Cooking Contest?

This blog is usually all about my wedding planning and all things wedding! But, my dear, sweet, awesome friend Lauren, is having a contest. She is a fellow blogger, but she blogs about food! She is having a contest among her followers to cook a variation of something she has made herself and posted about on her blog. You are to pick a recipe, post the original recipe, tweak it (if you so choose), cook it, take pictures, and write about why you picked that particular dish. Well, I decided I would blog about my submission. 

If you know me, you know when it comes to games or contests, I am in it to win it. So, you are supposed to pick one dish from her blog - - well, I picked THREE!!!! I decided that since I am such an over achiever I would make an entire meal out of entries from Lauren's Blog! 

I religiously read her blog. Its informative and funny and has really good tips. If you don't follow her, I highly suggest you should. Here is a link to her blog - - Foodie Blog  My first step was to go and re-read all of her blog posts. That way I could decide what I wanted to cook for the contest. After reading all of her blog posts I settled on a pork dish (Lauren made an herb crusted pork chop, the link is here), green beans (Lauren made  green beans with onion and bacon for Thanksgiving, the link is here), and orzo (Lauren made orzo pasta salad and an orzo with peas, the links are here and here). 

I have made pork chops and green beans before, but never the orzo pasta. I had a box already in my pantry so I decided to try it out. I picked these three because it sounded like it would go in a meal well together and I like to try new things. Plus, Lauren makes everything look so easy, so I figured I could do it too! 

First, we will talk about the pork. I found a recipe on Pinterest for Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops. Doesn't that just sound yummy?!? Here is the link to the original recipe. I pretty much followed this recipe to a T. I made my flour mixture and egg wash, dipped the pork chops, and fryed them up. I used a fry daddy instead of frying them in a pan on the stove. Seems to be much quicker. I made the Honey Garlic sauce which was great with the pork chop, but would be good with other meats as well. 

For the flour mixture you will need:

1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground sage
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Sift all ingredients into a large bowl

Egg wash mixture:

2 eggs

4 tbsp water 

Dip pork chops in flour mixture, then egg wash, then back into flour mixture to evenly coat. Place in deep fryer for 4-6 minutes (depending on size and thickness of chop). Drain on wire rack before serving. 

Flour and egg wash 

\

Round one in the flour mixture 

Golden crunchy goodness 

Honey Garlic Sauce

In a medium saucepan add:

2 tbsp olive oil (I eyeballed this amount)
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Then Add:


1 cup honey (I eyeballed these amounts also)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. 

Really yummy honey garlic sauce!

Next on the list was green beans. I chose to cook bacon wrapped green beans. I have made them before and they are super easy. Plus, who doesn't love bacon?

The original recipe is here. The recipe calls for fresh green beans. Apparently Kroger had a shortage this week and I had to settle for frozen green beans. Not as great as fresh, but still satisfying and easy. I am all about making things simpler and easier for myself.

Bacon wrapped green beans:

Green beans (fresh or frozen)

Bacon 

Brown sugar 

Soy sauce

I did not give you specific measurements of the ingredients above because I eyeballed it all. I cook for 2 and I didn't want to make too much or too little. It all depends on how many you are cooking for and what flavors you want to stand out more. The original recipe also calls for butter and garlic, both of which I left out.

Frozen green beans and awesome Bear Creek Peppered Bacon 

I pulled 4 pieces of bacon out the package and cut them in half. I bundled approximately 4-5 green beans together and wrapped the bundle with the bacon. I placed the bundle seam side down in a greased 8 x8 glass pan. Once all the bundles were assembled I added 1 tbsp of water to the pan (since my beans were still frozen) and sprinkled the top with brown sugar and soy sauce. The brown sugar gives a nice sweet contrast to my peppered bacon. I cooked the beans in the oven on 400 for about 15 minutes (or until the bacon looks nice and crispy). 

Beans ready to go in the oven 

Lastly, the Orzo pasta. I have never made orzo, but I have wanted to try it for a while. My Asian soon to be husband isn't a big fan of pasta so I try not to make it too much. Orzo looks a lot like rice, so I think that aspect helped a lot. I found my orzo recipe on Pinterest, here . Now, Lauren's orzo pasta recipe looked yummy, but I don't like tomatoes, and the other had peas in it and I figured with green beans I didn't want to have 2 green veggies in one meal. So I chose Parmesan Orzo. Cheese and pasta yum! 

Parmesan Orzo: 

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup orzo

1 1/4 cups water

¾ cup chicken broth

½ cup white wine (I omitted this)

¼ cup grated Parmesan 

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt to taste 

Ingredients for the pasta dish 

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Pour the orzo in to the saucepan and cook orzo in the melted butter for 3 minutes until some of the pieces turn toasted brown, stirring periodically. Add water and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is gone. Remove pan from heat and stir in parmesan cheese and olive oil; salt to taste and serve piping hot.

Simmer orzo, simmer!!

Now, the true test was going to be if I could win over the fiance'. He seems to think that he is a better cook than I am. And maybe he is, on some things. I think he liked it when he went back for seconds and told me 3 times that it was good. 

Finished meal. And I used one of Lauren's blog tips: eat off a salad plate.

Me and my really yummy dinner! All inspired by Lauren! 

I had a bunch of fun researching these recipes and then cooking them. Lauren should have a contest more often! I know my blog isn't as funny as hers is, but I do hope you enjoyed reading it! 

Oh and a wedding update!!! 95 days till the wedding!!!!!!!!!