Comfort food to the max

Mark loves this meal... he often requests it and eats 2 big servings. He never wants me to cook it when company is over because he won't get as much. This past weekend, I cooked it for our friends that helped us move... it got rave reviews.

Chicken and Dumplings
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen carrots and peas
1 can cream of chicken soup with herbs
2 cups chicken, cooked (I boil 3 chicken breasts), and cubed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Jamaican hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large skillet or sauce pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat, allow to simmer.

Mix:
1/3 cup milk
1 cup bisquick

Drop by spoonfuls into the simmering mixture. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, sprinkle with paprika, then cover and cook 10 minutes.
Drop

Killer pork loin

It's always nice to find a good recipe that can sit and cook in a crock pot all day. This one was one of those. I had planned it for dinner, with Mexican rice and black beans to accompany it. However, when I got home from running errands it was nearly all gone!

Tex Mex Pork Loin
8 oz tomato sauce
4 oz bbq sauce
4 oz taco sauce
8 oz chopped green chilis
1 onion, chopped
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp oregano
3 lb pork loin roast

Mix all ingredients except pork loin in the bottom of a crock pot. Add pork loin. Spoon sauce on top of pork loin. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours. Shred the pork and mix with the sauce. Can be used as a filling for sandwiches or tortillas.

Dirty Bananas

Mark and I were married in Jamaica... one of our favorite drinks we had at the resort was the Dirty Banana. We made these recently to take the edge off the heat of the day.

Dirty Banana
In blender combine:
4 oz rum cream
3 oz dark creme de cocoa
1 banana (I use frozen)
3 cups ice
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz dark rum
Blend until smooth. Makes 4 servings.

Just Lasagna

Some people get a little nervous and jerky when they think about a meal without meat. My husband is one of them. He will offer to cook or take me out to eat when he knows the meal of the day is one without meat. One dish he especially enjoys is vegetarian lasagna, although getting him to be excited about eating it ahead of time is a chore, but once he tastes it he goes back for seconds. We have just decided that I should call it lasagna.

Lazy Lasagna
1 box no-cook lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded mozzerella cheese
Sauce
1.5 cans hunts traditional spaghetti sauce
1 bag morningstar crumbles
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp fennel sead
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
Ricotta filling
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tsp dried oregano
fresh cracked pepper

To make the sauce - saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender, add the spices and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat. Add 1.5 cans of sauce and the crumbles.

To make the ricotta filling - wisk the egg and add to the other ingredients, stir to combine.

To assemble - in a 9x13 pan, sprayed with cooking spray put enough of the remaining canned sauce (plain) in the pan to cover the bottom. Add 3 of the lasagne noodles, then the sauce top with the ricotta filling then a layer of mozzerella. Repeat the layers 3 times and top with noodles, then sauce.

Cook, tented with foil at 350 for 45 minutes. Add a layer of mozzerella and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.