Good Press

Growing up, the only way I ever ate pork chips was breaded with Shake 'n Bake. Now that I cook for a family, I'm happy I've learned three other, better ways to prepare pork chops: breaded with a maple-Dijon mustard sauce and in a Crock-Pot with a ranch-chicken gravy . I found this breaded pork chop recipe more than 10 years ago when I was perfecting my home-cooking. I've said before I've learned a lot from Cook's Country magazine. That's where I got this recipe. And for the past few years, I had misplaced my copy of the magazine with this recipe in it. I found it! And before I lose it again, I'm blogging it. Preserving my favorite recipes somewhere I can easily access them is a main reason why I blog. I couldn't find Melba toast the first time I made this so I substituted just-as-crunchy-but-more-flavorful garlic bagel chips. You can cut back on the garlic powder if you make this substitution. QUICK AND CRUNCHY PORK CHOPS 1 (5-ounce) box ...

I like this recipe for General Tso's Chicken way better than anything I've ever had in a Chinese restaurant. It is easy to prepare at home with easy-to-find ingredients and it has half the calories and one-fifth the fat of the take-out version. America's Test Kitchen, the folks who deconstruct recipes and show us how to make them step-by-step in Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country, made over this recipe for General Tso's. They swapped white chicken breast for the dark meat and a crunchy breading of corn flakes for deep-frying. My husband does not like Chinese food but he loved this recipe when I made it for dinner. The option to omit red pepper makes it a winner with our 9-year-old as well. I hope to add photos, but in the interest of sharing this fabulous recipe, I'm posting without. GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN by America's Test Kitchen BEFORE: 910 calories, 45g fat, 5g sat fat AFTER: 490 calories, 8g fat, 1.5g sat fat   WHY THIS...

Who needs Helper when this is just as easy to make? I make this when we want lasagna but I don't want to dirty more than one pan and bowl and spend a couple of hours assembling and baking it. This is a Cook's Illustrated recipe from a few years back.   SKILLET LASAGNA Serves 4 to 6 Meatloaf mix is a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal, sold pre-packaged in many supermarkets. If it's unavailable, use ground beef or Italian sausage removed from its casings and crumbled. Use a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes Water 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion , minced Table salt 3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon) 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 pound meatloaf mix or Italian sausage or ground beef 10 curly-edged lasagna noodles , broken into 2-inch lengths 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 1/2 cup grated Parmesan che...

I know the secret to flavorful, tender, easy barbecued chicken. It involves a Crock-Pot and two kinds of seasoning. These barbecued drumsticks are going to be part of my New Year's Eve goodies tonight. But you can do it with wings or any cut really. And it's good any time of year -- and in summer it won't overheat your kitchen because it barely uses the oven. You could even start the chicken in the slow cooker and finish it on the grill. I have worked on this recipe for more than a year an I've learned from Cook's Country magazine and WhatMegansMaking.com. PERFECT BARBECUED CHICKEN LEGS 1 4-pound bag frozen chicken drumsticks 1 package McCormick Hickory BBQ Wing Seasoning 1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce Put the McCormick seasoning mix in a slow cooker liner. Add the chicken. Gather the bag closed and shake. Place the bag in the Crock-Pot. You can put a half cup of sauce in with the chicken but it's not critical. Cook the chicken on low for 4-6 ...