Salads For Days

In an effort to eat more healthy foods and lose some weight, I have committed to #DailyVeggies, making sure I have at least one serving of vegetables every day. Since I detest most cooked vegetables, this means that a meal-sized salad is my best veggie option. Therefore, #SaladaDay has become my usual lunch. Of course, salads don't have to be boring or bland - not at all! There are many variations and possibilities when it comes to salads. I thought I would share some of my favorites with you, and please feel free to share your ideas with me! I'm always looking for more ideas!

Basic chicken salad: romaine lettuce mix, grilled chicken, corn, bacon bits, cheese, and a light drizzle of thousand island .

Taco salad: mixed lettuce, taco seasoned beef, queso blanco sauce, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. No dressing needed!

Deconstructed sandwich salads: basically the ingredients of a sandwich, placed on top of a salad. This one was lettuce and radicchio mix, chopped steak strips, half an avocado, lowfat provolone cheese, and Green Goddess dressing.

Extra protein salads: for those days when you need more protein, adding navy beans, hummus, and boiled eggs to the salad gives it both flavor and protein kick.

Tuna salad: these days you can get flavored tuna packets in a variety of flavors. I don't usually like tuna, but the ranch flavor is really good! Here's lettuce mix, ranch-flavored tuna, navy beans, peas, cheese, and Green Goddess dressing.

Think outside the box: salad doesn't always have to start with a leafy green base. Try other combinations like beans, tomatoes, avocado, eggs, different cheeses, or other vegetables that strike your fancy. I'd like to hear what ideas you come up with!

Crockpot Noodle Casserole

This recipe is basically an adaptation of my Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe that I made in the crockpot and substituted chicken and turkey instead of tuna. It was an easy two-hour meal in my pressure cooker crockpot, and turned out tasty and filling. I didn't have fresh chicken handy, so I used a can of chicken and a can of turkey for the meat. I also used a can of roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup instead of plain, which gave it a wonderful savory flavor!

Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk or 1 can of evaporated milk mixed with water
1 cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar or fiesta blend cheese, divided
3/4 cup peas, frozen or canned
Garlic powder, seasonings as desired
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, turkey, or tuna
3 cups dry medium egg noodles

Mix the soup, milk, and water together in the crockpot. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese with the peas, seasoning, and meat, and mix thoroughly. Add the noodles and stir to cover the noodles with the liquid mixture. Cook on low setting for 4 hours or high setting for 2 hours. Check that the noodles are tender and most of the moisture is absorbed, if not cook longer. Top with the other 1/2 cup cheese and cook for another half hour. Serve and enjoy!

Salsa Chicken Bake

This meal was born of Pinterest ideas (who am I kidding?! Most of my recipes are tweaked Pinterest finds!), and hubby heartily approved and went back for seconds. It's easiest made in the oven, but could probably be modified for the grill or even a skillet. I made taco rice in the skillet while the chicken and bean mixture baked, then topped my serving with sour cream. It was very tasty and filling!

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, frozen or canned
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup queso blanco sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or fiesta blend cheese

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the beans and corn evenly in the bottom of a large oven or casserole dish. Trim the chicken strips and arrange them on top of the bean mixture. Spread the salsa and queso evenly on the chicken strips and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes, checking occasionally. When chicken is cooked through, remove from the oven and serve with rice or tortillas. Enjoy!

Tortellini Alfredo with Spinach

This was a relatively simple meal to make. It would have been easier with two pans, but my electric skillet worked just fine. I used a package of premade tortellini and a package of grilled chicken for this tasty, easy dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Butter or olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 package premade tortellini
1 cup cooked chicken
1 jar garlic alfredo sauce

Lightly sautee the garlic in heated butter or oil. Add the spinach and sautee until wilted. Set aside.

Boil the tortellini according to the directions on the package till tender, drain. Add the chicken, sauce, and garlic spinach mixture. Simmer all ingredients together until heated through, stirring frequently. Serve and enjoy!

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

After having Chinese takeout a few times, I fell in love with fried rice. I decided to try making it on the truck, and after researching a few recipes, I figured I could make it with ingredients I had on hand - leftover soy sauce packets from takeout, pre-cooked grilled chicken, and ready rice. We really enjoyed the result and plan to make it again!

