Sweet 'n' Spicy Pork Chops

Personal Observations: Another one I deviated from, but only in cooking method. I really don't like to broil stuff, only because the clean up is a pain. So...I cooked it in a skillet and it turned out okay. My only problem was the grittiness of the brown sugar mixture because it couldn't fully melt despite using a lid on the skillet and turning up the heat. However, it was still tasty enough for me to warrant additional attempts -- maybe in the oven this time.

Gidget's Rating: 5 stars

Italian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. beef cube steak, cubed
1 c. water
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 small potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 c. sliced fresh carrot
1/2 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 small sweet red pepper, chopped
1 t. onion soup mix
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 c. frozen peas

In large saucepan coated with nonstick cooking spray (or olive oil), brown the meat over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the water, tomoato sauce, potato, carrot, onion, red pepper, soup mix, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Stir in peas; simmer 15 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.

Yield: 2 servings

Personal Observations: Okay, let me get this off my chest -- cube steak is about as useful as ground beef. While trying to "cube" it, I could hardly get it to even stay together! If I make this again, I will seriously consider finding a substitute meat... Secondly, the prep for this dish is much more than I had anticipated and the steak was done way before I had even gotten the first vegetable chopped! Bad timing on my part and dinner took forever to finish. It even got to the point where I just "estimated" how much veggies I had cut. I'm sure many were more than what the recipe called for but I was tired, darn it!

Also, I made a vow after making this recipe. I solemnly swear to NEVER again double a "Cooking for 2" recipe until I have first tried it in it's original form. Holy cow! I don't know where I sent wrong, but my attempt to have 4 servings instead of 2 turned into 8 servings! Needless to say, I'm tired of eating this stuff.

Gidget's Rating: 4 stars, due to the preparation requirements!

Pumpkin Spice Frosted Snack Bars

Ingredients:

1 pkg (2 layer size) spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 c. Miracle Whip dressing
3 eggs
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 pkg (16 oz.) powdered sugar (about 4 c.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat cake mix, pumpkins, dressing and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Bake 32 to 35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating after each addition until well blended. Spread over cooled cake. Cut into bars to serve. Store any leftovers in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Personal Observations: I was really looking forward to this rather simple recipe for use at work potlucks. Boy was I fooled! First off, let me say you can cut the frosting portion of the recipe in half! I had enough left over that I was nibbling on frosting for about 10 days...and I don't even like cream cheese frosting! Also, despite my "toothpick test" coming out clean, I discovered that the cake was not done. In fact, it was way underdone and ended up in the trash because I didn't want to poison my coworkers with partially raw cake! AND, the final insult...the oh so tasty dough became bland nothing after baking! What the heck!! I suppose some might say it ruins a good spice cake mix. In my opinion, however, it ruins a perfectly good can of pumpkin!!

Gidget's Rating: 2 stars