Thursday, December 13, 2007

Pork Chop and Potato Bake

Nate and I both liked this. See my notes below.

10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
24 oz. pkg frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed (I could only find 20 oz. package near the eggs and sour cream at Schnucks)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. pepper
2.8oz. can French fried onions, divided (I think this was in the canned vegetable aisle; i had to ask a worker)
4-6 pork chops, browned (I used boneless)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Combine soup, hasbrowns, milk, sour cream, pepper, half of cheese, and half of french fried onions; spread into a buttered 13X9" baking pan. Arrange pork chops on top; sprinkle with seasoned salt. Cover with aluminum foil; bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Top with cheese and remaining onions; bake, uncovered, 5 additional minutes. Serves 4-6

Other notes: Cook hashbrowns in a skillet (in a little olive oil) before putting in casserole since they take longer to cook than the recipe allows. Also, I browned the pork chops for about 30 seconds on each side before putting them in casserole, but I wonder if this made them a little tough (anyone have more pork chop baking experience than me?) They were still very good, but not tender.
I served with Sister Shubert yeast rolls (in frozen foods near waffles at Schnucks) and apricot jelly.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Penne with Chicken, Spinach, Tomatoes, and Feta

This is really fast, and Susanna (7) actually liked it more than me. Svgs- 4

Preheat to 475 degrees.
24 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes
2 T olive oil
5 cloves garlic (chopped)
3 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cups roasted chicken breastmeat (from a pre-cooked Rotisserie), shredded
8 oz. penne pasta- cooked
6 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese

Mix tomatoes, oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook and drain pasta. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta cooking water.
Add chicken to last few minutes of cooking tomato mix. Toss pasta, 1/4 cup pasta cooking water, tomatoes, juices, chicken, and spinach. Stir until spinach wilts.
Season with salt and pepper.
Top each serving with feta.

This was a REALLY quick recipe. I got home from the store and I think it was on the table in 30-35 minutes.