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chicken
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 package garden vegetable ready rice
2 eggs

Chop the cooked chicken into small pieces and place in a warm skillet with 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Coat the chicken in the soy sauce and heat it through. Add the rice, breaking down any chunks, and the third tablespoon of soy sauce. Sautee together. Push the rice and chicken mixture to the edges of the skillet, opening an area in the middle of the skillet. Add the eggs into the center of the skillet, scramble them with your spatula, and allow them to cook until firm, stirring the rice mixture to keep it from burning. Chop the eggs into small pieces and mix them in with the rice and chicken. Serve and enjoy!

Spinach-stuffed, Bacon-wrapped Pork Chops

I don't like cooked spinach - never have, never will. But my hubby does, and it's good for you, and it was a required ingredient in a Chopped Challenge cooking competition this month. So, after a bit of research, I came up with this idea - make a cheesy spinach stuffing, put it inside pork chops, and wrap bacon around the outside. Now if that doesn't make you start drooling a little, I don't know what will!

Ideally these would be made in an oven, but since I am on the road at the moment, I made them in the skillet. They tasted great, though the bacon outside didn't get as crispy/cooked as I'd like. I used the thickest pork chops that I could find so that the pocket wouldn't cut all the way through them.

While they were cooking, I chopped up baby golden potatoes and sautéed them with butter and diced fresh garlic, letting them cook at the same time as the pork chops. After the pork and potatoes were done, I served them onto a plate, put butter, parmesan, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning on hoagie rolls and placed them face down in the hot skillet to toast. The result? Amazingness.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove fresh garlic, diced
1-1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz cream cheese
2 thick boneless pork chops
4 slices bacon
Wooden toothpicks
Italian seasoning

Start by melting the butter in a skillet and sautéing the garlic for about a minute. Take the stems off the spinach and add to the skillet, sautéing until wilted. Combine the mozzarella and cream cheese in a small bowl and stir in the spinach. Set aside.

Using a sharp knife, very carefully cut a pocket into each pork chop, leaving 3 sides intact. Divide the spinach mixture in half and stuff it down inside the pockets. Wrap each chop in 2 slices of bacon, making sure the widest part of the bacon is over the pocket of stuffing, and using toothpicks to secure the overlapping areas. Sprinkle both sides of the chops with Italian seasoning. Cook in a skillet or oven for about 40 minutes, flipping occasionally, until juices run clear and the center of a chop is only slightly tinted pink. Serve and enjoy!

Crockpot Lasagna

One of my favorite sounds to hear is the tone of my hubby's voice when he tries a meal that I've made for the first time and likes it...actually LIKES it - not just okay, but good! I got one of those moments yesterday when I made lasagna in the crockpot, and though it was a little bit of work, it was definitely worth it for a meal that we both really enjoyed!

I used Barilla oven-ready lasagna noodles, which don't require cooking first - they absorb moisture and expand as the meal cooks. However, since they are flat instead of ridged like most lasagna noodles, I used a jar of Prego spaghetti sauce with mini meatballs for the inside layers to give it a more interesting texture. You could always cook a pound of ground beef and mix it with regular spaghetti sauce for the inside layers, but this way was a lot simpler.

Ingredients:
1 15oz container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Dash garlic powder
1 jar meat-based spaghetti sauce
1 jar spaghetti sauce with mini meatballs
1 box Barilla oven-ready lasagne noodles
Mozzarella cheese

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and seasonings thoroughly. Set aside.

Pour enough of the meat sauce into the slow cooker to cover the bottom of the pot, about 1/3 of the jar. Lay noodles on top, breaking to fit the shape of the pot. Divide the ricotta mixture in half and smooth half of it evenly over the noodles. Place more noodles on top. Pour half of the jar of mini meatball sauce on top, making sure the meatballs are evenly distributed, and top with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Place more noodles on top, and repeat the ricotta and meatball layers. Place more noodles on top and pour the remaining meat sauce over them, ensuring that all the noodles are covered. Top with another layer of mozzarella.

