Sunday, September 9, 2012

Hot Pockets


My daughter-in-law, Jessica, was sharing a story about how her parents are surviving their house remodel/add-on with no kitchen and heating up foods like Hot Pockets for dinner.  Now, I know that there are times when we all wish we had no kitchen so we wouldn't have to cook or clean it and could just eat out or something like that.  However, in reality, I don't think any of us really, really wants to be without a kitchen at all.  Yet, her mention of Hot Pockets flung a craving on me today.  Rather than make a dash to the store, though, I decided to try to concoct one of my own.  Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
1 package refrigerated Crescent Rolls - when you start with this as a base, what wouldn't be easy and good?
1 pound leftover pork loin - rubbed with a secret concoction of McCormick's Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple and Mesquite seasonings and marinated overnight in a secret concoction of Johnny's Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Lemon Juice

mushrooms - an ingredient that I think makes most any main dish wonderful and Mike says I add to everything and...maybe I do

grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese - You know I grew up on a dairy farm and how can you go wrong by adding cheese?

  • First, unroll the roll dough and butt two of the triangles together at the base end.
  • Top with some roasted pork loin that wouldn't slice when your husband tried to slice it for his birthday party company (various family members) and wound up just pulling apart like pulled pork bar-b-que. 
  • Add a layer of the mushrooms and sprinkle with some of the cheese.
  • Fold the pointy ends of the dough over the filling and bake in a 350 degrees oven for about ten minutes.
  • Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and serve up with some home-made pickles, some Goldfish crackers you steal from the stash for the grands, and a glass of cranberry juice.
Yum!

P.S.  It also looks delish on a pretty blue-and-white plate gifted to you by said daughter-in-law's mother, Karen.  Thanks, Karen! 

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars


1 package Yellow Cake Mix
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup creamy Peanut Butter
2 Eggs
1 package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 more Tablespoons Butter
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 cup chopped Pecans

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Melt 1/2 cup butter and creamy peanut butter together.
  • Add cake mix and blend till combined.
  • To form a crust, press 2/3 of mixture into 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray.
  • Melt and stir together chocolate chips, 2 Tablespoons butter, and can of sweetened condensed milk.
  • Add vanilla and pecans and spread atop the pressed crust.
  • Crumble reserved cake mix/butter mixture atop the chocolate mixture.
  • Bake 20 minutes.
  • Cool completely before cutting into bars - if you can wait that long!
The original recipe came from The Girl Who Ate Everything.