November WAS GOING TO BE eat at home month...

I have been grading like it is going out of style. When I finally left work on Monday at 6, I didn't want to make the pork I had gotten out to defrost, so I made pigs in a blanket. Yes, you read that correctly, pigs in a blanket. I wanted something really fast. Alas, I had neither tater tots, nor baked beans (In fact, I had to send Brad to the store on his way home from his flight lesson to pick up hot dogs and American cheese). What delicacy did I serve with this treat? Kraft Mac'n Cheese. It was a very trailer park dinner.

Pigs in a Blanket
1 package bun length hot dogs
8 pieces American cheese
2 cans crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut hot dogs in half. Divide each piece of cheese in half diagonally to create triangle shaped pieces of cheese. Unroll crescent rolls. For each sandwich: Place a piece of cheese on top of the crescent roll with the long side of the triangle of cheese along the long side of the crescent roll. Place a hot dog half along the bottom edge of the concoction. Roll. Tuck sides of crescent rolls into the middle. Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches away from the rest of them. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown.


Kraft Mac'n Cheese
1 box Kraft Mac'n cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup milk

Bring a medium sized saucepan 2/3 full of water to a boil. Tear open top of package. Pull out envelope of bright orange powdered cheesy goodness. Pour noodles into boiling water. Allow to cook, about 8 minutes. Drain water from noodles. Add butter, milk and contents of the envelope of bright orange powdered cheesy goodness. Stir until dissolved. Add noodles, and stir until well mixed. If you are feeling spunky, add a bit more milk and a couple of slices of American Cheese, to enhance the processed cheese taste.


It turns out the pork chops I got out to defrost had barely defrosted in the 24 hours since I removed them from the deep freeze, so I couldn't have made them anyway. I figured I'd make them on Tuesday.

Tuesday afternoon, I had a kid in my room making stuff up. I also had to leave sub plans for today's meeting, which was actually really productive and useful. When I finally left school around 5, I had to go to the grocery store to pick up food for lunches, because I exhausted my creative prowess last week when I failed to pick up lunch food at the grocery store. By the time I finished at the grocery, I was tired and didn't want to make dinner, so I stopped at KFC and got a bucket of chicken. I figured that since the pork chops hadn't even been defrosted when I checked on Monday, they would live another day.

So Wednesday... This is the part where normally I would say I was tired and didn't want to cook, so I stopped at Mr. Goodcents on my way home, or made a grilled cheese sandwich. But!!!! I didn't. I made the pork chops, and they were darned good!

Pork Chops and Pierogies (from allrecipes.com, modified)
1 package (about 12) frozen pierogies
2 (3/4 inch) thick pork loin chops
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 Golden Delicious apple, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Brink a medium sized saucepan 2/3 full of water to a boil. Place pierogies in boiling water, and cook until they float to the top. Drain. Meanwhile, sprinkle pork chops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a large skillet, cook chops in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until juices run clear, about 20 minutes; remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, saute onion in remaining butter for 3 minutes. Add apple; saute until almost tender. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add pork chops and pierogies to skillet; stir to coat.


I served this with frozen peas. It was quite tasty. I was a little apprehensive about the sugar, but it was actually really, really good.

I just typed the following recipe as a friend was IMing it to me. I will leave it here, so I can find it again tomorrow when I want it.

Bulgogi (Recipe from my friend Kelly)
1 pound beef tenderloin
1 teaspoon sesame seeds toasted
3 scallions chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons water
3-4 tablespoons sugar
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Thinly slice beef, and place in a baggie with the marinade. Marinate over night. Stir fry beef. Serve with rice.