My Farberware 7-in-1 cooked it in 2 hours on slow cooker setting, so a regular slow cooker could probably cook it in 3 hours on low setting. When noodles are soft, cheese is melted, and sauce is hot and firm, serve warm and enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Orzo

Yummy!

I am part of a Facebook community called Big Truck Cooking, all about truckers cooking, that has a Chopped Challenge every month. For my entry this month, I'm submitting this easy, oh-so-delicious one-skillet recipe for Chicken Enchilada Orzo.

Since it can be difficult keeping enough fresh or perishable food in the truck to last us 3-5 weeks, I have been developing more recipes using mainly (or exclusively) non-perishable ingredients. The only perishable ingredient in this recipe is cheddar cheese, which can be substituted with shelf-stable cheese like Velveeta or omitted altogether.

Ingredients

Ingredients:
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can mild Rotel
1 can chicken in water
1 1/2 cup dry orzo
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 package taco seasoning
Cheddar cheese

Pour the enchilada sauce, Rotel, and chicken into a skillet without draining. Add the orzo and about a cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until orzo is cooked. Add the drained black beans and corn, stir and continue to simmer. Add half a package of taco seasoning and mix in thoroughly. By now mixture should be thick. Reduce heat, pat mixture firmly down in the skillet, sprinkle cheese on top and let sit to melt cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serving hot from the skillet

Easy Beefy Noodles

Easy, quick, and delicious!

This is one of those fantastic, super-easy, 3-ingredient meals you can make in 15 minutes, start to finish. I kinda feel like it's cheating, since I use precooked packaged steak strips, but any cooked or leftover beef will work. And if you feel extra creative, feel free to chop some mushrooms or veggies and toss them in.

Ingredients

Ingredients:
8 oz (half of a 1lb bag) egg noodles
1 jar beef gravy
1 cup cooked steak strips

Place egg noodles in skillet and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and stir frequently till noodles are soft and water is mostly absorbed. Add the gravy, mix well, and let simmer 2-4 minutes. Add steak strips, stir, and cover. Simmer another 2-3 minutes until steak pieces are warmed through and gravy is hot and bubbly. Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Pasta

My poor hubby has caught another cold ad is currently feeling miserable. I'm trying to take care of him best I can and fight to keep from catching it. We'll see if I evade the cold, but in the meantime, as I had no soup on hand, I made chicken pot pie pasta for lunch. It was warm, soft, and soothing, just the thing for feeding a sick hubby!

I like that this recipe makes 4+ servings and is made completely from non-perishable items: canned meat and veggies and dry pasta and herbs. That means I can keep the ingredients on hand and make it whenever necessary. I made it in my crockpot, mostly because we're on the road and the crockpot, electric skillet, and microwave are really all I have to work with, but it can just as easily (perhaps more easily) be made in a pot on a stovetop. For serving a larger family, simply double the recipe.

A note on the seasonings: I used garlic powder, dried herbs, and a squirt of bottled lime juice for flavor. Other suggestions would be powdered or minced dried onions, dry ranch or Italian dressing mix, salt and pepper, or whatever seasonings you prefer. You can also add any fresh veggies you have on hand in place of the canned veggies, or use precooked chicken instead of canned. For the pasta, I used mini bowties as they cook relatively quickly, but any smallish pasta would work, such as penne or shells. Also, I used only half a small can of evaporated milk to make the sauce; if you prefer a creamier soup-like consistency, use a full can or more.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb small pasta, cooked and drained
1 can cream of potato condensed soup
1/2 can evaporated milk
1 small can mixed peas and carrots, drained
2 12oz cans white meat chicken, mostly drained
Seasonings to taste

After cooking and draining the pasta, place pasta back in the pot and turn to low. Add the condensed soup and evaporated milk, stir. Drain and add the can of peas and carrots; mostly drain and add the cans of chicken (a little of the water is okay). Add seasonings and stir well. Simmer 10 minutes and serve. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken

As y'all know, I LOVE easy, simple recipes. This ond is about as easy and simple as it gets - just 2 ingredients! It's literally a half and half ratio of the two ingredients, so it can be quickly modified to any amount of chicken you wish to grill.

