Thursday, April 19, 2007

Frannie's Fixin's & Cookin' Tips

Do your kids bring home Stinky Lunch Boxes?
Let me just say -- the Farmer children grow things in their lunch boxes ... by the time Frannie gets them, they are a full on science experiment.

Here's what you do ...

Grab that left over Vinegar jug from Easter - dampen a paper towel with as much as you can stand, throw it in the lunch box for the night and wipe it clean in the mornin'.

I have also used orange or lemon peels ... but the vinegar does the trick best.

So speaking of vinegar ... have any of you tried the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet? I have heard that it really works ... just not sure I could handle heart burn. What do you think?

Frannie will be cooking up some good food for about 25 this weekend - here is the main dish ...

PORK TENDERLOIN A LA CREME *

1 sm. pork tenderloin, sliced in 1/2" thick slices
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp. heavy cream
3/4-1 c. bread crumbs
1 ½ cup fresh chopped mushrooms, any kind
1 small onion chopped
2 tbsp. fresh minced parsley
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cracked pepper
5 tbsp. butter
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 c. dry sherry
8 oz. med. egg noodles or fettuccini, cooked
About 6 to 9 slices.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slightly flatten slices of pork tenderloin; set aside.

Combine egg and heavy cream. Dip each slice of tenderloin in egg mixture and then in crumbs which have been mixed with salt and pepper. Melt butter in sauté pan or skillet; brown tenderloin until golden. Drain slices and place in bottom of a 2 quart glass baking dish. Combine all remaining ingredients into sauce pan, except noodles and parsley; simmer until onions are thoroughly cooked – salt and pepper to taste. Pour ¾ of sauce over pork, reserve the rest to add to dish. Bake, covered for 1 hour. Serve tenderloin and crème sauce over egg noodles or fettuccini. Sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4 to 6

Excellent with steamed spinach, asparagus or broccoli.

NOTE: Can be prepared early in the day and baked when ready to serve.

* Not a Pork eater - or on a tighter budget? Use chicken breasts, skip the cream, use cracker crumbs instead up fancier bread crumbs, cheap white wine (or apple cider) rather than Sherry, and dry herbs instead of fresh -- it is still pretty darned good.

5 comments:

Heather Hansen said...

I use vinegar to clean my coffee pot... you know when it gets black but just won't come clean with dishsoap? It smells horrible but it does the trick. :)

TTQ said...

I di dthe apple cider thing for awhile to see if it would help my health overall and constipation..it worked ok nothing great and about two weeks in I gave it up..
Thanks for the comment about my flicker account. I'm teaching myself Photoshop 7, but I still believe that the best pictures come from a mood and a perspective.

ffleur said...

that dinner sounds absolutely heavenly. Rich, but no doubt worthwhile.

Prunella Jones said...

I don't know about the diet thing, but whenever I feel a sore throat coming on I gargle with ACV and drink it with hot water. It always gets rid of the sore throat within a day. It's one of my mom's favorite home remedies.

Andie said...

love the recipe. I must stop by here more often! :)

and vinegar is a great substitute for fabric softener, too. I put it in my downy ball. It's a lot cheaper than downy, that's for sure!