THE DAY IN THE LIFE + A RECIPE

 8:30 A.M. Today is the Kansas City's Super Bowl Parade for the Chiefs! What an exciting day! It has been a crazy year when we thought the Chiefs were "for sure going to the Super Bowl" to "we will never go playing like this" to " we are going and we are going to win". .

Today is also one of those days when I will be meeting myself coming and going. I honestly would have enjoyed going to the parade. The last time it was cold, but today it will be around 40, but I'm not going. It just won't fit in my busy schedule anyway. I will probably end up stopping and starting several times today but I do want to get this post out today.

I had planned to write this post last night but ended up talking to my sil Sondra who lives in Texas about her family trees on Ancestry. I've been working with my family trees longer than she has and so my understanding is a little greater than hers. By the time we ended, it was past my bedtime. She thanked me for helping her and mentioned the time. I told her I had meant to write a post for my blog, but me said I could just write it today. She doesn't have a blog so doesn't understand my dedication to it and my readers.

In between my happenings today I do plan to share the recipe I was going to write up last night with you...a slow cooker pork tenderloin. Our younger son Patrick would stop reading right now if he were reading this. He is a "grill man" or whatever you would call it. He won't listen when we try to tell him how good pork chops are cooked in the air fryer. He does cook/smoke awesome BBQ and other meats, but just not open to cooking meats any other way. 

It helps to reorganize your chest freezer ever so often if you have one. That's how we found the 2 lb pork tenderloin I cooked in the slow cooker. We knew we had one, but it was in the bottom of the freezer and you know what they say ... "out of sight, out of mind". Wayne took it out and we put it in the refrigerator to thaw. Then I went about looking for a new way to cook it so I would have a new recipe to share.

Looking at the clock, I realize I need to stop, eat some cereal, and then get ready to go get my nails done. I think I will chose a red dipping powder in honor of the Chiefs. I will be back after Gina gets finished. I will have about an hour before I eat some lunch and get ready to go play canasta with my friends. I should be able to watch some of the pre-parade activities while Gina does her thing on my nails. Until later... 9:15 A.M.

11:57 A. M. I'm back from getting my nails done. Love the color! (My hands remind me of my mother's slender hands when I look at this picture.)

Had an apple and got dressed to go to canasta, folded clothes and put a load of clothes in the dryer that I had washed before going to get my nails done all in about 45 minutes. The parade is starting so I'm trying to watch some of that even though I am recording it. Coverage doesn't end until 3:00 so I will have to watch the last of it tonight after I get home from church. I have to grab a little something else to eat for a light lunch before I leave to pick up Friend Fran. I realize I can't watch the tv constantly and type at the same time. I do fairly well but I do need to look down occasionally to think a bit about what I want to say. So I'm going to sign off until I get home from canasta later this afternoon. I will see then how much I can get written. 12:04 P.M.

8:50 P.M. Well, I got home from canasta about 4:15 P.M. but didn't have time to get back to this before having to leave for handbell practice because I needed to get to eat something for dinner. I went to a class at church straight from handbells and have finally gotten home. I'm tired but I'm determined to get this post finished and schedule it to be posted in the morning at 6 A.M. CST.

I did get to see the first of the parade before I left for canasta and then when Fran and I got to Friend Vicky's, she and Friend Ellen were watching the parade. We continued to watch it for probably 30 minutes but decided to go play cards since everyone was recording the event. I think I saw the most important part so will probably not watch it from the recording. Wayne has already changed his profile picture on Facebook to a baseball theme.

So I guess I will get back to the recipe for the slow cooker pork tenderloin. I made this two or three weeks ago and we enjoyed it for most of the week. The meat was so tender and warmed up nicely in the microwave. I enjoyed pork sliders for at least three days. You would never have known the tenderloin had been in the freezer for almost two years. 

I allowed it to thaw in the refrigerator and it fit in my larger slow cooker perfectly. It weighed two pounds which is what all of the recipes I found online gave instructions for. There were many different recipes to choose from. I noticed they all generally agreed to cook the 2 lb roast for 2 to 3 hours or 145 degrees F. I just tried to find a recipe that I might have looked at but wasn't able to find anything as simple as mine and since I don't remember if I found anything exactly the way I ended up cooking mine, I will not worry about it since I do remember how I cooked mine and go from there. 

I cooked mine longer than I could have because it registered higher than 145 degrees when I checked it at almost three hours. I would suggest checking the temperature at two hours and not feel like you need to cook it for the full three hours.

SLOW COOKER TENDER PORK TENDERLOIN

1     pork tenderloin - 2 lbs.

12   oz of root beer (I used one with zero sugar)

BBQ sauce

Spray the inside of a slow cooker large enough to hold the tenderloin.

Place the tenderloin in the cooker fat side down.

