Puerto Rican Style Pork Tenderloin

My cousin has a friend who grew up in Puerto Rico and this was her recipe. We fix this at least twice a month. This is one of Billy Head's favorite meals. If you have leftovers, this is excellent sliced thin and served on melba toast with a dollop of horseradish. Problem is with a Billy Head around who has leftovers.

1 pound pork tenderlion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning
1/2 to 1 packet Sazón seasoning
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make 3 slits in top of pork roast, Place a garlic clove in each. Sprinkle roast with Adobo seasoning and Sazón seasoning. Pour lemon juice over top. Place in a roasting pan with a rack and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chicken Dip

My cousin brought this to a family get together a couple of years ago and I just had to have the recipe. Since then we have made it numerous times and it is one of those dishes that people always ask for the recipe.


2 large Chicken Breasts
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 can refried beans
Shredded cheese

Boil chicken, drain and shred. Place in a large mixing bowl. Add next 6 ingredients. Mix well. Spread refried beans on bottom of casserole dish. Spread chicken mixture over beans. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Garnish with tomatoes, lettuce, olives. etc. Serve with tortilla chips.

Turkey Tettrazini

This was a recipe my mom used to make when I was growing up. When I asked her for the recipe she said "I don't know, you just add some milk, flour and butter". That was pretty much all I got from her. Sorry mom but I need amounts. I finally got the written recipe from an aunt and here it is.


1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
3 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 cup turkey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 cup spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Sauté mushrooms in butter, add flour and stir. Add cream till thick. Fold in other ingredients. Mix well and transfer to a large baking dish. Top with grated cheese and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Green Pea Casserole

I take this casserole to many potlucks and it never fails I end up writing the recipe down for someone. Usually on the back of napkin. I love it when I'm asked for a recipe. I've never understood why some people just refuse to share their recipes. To me it is the ultimate compliment.


Green Pea Casserole

1 can tiny peas, drained
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 small onion
3/4 stick margarine
2 Tbsp. green peppers, chopped
1 cup diced celery
1 small jar diced pimientos, drained

Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add onion, green pepper and celery. Sauté over medium heat till soft. Add peas and water chestnuts. Fold in pimientos. Arrange one layer of this in 2 qt. casserole dish. Top with a layer of undiluted soup. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly

A favorite question around our house, is "Where's the beef?" I definitely found myself a meat and potatoes kinda guy. He would eat meat for dessert if I could afford it. I don't exactly know how a vegetarian cookbook made its way in my collection but it did and as I browsed it pages I stumbled across this recipe. This is a really good twist on plain potato soup and Billy Head will eat it too. As long as there is beef for dessert.



Potato, Cheese and Green Chili Soup

4-5 potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups water or chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1 small can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper
8 oz. Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Cook potatoes in water or chicken broth until tender. In small pan, sauté onion, green pepper & garlic in oil. Add to potatoes. Stir in tomatoes, corn, green chilies, cumin, oregano and salt & pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Add cheese a little at a time and stir to blend. Great served with garlic toast.

Billy Head

This is Billy Head. Alan was the name he was given at birth but over the years he has come to answer to many other names. Billy Head is the one that is most becoming. He is the ring leader of the Billy Cult. You ask, "what is a Billy"?. Good question. A Billy is a person, animal or other living thing that crosses this mans path. Once that happens you are tagged for life. He has his own name for everyone and most of them start with Billy. Let's see, there is Billy Dean( who is his son), Billy Jibble who are too many to count, Billy Ass (which is me most of the time) and Little Billy's ( who are our grandkids). In a nutshell, a billy is an equilivant to "turkey", "goober", "punk" or whatever slang name you call someone you like.

Billy Head is the love of my life and the pain in my butt too. Just kidding, he is a wonderful man 99% of the time and I love him dearly.

We met six years ago at work and our relationship start was pretty unusual. I was just recovering from a soured relationship and he was just starting work at the company where we both currently work. I am the administrative assistant/HR person and I had met with him and completed his paper work and thought nothing of it. In other words nothing floated my boat. He on the other hand must have had his boat a floatin'. He asked the girls in the accounting office what was up with me. One told him that I was just getting over a relationship and probably wouldn't be interested. So the story ends. NOT!

Alan came to work in January and on Valentine's Day I received flowers at work from a secret admirer. Co-workers commented on who they thought the flowers were from and the girl from accounting said "Do you think Alan sent them?" I said "Alan?" " Alan who? "

She then let the cat out of the bag that he had asked about me a month earlier and told her not to tell me. Well now that I knew this, strange things started happening. Every time I saw him at work I got this nervous school-girl feeling and started thinking hmmm....this is weird. I was convinced I was finished with men.