Grilled chicken, potato wedges, corn salad, and cheesy garlic biscuits!

I wanted a chicken marinade for the grill that would impart good flavor without being overwhelming. This marinade forms a pleasant layer on the outside of the chicken without being tough or leathery, and the chicken is still tender and juicy inside. Of course, you can also bake or pan fry the chicken using this recipe, but I think it's best grilled. Ready?

Ingredients:
4 medium chicken breasts
3/4 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

Butterfly the breasts if desired, for faster cooking time. Mix the ranch and zesty Italian dressings together in a cup. Using a gallon sized zipper baggie, layer the marinade and chicken breasts. Zip the baggie shut and vigorously squeeze and smush the chicken breasts around until thoroughly coated. Place in the refrigerator and turn over every few hours; let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Grill till tender and enjoy!

Nacho Chicken Bowls

This recipe was birthed from a recipe I had planned to make in the oven during home time: baked chicken with a cheesy corn and bean sauce, to be served over taco rice. Instead, I ended up making it on the road, in the crockpot. It turned out much less visually aesthetic, but oh so yummy and very filling, which are the main requirements for food in our family. The first day we scooped it out of the pot and wrapped it in tortillas for burritos; the second day we warmed it up in bowls and added extra queso and fritos on top. Either way, it's delicious and easy!


Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can Rotel, partially drained
1 package dry taco-flavored rice
1 jar queso blanco sauce

Cut chicken into smaller pieces for faster cooking time, if desired. Place chicken in crockpot with corn, beans, and Rotel. Cook 2-4 hours or until chicken is completely cooked. Shred chicken, add rice and cook another hour, checking regularly and adding water if additional liquid is needed. About 10 minutes before serving, add queso blanco and stir thoroughly. Serve with tortillas, Fritos, or tortilla chips, and additional taco toppings if desired. Enjoy!

Frijoles Con Queso

This is one of those really easy, quick, go-to meals that you can make in one skillet in about 15-20 minutes. I love those kinds of meals, don't you? And I can keep all the ingredients on hand, even in the truck. I use minute rice and canned refried beans, although you can easily substitute freshly cooked rice and homemade beans. One can of beans and one package of rice feeds my hubby and I, so if you are serving a larger family adjust ingredient amounts.

It's certainly not the most aesthetically pleasing meal, but it is certainly pleasing to the taste buds and the tummy!

Wrapped in a tortilla

Ingredients:
Olive oil
Taco seasoning
Rice
1 can refried beans
Queso blanco sauce

Spread a little olive oil in a warm skillet and fry the rice, adding water if needed to keep it moist. Sprinkle a small amount of taco seasoning over the rice. Add beans, stir and continue to fry until mixture is hot. Add about half a cup of queso blanco, more or less to taste, and stir thoroughly. When completely mixed and heated, serve with tortillas and extra cheese as desired. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas: Crockpot or Oven

I have been craving chicken enchiladas lately, but since my toaster oven is very unreliable, I had no way to bake them. Instead, I figured out how to make them in the crockpot!

I'm going to give you the base recipe and then directions to modify it for either crockpot or oven cooking. Keep in mind, the crockpot version gets kinda messy - I wouldn't serve it to company - but the flavors are oh so good!

The crockpot version is a little messy but so tasty!

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup red or green salsa
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 jar queso blanco sauce, divided
1/2 package taco seasoning
1/2 package dry ranch mix
1 cup cheddar or monterrey jack cheese
1 pound cooked shredded chicken
Flour tortillas (3 for crockpot version, 8 for oven version)

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, soup, and 1/2 cup queso sauce together. Add seasonings and cheese and mix, then add chicken and mix thoroughly.

Crockpot:
Tear 3 tortillas into strips. Smooth a few spoonfuls of queso sauce on the bottom of the crockpot and lay one tortilla worth of strips on that. Pour half of the filling mixture on top, place more tortilla strips above it, and repeat with the other half. Pour the rest of the queso sauce on top and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Cook on low for about 2 hours and serve.