Pour 12 oz of a root beer over the top of the roast.

Cover the cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or until the temperature of the center registers 145 degrees F.

Since it cooked faster than I thought it would, I turned the temperature down to KEEP WARM for 30 to 40 minutes.

Then I removed the tenderloin and placed it in a sprayed casserole dish that was big enough to hold the roast. (I discarded the liquid in the cooker.)

I covered it with my favorite BBQ sauce, covered the dish, and

placed it in a preheated 350 degree F oven long enough to heat the sauce (15 to 20 minutes).

I removed it from the oven and cut it in thick slices to serve.

It was so delicious.

I added additional BBQ sauce when I heated up some slices in the microwave to eat as sliders.

It is now 9:45 P.M. and I'm tired enough to go to bed but I want to play a quick sudoku game on my phone first. That will help relax me. It has been a busy day.

BEST AIR-FRYER PORK CHOPS

 

Normally when Fall or Autumn, whichever one you call it, comes, we still are using our outdoor grill a lot. This Fall though we aren't since the grill needs a new element. That means I have to start thinking of different ways to cook meats. 

We have used our air fryer to cook a few things, but usually it is used to cook frozen meats and sweet potato fries. I did cook pork chops in it a few years ago and they really tasted good. So when I was wanting to cook some again for lunch, I thought of the air fryer.

I had no idea how I made them before, but I found a recipe online that sounded good so I didn't take the time to check to see if it was the same recipe. (It wasn't since I did check later.)

This recipe isn't anything like the other air-fryer pork chop recipe (check it out HERE.) which is good for variety. Next time I make the recipe I will reverse the measurements for the salt and pepper. Wayne and I don't like our food real salty and I recognized it immediately with the first bite. The pork chop was perfectly cooked and not dry at all. So tender, also. I only cooked two porkchops and was not sure I would have had enough rub for four porkchops as the recipe called for. Since you can only cook two porkchops at a time, we will borrow an air fryer if we make these for guests so the first two won't be cold. I did have to cook the chops 3 extra minutes because they were 1/2" to 1 " thick. They were French cut porkchops. But I checked the temperature to make sure it was 145 degrees F.

PRINT recipe.

BEST AIR-FRYER PORK CHOPS

1/2     cup grated Parmesan cheese

1        teaspoon paprika

1        teaspoon garlic powder

1/2     teaspoon salt

1        teaspoon dried parsley

1        teaspoon ground black pepper

2 to 4 boneless pork chops

extra virgin olive oil

Preheat air fryer for 3 minutes at 380 degrees F.

Coat each pork chop with olive oil. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a flat shallow dish like a pie plate with a fork to distribute/blend all the ingredients.

 

Dredge both sides of each chop

in the mixture and

set on a plate.

Place chops in the basket of the air fryer making sure they do not touch. Cook at 380 degrees F. for 10 to 13 minutes depending on the thickness of the chops.

Flip the chops halfway through the cooking time.

Check doneness with a meat thermometer (at least 145 degrees F.) Remove from air fryer.

Allow chops to rest on a plate for 5 minutes before serving. This is the other pork chop. It was smaller than the other one. I ate it and Wayne ate the bigger one.

SHARON'S JALAPENO POPPERS

 While we are away on a road trip visiting extended family, I thought I would re - share some posts that surprised me because not many people checked them out.

I personally don't like "heat" and especially peppers, but these Jalapeno Poppers that my friend Sharon made for our canasta group several years ago are a must for entertaining. Everyone else raved about them and couldn't stop eating them. I hope you will check them out.

JALAPENO POPPERS

AMISH CHEESY MEAT LOAF

 I am quickly becoming frustrated with technology. I feel bad for people who are technology challenged because our whole world has become technology dependent. I have spent litterally hours the last few days because of difficulties in trying to have access to apps, etc. Tuesday night my laptop would not allow me to sign on - thus no new post yesterday. I may just be putting off the inevitable and break down and buy a new one. But yesterday evening after not being able to log on earlier in the day, I was successful.

I made this meat loaf for us Monday afternoon.I surprised my husband and made two smaller one and added the onion to his. I followed the original recipe except I used mozzeralla cheese instead of Swiss cheese so I changed the name from Amish Swiss Meat Loaf to Amish Cheesy Meat Loaf. The added bacon on top was an excellent addition.

AMISH CHEESY MEAT LOAF

1       egg

1/2    cup evaporated milk

1       teaspoon salt

1/2    teaspoon black pepper

1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1       cup Ritz crackers (24 crackers), crushed

1       cup grated cheese (I used mozzorella cheese)

1/4    cup chopped onion

additional cheese

bacon strip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat egg in a large bowl. Add milk, salt, and pepper. Beat well with whisk.

Add meat, cracker crumbs, cheese, and onion.

