Recipe(tried): Sunday Dinner at Our House - Roast Pork with Apricot Glaze Alabama-Style, Debbie's Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup, Banana Nut Bread, Easy Creamy Brownies

Spring is in the air in Alabama! It has been beautiful here for the last four days. I am like the kids and have spring fever.

Today for lunch we had a great spring menu. We had: Roast Pork with Apricot Glaze--Alabama Style, macaroni and cheese, string beans, steamed cabbage, CLAUSSEN Pickles, candied yams, biscuits with butter, and sweet tea with lemon. I'm making chocolate brownies for dessert.

Yesterday, I fixed a huge pot of "Debbie's Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup," and banana nut bread.

ROAST PORK WITH APRICOT GLAZE--ALABAMA STYLE

4-5 lb. pork loin roast (boneless)
Seasoned salt
Pepper
2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup or orange juice
1/2 cup of white wine
1 tsp. rosemary
8 cloves of garlic
Reynolds Cooking Bag
1 Tbsp. flour

Wash the roast and pat dry. Cut 8 slits in the pork roast and fill each slit with a clove of garlic. Place flour in the cooking bag and shake around. Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Put the roast on top of the vegetables. Pour the orange juice/white wine mixture on top of the roast. Season the pork roast with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Roast the meat at 325 degrees until meat thermometer indicates an internal temperature of 170. About 1/2 hour before roast is done, prepare glaze.

APRICOT GLAZE

2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 cups apricot nectar
4 tsp. cider or raspberry vinegar

I prepare this glaze using the microwave. In a microwave-safe bowl--make sure it is a large bowl, put the brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Dissolve the cornstarch in the apricot nectar. Place in the microwave and cook for 5-7 minutes on high. Check to see if the glaze has thickened. If it has, remove the bowl from the microwave. If it hasn't thickened, cook the glaze for 2 minutes more. Repeat until the glaze has thickened properly.

Remove roast from oven and let it "rest" for 10 minutes. Slice and put on a serving platter. Serve the glaze on the side.

DEBBIE'S EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK SOUP

4 qts. chicken or beef broth (I used broth that I had made with my crockpot)
3 onions, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs of celery, including leaves, chopped
1 pkg. white mushrooms, washed and sliced
2 cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans of whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup elbow macaroni
1 lb. ground round
3 Tbsp. Heinz 57 Sauce
several dashes of worcestershire sauce
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
2 cans diced tomatoes
Garlic powder
Seasoned salt
Pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil

In a large pot, brown the ground round. Cook until done. Remove the meat and place it in your soup pot (I used my AROMA Roaster.) Remove the casing from the Italian sausage and cook until done. Place it with the ground round. Wash the pot and add the olive oil. When the olive oil has heated, place in the mushrooms, onions, garlic, bell pepper, and celery. Cook until onions are translucent. Add the vegetables to the meat mixture. Pour the chicken or beef broth over the meat and vegetable mixture. Add the canned vegetables and stir. Taste the mixture and season with garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper, Heinz 57 sauce, and worcestershire sauce. Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours on LOW. Raise the temperature of the soup to MEDIUM and put in the macaroni. The soup is ready when the macaroni is done.

This will make a HUGE pot of soup. We had some for supper last night and I froze the rest in quart containers.

This soup was served with cheese, crackers, grapes, banana nut bread, and sweet tea with lemon.

BANANA NUT BREAD

3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup (8 oz.) crushed pineapple
2 tsps. vanilla extract

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nuts together. Add eggs and oil, beating until creamy. Add bananas, pineapple, and vanilla extract. Stir together thoroughly. Do not beat. Bake in 2 loaf pans at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes.

EASY, CREAMY BROWNIES

1 large pkg. brownie mix prepared according to package directions
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 (8 oz.) pkg. reduced fat cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, prepare brownies according to package directions making sure to add the chopped nuts. Spray a 9X13-inch pan with PAM. Pour the prepared brownie/nut mixture in the pan. Smooth with a spatula that has been sprayed with PAM.

In a separate bowl, cream the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour this cream cheese layer over the brownie layer. Using a fork, swirl the brownie/cream cheese mixture together. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.

HAPPY SUNDAY!