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When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste. ~Laiko Bahrs









Friday, October 22, 2010

Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops

This is a little late but better late than never!!

I came up with this recipe and I absolutely love it!!! No need for a veggie side dish when you have your protein stuffed with spinach!!!


4-6 Thin Pork Chops (thick will work but you will need to make in incision in the side and stuff that way, these are actually rolled!)
12 oz Frozen Spinach, do not thaw
2 T EVOO (olive oil)
3 minced Garlic cloves
4-6 T Chicken stock or water
1/2 t each Garlic powder and Black Pepper, and Salt
1 t Onion Powder
1 T minced Sun Dried Tomatoes
4 oz Cream cheese


Saute Garlic in EVOO for a few minutes, Do not let it get brown, it will taste bitter! Add Frozen Spinach and Stock/water. As your spinach thaws, most of the water will evaporate. You want to Spinach to remain moist and not dry nor soaking wet. Add seasonings, sun dried tomatoes, and Cream Cheese and heat till cheese is melted. Take Pork Chops and pound out to make a little thinner but not too thin to wear the filling is going to "break" through. Season pork chops to your liking! Add a heaping spoon full of stuffing mix to chops and fold over. You might need to secure with soaked toothpicks. Stuffing will be oozing out but its oh so good!!! Place chops in baking dish and cover with any remaining spinach mixture! Cover with foil and bake on 400 for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and at this point I added about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, cook an additional 15 minutes or until chops are done. I then squeezed a whole lemon over the chops, This is optional but we loved it! It added a freshness to the dish! I served the chops with homemade Italian Pasta Salad!! I hope you enjoy!!!!
~Remember to put God first, and everything else will follow~

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Krogering!

As I mentioned in my last blog, things will be changing on here! I have recently gotten into couponing! More on that later, but I wanted to share with you my deals that I got today while making a quick trip to the store!

I purchased What would have been over $35 worth of groceries for only $19.15. I wanted to stay under $20 this trip since I needed very little to get us through to the next big shopping trip next week! I took advantage of Kroger's 10 for $10 deals this week. (no you don't have to buy 10 items to get the sale) The following items I purchased:

2 jars Kroger brand pickle spears ( I must has pickles in the house, I am addicted) ($1.99 ea.)
1 jar Kroger brand pickles slices (these pickles I paid full price for :( $1.99)
4 bottles Dawn Dish Detergent ($1.00 ea)
1 Kroger brand cream cheese ($1.00)
1 bag Kroger brand Tortilla chips ($1.00) I actually prefer these over name brand!
1 tub Kroger brand Ranch dip ($1.00)
1 box Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix ($1.00)
3 boxes Crest toothpaste ($1.00 ea)
1 bag Kroger brand shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 block Kroger brand Cheddar Cheese (both of these for 3 for $5 but I just got 2, had a coupon for .50 off 2)
1 pkg ea. White Gravy Seasoning Mix ($1.00), Kroger brand Brown Chili seasoning mix ($.52), and Kroger brand Brown Gravy Mix ($.69)
1 tub Kroger Brand Reduced Fat Sour Cream ($1.00)

My coupons were as follows:
3 $.50 off one Crest Toothpaste (which Kroger doubles to $1.00 making the toothpaste free plus $.5 tax each!)
3 $.25 off one Dawn Dish Soap (which Kroger doubles to $.50 making each bottle $.50 each plus tax)
1 $.50 off one Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap (which Kroger doubles to $1.00 making this bottle free plus tax)
1 $.50 off Kroger Coupon for and 2 Kroger Brand Cheese item (Kroger does not double its own store coupons or e-coupons)

MFG Coupon Saving :$2.25
Bonus Coupon Saving: $2.25 )This is where Kroger doubles the MFG coupon)
Kroger Plus Saving: $12.78
Total Savings: $16.78

Even though I only spent $19.15, I had 22 fuel points added to my card!

Now, I am sharing all this with you for one reason...To show you that you can do just like I have! If you are needed to trim your grocery bill (which besides a mortgage payment, this is the highest bill in the average home) you can do this way!!

Go to Kroger.com and enter your Kroger Plus Saving card # and you can download e-coupons! These are paperless coupons that automatically come off your bill once you scan your card! Make sure you print your coupon list so you can remember what you downloaded! You can use e-coupons plus store coupons (ones they send you in the mail), plus MFG coupons all for one item!! That means you get a ridiculously good deal on groceries!!! I will be posting more as the days go on so make sure you check back! I know I have people reading the blog but I would like for y'all to follow it as well!! I hope this helps someone today!!!

Be sure to check back this evening for our dinner menu recipe : Stuffed Pork Chops with Lemon butter sauce!!

~Remember to put God first, and everything else will follow~

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Times..They are a changing....and so am I!


As fall is in full force, I can't help but notice while I am driving down our country back roads, the trees are changing the leaves colors and they soon fall to the ground with the slightest wind! I started to think about how a trees' leaves change colors then fall off, and the tree looks bare till spring, when it starts to show signs of life again! I thought about how I could apply this to our lives. There are seasons that God brings us through. Some may seem dark to us but those are the times that God wants us to reach out to him for light. Am I wanting this to be a sermon...No, but I do want to share my thoughts with you! Could it be that God wants us to shed our leaves and allow him to bring forth new life to us? The leaf itself starts out small and green, then it grows to full size and stays that way till cooler weather comes. It then starts to turn beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow! All while it is dying inside. It becomes dry and brittle. And soon, falls to the ground. The tree has to shed its leaves in order to make room for the next leaves to come in spring. Applied to our lives, we start out small and "green". Then, as time goes on in one season, we grow and become full size...in that season of our lives. But, as God works on us to grow, sometimes we refuse...or we start dying inside. We get to comfortable in our daily lives, pushing Him further and further away, little by little. We start "drying out". And soon, our leaves start falling to the ground. We try and cover it up by turning beautiful colors. We say we are fine but on the inside we are longing for something more, greater, fuller, something Alive. We go through our dry season (winter). Where we once were walking around dead on the inside, we are starting to look dead on the outside, we let our selves go. But, God has not forgotten you! We may go through a season of winter, where we feel that nothing is going right, whether your falling behind on bills, or your family is falling apart at the seams, people are becoming disconnected and you want to hide under a rock. All you have to do is turn turn God again. Allow him to bring forth new life if your lives. Just as spring rolls around and new leaves start to form on the trees, in brilliant shades of green, God will start a new leaf on your tree of life! He will turn your sorrow into Joy, your pain into healing, your crying into laughter! This Season too shall pass!
I didn't mean to go on and on but I needed to share my thoughts! My blog will start to change little by little! There will still be recipes posted but I am also adding my thoughts for that day or what is on my mind! I have recently stumbled upon couponing and I must say, I am addictive! I will share my secrets that I have learned and the deals that I have gotten! I look forward to hearing your feedback's and if you are not a follower now, don't be afraid, I don't bite!!
~Remember to put God first, and everything else will follow~