Awesome Honey Pecan Pork Chops
A glaze of warm honey and pecans makes thin and tender pork loin cutlets extra yummy. Be careful not to overcook the pork or the sauce. A light touch is the key.

In a shallow dish mix together flour salt and pepper.

Dredge pork cutlets in the flour mixture.

In a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat.

Add chops and brown both sides.

Transfer to a warm plate.

Cheese Soup III
Vegetarian and low in fat, this soup is made with fat free American cheese, skim milk and vegetables in a broth seasoned with hot pepper sauce.

Combine the broth, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery in a medium saucepan over high heat.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat.

Potatoes should be tender after about 15 minutes of simmering under cover.

Use a potato masher to lightly mash.

Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese melts, then add American cheese, milk, and hot sauce.

To taste, add salt and pepper.

If desired, garnish with fresh parsley and hot sauce.

Leslie’s Ham Lentil Soup
When a ham bone from a previous meal is simmered with lentils and vegetables, it gets a second chance to become a hearty lentil ham bone soup in less than an hour.

In a stock pot, bring the water and chicken bouillon granules to a boil while stirring to dissolve the bouillon.

Boiling broth with the ham bone added, turn heat to medium-low, and stir in lentils.

For about 10 minutes, simmer lentils until they start to soften.

Lentils and vegetables should be tender after 10 to 20 minutes of simmering in broth after adding celery, carrots, green bell pepper, onion, marjoram, and bay leaf.

Remove ham bone from soup and turn off the heat.

Cube the ham after removing the bone.

Return the meat to the soup and remove the bone.

Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned
Straightforward and timeless, this Maker’s Mark old-fashioned cocktail never goes out of style: a simple mix of bourbon, bitters, and sugar.

Muddle sugar bitters orange cherry and water in an old-fashioned glass.

Remove the orange rind and fill the glass 3/4 full of ice.

Add Maker’s Mark Bourbon and stir.

Homemade Irish (Whiskey) Cream
To make this favorite, you’ll need instant coffee granules, almond and vanilla extracts, and Irish whiskey, of course.

Blend the Irish whiskey heavy cream sweetened condensed milk instant coffee granules vanilla extract and almond extract in a blender on high until frothy 20 to 30 seconds.

Chill 24 hours before using.

Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting
A delicious, simple-to-make frosting made with butter and cream cheese is enhanced by the flavor and texture of sweetened, shredded coconut. To make a cake even more opulent, add toasted coconut as a garnish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat until fluffy.

Add the confectioners’ sugar gradually, one cup at a time, and alternate with the heavy cream.

Vanilla extract and salt are added after beating.

Beat mixture continuously until it becomes smooth and spreadable.

If the frosting needs to be thickened or thinned, add more confectioners’ sugar or cream as needed.

Add the coconut and stir.

If preferred, evenly distribute the toasted coconut on top of the cake.

Pasta e Fagioli a la Chez Ivano
This classic soup is flavorful with thyme, basil, oregano, and parsley and contains kidney beans, ditalini pasta, beef broth, tons of garlic, tomatoes, and ground beef.

In a large pot over medium heat cook beef until no longer pink.

Drain and set aside.

In the same pot heat the olive oil.

Cook onion celery garlic and black pepper until vegetables are tender 10 minutes.

Stir in beef broth crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.

Season with thyme basil oregano and parsley.

Cover reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

(At this point you may put the pot on a back burner to keep warm and continue with the next steps about 1 hour prior to serving if you wish.)

Gluten-Free Cheese and Herb Pizza Crust
Here is a gluten-free pizza crust variation; I’ve discovered that baking it for 10 minutes before adding toppings enhances the texture.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Grease a 15-inch pizza pan with cooking spray.

Stir all-purpose baking flour garbanzo bean flour cornstarch tapioca starch Parmesan cheese baking powder xanthan gum Italian seasoning oregano and salt together in a bowl; set aside.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon of white sugar in lukewarm water in a small bowl.

Sprinkle yeast over top and set aside until foamy 3 to 5 minutes.

Beat egg in a separate bowl with olive oil vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar and garlic until smooth.

Whisk yeast mixture into egg mixture and stir in flour mixture until no dry lumps remain.

Press dough into prepared pan leaving outer edge slightly thicker than the center.

Granny’s Sweet Potato Bread
This sweet, spiced bread gains additional moisture and color from baked sweet potatoes. For a nutty flavor, pecans are added to the batter and sprinkled on top.

Set oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees C).

Wrap the sweet potato in foil.

For about an hour, bake sweet potatoes in a preheated oven until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

Set apart for cooling.

Canola oil and white sugar are combined in a bowl.

Add eggs and thoroughly combine.

Sift the cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour into the sugar mixture.

Add water a little at a time, whisking until combined.

Mash the peeled sweet potato into the batter.

Add in half a cup of chopped pecans.

Oven temperature is decreased to 320 degrees F.

(160 degrees C).

A 9×5-inch loaf pan should be sprayed with cooking oil.

Fill the prepared loaf pan with the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread emerges clean.

Garlic Baked Ham
Whole garlic cloves are baked into this brown sugar-glazed ham.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Rinse ham and pat dry with paper towels; arrange ham cut-side down in a shallow roasting pan.

Make 20 incisions with the point of a knife all over the ham; stuff one garlic clove into each incision.

Press whole cloves into the ham.

Cover ham with aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

While ham is baking mix pineapple juice brown sugar dry mustard and ginger in a bowl.

Remove foil from ham.

Pour pineapple juice glaze over ham.

Return ham to oven uncovered and continue baking until glaze thickens about 45 minutes more.

Baste ham every 15 minutes.