Pan-Seared Pork Chops

Pork Chops are tricky for me. They are almost always tough unless I cook them for hours in the slow cooker, and then they taste more like pork roast than chops. I was blown away by this method, which was adapted (quite a bit) from a recipe I found on Pinterest. They were so tender, juicy, and flavorful. I'll definitely be making this again.

2 center-cut pork chops
4 Tbsp. olive oil + a bit more for later
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard + 1/2 tsp for later on
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
fresh cracked pepper
kosher salt
1/4 cup diced shallots
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp. butter

1. Mix 4 Tbsp. olive oil, vinegar, mustard, rosemary, thyme, pepper flake, and cracked pepper in a shallow dish. Pierce each side of the pork chops with a fork several times. Turn pork chops around in the marinade making sure to coat well. Leave on counter for 45 mins-1 hour, flipping chops every 10 minutes.
2. Heat an oven-proof frying pan to medium heat. Preheat the oven to 450.
3. Pat the chops dry with paper towels and make sure to remove most of the herbs from the chops (they will burn and become bitter if exposed to the high heat of the pan). Brush each side of the chops with remaining oil, then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
4. Place chops in dry pan and sear for 3 minutes. Rotate and sear again for another 3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side, cutting a minute or so off. Place the pan in a hot oven and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145*.
5. Remove chops from the pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes while you make a pan sauce. In the pan, place shallots and chicken stock and scrape up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a minute or two. Stir in 1/2 tsp. mustard and butter. Pour sauce over chops.

Tastes delicious with baked sweet potatoes and broccoli.

30 Minute Pork Chop "Thanksgiving"

Now that it's Fall, you may be craving heavy meals infused with warm spices and topped with gravy. If you don't want to wait until Thanksgiving or spend two days in the kitchen, this meal for you.

Ingredients:
2 pork chops
salt and pepper
butter and olive oil
1/2 onion--sliced
1 apple--peeled and sliced
1 celery stalk--sliced

For the braising liquid:
1/4 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
small sprinkling of dried thyme, cinamon, allspice, and nutmeg
1 bay leaf

For the gravy:
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour

mashed potatoes
green beans

Directions:
1. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and sear them on both sides in a small amount of butter and olive oil over medium heat.
2. Remove pork from pan and add onions, apple, and celery. Cook until soft.
3. Mix all ingredients for the braising liquid. Return pork to the pan and cover with braising liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes on medium-low heat or until pork is cooked through but not overdone.
4. Remove pork chops. Strain braising liquid. Reserve the onions, apples and celery to serve over the pork chops. Use the liquid to make the gravy.
5. To make the gravy, add butter to the pan and melt. Add flour and cook on medium for a minute or so. Add reserved braising liquid and bring to a bubble.
6. To make this meal really Thanksgivingy, serve with mashed potatoes and green beans. 

Maple Dijon Pork Chops with Cauliflower Mashers

A square meal that's good enough to eat and super easy too:

Let me begin by sharing a little bit about my recent adventures in produce: I briefly mentioned Bountiful Baskets in my last post. It's a produce co-op that gives you a mystery basket of local-ish, small farm produce for $15. I've done it twice now, and it's pretty great. As you can imagine, in the haul there are a few fruits and (mostly) veggies that I normally don't buy. I have enjoyed expanding my cooking horizons with these foreign ingredients. Last time I got a butternut squash, which I fashioned into a squashy mac & cheese and some squash muffins--both were great ways to sneak some veggies into my little one. This week I got kale, radishes, and cauliflower. Not only have I never purchased or cooked with these ingredients, I'm not a big fan of them either. I tried making kale chips. I don't care how "healthy" they're supposed to be, they were gross. The radishes may just end up getting donated to someone who likes radishes, but the cauliflower I was determined to use. I thought cauliflower mashed "potatoes" would be palatable enough. Turns out, they were delicious! A perfect pairing for these easy maple dijon pork chops, a recipe I found on Pinterest that originally calls for chicken.

Maple Dijon Pork Chops

2 center-cut, thick pork chops
salt & pepper
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. maple syrup (the real stuff)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp. dried rosemary, chopped well (because my husband hates "sticks" in his food)

Preheat oven to 425. Season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour sauce over pork chops and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Cauliflower Mashers

1/2 head cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
1 potato, peeled and cubed
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 (ish) cup of milk

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potato and cauliflower. Bring it back up to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain well and return to pot. Add butter to cauliflower and begin to mash with a masher. Add milk slowly until you reach your desired consistency. Cauliflower has a lot more water in it, so you'll need less milk than with mashed potatoes. Season with salt (be liberal) and pepper.

