Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein (from pork or pig) w/ Mashed Potatoes

Bought a 9 pound pork loin and this is some of it. I decided to make Schnitzel. It's a shout out to my German heritage! First, I need to trim this pork...look at all that fat! **the boneless pork chop cut is good to use for this recipe, plus it is fairly inexpensive. Thick cut does not work.

Making good progress. Love my ceramic knife! It is making this job sooo easy. 

All done! Looks awesome! Yeah, I got some skills! lol!

Cut the trimmed loin 3/4 inches to 1 inch thick to hammer out. I got six cuts from this. 

One at a time, i put my pieces of pork in a 1 gallon zip-loc bag, with a splash of water. I do not zip it closed. I have a kitchen mallet to hammer the meat to approx. 1/4 inch. If you do not have a mallet, a heavy skillet will work too. This makes a lot of noise, so warn anyone who might be nearby.. it's the right thing to do! lol!!

Now it's bigger, but thinner!

All the pork is pounded out and ready to be dredged and coated!

This is 1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour and egg wash (3 whipped eggs). I seasoned the flour with Salt & Pepper, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder, 1/2 teaspoon of each. The egg wash is seasoned with 1 teaspoon Salt and 1 teaspoon Lemon Pepper. This is the 1st and 2nd step of the breading process for my Schnitzel. 

I am using a mixture of Panko bread crumbs and Potato flakes. I season everything. Just salt and pepper is a good thing. In this case I seasoned my bread crumb mixture with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary and of course, Salt & Pepper.

Here we go! First into the flour..

Then into the egg wash....

Finally into the bread crumb/potato flake mixture. Really, I swear it's there! lol 

Into the frying pan. This is a shallow fry. Depending on how many you make, you may have to add oil as you go.

Golden brown....only a few minutes on each side. The meat is thin so it doesn't take very long to cook it. 

I put my Schnitzel on a wire rack to drain and put it in the oven at 170 degrees to keep warm while I make the rest...

Schnitzel is traditionally served with a slice of Lemon and Potato Salad or Potatoes with Parsley and Butter. I prefer a Country Gravy with mashed potatoes.... German meets Southern! LOL!!!  I did not have enough milk for homemade Country Gravy, so I used a packet of Southeastern Mills Country Gravy because I had it! I seasoned it with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder and a pinch of cayenne. Remember to season everything whether it comes out of a can, jar, or packet! You can still make your own... 

Mashed potatoes! Butter, sour cream and real bacon bits. Oh, and Salt & Pepper!

This is a hungry man size plate! 

My plate.... I chose a smaller piece of meat and put cranberry mustard and lemon juice on it. I wanted less potatoes & gravy, and added a mixed greens salad with one tablespoon of Ranch dressing and a squeeze from half a lemon! YUM!! PS: That Italian Parsley on my Schnitzel went into my salad!!!

Eggs Benedict with a twist

Wanted Eggs Benedict for Brunch! Worked it out with things I already had in the cupboards and fridge. Had a package of bacon. I bake mine on a wire rack on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet @ 350 degrees for about 25 min-35 min depending on how crispy you want your bacon. The fat runs off when you use the rack method or you can bake them directly on the aluminum foil lined sheet pan. They stay flat and you don't have to clean up the grease that usually splatters on the stove top.

Bacon is done! Place bacon on a couple of paper towels to get as much grease off as you can. Looks yummy, don't it?

Finished Homemade Hollandaise. Hard to take pictures when your in the process of making it. I use a food processor/blender technique and I keep it warm in a pan. 3 egg yolks, 1 stick of butter, melted and fresh lemon juice to taste, pinch of cayenne pepper. I freeze the egg whites and use them later for something else....nothing goes to waste. **packaged hollandaise is good too. It can be a money and time saver. Always season your food to your taste, even if it comes out of a jar, can or packet!

A 1/2 filled pan of water and 1 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt at a slow boil. (medium heat) Gonna poach my eggs in this.

Crack egg into any 1 cup measure or a small bowl. Makes it easier to pour into simmering water to poach.

I used a slotted spoon and spun the water around in the pan and created a whirlpool to drop my egg into. Cook 2 to 4 minutes.

No English Muffins!! Frozen waffles will work!

Beautiful poached egg!! eh?!!!!

Maple Syrup was calling me, so i drizzled it on my poached egg and bacon. Yuummmmm!!

The last touch is the Hollandaise!

Dig in! Love soft poached eggs!! Totally adds to the dish! Delicious!!! 

Grilled Cheddar Cheese w/ Apples Sandwich

Used my mandolin to thin slice a Granny Smith apple.

Got my bread, butter side down, in the pan and I've layered some Tillamook extra sharp cheddar cheese on it. 

Time for the apples!!!

Looks good already!!

Yummy, gooey, goodness...

Acini Pasta Salad

Feeling a little tired after work, so I decided to go simple tonight. Starting with a last minute pasta salad. This is Acini de pepe. I cooked 1/3 of the box..a little goes a long way.

I looked through the cupboards and the fridge to find something to add. I ended up with a can of chickpeas, the center stocks and leaves of celery (diced), fava bean leaves (cut into strips) and candied sesames and almonds. Dressed it with a simple combo of olive oil and lemon juice. Turned out pretty good :)

Beans & Ham Hock Soup w/ Mini Cornbread Muffins

I used 4 cups of Great Northern Beans. I rinsed them, brought them up to a boil in 10 cups of water for two minutes, took them off the heat and let them sit in the pot for an hour.

Added chopped onion and a few garlic cloves

In go the ham hocks and we're back on the heat. Simmer two hours. 

Pulled the ham hocks out after an 1 1/2 hours to cool so that I can strip the meat from them. 

You can get a pretty good amount of meat off ham hocks. Not bad for cheap meat.

At this point, I've finished the cooking of the beans and have the burner on low. Added all the ham hock meat back in the pot to warm up.

In the middle of cooking soup, I whipped up some Cornbread batter to make mini muffins. I just followed the instructions on the package of cornmeal I had. If there was a box of Jiffy mix in my pantry I would have used that.

My mini muffins are done!! How Cute! **Bake them according to the instructions on the package of cornmeal or mix that you use.

Finished! Ready to eat! 

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Sliced one large onion. Sauteing the onions in a compound butter that I made and olive oil. Cooked these on medium-low heat until they are translucent. 
 *Compound butter: mix together one stick of unsalted butter, softened; salt, pepper, garlic power, onion powder, etc. Use whatever flavors you like. I put the butter on a piece of plastic wrap and work it into a log as I'm rolling it up in the wrap, twisting the ends. Put in the Fridge to firm up. Cut pieces as needed.

Onions have been cooking for 10 minutes, now for 1- 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms. These are thick sliced. 

Yum! After another 5-7 minutes of cooking the onions are nice and soft and the mushrooms still have a little bit of firmness.
I am using one pan for this meal. I took out the onions and mushrooms, put them in a bowl and set them aside.

1 pound of Chopped beef steak!! I cook it on high to get it a little crispy, I like it that way.   

Added the onions and mushrooms back in to heat up together. 

I use a multi grain bread and provolone cheese. Soooo damn good!!