Oven:
Preheat oven to 375. Mist a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and smooth a few spoonfuls of queso sauce on the bottom. Evenly divide the filling mixture between 6-8 tortillas, then roll into firm cylinders. Lay each tortilla roll in the dish with the seams down. Pour the rest of the queso sauce on top and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake about 30 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Chili

After being out in snow and subzero temperatures this weekend, I came down with an unpleasant cold (is there any other kind?). Between the frigid weather and my sore throat, something warm and soft was definitely in order - and chicken chili hit the spot.

The nice thing about this recipe is its flexibility. Most of the ingredients are nonperishable, which means I can keep them on hand until I'm ready for them. It can also be made mild or spicy depending on your choice of ingredients. We use plain diced tomatoes, but using a can that contains chilies will add a zip to your chili.

 It can be made with raw or precooked chicken; simply adjust the cooking time appropriately. For raw chicken, plan to leave your crockpot on for 4-6 hours on high, or 7+ hours on low. For precooked chicken, however, an hour or two is plenty.

Also, if you're one of those people who is picky about leftovers, let me assure you that this chili is absolutely just as good the next day, or even better! The longer it sits, the more the flavors mingle and marry, resulting in leftovers that surpass the original concoction.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, raw or cooked
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can each: black beans, northern beans, and corn
1 8oz package of cream cheese
Dry taco seasoning
Dry ranch dressing mix
Optional: shredded cheddar cheese

Place the chicken in the crockpot and dump the can of tomatoes on top. Drain the excess fluid out of the beans and corn, then add to the crockpot. If using precooked chicken, add the cream cheese; if using raw chicken, wait till later. Add about half a package each of the taco seasoning and ranch mix. Stir everything together. For raw chicken, cook as directed above, and add cream cheese to the last hour of cooking. For precooked chicken, let all ingredients simmer about an hour. When ready to serve, stir thoroughly and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese on top. Enjoy!

Cheesy Sausage and Potatoes

Before we talk about this recipe, I must warn you: it was not exactly what I had planned to make, but it turned out delicious and satisfying! I was intending to make a casserole-type dish in the crockpot, but time constraints and a spoiled bag of tater tots changed my plans. Instead, I winged it, so to speak - threw together some ingredients in an electric skillet and hoped for the best. And it turned out great!

If you prefer more of a sauce, add half a cup of milk and extra butter. If not, leave them out and the texture is more like a casserole.

Ingredients:

1 package smoked sausage
1 box of au gratin potatoes
2 cups water
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
Garlic powder and dry ranch seasoning for flavor, or seasonings to taste
Optional: 1/2 cup milk

Slice smoked sausage into bite size pieces and toss in a buttered skillet. Add the dehydrated potatoes and about half of the au gratin flavor packet. Pour in water and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for about 15 min or until potatoes are firm but tender. Add butter, cheese, and seasonings to taste, as well as milk if desired; stir and let simmer another 4-5 minutes. Serve topped with extra cheese!

Three Package Roast

Have you heard of the 3 package roast? It's a recipe that has been going around a lot lately and I decided to give it a try for our Christmas dinner. It came out great! The meat was tender and flavorful, and the juices were scrumptious. I'm a firm believer in plain buttered mashed potatoes, never ever any gravy, but I even poured some of the roast juices over my potatoes! The juices come out thin, but a little flour and cornstarch whisked in could easily make a delicious brown gravy.

A few quick notes before we begin. You can sear the sides of the roast before putting it in the crockpot if you like, but it isn't necessary. I didn't sear ours and it came out adequately tender. Also, it does not need salt - the mixture of seasonings in the packages are plenty. In fact, I recommend using low sodium versions, if available.

Christmas dinner

Ingredients:
1 3lb roast (any beef roast will work)
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
1 package dry ranch mix
1 package dry brown gravy mix
2 cups water

Whisk together the 3 packages of seasonings and the water in the crockpot. Take the roast from its wrapping and rinse off any excess blood. Place the roast in the crockpot and use a spoon, ladle, or baster to thoroughly coat it in the seasoning mixture. Let cook on high for about 5-6 hours, basting it in the juices every hour and periodically flipping it over to ensure it cooks evenly. When it is tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, pull it out of the crockpot. Slice it, baste it in the juices, and serve. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Crockpot Casserole

With colder weather setting in lately, we have been in the mood for comfort food. And I'm not sure what says "comfort food" better than chicken and rice, in a warm casserole-type dish. It's too thick to be called soup but too soft to be much else. If you find a better name for it, let me know!

