Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Sauteed Apple Slaw

For years and years, my husband has insisted that he doesn’t really like pork chops. Not that he HATES them, but that he doesn’t enjoy them – and so, I have avoided buying them for our dinners. But, due to the fact that he suffers from a raging case of Plate Envy (you know – we go to a restaurant, he spends 20 minutes deliberating the pros and cons of 4 items, finally picks one… and then spends half our meal drooling over whatever I ordered?), he has ended up trying quite a few delicious pork chops that I’ve ordered at various places. Since I am not a huge red meat eater, pork tends to be a go-to dinner choice for me, especially at steakhouses and the like; and after a few years of him stealing bites of my pork chop over dinner, I finally decided to take the plunge and make some pork chops at home!

(Spoiler alert: he loved them.)

Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Sauteed Apple Slaw
serves 2-4

4 boneless pork chops, about 1″ thick, and 6oz each
4 T honey, divided
3 T apple cider vinegar, divided
3 T whole grain mustard, divided
2 T dijon mustard, divided
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
one small, crisp apple (I like Honeycrisp, Jazz, or Pink Lady), cut into matchsticks

1.) About 45 minutes before you want to start cooking, mix up your marinade: add 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and the salt and pepper to a gallon-size ziploc bag. Mix it all up until well-combined, and then add your pork chops to the bag; squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Allow the pork chops to marinate at room temp for about 45 minutes, flipping them around a few times.

2.) While the chops marinate, go ahead and julienne your apple, and make your glaze. For the glaze, whisk together 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

3.) When you’re ready to cook the chops, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil or olive oil to the pan, and let that heat up. Add the pork chops to the pan, and let them cook for about 4 minutes on the first side before flipping.

4.) Once you’ve flipped the chops, brush the glaze over the top of them, and allow them to cook for another 4 minutes on the second side. After those 4 minutes, I like to flip them again, glaze them, let them sit for about 30 seconds, and then flip and glaze again. Remove the chops to a plate to rest for about 5 minutes.

5.) Turn the heat on the pan down to medium-low, and let it cool for a minute. Add the apples to the pan, and pour the remaining glaze over the top of them. Let them cook (tossing them often) for just a minute or two, until they’re slightly softened, but still have a bite to them (the cooking time will vary, depending on how finely you julienned them). Plate the pork chops, and top with the apples, and a spoonful of the glaze/juices from the pan.

These pork chops were absolutely delicious! The glaze and marinade have a bite from the apple cider vinegar, balanced by the sweetness of the honey, and sort of rounded out by the mustard. They stay nice and moist and juicy, too. (Side note: PLEASE do not overcook your pork! It is perfectly fine to eat pork medium or medium well, so there is no need to cook it until it’s stark white and dry as a bone; the inside should stay a bit pink, and that will help keep it moist.)

Served with some roasted tiny potatoes and some parmesan roasted green beans, this was a perfectly easy and delicious meal. Definitely worth a try, especially if you’re looking for an alternative to your usual weeknight chicken!

Pork chops are related to bacon, so they HAVE to be good,
Tina

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza

Pizza is basically the perfect food, right? There are a million and one ways to change it up; you can add any crazy combination of ingredients that pops into your head!

A great pizza joint recently opened up in our area, and they make these ridiculous wood-fired, thin crust pizzas. One of the topping options they offer is roasted garlic, which I love, but have never had on a pizza before. Some friends and I were ordering up some dinner one night, and after about 20 minutes of tossing topping ideas back and forth, we landed on this: sausage, roasted garlic, and tomato. And it might just be my favorite pizza topping combination ever!

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza
makes one medium, thinner-crust pie

one batch pizza dough
pizza or marinara sauce of choice
1 head garlic, with the top 1/2″ cut off
olive oil
1/4 lb hot italian sausage (pork or turkey), cooked and crumbled
1 large tomato, sliced thin
8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

1.) First, you need to roast your garlic. While your pizza dough rises, heat your oven to 400°. Place your head of garlic in the center of a square of foil, and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil. Close the foil tightly around the garlic, place it into a small baking dish, and roast for about 40 minutes until golden brown and soft. Allow the garlic to cool until you can handle it easily, and then gently squeeze the cloves out of their skins. Slice each clove into about 4 pieces.