(I added the meat, cracker crumbs, and cheese and then split it in half. I added the onion to one half.)  Mix well with hands.

Form into loaf and place in loaf pan. (I used two corning ware loaf pans about 4 x 6.) 

Cut bacon in 1 inch pieces and place in a single layer on top of loaf.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle more cheese on top and

bake 10 minutes longer.

Cut in desired serving size.

AIR FRYER PORK CHOPS

 It's always fun to turn the kitchen over to Hubby Wayne...well usually it is. No seriously, he's not a bad cook at all. He always cooks fish if we have fish and he likes to grill. He is quickly becoming a fast fan of the Air Fryer. 

He tried this recipe for cooking pork chops in the Air Fryer and thinks it is the only way to pork chops now. They are so juicy cooked in the Air Fryer. The recipe if for two pork chops but because our porkchops are so thick, he cooked one and we halved it. He used half of the rub and we saved the other half in a ziplock bag to use at a later date.

AIR FRYER PORK CHOPS

2       center-cut, bone - in or boneless, 1-1/2 to 2 - inches thick

2       tablespoons brown sugar

1       tablespoon paprika

1-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1       teaspoon ground mustard

1/2    teaspoon onion powder

1/4    teaspoon garlic powder

1-2    tablespoons olive oil

Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile rinse pork chops with cool water and pat dry completely with a paper towel.

In a small bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

He only used half of the rub and we saved the rest for another time.

Pour the olive oil in a small bowl and

coat both sides of the pork chops with olive oil.

Rub in the mix, rubbing in well and liberally.

Use most of the rub mix for the two pork chops.

Wayne rubbed it even on the sides of the pork chops.

When he was finished, he coated the top and bottom with the rest of the olive oil.

Spray the bottom of the air fryer's basket with non-stick cooking spray. 

Place the chops in the air fryer basket and cook for 12 minutes at 400 degrees F,

flipping the chops at 6 minutes. Temperature should be 160 degrees F.

Serve immediately. 

BACON QUICHE

 Every Saturday in 2021 we have had something special for breakfast until this past Saturday. I had a good reason and made up for it by having a special breakfast yesterday. Saturday morning we drove Friend Fran 120 miles to get her first COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Since I knew I wouldn't have time to make anything before we left to pick her up, I actually hadn't picked out something to make. I do have my list of possibilities so it didn't take me long Saturday night to chose something. 

I admit we were a little tired Saturday night because we had driven 80 miles to get our second shot on Friday. I am so glad we are done with ours and counting the days until two weeks pass. We were especially glad that Fran finally got an appointment because she was signed up just about everywhere possible but hadn't gotten called or emailed to schedule an appointment until last week. We will be taking her back in three weeks and then she will have two weeks to wait. Everyone in the canasta group has gotten at least the first shot and two of us are done. Looks like we will be able to start getting together to play sometime in April.

I decided to make this quiche and it was my first one to make. The recipe came from The Stacked Arms, a B & B in Wiscasset, Maine. I had all of the ingredients except the evaporated milk, but while I cooked 15 (it only calls for 12, but I cooked 15) slices of bacon, Wayne went to the store and got me some.

Since I have never made one before I didn't question baking it at 300 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes. But after 25 minutes, my quiche was no well close to being done. 

I googled quiches to see if I could find some videos to see what they looked like when they were taken from the oven. The first thing I noticed was the temperature they were baked at -- all either 350 or 375. Some were even baked for 45 minutes. I ended up increasing the temperature to 375 in the oven but didn't set the timer so I can't say exactly how long it baked. 

I am changing the recipe to reflect the average temperature and baking time for the ones I found online. I would strongly urge you to watch it closely toward the end so that you don't overbake it. I also should have used a 10 - inch pie crust. I couldn't get all of the mixture in my deep-dish 9 - inch crust. 

It turned out great and I even took a piece over to Fran for her lunch and to apologize for tiring her out the day before. She sent me a text later telling me she had had a delicious lunch!!

BACON QUICHE

5       eggs

2       cups evaporated milk

3/4    teaspoon salt (We decided I could omit the salt the next time.)

Dash nutmeg

Pinch sugar

Dash cayenne pepper (I used paprika and used twice as much - 2 dashes)

Dash black pepper

     *     *     *

12       strips bacon, crisply fried

Large unbaked pie shell (10 - inch at least)

1-1/3  cups grated Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Beat the eggs -

add the milk and seasonings and beat together.

Crumble the bacon and add to mixture.

Carefully pour into pie shell.

Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Because my pie crust wasn't big enough, I placed the quiche on a cookie sheet incase it spilled over as it baked.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until the quiche has puffed and browned.

Allow 15 minutes for cooling. 

I have these 3 darling little measuring spoons for dash, pinch, and smidgen. If you ever see them and don't have them, I would highly recommend buying them.