I ACTUALLY COOKED !

Okay, this photo has nothing to do with the title, but my own personal 'rule' says that I can't post a blog entry unless I have a photo to show. So... Any guesses as to who this is supposed to be? First person to guess (in the comments) will win (haha!) a color copy on cardstock of the original 4"x6" art postcard. You'll have to email me your mailing address though. But this exciting contest is not open to members of Fine Arts ATCs, since I have the title of the work posted there.

Back to cooking. Inexplicably, I was just in the mood to cook something... as opposed to disinterestedly throwing a chunk of meat in a pan, opening a can of something green, and nuking a potato. I was going to take a photo of my meal or at least one of the dishes, but forgot until it was no longer picturesque. Yesterday I got two recipes - one from AllRecipes.com (tomato pie) and one from recipe-source.com (pork chop dish). I LOVED the tomato pie, especially. It was scrumptious! Chuck liked the pork chops best, with the whole wheat capellini to eat with the sauce. Those were great, too.

Here are the recipes:

TOMATO PIE

INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup whole milk (I used skim.)
1 teaspoon salt (I skipped this.)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used fresh picked.)
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley (I skipped this, too.)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 cup cottage cheese
5 plum tomatoes, diced
1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, basil, parsley, onion flakes and cottage cheese. Spread tomatoes evenly across bottom of pastry shell, then sprinkle with Swiss cheese. Pour egg mixture over cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until set in center.

EASY PORK CHOPS
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 lg Onion chopped
1 tb Butter
4 Chops (I used 6.)
1/2 Can cream of mushroom soup
1 c Sour cream (I used low-fat.)

Saute the onion in the butter until transparent. Add
chops to skillet and brown on one side. After
turning, add the mixture of soup and sour cream. Turn
down heat and cover. Cook 20 minutes, more or less
depending on thickness of chops.

The sauce makes a kind of gravy which can be served over egg
noodles or mashed potatoes. (As I said, I used whole wheat capellini.)