Rob's Pork Chops and Rice

I am fortunate enough to have a man who will cook for me once in a while. Monday night he made his favorite family dinner and his specialty... Pork Chops and Rice. I purchased the ingredients and helped dice up the green onions but he created the amazing dinner. He only complained once that I bought a pork tenderloin, instead of pork chops with the bones. (Silly me, I hate to dissect things from bone)

Fiello Family Pork Chops the Rob Way

One Pork Tenderloin or 6-8 pork chops with bones
one bunch green onions, sliced
1 stick butter
salt and pepper
celery salt
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups water

In a large skillet, melt half of the stick of butter. Take a handful of the green onions and saute them a bit in the butter. Add the pork, season with salts and pepper and cook until pork is done. Remove pork from the skillet and place on a plate. Wrap with aluminum foil and place in the microwave or oven so pork stays warm.

Pour the water into the skillet that you cooked your pork in. Stir and scrape bottom of the skillet until broth turns brown. Add remaining butter and green onions and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add rice and cook for approxiamately 20 minutes. Allow rice to cool for 5 minutes. Serve pork over a bed of buttery pork flavored rice. Enjoy.

Zucchini Cakes Thanks to Ree and Ryan

Zucchini Cakes. Hmm? Is that kinda like a pancake but with Zucchini instead of flour?

The Pioneer Woman has done it again, introducing Delicious foods and now with her guest blogger Ryan. Ryan was kind enough to concoct something so wonderful and share with PW's groupies. Thanks to Ryan and Ree. Check out Ryan's Zucchini Cakes at http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/. Below you will find my version with Ryan's inspiration.

Herbed Garlic Zucchini Cakes

2 cups shredded garden fresh zucchini
1/2 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp basil
1 egg (with white things gone)
salt and pepper
a few shakes Lawry's Garlic Salt

Olive oil
ketchup or marinara sauce or ranch dressing or some kind of yogurt dip

In a mixing bowl, combine zucchini, crumbs and cheese. Add the garlic and spices and stir. Now add the egg and stir until all ingredients are combined well. Pour olive oil into a fry pan, enough oil to fry one side at a time. Heat until zuke will sizzle.

Using a table spoon scoop a heaping blob of the zuke mix, take another table spoon and smash that into a patty. Yes, spoon your zucchini cake. Place zuke patty onto the pool of hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes until the cake is browned. Flip and do the same to the other side. Serve immediately with whichever dip you chose.

Enjoy! They are crunchy, a little cheesy and just so darn tasty! Rob is not home yet. I will post his opinion once he eats one of these babies.

Zucchini Bread

The garden is still producing! The Zuke plants are supplying dark green juicy gems! Bust out the Cuisinart because it's time to shred zucchini, to make some bread to gift to neighbors or co-workers or just for your family! When the garden gives you zucchini, make bread.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups fresh grated zucchini
4 eggs (white things removed)
1 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
3 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup of pecan or walnut pieces (optional)
cinnamon and sugar


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine zucchini, eggs, oil and water. Mix. Sift dry ingredients and add by cupful to wet mix (mixing after each addition) until all dry ingredients are used up. Prepare two loaf pans with oil. Sprinkle bottoms of pans with cinnamon sugar. Pour bread batter into pans and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Cool and enjoy!

Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge for Christmas

I found this recipe while cruising through the supermarket. It is from McCormick! It pretty much rocks and tastes amazing and is so unbelievably easy to make! Check out McCormick.com for other amazing recipes!

Easy No-Cook Cinnamon Fudge

1 box powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. ground McCormick Cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. Pure McCormick Vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Allow foil to extend over sides and butter foil. In a bowl, mix together sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. In a saucepan, heat butter and milk, until butter melts. Add vanilla. Add liquid mixture to sugar mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Using the foil lift the fudge from the pan and cut into 2 inch pieces.

I line a small muffin tin with Christmas themed muffin cups. I drop spoonfuls of fudge into the cups and allow to set. They gift really well, in these little cups and it makes for the perfect portion of sweet!

Christmas in July Cookies

Christmas in JULY? Christmas will be here before we know it! So get ready. Just kidding! But, if you want to, check out LifeasMom.com, there are loads of great Christmas ideas to get you in the pre-holiday planning Christmas Spirit.

This is a Christmas cookie favorite with a twist. Cinnamon and chocolate together? One of my favorite combos.

Chocolate Snickerdoodles! ! !

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs with the white things removed

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/4 cup Valhrona Cocoa

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixed together to roll dough in.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In your mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and other dry ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Using a tablespoon, scoop and shape dough into balls and roll them into the cinnamon sugar mixture Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Makes 2-3 dozen.

Grandma John's Overnight Casserole and Jamie's Overnight Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Grandma John would come to California every couple of years and spend time with us. What fun times, in the car, in the kitchen, at restaurants, and playing card games. Grandma John had a fun sense of humor, a mean poker face and one heck of culinary background. Was it cooking for 8 kids that made her a wiz in the kitchen, passion, or just really good taste buds? She could cook or bake anything. She didn't use the fanciest of ingredients but she would have given any celebrity chef a run for their chef hat!


Grandma John's Overnight Casserole (previously posted)


1 3/4 cup cooked elbow macaroni
2 cups cooked and diced chicken
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheese
2 cups milk
buttered bread crumbs


Put macaroni in a large bowl. Add chicken and cheese. In a separate bowl combine soups and milk. Pour soup over macaroni, chicken and cheese. Mix well and pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover casserole dish and put container in refrigerator overnight. When ready to cook, put in oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees F.




Jamie's Overnight Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Similar to Grandma John's, just a bit Jami-fied.

One pound cooked pasta any kind (I used Trader Joe's Whole wheat flax fusilli)

2 cups cooked chicken tenderloins chopped

1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli

1 cup shredded mozzarella

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups milk

a few shakes Lawry's Garlic Salt

a few shakes black pepper

Put fusilli in a large bowl. Add chicken, broccoli and mozzarella to the bowl. In another combine the two cans of soup and milk. Pour soup mixture over pasta mixture and stir. Pour mixture into a greased casserole, cover and place in the refrigerator over night. When ready to cook, pull casserole from refrigerator and bake for an hour and a half in a 350 degree oven.

This is way good. SO, go the market, buy all this stuff and make it and bake it! Pioneer Woman has a fancy spaghetti pasta with cream of chicken soup. Check hers out at http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/!

Garlic Garden Fresh Zucchini

Do you have leftover zucchini and need to find a way to use it up? Cut it into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and make this tasty side dish.

Garlic Garden Fresh Zucchini serves 2

2 zucchini sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices
Lawry's garlic salt
fresh lemon slices to squeeze

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sorry no exact measurements for this side dish, it is very easy and hard to mess up. Spray the bottom of small casserole dish with olive oil. Place zucchini slices in a layer. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Layer some more zucchini. Sprinkle with a little more garlic salt. Squirt fresh lemon juice on top of that. Cover with foil and pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Serve alongside whatever!