Sherry & Jesse's Kitchen

PORK CHOW MEIN This is a simple Pork Chow Mein recipe I developed using a La Choy canned chow mein meal.  We used to just use the canned chow mein as is, but as our tastes have changed, we wanted more flavor, more complexity.  So, by adding fresh pork (chicken or beef would work, too) and some fresh veggies, we made a much better meal! Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds pork loin (we use whatever is cheapest, have tenderloin and even pork chops) 1 can La Choy Chicken Chow Mein 1 can Water Chestnuts 3/4 stalk of celery 1/2 carton fresh mushrooms 2 jalapeno peppers (could use green peppers or other peppers) 1 onion Minced Garlic Teriyaki sauce Soy sauce Sweet and Sour sauce Sesame Oil Olive Oil Rice Wine Vinegar Pepper Ground Ginger Onion Powder Garlic Powder Garlic Salt Salt Lime Juice Drain canned veggies. Dice and chop onion, jalapenos, mushrooms and celery. Cut pork into bite size pieces. Add olive oil (1 tbsp) and s

CHICKEN ALFREDO BAKED ZITI We were going to visit relatives at their lake place and they wanted pasta for dinner, like Alfredo.  Jesse said I make really good red sauces, but have never made a great white sauce.  I kind of agreed - it just wasn't something I did often because when I had it wasn't really special enough to stand out. Never to be discouraged, I did a little research and found some recipes for Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti.  Using ziti in a casserole version fit our purposes, rather than fettuccine with Alfredo sauce.  Using ideas from two pins  (see Pinspirations at bottom) , I created my own .  I made each component and stored them separately  overnight.  In the morning I layered them in a cake pan and packed them in the cooler to be made that evening in the oven. It was AWESOME!  They were all impressed, especially Jesse.  He's never been a huge fan of chicken or Alfredo because it tends to be bland.  He liked this so much, we decided to make it fo

SWEDISH MEATBALLS There was several different kinds of meatballs at a recent holiday potluck I was at and I found myself checking them, trying to determine if they were homemade or pre-made frozen ones (i.e. Simek's).  At one time I thought the pre-made ones were great, but my tastes have matured.  Now I can't stand them!  Thus, I find myself being picky at a potluck-LOL!  Thankfully, for once, two of the three were homemade.  Yey! Fast forward a few days and I'm thinking about what to make for Sunday dinner and I thought of Swedish Meatballs.  I've had ones that others make and loved them.  However, I have never made them myself.  Why not?  Who knows?  I think I thought they were too much trouble to roll out.  Anyway, went searching on Pinterest this morning and found two I thought were good.   Below is my adaptation of these two recipes: * http://lifewithmel.com/cookingwithmel/2012/3/9/swedish-meatballs-w-creamy-gravy.html * http://www.4theloveoffoodblog.c

SPAGHETTI PIE I posted about Million Dollar Spaghetti Pie, but never about my regular Spaghetti Pie, which has become a household favorite and makes the regular menu rounds.  It is my adaptation of this recipe:  http://rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread . I did one thing differently than I normally do and that is making 1.5 times the amount of spaghetti than I previously did.  I personally like it better because the ratio of bread to spaghetti is more to my liking.  The way it is made it is not very saucy, so if you like more sauce, you would need to increase that.  Although, I don't know if that will help a lot because the baking dries it out (which is kind of the point). UPDATE 2/9/20: Added a can of diced tomatoes to the sauce and it turned out more moist than before. Ingredients: 1 1/2 pound ground beef 1 1/2 pound spaghetti noodles 1 1/2 regular sized jars Prego spaghetti sauce 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese 1 loaf bread dough, thawed