Cheesy Potato Soup

1 bag (32oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed.  or 4 cups of diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 carton (32oz) chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 cup water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 bag (8 oz) cheddar cheese, i used shredded Velveeta cheese for this.
1/4 cup real bacon bits
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Directions:
In a 3 to 4 quart slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture.  Increase heat setting to high.  Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions.  Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Balsamic pork scallopine

3 lbs. pork sirloin cutlets
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup minced fresh basil or 2 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp pepper

Noodles:
1 pkg (16 oz) egg noodles
1/2 cup half and half cream
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Dredge pork cutlets in flour.  Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat; add pork and brown in batches.  Set aside.

Add onion and red peppers to the pan; sauté until onion is tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add broth, basil, vinegar and pepper.  Return pork to the pan, layering if necessary.  Cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain; stir in the cream, cheese, butter, pepper and garlic powder.  Serve with pork.

Pepper Steak

2 lbs of round steak, cut into bite size pieces.
Plenty of fresh ground black pepper
2 medium size bell peppers, cut into bite size pieces.
1 quart of crushed tomatoes.
¼ cup cold water
2 tablespoons of cornstarch

I use an electric skillet, turn it on to 350 degrees, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Once heated throw you meat in it, and brown it on both sides. Season it with plenty of fresh cracked black pepper. Add bell peppers, and cook until almost tender. Add tomatoes. Reduce heat to about 300 degrees, and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water, and to Pepper Steak, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve over hot white rice, and enjoy.

Ethan's Rib Rub recipe

I don't normally do commentary on this blog, I just post recipes for my family and friends to enjoy.  But I am making a exception this time.
I went Tuesday and bought myself and early Mother's Day present.  An Electric smoker.  Then I thought about all the meats I would smoke this weekend.  The first thing was a ham last night, so we woke up to a fresh smoked ham still hot out of the smoker, and had ham and biscuits this morning. All I can say is amazing that ham was WONDERFUL...  Then this morning I put some ribs and a brisket on to smoke, that was for dinner...  Again WONDERFUL...  I love this smoker.  Anyway back to the recipe, I ran out of my normal rib rub, so my husband and I tried and new one, and this is it...  I am calling it Ethan's rib rub (because he measured the spices and mixed it all together for me.) , and I made a few small changes to...  Now this rub has a little kick to it, but it's not to spicy...

4 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne

Mix ingredients together.  Store in an airtight container.


Now we used this on the brisket, and I will try it on the ribs next.  
I hope you enjoy!!!