German Pork Goulash Stew

German Pork Goulash StewWhen I was a little girl, my family moved to Germany. My father was a Captain in the US Army, and Uncle Sam wanted my father to serve there.  This was in the 1960s when the United States was still heavily battling Communism and the Berlin Wall went up overnight. My mother was scared to death that we were going to get stuck behind the wall. However, I could see looking at the map with my mother that Berlin was quite a distance from Kaiserslautern (400 miles or 626 km).

One of the dishes we enjoyed when we lived there was goulash. I’m not talking about the amalgamation of ground beef, tomato sauce, and macaroni that’s called goulash in the United States. I’m talking about the real thing, German Goulash Stew, pieces of beef, lots of onion, and good paprika with a little sour cream because the chef might be feisty and use the really hot paprika. I happen to like the pork version better, but if you don’t like pork, beef does very nicely, too.

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Bacon-Wrapped Spicy Stuffed Chicken with Ham Roll

Bacon Wrapped Spicy Ham Roll Stuffed Chicken
Bacon-Wrapped Spicy Stuffed Chicken with Ham Roll

Bacon-Wrapped Spicy Stuffed Chicken with Ham Roll

When I posted this on Instagram, a lot of people said it looked delicious. I told them it was, and I wasn’t lying.  The recipe is based on Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken, which my good friend, Maria de la Rocha had posted quite a long time ago.  I had been meaning to make it, but when I actually looked at the recipe, I realized there were some changes I could make to make a better dish.

Spane’s favorite appetizer is what I call Spicy Ham Rolls. It’s basically ham slices rolled up with cream cheese and chopped jalapeño.  I got the recipe from a girl I worked with that had given her leftovers from a party she had had.  When I make them, they are gone immediately!

If you make this, you can use whatever barbecue sauce you like, or you can use the one in the recipe.  If you really don’t like jalapeño, you can omit it and use bell pepper instead.

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Pork Burrito Salad

Pork Burrito Salad

Pork Burrito Salad

This was intended to be a Toastada with a beautiful shell, but, you know, you come home from work, you’re hungry, and that high falutin fiesta shell goes out the window.  No problem, this was actually better because you could eat some, then pick it up and eat it like a burrito.  Of course, you could put anything you want in here, chicken, beef, tongue, fish, or completely meatless.

I really like what I call Whole Meal Salads in the summer.  It means usually not having to turn your oven on at all.  If you want meat, you can get meat already cooked, like rotisserie chicken that I used in my Curried Chicken Salad.  Have you noticed, it’s been a real summer of salads.  That’s good, salads are healthy, depending on what you put in them. I try to keep high-end salads that have blue cheese dressing for special occasions, and keep everyone else with a little oil and vinegar, if anything.

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Nesco Honey Baked Cola Ham

Nesco Honey Baked Cola Ham


The Nesco makes a great Honey Baked ham, whether you’re just warming one up from their store, or making your own. I hope you’ll try my Nesco Honey Baked Cola ham.

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Pork Loin Roast with Tangy Lemon Sauce

Pork Loin Roast with Tangy Lemon Sauce

Pork Loin Roast with Tangy Lemon Sauce

Labor Day is such an important day to remember those who fought for good working conditions and a living wage. It’s also a fine excuse to make some good food. Whilst looking through Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible, I came across a recipe for pork roast which gave me the idea to make this pork loin roast with tangy lemon sauce.

Pork loin roast is one of my favorite meats. I like mine on the rare side, just pink on the inside. I usually give the end slices to Spane because he likes his a little more cooked. There is no excuse for serving a dried out, gray colored roast of pork. Armed with a good instant thermometer, you can serve perfect pork at 140 degrees. Just make sure to let the roast rest for about 10 minutes before carving it. I use an electric knife because it makes the nicest slices.

If you want to make this on the grill, more power to you! Pork roast is great on the grill, but you have to use the Indirect method. This means you put a pile of hot coals on one side of the grill, and a pan of liquid under the meat, which gives the meat a nice, steamy place to slowly cook. If you want, you can use beer, wine or fruit juice for the liquid.

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Polska Kielbasa Skillet with Potatoes and Cabbage

Polska Kielbasa Skillet Recipes in this Post

Don’t you hate the same old thing? I love Jambalaya and with that in mind, I have Polska Kielbasa on hand. I was all ready to make it tonight, but then I looked at the ingredients placed nicely on the counter, ready to go, and I decided I just didn’t want it tonight. Maybe because it is September and fall is coming quickly, and I wanted something to remind me of the cool days to come. Maybe it’s because I had some lovely red potatoes and a half a head of cabbage I wanted to use up. I also wanted something really simple that I could cook in one skillet.Polska Kielbasa Skillet

Do you have issues when you try to saute potatoes to make home fries? Do they burn on the outside, and stay hard as rocks on the inside? There is hope, and it’s called a microwave oven. Simply cut up your potatoes, put them in a microwave safe bowl, cover with water, and cook using the Potato button, about 12 minutes. Then drain the potatoes and add them to your skillet. Since they are already cooked, you just have to season and brown them.

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Pork Chops with Apricot Wine Sauce

Pork Chop Apricot Wine Sauce Plated
Pork Chops with Apricot Wine Sauce Plated

Pork chops with apricot wine sauce are worth trying if you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting out. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors that will leave everyone at the table asking for seconds.

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Braised Pork with Leek Sauce

Braised Pork with Leek Sauce
I was surprised at just how good this came out when I made it. Even Spane liked it once I explained what leeks are.

Leeks, I have told him and others, are a mildly sweet member of the onion family. They look like giant green onions.You don’t have to use a pork loin to make this. Pork chops would be fine. You could even use a rather tough piece of beef that does well with braising.

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Nesco Baby Back Ribs

Nesco Baby Back Ribs
Nesco Baby Back Ribs

Nesco Baby Back Ribs fall off the bone, and have smoky, tangy flavor.  No outdoor grill? These ribs are your answer.

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