On a side note, I used minute rice because it's easy to keep on the truck. You can use any brand of minute rice, or simply use cooked regular rice. Either way I'm sure it will be delicious! 

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts 

Can cream of chicken soup 

Can cream of cheddar soup

Dry ranch dressing mix 

Box of minute rice 

1 cup sour cream

Parmesan cheese to taste

Dab a little soup on the bottom of the crockpot. Lay chicken breasts on top and spoon the rest of both cans of soup on top, sprinkling in the dry ranch mix. Let cook in crockpot 3 hours on high, or whatever your crockpot needs to thoroughly cook chicken, while stirring occasionally. About half an hour before serving, use a fork or spatula to shred the chicken. Add the rice and sour cream and mix everything together. Let cook for another half hour to warm the rice. Serve and top with parmesan cheese. Enjoy! 

Easy Crockpot Ham

Our Thanksgiving was spent on the road, in the truck...but together, which is the most important thing! There is much that we have to be thankful for. I'm also thankful for the ability to cook for us in the truck. It is usually a challenge, but I have found ways to modify recipes and adjust cooking times to match the resources I have available. And of course, Thanksgiving was no different. We used pre-packaged Bob Evans mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, picked up at WalMart (which I highly recommend, by the way! Very tasty and they keep well for a few weeks - something that is important when you visit a grocery store only once a month!).

Thanksgiving dinner

In an effort to have something special for the holiday, I decided to cook a quarter ham in the crockpot. Well, technically it's a 7-in-1 cooker, but it has a slow cooker function. Anyway, after a bit of research, and borrowing brown sugar from my mother (quite conveniently, we were sent to California about a week before Thanksgiving!), I decided to give it a go. The result...super amazingness. It was wonderful served hot on Thanksgiving, and it was great cold as sandwiches for the next week. It stayed moist and tender...in short, the perfect, easy ham!

Quick note: make sure it is a sliced, fully cooked ham that simply needs to be warmed up. If it is an uncooked ham, a quick Google search should reveal easy cooking methods.

Ingredients:
1 quarter ham
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar

Spoon about a quarter of the applesauce on the bottom of the crockpot and sprinkle a little brown sugar on top. Add the ham, rind side up, and allow any juices in the package to run into the crockpot. Spoon the rest of the applesauce over the top of the ham and add the rest of the brown sugar. Let the crockpot cook for about 3 hours, periodically spooning more sauce over the top of the ham to keep it moist. When fully warm, separate the slices and make sure each slice gets dipped in the sauce as you serve it, to keep it moist. Enjoy!

Broiled Pork Chops

Pork chops are one of my favorite meals - they are delicious, packed with protein, and usually relatively cheap. They are also versatile, taking on the flavors around them as they cook.

This variation was made very easily in my toaster oven on the broil setting. They literally cooked completely in 12 minutes and were juicy and tender. I let the toaster warm up while I put Zatarains garlic butter rice in my 7-in-1 cooker on rice setting, and we had a satisfying meal ready in about half an hour total prep and cook time.

I used garlic powder and Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning. You can use pork rub, cajun seasoning, dry ranch dressing mix - whatever stirs your imagination and gets your taste buds drooling.

Pork chop with garlic butter rice

Ingredients:
2-4 pork chops
Olive oil
Garlic, seasoning as desired

Turn your oven or toaster to broil setting and let it heat up as you prep the chops and start whatever side dish you desire. Rub the pork chops with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle the top with seasonings. Place on a foil lined sheet or pan and put it inside the oven. Thin chops take 6 minutes on each side, thicker chops need more time. When the top is golden brown, flip the chops over and sprinkle the other side with seasonings as well. When both sides are lightly browned and chops are cooked through, pull them out and let them rest about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!