Stacy's Kitchen- Dinner 1 RESULTS

Okay, Okay... I have to admit I was quite "worried" about this menu. Apples and caramel on a pork chop? Blue Cheese in Potatoes? And Chips with fruit? Ummm, not exactly a combination I would come up with, BUT hey I'm willing to try it! And Boy was I impressed... with MOST of it! There are some minor changes I would do..... so here is the run down on the 3 recipes...

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

So let me be honest, these pork chops were not a big hit at this house. B looked at it and said "Babe, what's your back up plan for dinner?" Not exactly the response I was looking for... haha! It was an amazing concept, I just dont think our taste buds were so thrilled with MEAT tasting like Dessert?! lol. It was cooked great, the caramel sauce mixed with the apples was amazing, but then to put it on a pork chop? Not much of a fan of that. If you are more willing to have your meat taste sweet, then I most definitely recommend this! Personally, I wont be making it again...  but hey, it looked pretty on the plate! :)

Grade: C-



Blue Cheese Potatoes Delmonico

These potatoes, were a huge HIT! I did, however, make some minor changes. (Surprise, Surprise) Just a little side note, I am notorious for never following the recipe to a "T." I say why not have fun and make something that really caters to your specific taste buds. Not only that, but I live in a small town in North Carolina and it has proven to be a little more difficult to find certain items at the local grocery store. The biggest change I did was I decided not to use cream (more figure friendly) and I lowered the flour- butter measurements. I used 3T butter to 3T Flour.... I then mixed in about 1 1/2 cups of milk (Im only cooking for 2 people) and I mixed that on the stove for about 10 min or so until thickened... then I added the cheese until smooth. Put that mixture on top of the cooked potatoes in a casserole dish- top it with some minced onion (everything tastes a little better with onion hehe) and garlic and herb bread crumbs. Cooked it according to the recipe and then I broiled it just to brown the top a little bit more. They came out tasting FANTASTIC! This will definitely be something I make again.

Grade: A+

 Complete Meal

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

One word for this, YUMMMMMMMO! This was fantastic! I had to improvise a smidge for the reason, A- most fruit is not in season therefore it costs an arm and leg to buy it and B- I live in a small town so I dont have a very large selection. So I bought a bag of Dole Frozen mixed berries with pomegranate, put fresh kiwi, and gala apples in it. I did have to add some sugar to cut down on the tartness of the berries, but it was amazing. The chips, I did change the recipe a little (again, surprise surprise)... I put real butter on it instead of butter flavored cooking spray (yuck in my opinion) and then I cooked it according to the recipe. I would recommend cooking it for a minimum of 10 mins... they come out crispier. I then paired it with some BlueBell homemade vanilla ice cream... and it was DELICIOUS! B gobbled it up like it was no ones business. Again, this would definitely be a recipe I will make again. I think next time, I will wait until the fruit is in season because I am sure that will make this recipe to die for!

Grade: A+

All in all, this dinner was a success! Had a BLAST cooking it! I cannot wait to cook Chicken Pot Pies next! B said his tummy is already grumbling for that!! Pot pies are his fav!!! Happy eatings and I hope you all try these recipes!! Just remember, cooking is about having fun! Dont be afraid to try new things and experiment with old recipes to make new creations!! :)