Los Porchs

Around here, it's just not fall until I've made a batch of bread or muffins using my mom's recipe.  It is honestly the most moist bread you will ever eat (thanks in part to copious amounts of oil) and for us, it just tastes like memories.  Whenever I eat it, I think of my momma who was kind enough years ago to share her recipe with me and in the spirit of sharing, I am now sharing it with you!  Happy Fall, ya'll! Nana Julie's Famous Pumpkin Bread 5 eggs 1 1/4 C oil 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin 2C flour 2C sugar 2 small boxes of vanilla pudding 1t baking soda 1t cinnamon 1/2t salt * chocolate chips (I added these for the first time this year and will likely do so moving forward, just throw in whatever you have, the whole bag does nicely) Beat eggs, add oil & pumpkin Combine other ingredients & slowly add to mix Pour into 2 loaf pans (I like to make muffins instead as they're way easier to eat in the car or on the go) Bake at 325 for 75-80 mi...

I may, in fact, have been Italian in another life. Porch and I both love manicotti so when I found this recipe, I went for it. I had never made manicotti before and was nervous about stuffing the noodles. This was also the recipe that inspired me to buy chicken in bulk and then just shred it all and store it in 1C baggies in the freezer (trust me, this is totally worth the investment of your time). We both loved how this turned out & will definitely be making it again!!! Chicken Manicotti Ingredients 7 pieces Manicotti, cooked according to instructions 1 cup part skim Ricotta cheese ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1 cup shredded cooked chicken 1 egg 1 teaspoon oregano salt and black pepper 1 can Italian style crushed tomatoes 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves ¼ cup Parmesan cheese 6-8 basil leaves Instructions In medium bowl, combine cooked shredded chicken, Ricotta cheese, Parmesan chees...

Listen people.   Those frozen taquitos are okay... so-so at best.  This recipe is amazing and I kid you not when I share that I heard Porch mutter to himself no less than three times while eating, "This is so good."  I even got a "you really nailed this honey."  Needless to say, this recipe is TOTALLY in the rotation.  It was so easy, I had the prep done in no time and after 15 minutes in the oven, we were shoving our faces full of deliciousness. I'm willing to share this one with you because it basically rocked my socks off.   It's worth noting that I recently decided to save my sanity and boiled/shredded roughly 3 pounds of chicken and then packaged them into 1C baggies in the freezer.  It was a pain in the ass but the time spent totally paid itself back tonight when I waltzed over to the freezer & pulled out 2C of shredded chicken.  Just sayin. Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos Ingredients: 1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese (light ...

Porch and I have been on the hunt for good Crock Pot recipes; we love the idea of throwing stuff together on shopping day, dumping it in the morning we want a good dinner, and coming home to a hot dinner that hasn't been ordered on GrubHub (no offense, GrubHub, we still love you, we just want an open-relationship). I typically look on Pinterest for good ideas (follow my board Crock Pot Eatin' ) and we give them a try.  If they pass, they stay in rotation.  If they suck, we agree never to speak of it again.  We're all about trial and error. Today we agreed to test out the Crock Pot Lasagna recipe I found.  We made a few modifications (especially the cooking time) and were so pleased with how it turned out, we decided to share the recipe with you & ask for any similar recipes you may have! We used this: 1 lb ground beef 36 oz spaghetti sauce 8 oz ricotta cheese 12 oz cottage cheese 1/4 C grated Parmesan 1 egg 1 t Penzey's Pasta sprinkle 9 lasagna n...

I woke up yesterday wanting tater tots (an odd breakfast request, I know, but I am a HUGE hashbrowns fan).  When I woke up this morning, I still wanted those damn tots.  Since I had to run to the grocery store today anyway, I indulged in a bag of tots.  But I don't want just tots.  I want tater tot casserole.  I found a recipe here that seems super easy and I made just a slight modification as using an entire container of sour cream seemed... fat.  I went with Greek yogurt instead as this hasn't failed me in the past.  For those of you who joined me in eating at Glenview Commons at UW-Platteville back in the day, I was kinda aiming for something like that.  Something that sticks to your ribs and makes you feel like home. Ingredients 1 (32 oz) bag of tater tots 16 oz Greek yogurt 1C shredded cheddar 1 can of cream of mushroom soup 1 (6 oz) can of French fried onions Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 i...

Porch and I scored a pretty sweet deal on pork chops the other day and I scoured the internet looking for a new recipe to try. The only criteria was that I have all required ingredients in the pantry and not require the grill as our Weber is currently buried in snow and in need of some love. I found an interesting recipe that was too eyebrow-raising to ignore. Don't believe me? Mayo. Yeah. Mayo. Maybe its just us but we hadn't heard of such a thing until tonight and we've seen a lot of Chopped. Just sayin'. Each chop gets covered in a teaspoon of butter and then a teaspoon of mayonnaise. We found using a marinade brush was quite helpful.  Sprinkle with seasonings of your desire,  we used Penzy's Northwoods seasoning and were pleased. The recipe called for "seasoning salt."  Cover each chop with cheddar or whatever cheese you prefer. Probably whatever you have in your fridge.  Go with it. That's a whole lotta cheeses my friends. Ba...

