German Style Pork Schnitzels

They're always best with a little spritz of lemon!

Gotta have sides...tonight I chose to make baked potatoes...

...carrots...

...and broccoli!

 Beautiful pork chops getting ready to be schnitzeled (sp?).

Bread crumbs and a beaten egg; standard fare for turning a simple piece of pork (or any other meat, for that matter) into a breaded chunk of heaven.

 My little beauties, ready for the pan.

Halfway done, and they're smelling fantastic. I fried them in a mixture of butter and garlic-infused bacon fat that I had leftover from my meatballs with bacon-wrapped garlic centers.

Browned to perfection - now it's time to plate these babies, and enjoy a delicious feast!

The finished product - a meal fit for a king!

Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

Sizzlin' Salsa!

Jalapeño peppers, after roasting in my trusty toaster oven fro 30 minutes.

A nice big bunch of fresh cilantro - it took me hours of searching to find it, but when I did, it was surprisingly cheap!

Garlic and onions...do you see a pattern in my recipes?

This mix looked so beautiful on the stove, I didn't want to put it in the blender.


But I did...

Nice big pan o' salsa - the perfect balance of heat and flavor!

Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

Beautiful chunks of squash - I just love the color!

Squash all diced up.

In the pan with a generous amount of garlic, onions, and olive oil.

For spices, I kept it simple; a little cumin and turmeric, and some salt.

I don't even like soup that much, but this stuff was amazing!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

A thing of beauty - smothered in cheddar and Jalapeño sauce

Making pulled pork sandwiches is easy - the only thing is, you need pulled pork!

I found this gorgeous pork butt for $3 at the supermarket, and I just couldn't resist. It was almost 4 pounds of meat!

Pork next to the spice mix (which was an amalgam of things I found in the cupboard...paprika, chili powder, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, cumin, and turmeric - I think)

Gently massaging the rub into the meat.

Once the pork was coated, I wrapped it up tight and put it in the fridge. I think it was in there for about 5 hours...supposed to be longer, but hey, I was hungry.

(toaster) oven roasted pork in all its glory. I used a metal measuring cup full of water on the tray with it to maintain moisture while cooking (for about 4 hours).

Pulling the pork. Despite cooking for less than a recommended duration, it fell apart very easily.

All pulled - time to make some sandwiches!

But first, let's see a close-up of that delicious pork!

My lovely wife made some homemade buns for us to use.

Into the toaster oven they go, one last time, to make sure they're nice and toasty.

On the plate, with a generous topping of homemade Jalapeño sauce

Classic Calzones

Cooked to Perfection!

Step 1: roll out the pizza dough into a perfect circle!

Cheese and marinara sauce (homemade, of course!)

Mushrooms, onions, green peppers.

Pan-fried chicken with a little seasoning.

Some nice fresh Jalapenos to spice things up a little.

Spinach to top it all off.

Round 2...

Amazing pepperoni, leftover from pizza night.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Meatballs with Bacon-Wrapped Garlic Centers

Close-up of the madness.

Step one: wrapping garlic cloves in bacon. I've made bacon-wrapped garlic many times before, and I've always wondered what it would be like to wrap them in meatballs. I was not disappointed.

Held them together with toothpicks; sometimes as they cook and the bacon contracts, it squeezes the garlic out of its wrapping.

Plate o' bacon-wrapped garlic.

Starting from scratch means making your own bread crumbs ;)

Premium Australian ground beef, homemade bread crumbs, and onion. Two eggs, 'cause these babies have to hold together. No need to add garlic to the mix (for obvious reasons).

Finished cooking the garlic. Time to wrap these babies in some meat!

Getting ready to roll.

Like anything that has a center, I started with a flat, round shape...

Added the filling...

And rolled 'em up nice.

Meanwhile, a little homemade marinara sauce with mushrooms and green and red peppers.

All rolled up and ready to go in the oven.

Meatballs are done cooking, inspiring the phrase "Wow! Those meatballs are dripping with bacon fat". I will probably go to hell.

Plated up, covered with extra old cheddar, and a little broccoli to offset the almost unbelievably extreme unhealthiness of this meal.

Digging into the first meatball. Was it as good as it looks? No, it was much, much better.

Table set for two. We spent the rest of the evening on the floor.