March rolls around and Alan has an accident at work and has to be taken to the hospital. I found myself horribly upset that something had happened to him. As it worked out, a co-worker brought him back to work after leaving the hospital. Management decided he shouldn't drive home and I wasn't busy so I volunteered to drive him home. And I thought, what the heck the company pays for mileage anyway. I had all kinds of justifications on why I did this. But the truth be known, I WANTED TO and he was in need of some TLC.

The ride to his house was somewhat awkward because I get nervous driving when a guy is in the car with me. Call me silly!! That ride turned out to be the beginning of a wonderful relationship that is six years strong and growing.

P.S. I still have no idea who sent me the flowers. It wasn't Billy Head!

Guacamole

I was determined to make some time this weekend to relax and spend time in my kitchen cooking and clicking. I got my camera out and here are the results of my first attempt at show and tell in the kitchen.
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
4 drops hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste


Cut avocados in half.

Remove pit and scoop out the flesh.

Mash avocado with a fork.


Stir in onion, garlic and tomato.

Add spices and lime juice.

Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes for flavors to blend. Serve with tortilla chips.

Phone calls in the middle of the night

I don't think there is a worse feeling than to have your phone ring after you've gone to bed. It usually one means one thing, something is wrong.

My poor daughter has a lot on her plate at the moment. She is a single mom with three kids under the age of 5 and two of them stay sick a majority of the time. Last night the middle child who suffers with respiratory problems was having coughing spells and a hard time breathing. She had given him his NEBS and put him to bed. About an hour later he gets up and tells her he wants "sheen". He has some speech difficulties and she wasn't sure what he was saying but he went and got the nebulizer so she knew he was still having a hard time breathing. She gave him another treatment and he went back to bed. That's when my phone rang. She heard him gasping for air and she called and said "Mom come quick".

I feel a little remorse for almost running the slow driver ahead of me off the road but, darn it, he was in my way. Danica Patrick move over, there's a nana on the track and duty was calling. After an emergency phone call to the doctor, a double dose of prednisone and another neb treatment the little guy was able to breath a little easier. Not to mention Mom and Nana. It truly rattles your insides when you know a child can't breath and there's only so much you can do.

Fresh Peach Pie

Fresh Peach Pie

5 cups sliced fresh peaches
1 unbaked pie shell
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 egg

Place peaches in pie shell. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over peaches. Bake at 350 degress for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

(To avoid a huge mess in your oven, use a deep dish pie crust and bake on a cookie sheet.)

Banana Pudding (better known as Pudgy Pudding)

If you eat much of this you'll understand the name. Pudgy Pudding. It's really good though. So grab a big dish and go to town. You can always diet tomorrow. Famous words from a famous procrasinator.

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies (or just plain nilla wafers work fine)
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5 oz) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Line bottom of a 13x9x2 inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend will using a handheld electric mixer. Using anothe bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix till smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Try these. I bet you can't eat just one.



2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package ( 31/2 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 package (12 oz. ) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda, set aside. Combine butter, sugars, vanilla and pudding mix in large mixing bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips (batter will be stiff). Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Little Billy #4

This is the baby for now. This is Caden and he is nine months old and is the last of my grandbabies. Like his big sissy he too has a birthday easy to remember. He was born on 10/10. I love it when that happens.

Makes life easier for me. You know, when old age comes a knock'n you tend to forget important dates among other things. For instance green means go at a stop light, or the butter goes in the fridge and not the pantry. Just wait, you'll understand one day. We used to laugh at my grandma when we were growing up. She raised 10 children and too many grandkids to count but when she would call one of us, she would call every name she knew before she finally got the right one. And now I find myself doing it. I never call the grandkids by their right name, it's always the name of a sibling or cousin or, I hate to say it, a dog. Yes, my dog is part of the family and I say his name as much as one of the kids. Recently his only name has been BAD DOG. I can't understand why a house-trained dog decides he doesn't like to pee outside anymore and uses my sofa as a peeing post. BAD BAD DOG!!!

Black Skillet Beef with Greens and Red Potatoes

This is one of my favorite meals and it also happens to be good for you. I found this recipe on the National Heart and Lung and Blood Institute website. The first time I made it I skimped on the onion and only used 1 small one. Big mistake. Add the entire 3 cups of onions. It makes the dish.

