Monday, February 22, 2010

Sides for the Porkchops

When I was typing up my pork chops recipe...I thought I should share with you the sides that I mentioned at the end:

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 Sweet potatoes, cubed
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and seasoning. Transfer to a cookie sheet and spread out in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes about halve way.

Variation: I sometimes like to add garlic to the sweet potatoes as I mix them with the oil and seasoning. Another variation would be to also mix in regular potatoes - I like to use the fingerling potatoes or the gem potatoes - keep the cooking time the same.


Green Beans with Almonds

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 sliced almonds

Steam the beans for 10 - 15 minutes (until tender, but still crispy). Melt butter in a skillet, add steamed beans and almonds - stir until beans begin to brown.

For a variation: you can also add onions to the butter, cook until translucent then add the beans and almonds.

Enjoy!!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

My Secret Pork Chops

I can not believe we are almost to the end of February. Where has time flown to? Spring should be here any minute now...right? Yep....any minute....lol.

I have a few recipes that I have developed over time, and I've been wanting to share with you my secret pork chop recipe (which after I publish this...I guess I will need to changed that name...lol). I've made these juice chops for lots of company and everyone loves them. They are dressy enough for company, but easy enough for a family dinner.

Theresa's Honey Mustard Pork Chops (much better name....lol)

4 - thick cut (bone-in) pork chops

Honey/Mustard Mixture:

Mix together
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup stone-ground mustard.
If it's too thick, add a drop or two of water.

Breading:

Mix together
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 Tablespoons Bisquick
1/4 cup of chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons of parsley flakes
1 teaspoon of paprika (I like to use the smoked paprika - if you have the regular that will work too.)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Dip pork chops in the honey/mustard (both sides) then into the breading. Being careful to maintain the breading, brown the chops on top of the stove in 2 tablespoons of butter (both sides). Transfer chops to a baking dish, cover. Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour - or until the internal temp of the chops is at 160 degrees. Remove from oven and allow the chops to sit for 10 - 15 minutes.

Transfer to your serving platter, try to not disturb breading.

Enjoy!

I like to serve these with oven roasted yams/sweet potatoes and fresh green beans.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Hope SPRINGS Eternal


We are in the middle of a snow storm...and what arrives today but my 2010 Burpee Seed Catalog! It just warmed my heart! :-)

I thought...what a perfect time to begin planning for my summer garden. I am so looking forward to having my hands in the dirt again. It is so exciting! It is so hard to explain in words how connected I feel when I am out in my garden.

For my vegetable garden I am planning on expanding the garden. We will be adding a large raised bed in the front and the back of the garden. I want to install a better fence with a gate so I do not have to crawl over it again (it was a little tall for me). I have two couple of cute items to put as decoration that I received as gifts for my birthday last year.

Now...what to plant.....

Definitely tomatoes, green beans (I think I am going to do both bush beans and pole beans), peppers (I like big green bell peppers - but I think I am going to try a few others so I can make salsa), onions, squash (both summer and winter), beets, cabbage, and egg plant. I think I will add some sunflowers too. I am going to skip the corn - it was so disappointing last year - they came up and looked great - but never developed full ears.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Girls Night Experienced

Oh what fun we had. My stew turned out great! I added a green salad (so we had some vegetable) and noodles. I was so surprised how easy proving a French dinner was - Julia's book provides fantastic step by step directions. I am looking forward to trying another recipe soon!

The one thing I did not thinks about is bread -- how could I not have thought of adding French Bread! I added it to my note so when I cook this meal again - I will not forget. My very best friend Vanessa gave me for Christmas a cooking journal so I can make notes from special dinners that I cook and host for family and friends...how fun!

We all laughed and enjoyed the movie too! Julie and Julia was definitely a hit in our home!