We had a few people over last night and decided to make pizza since our grill is currently buried in the snow.  My apologies, we ate this so quickly last night that there was nothing for us to take a picture of!  Maybe next time! Crust: 2C flour (your choice:  we've tried whole wheat and regular) 2/3 C water 1/4 C olive oil 2t baking powder Maybe some Parmesean cheese in there, if you have some.... works amazingly seasonings (to taste)  I use basil, oregano, Pizza Seasoning, and Pasta Sprinkle from Penzy's Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and when combined, I started to knead it.  Then work it out on a pizza stone or pan, whatever you're going to cook it on.  Make it as thick or thin as you'd like. I cook the crust for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees and then pull it out to add the sauce and toppings.  This gives the crust a head start; if you've made your's thicker, you may need a few extra minutes. Sauce: 1 can of tomato sau...

As I sat at work today, slaving away, solving the many problems in early childhood, Wisconsin residents were enjoying and continue to enjoy [and if they aren't enjoying it, they suck] wicked amounts of snow.  I'm talkin' blizzard -- over a foot of snow today. The Facebook pictures were nauseating as I saw drifts that covered cars and garage doors and then turned my head ever so slowly towards the window, hoping for even a solitary snowflake... and saw nothing.  Well, it did rain all day.  So there's that. Most schools were closed in Wisco & I have many teacher friends on Facebook (maybe I should delete them) who made it difficult to concentrate as they announced their double snow day.  Double?  Are you kiddin' me?  It was a big deal a few years back when Chicago got nailed with that blizzard and Lake Shore Drive was a hot mess -- Chicago Public Schools closed for the first time in like a million years (and for two days!!!) which was newsworthy. ...

We make our own chicken nuggets up in hurr. Step 1: Cut boneless chicken breasts into nugget size (and then question why it's called a nugget anyway). Step 2: Squish those little nuggets in an egg wash Step 3: Roll each nugget (I've also attempted a Shake & Bake situation but wasn't as happy with the results) in a mix of breadcrumbs, cheese, and seasoning. Sometimes, we throw some crushed red pepper in there to make the nuggets spicy. They never disappoint. Step 4: Throw that shit in the oven (350) for about 8 minutes on each side and then they are ready for your enjoyment.  We also enjoy having this with pasta or my personal favorite, spaghetti squash.  New to the squash game?  Cut that puppy in half, gut it like a cantaloupe, fill w/ 1/4C of water and place it in a microwave-safe dish so it won't roll around -- sometimes, that means cutting the bottom of the squash a bit so that you can rest it in the dish.  I...

After enjoying some drunken gummy treats in La Crosse at this year's Oktoberfest, Porch & I agree that they are delicious.  And Porch, like always, had a hypothesis and the scientist in me just couldn't resist: What would the gummy bears taste like if they were soaked in bourbon? Seeing how I am not  a bourbon gal, I agreed to partake in the study if I could also make the control, vodka gummy bears, to his variable. It's not often that Porch agrees to try one of the many projects I've seen on Pinterest, so I jumped on the chance to involve him in the cooking process.   Did you see our post about Jolly Rancher Vodka ?  Still anxiously awaiting the tasting of that delicious concoction.   And hey, it's Friday night, so why not?! Porch's experimental batch  {just keep swimming} {control} The process is really quite simple, provided you have patience.  Depending on how large your container is, add the gummy bea...

My name is Mrs. Porch and I am a Chopped fanatic. I have been known to randomly dump shit into a pan and sometimes mix catch phrases to entertain myself. "Just add some butt-ah. Bam!" So begins tonight's dinner saga... With my mother in law ditching out on us while in town for only a week (I suspect it's so she can watch The Bachelorette from the comfort of her upgraded hotel suite), I was left to my own non-take-out-devices.  My Chopped senses were tingling as I opened the fridge and was greeted by a multitude of ingredients, up to and including a moldy bag of garlic cloves.   See?  I clearly need to spend less time ordering take out and more time using the amazing ingredients in my home. Alas, the now-famous " Spotted Cow Pancetta & Scallops" were born. I had seen some recipes on Pinterest -- Follow me here --(seriously, I pin way more than I actually cook which is perhaps something I should attempt as an August challenge) that seemed light ...

I'm all about quick & easy because when I get home from work, the last thing I really want to do is spend forever cooking -- I'm looking for the quickest path to the couch.  So here it is, tonight's amazing creation.  I'd say the 20 minute investment more than paid off.  I've been known to whip this up in double fashion and freeze one portion of it for another night, when I'm feeling particularly Laazzzy (Like that capital L?  You should). Not too shabby for a quick & dirty Wednesday night dinner! Here's what you need -- 1 lb pasta 1/2 C butter 2 C heavy whipping cream 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 C Parmesan cheese 1/3 C pesto 1 lb shrimp I like to vary the kind of pasta we use.  Let me be clear, while I appreciate those of you who are willing to sit home and de-vein, peel, and cook your own shrimp, I have about 20 minutes of my life allotted for dinner prep and therefore I have grown to love the frozen precooked shrimp.  If you have ti...