Pork Chop Marinade

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1 garlic clove, minced

6 (1-inch thick) pork chops*

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a large resealable bag or shallow glass container. Add pork and turn to coat. Seal bag or cover container; refrigerate overnight. Drain and discard marinade. Grill for 15-20 minutes or until juices run clear.

*I marinate about 10 pork cutlets instead of pork chops.

From allrecipes.com

Cream Puffs

Filling

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk

Whisk together vanilla instant pudding mix and milk until combined, then whisk in cream. Cover and refrigerate to set.

Cream Puffs (makes 12 large or 40 mini puffs)
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Heat oven to 425°. Grease two cookie sheets. In a saucepan, mix water, butter and salt. Heat to a full rolling boil, allowing butter to melt completely. Immediately add flour, stirring vigorously until mixture leaves sides of saucepan in smooth ball. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mixture will be soft and shiny. An electric mixer can be used for this step (it's much easier). Spoon 12 mounds of dough (about 1/4 cup each) 3 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets.*

Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; prick cream puffs with tip of knife to allow steam to escape. Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack; cool completely, about 15 minutes. Split cream puffs and fill with vanilla filling.

*I make Miniature Cream puffs: Drop dough by tablespoons, making 40 small cream puffs. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Corn and Mac Casserole - Kids LOVE

1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn
1 c. uncooked macaroni
1 stick butter, melted
1 lb velveeta cheese cubed ( I vary on how much cheese I add)

Mix all together and bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour

Verdean's Famous Dip

1 tub sour cream (16 oz)
1 pkg cream cheese
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salsa

Soften cream cheese to make it easier to stir, add sour cream and shredded cheese. Stir until well blended then add salsa to taste (I usually add about ½ to ¾ cup).
Serve with tortilla chips

Submitted by Verdean

Baked Brie

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Apricot preserves
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 (8 oz) Brie cheese round, cut in half horizontally
Apple slices
French bread slices or crackers

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Place cheese half, cut-side up, in the center of the pastry sheet. Spread the apricot preserves on the cheese and place the remaining cheese half, cut side down.
Brush the edge of the pastry with the egg mixture. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover. Trim the excess pastry and press to seal. Brush the seam with the egg mixture. Please seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Decorate the top with the pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with the egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let stand for 30 minutes. Serve with the apples and bread or crackers

Submitted by Verdean

Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs

1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs, thawed (or you can make your meatballs from scratch)
1 (14 oz) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 12 oz jar chili sauce (Heinz)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a slow cooker or large saucepan over low heat, blend the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Add meatballs, and simmer for 1 hour before serving.

Submitted by Verdean

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

3 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed
1 bottle cookies hot wing sauce
1 package cream cheese
1 bottle chunky blue cheese dressing
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oven to 350º

In a casserole dish spread cream cheese along bottom. Put cubed chicken breast in a small bowl and add ¾ bottle of the cookies hot wing sauce and stir. Spread chicken mixture on top of the cream cheese. Add blue cheese dressing over the chicken and layer the cheese on top.

Cook for about 20 min or until cheese is bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips

Submitted by Verdean

Smoked Salmon Spread

1 package smoked salmon (I find it at HyVee by the lunch meat)
2 package cream cheese (softened to stir easily)
Green onion

Remove skin from salmon and flake. Soften the cream cheese and mix in salmon. Chop green onion and add to mixture (I don’t measure, just put in as much as you like).

Serve with crackers

Submitted by Verdean

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

2-3lb pork tenderloin (2 small-med pork loins)
1 1/2 C chopped parsley
1 1/2 C chopped cilantro
1/2 C loosely packed oregano leaves*
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T chopped garlic (6-7 cloves)
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

*Fresh is best, but if you don't have access to fresh oregano, you could use fresh cilantro and parsley and add in 1 Tbs plus 1 tea dried oregano leaves.

Place pork tenderloins in a ziplock bag and set aside.

Place parsley, cilantro, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped. Remove mixture and place in a bowl. Add red pepper flakes and then stir in olive oil by hand.

Remove 1/2-3/4 C chimichurri (the herb mixture you just made) and place in bag with pork tenderloins. You just need enough to coat them well. Be careful to not cross-contaminate since you will be serving the remaining chimichurri over the top of the finished meat. Seal bag and set aside to marinade for about an hour or longer if you need to. Place plastic wrap over the remaining chimichurri and set aside until ready to serve.

When ready to cook, preheat grill. Remove tenderloins from bag and let excess marinade drip off. Place on grill and cook for about 5-8 minutes before flipping to the other side. You want the internal temp to be about 160 degrees, so check with a thermometer and take it off the grill when it reaches 155-158 since it will continue to cook a bit as it sits. Remove from grill and let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Slice, and serve with remaining chimichurri drizzled on top.

Recipe by Ourbestbites.com

Southwest Chicken/Cheese Dip

16 oz. pkg. Velveeta Mexican cheese, cut into cubes
3/4 cup Thick and Chunky salsa
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
9 oz. pkg. frozen, cooked, Southwest chicken strips, thawed and cubed.
(I used a container of Oscar Mayer Delifresh Southwestern chicken, found in lunch meat area. It comes in 6 oz. containers.)
8oz. container of Southwest ranch sour cream.
(I get a packet of dry ranch or spicy ranch and mix it with some sour cream.)
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped*
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped*
tortilla chips

Directions: Place everything in a Crockpot, except chips several hours before serving.

*I used 3/4 cup of the peppers instead of 1 cup.

Submitted by Emily