Product Testing Tuesday: Steam Bag Veggies

Have you tried the steam bag veggies that you cook in the microwave?

I am not big on microwave cooking. Reheating is usually what my microwave is used for.

I finally broke down and gave these veggies a try. Only because the grocery store was having a really good sale on them. 99 cents per bag. Can't beat that!!

My grocery store visit consisted of, "the last day of the sale". So my choices were kind of picked over.

I do not like frozen green beans (they squeak when you chew them) so I steered clear of them, but I found this rice and veggie mix (one bag left).

The rice and veggie mix is actually very good. The rice is fluffy, and the veggies taste like they are fresh.

I will definitely buy this again (when it's on sale).

I try and stick with fresh produce as much as I can, but when I'm in a pinch, this frozen mix is a very good substitute.

The veggie microwave steam bag made for an excellent side for my meal. The chicken in the picture is baked marinated salsa chicken. Very good!! It can be found at the local Chief Supermarket.

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."" Hebrews 13:5

Oh My Gosh, A Blizzard: Fried Pork Chops

February 1, 2011 was the beginning of our blizzard. As the freezing rain and snow began to come down, I was thinking of (our last supper) creating a good hearty meal for my family just in case we lose power. I wanted to make sure everyone would be full for a while.

I decided to make fried pork chops.

I know fried (cooked by frying in fat) is a bad word, but sometimes we long for "the bad".

Have you ever had a deep-fried pork chop? If you haven't, make sure you visit Paula Deen. I tried her deep-fried pork chop recipe once, okay a couple times, and they are out of this world delicious. A deep-fried pork chop in the Ohio area is known as "broasted".

Hey, there's those Cheez-Its again. Wait until you see what I have done with them.

I crushed four cups of whole crackers with my rolling pin. I crushed them really fine because I want to use them as a coating for my pork chops.

I grabbed the partial containers of mustard from my frig. Some regular mustard and spicy brown.

I squirted the mustards onto my pork chops (I had four pork chops by the way) and smeared the mustards on both sides of the pork chops.

For the coating I used the crushed Cheez-Its, 2 TBS Italian seasoning, and crushed black pepper.

I coated both sides of the pork chops with the cracker mixture.

Then I fried them in canola oil over medium/high heat (7 on the burner knob).

This was our blizzard evening meal. And yes, that is Noodle-Roni. I'm not a big fan of Noodle-Roni, but since it was in my pantry, and Italian flavored, I decided to put it on our plates.

Good Luck~Happy Eating~Enjoy

"In that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." Hebrews 2:18

The Sweet, The Salty, The Sour: Cranberry Cashew Bars

Every once in a while I crave something sweet, salty, and sour.

These little bars really hit the spot.

I am definitely going to give up on the drizzle though.

Just look at that! I always, always, alway cut the corner of my plastic bag too big. The sweet is still there though.

Sometimes I ask Betty to help me in the kitchen. Not too often, but I do.

The crust part of these bars is Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.

Yummy, yummy, yummy....

Before I sprinkled on the cashews I put them in a plastic bag and gave them a few hits with my meat mallet. As you can see, some of them remained whole.

Cranberry-Cashew Bars

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1/3 c. butter, melted

1 egg

1/3 c. butter

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. sweetened dried cranberries (I used crasins)

1 c. cashews, coarsely chopped

1/2 c. white vanilla baking chips

1 tsp butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 9 inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray.

In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, melted butter, and egg until soft dough forms. Press in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook 1/3 c. butter, brown sugar, and cranberries, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Spoon over partially baked cookie base and spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool completely.

In small resealable food-storage plastic bag, place baking chips and butter; seal bag. Microwave on high 30 to 45 seconds (I did mine in 20 second intervals. The second 20 seconds, my bag began to melt, so please be careful) or until softened. Gently squeeze bag until mixture is smooth. Cut off tiny (see, it says tiny) corner of the bag; squeeze bag to drizzle over bars. Cut into squares.

Good Luck~Happy Eating~Enjoy

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7