Pork Loin

I got a head start on tonight's meal by putting a pork loin in the crockpot. To ease my leg, which still hurts if I stand for too long, I chopped veggies while sitting at the breakfast counter with the girls. Here's hoping this turns out well!

1 3 lb. pork loin
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 white onion, cut into thin strips
9 oz. apricot jam
1 package onion soup mix
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 water
2 Tbsp honey

Place peppers and onions in the bottom of the crock pot.
Put pork loin on top of veggies.
Mix jam, soup mix, wine, water and honey together.
Pour over meat and veggies.
Cook in crockpot on low for 8-10 hours.

Depending on how I'm feeling this afternoon, we'll have this with roasted green beans and brown rice - or just the green beans...



As the above photo indicates, I felt well enough to pull together an entire meal. I was very thankful... one meal down, thousands to go.

Jalapeno Pimento Cheese

Thanks to surgery on my leg and the kindness of friends and neighbors, I haven't cooked a meal in a month. We're finally back to providing our own meals, which is (at this point) a treat. While I'm not up to full speed, we have a freezer stocked with left-overs from friends, so tonight we'll have a quiche from one friend accompanied by soup from another. But before we got to dinner, I had to make something I've been craving: jalapeno pimento cheese. I first discovered this treat at Mitchell Deli, but it didn't take long for me to make my own. (After all, it's a near certainty that Mitchell's version has mayo in it and I am a confirmed mayo-phobe.)

I paid no attention at all to measurements while throwing this together, but here are my best guesses for how to make your very own tasty, spicy cheese spread:

1/2 to 2/3 cup plain yogurt
4 oz. jar pimentos, drained and chopped
5-10 pickled jalapeno slices, chopped finely
1 1/2 to 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix well all ingredients well. For a special treat, I topped my first sandwich with a Wickle. Yummy!

Recipes for a Snow Day in Tennessee

Before I went to bed last night, I knew there would be no school today. So I crept into A's room, turned off her alarm and headed upstairs, hoping the girls would revert to Christmas Break wake-up times. No such luck. Here's our day via a series of recipes.

Recipe for Disappointment
1 part anticipation
2 parts excitement
3 girls who rarely get enough snow to play in
1 happy mom knowing school is called off before going to bed
3 early risers
2 daughters who look out the window, see no snow and dress for school
1 daughter who clings to all of the talk about a snow day and stays in her PJs
1 yard devoid of any white sprinkles



Recipe for the Cure for Disappointment
1 pink panther cartoon, watched from under blankets
2 glasses of orange juice for the 8 year old and 5 year old
1 glass of water for the 10 year old with reflux
2 cups of coffee for the mom
1 recipe of 2-Mama's Cranberry Muffins

1/2 c butter
1 1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder (I realize as I type this that I left out this ingredient - you couldn't tell!)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange peel
2 c cranberries

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture alternately with wet ingredients.
Do not overbeat.
Fold in cranberries.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Recipe for Enjoying a Snow Day with No Snow
1 board book for K
1 or 2 Dear America series books for A
1 copy The Serial Garden for B
1 book for Mom
1 copy of The Iliad, translated for youth

Read books separately while mom finishes her coffee.
Listen to mom read The Iliad aloud with great excitement, from under blankets.
Sigh with deep satisfaction.

And finally, half-way into our Snow Day, snow arrives! So go and play in it while your mom tries to capture the magic of a free day with her daughters.