Express-ier than Panda

I experiment a lot with Asian stir fry. My husband usually isn't that big of a fan, but it's a good way to get in some veggies. (That's probably why he complains...) But tonight, while slipping a green bean into his mouth, he let-out a mmm. I was like, "What? You don't even like green beans." His reply was: "I like anything that tastes this good." So, here's the recipe:

canola oil
salt and pepper
a handful of carrots--julienned
1/2 yellow onion--julienned
a handful of green beans (I used frozen)
1 center cut, boneless pork chop
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 garlic cloves--minced
1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
steamed rice

1. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a wok over medium heat. Add veggies and a dash of salt and pepper and stir fry for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pound pork until it's 1/4 inch thick, then thinly slice it. Place pork pieces in a zip top bag; add flour, seasoning, and corn starch; and shake to coat.
3. Remove veggies from wok. Add another Tbsp. of oil, heat for 1 minute, and add pork. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until brown.
4. Meanwhile, make sauce by mixing soy sauce, sugar, garlic, hoisin, ginger, and red pepper.
5. Add veggies and sauce to meat. Simmer for a few minutes so the sauce can thicken and the flavors can blend.
6. Serve over steamed rice.

Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops with a Maple-Orange Glaze

I had some frozen pork that was coming close to extinction, and I wanted to make something fancy (that didn't include chicken or ground beef) for Sunday dinner. I pulled everything out of the fridge and pantry that I thought paired well with pork, and used just about all of it. I felt like I was on Iron Chef or Chopped. Sometimes (okay, usually) when I do this it is a miss. This time it was a hit.

2 boneless pork chops-about an inch thick
olive oil
salt & pepper

For the stuffing, mix together:
a handful of dried cranberries-chopped into smaller bits
a handful of sliced almonds-chopped (any nut would probably work)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
a dash of allspice
a dash of cinnamon

For the glaze, mix together:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (one medium-sized orange)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stuff the chops by butterflying them, but leaving one side attached. Fill each chop with half of the stuffing and close. Season both sides of the chops with salt and pepper

Heat the oil in an oven-safe pan on med-high heat. Sear each side of the chops in the hot oil for about 2 minutes or until golden.

Remove from heat and add glaze to pan. Finish cooking in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Place chops aside so they can rest. Use a strainer to remove bits from the glaze. Return the smooth glaze to the same pan, and cook on med-high until reduced. Serve chops with a spoonful of sauce on top.

What to do with a FREE grill...

We scored a FREE barbecue grill on the side of the road about a week ago (thanks a bunch to our friends Jordon and Annie who spotted it on their way to our house). Don't worry, we didn't steal it; it was sitting on the side of the road with a sign that said "Free. Works great. Needs propane." So we used it for the first time yesterday and made some delicious grilled pork chops.

2-4 boneless sirloin pork chops
salt and pepper to taste

glaze:
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 splashes lemon juice
1 splash cider vinegar
1 splash Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp(ish) fresh tarragon (We have some in our back yard thanks to our earthy upstairs neighbor if you'd like to borrow it; fresh herbs are expensive and hard to find)
grill seasoning to taste

Mix all ingredients for glaze. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Cook chops on grill and occasionally baste with glaze.

Slow Cooked Pork Chops

This is the brain child of my husband who said "you should try slow cooking pork chops." They were much more tender than your average pork chops, and a new take on your classic "pork chops and apple sauce."

4 thin cut pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
1 apple, peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Add onion and apple to slow cooker. Season pork with salt and pepper and place on top of onion and apple. Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl. Pour over pork. Cook on low for 4 hours. enjoy.

Eat Your Heart Out, Cafe Rio

Last Sunday I made slow-cooked sweet pork that my husband said was even better than Cafe Rio's. I got the basic idea from my mother-in-law, but put my personal Veda twist on it. It also fed us for 3 whole meals, which we didn't mind in the least.

medium sized pork roast
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
1 onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup vinegar (I used regular distilled, cuz it's all I had, but cider vinegar would work well)

Sauce:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar (cider or plain distilled)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (or 1 Tbsp dry mustard)
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chili powder

Place onions in bottom of slow cooker. Season pork with salt, pepper, and garlic and place on top of onions. Add vinegar. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Shred pork, mix sauce ingredients together and add to cooker. Cook on low for another 2-3 hours. Serve in tortillas with rice and black beans. Cover with enchilada sauce (I recommend my homemade sauce found here) and cheese and microwave for 30 seconds. Serve with sour cream and lettuce.

Mixing it up with Pork

Since our wedding in March, I've cooked with chicken and ground beef and chicken and ground beef. I was definitely in a slump, so, as per my husbands request, I splurged on pork chops. I found this great (and super easy) recipe on recipezaar.com.

Dijon Pork Chops

1 Tbsp olive oil
Grill seasoning
4 small pork chops or 2 large ones
½ medium yellow onion – sliced
3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp Italian Dressing
Black pepper

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet on med-high heat. Season pork with grill seasoning. Brown pork chops on each side for 3-5 minutes. Remove chops from pan and add onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Mix Dijon, dressing, and black pepper to taste. Add chops back to pan and spread sauce over them. Cook at med-low for 15 minutes.

I served it with roasted red potatoes (4 red potatoes-chopped, olive oil, grill seasoning, bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes) and frozen peas. But it would also be great with mashed potatoes and any other more creative vegetable.