that Dix made for Girls Night Out. It was my favorite thing that night.

2 eggs
1 cake mix (any flavor-yellow, white, chocolate)
1/2 C. oil
2 C. (12 oz. pkg.) choco chips (any flavor)

Mix all together. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely.

Soft Yummy Carmels

From Sis Stansfield

This was one of the things my Grandma always made for Christmas. I think this recipe is the same as Sis Toone's (they tasted the same to me). Sis Toone called hers "Butterscotch Fudge". My Grandma got it from a book called "Let's Make Candy" by Pauline Atkinson.

2 C. White Sugar
1 1/4 C. white Karo
2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 C. milk (I used skim, so I think any kind will work)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla

Before starting grease a 9 X 13 pan with pam. Also adjust your thermometer reading (see below).
Mix the cream and milk together in a mixing bowl.
Put about 1/3 of cream mixture into a heavy saucepan. (I didn't have a heavy saucepan and it still turned out). Add the sugar, karo, salt, vanilla to the saucepan. Use a whisk to stir it all together, then leave it alone (you don't need to stir at this point). Cook on medium low for 1/2 of an hour.
Add 1/2 of the remaining cream mixture very slowly (you don't want it to stop boiling). Turn up the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly (from here on out you need to stir constantly).
Add the remainder of the cream mixture very slowly (once again, you don't want it to stop boiling). Cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until it reaches 230-234 degrees Farenheit (soft ball stage). Remember to adjust your thermometer reading for altitude and variations in thermometers.
Pour into the greased pan and put in your fridge to cool (takes about an hour). The cooking time takes about an hour and the cooling time takes about another hour. You can cut into squares and wrap in pieces of wax paper if desired. You can also add chopped nuts (just add at the very end of cooking right before pouring into the pan).

How to adjust your thermometer reading: Immerse thermometer in boiling water (normally 212 degrees F). If the reading for example is 204 degrees, then you need to subtract 8 degrees from the recipe temperature. Or if your reading was 216 degrees then you would add 4 degrees.