Friday, February 22, 2013

February 22, 2013

It was tough week around here in terms of successes and failures in the kitchen.  With high hopes we tried quite a few new dishes including homemade bagels, pork chops, asparagus, cookies and soup.  The asparagus side dish, roasted with grape tomatoes, sounded delicious on paper.  We loved the ingredient list which included lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, garlic...but the outcome was just not great.  Bummer.

The kids had a day off of school so we tried out a bagel recipe - which was a good first attempt, but not yet blog-worthy. The same afternoon we made some peanut butter oatmeal cookies - but they were rather bland. The cookies could probably be perked up with some chocolate chips, but the recipe as it was presented can be written off.

We like to have soup once a week, and this week I pulled one from my collection called Fiesta Chicken Chowder.  Again the ingredient list was very promising: fajita seasoned chicken, onions, garlic, black beans, corn, rice, cilantro, lime.  The final soup was decent enough, and the big kids actually really enjoyed it and had second, maybe even third, helpings.  But Ryan and I weren't wild about it and we couldn't give it the keeper seal of approval.

Thankfully, early in the week we had success.  Monday night we found a keeper in an easy pork chop recipe.  I pulled out my favorite large skillet and put together this very easy dinner; I believe it is a great candidate for a busy weeknight.  The flavor was lovely, and the kids enjoyed it as much as Ryan and I. We served it with rice, but you could serve it with anything you have on hand from egg noodles to rice to mashed potatoes!  You could even consider serving it alongside my favorite vegetable side dish all in one, cauliflower rice.

With the weekend upon us we have a new week to test out new recipes.  We have really been loving the overnight pancakes and plan to make them Saturday night so we can cook the right after we walk in the door on Sunday morning after mass; I just picked up some more buttermilk.  Let me know what you are cooking this week!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipes
Saucy Pork Chop Skillet

Saucy Pork Chop Skillet


Ingredients
* 2 tsp canola oil
* 4-6 boneless pork chops
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1 cup diced tomatoes, drained
* 1 cup beef broth
* 1 tbsp dried parsley
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp pepper
* 1/8 tsp dried basil
* 1/8 tsp dried oregano
* 2 tbsp flour
* 1/2 cup water

Directions
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Brown the pork chops on both sides. Remove the pork chops from the pan.
2. Add the onions to the pan and cook until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil.  Return the pork chops to the skillet, and nestle them into the sauce.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 7-8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3. Remove the pork to a serving plate.  Combine the flour and water, and pour this into the sauce. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Pour the sauce over the pork chops and enjoy!

Notes
We served this with rice, but I think it would pair equally well with egg noodles, cauliflower rice, or just on its own.