Black Skillet Beef with Greens and
Red Potatoes

1 lb. Top round beef, (I use beef cut for stir fry)
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper
1/8 tsp dry mustard
8 red-skinned potatoes, halved
3 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups beef broth
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, peeled, cut into very thin strips
2 bunches kale, washed and torn
Non-stick spray coating

Combine paprika, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper and dry mustard. Coat strips of meat with the spice mixture. Spray a large heavy skillet with non-stick spray. Preheat pan over high heat. Add meat, cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, onion, broth, and garlic. Cook covered over medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir in carrots, lay greens over top, and cook, covered, until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve in large serving bowl, with crusty bread for dunking

Little Billy #3

This is grandbaby #3 and she belongs to my son and his wife. Her name is Alexis and we call her Lexi. This is their one and only so far but I'm hoping more will come in the future. My children make beautiful babies. Don't ya think?



This is my son, Jamerson and his wife, Charity and Baby Lexi at the Historic Railroad Festival.

Little Billy #1

This is Carson (aka Miss Priss). She is almost five and was my first grandchild. When it comes to remembering birthdays, hers is the easiest. Nine is her number. She was born on 9/9 at 9:09 pm. I have a thing for unique number events. Like, my birthday is 5/18 and Billy Head was born on 1/7 so if you subtract them you get 4/11 which is the date of our first date. Isn't that just too cool? Anyhooo back to Miss Priss. She is definitely her mother's daughter and very strong willed. I guess you know what they say about paybacks. Ahhh......Sweet Revenge.

It's not easy being this cute!!!

Pizza Florentine

I absolutely love creamed spinach and I came up with this little creation after eating something very similar in a local restaurant. I will fix it as a meal but you could cut each pizza into small slices and serve as an appetizer. Either way it's DYNAMITE!



Pizza Florentine


2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp. hot bacon drippings
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 cup half and half
1 box chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Tortillas
Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
Sliced Jalapenos
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream
Salsa

Sauté onion in bacon drippings till golden brown. Blend in flour. Add half and half. Stir with fork till thickened. Add spinach and seasonings and blend.

Preheat oven to 350. Place tortilla shells in oven for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and spread with spinach mixture. Top with tomatoes, sliced jalapenos and cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Top with sour cream and salsa if desired.

Little Billy #2

Meet my grandson Hunter. He is second in the line-up of my grandbabies and he just turned three on July 19th. Don't you just want to pinch those little cheeks. He is the sweetest little guy most days and other days well, I'll let the picture speak for itself.


This is Hunter in Time-Out.

And this was Hunter after seeing Nana grab her camera to capture the moment. How can you punish him after seeing that face?

Happy Birthday Keith

On Sunday we attended a surprise 50th Birthday Party for our good friend Keith.

A surprise party is always best when the surprisee arrives and is totally surprised. I've been to some where the person arrives and has known all along what was happening. Not so in this case. Keith's family had planned for him to have a day at Smith Mountain Lake boating and just being with family.

When they approached the marina there we were holding a huge banner welcoming the Birthday Boy.

Everything went just as planned. He was clueless. He arrived and was greeted by his close friends and family. The day was a lot of fun and just as we knew he'd do, he teared up and got all emotional- "WaterHead" is his nickname.

Happy Birthday WaterHead.
We love ya!

About Cooking for a Billy

Hello and welcome to Cooking for a Billy.

My life is full of Billy's, large and small and feeding them is lots of fun. This blog is full of recipes my family has tried and considers keepers. Many are from own recipe files and others I have stumbled across in cookbooks or internet sites.
In case you've asked yourself "what is a Billy", never fear the answer is near. Read my post under Billy Head.

A little about me
My name is Sharon. I’m 46 years old and live in the beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia. I was a single mom for most of my young adult life. I raised two beautiful children along the way. And they have now blessed me with four precious grandchildren. There is something special about grandchildren and after you get past that initial shock of being called “Nanny” or “Grandma” or “Granny” life is great. Actually, I elected to be called Nana, to me that sounds a little more hip and a little more my style. Afterall, I haven’t traded in my blue jeans for polyester yet.

In addition to having two great kids and my four little grandbabies I met and fell in love with Billy Head, the man of my dreams six years ago. He is what keeps me young and life is never dull with him.

We both work work for an organization that provides employment training and job opportunities for the mentally and physically disabled. I'll post more about my job later.

I hope you enjoy looking through these posts as much as I enjoy creating them. Thanks for stopping by.