2.) Preheat your oven to 475°. Lay your sliced tomatoes out on a paper towel to draw a bit of their moisture out; lightly season them with kosher salt. Mist your baking sheet with olive oil, and stretch your pizza dough out. Spread a thin layer of your sauce onto the dough.

3.) Evenly sprinkle the sausage and sliced, roasted garlic over the sauce. Cover the pizza with the grated cheese, and then lay the sliced tomatoes on top. Brush the exposed edges of the dough with a bit of olive oil.

4.) Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese has browned nicely. Allow to cool and set for approximately 5 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.

Sweet, nutty garlic, spicy and salty sausage, and juicy, slightly acidic tomatoes. YES, PLEASE.

You’re going to want to make this REAL soon,
Tina

ina’s lasagna with sausage and goat cheese.

Y’all, I’ve been in a rut. An everything-I-make-is-awful kind of rut. The pizza’s underbaked, or the chicken’s under-seasoned, the recipe is just blah, or I burn the veggies. This has been going on for weeks, and it’s definitely shown on the blog – when I screw up nearly everything I attempt to make, it becomes very hard to put anything here for you to try. So anyway, enough “woe is me” — the good news is that I figured out how to fix it!

Ina Garten.

I borrowed all of my mom’s Ina cookbooks Thursday, and went through them all, making notes of recipes that looked good. I tried to look for things that were a little different than what I usually make, along with the recipes that hit me upside the head as Duh Recipes.  And then, I decided to just dive in head first and start making some of them.

Of course, I started with a Made For Us recipe; I was not ready to jump off the deep end quite yet. Not only has Matt been requesting lasagna for awhile now, but this recipe came highly recommended from Christina and Kerri —  I knew I was starting out with a good one. With my fingers crossed, I got to work. And, y’all, I’M BACK. Thank goodness that I not only have my confidence back, but that I didn’t have to throw yet another meal in the trash.

Ina’s Lasagna with Italian Sausage.
adapted minimally via Barefoot Contessa: Family Style

2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 pounds sweet italian sausage, casings removed
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/4 c. chopped italian parsley, divided
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
kosher salt
pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
16 oz. ricotta cheese
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup Parmesan, grated + 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, until soft. Add sausage, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon, cooking 10-12 minutes or until no longer pink. Add garlic and cook another minute, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tbsp. of parsley, basil, 1.5 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp. of pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large casserole dish with the hottest water from the tap. Lay lasagna noodles in the water, and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg and the remaining 2 tbsp. of parsley. Set aside.

In the bottom of a 9×13 dish, ladle 1/3 of the sauce. Add the layers: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat layers, finishing with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan (or more, I won’t judge). Bake lasagna for 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling.

This makes 8 servings, and reheats so well. You will love it.
Next up? BANANA CAKE.

GO COCKS!
jcristg

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese

This past weekend, I had myself a bit of a cooking marathon on Saturday. We weren’t home much last week, which resulted in a lot of no-cook, thrown together dinners, and I felt the need to do some serious cooking, to make up for it. One of the things I made was this pulled pork (except I used a 2 pound pork tenderloin). We each had a serving of it over the course of the weekend, but 2 pounds of pulled pork is kind of a lot for two people – so I wanted to come up with a way to use some of the pork in a totally different way, so we wouldn’t get sick of it. I’ve been thinking for MONTHS that I wanted to make some kind of macaroni and cheese that had meat in it, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity!

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese
Serves 6

1 pound penne pasta
4 T salted butter
4 T all-purpose flour
2 cloves garlic, grated
4 cups milk (2% or whole)
6 ounces smoked cheddar, grated
6 ounces monterey jack, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups pulled pork or other leftover meat
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
olive oil

1.) Cook pasta until just shy of al dente. Preheat oven to 350°.

2.) Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the grated garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3.) Add the flour, whisking it with the butter to form a roux (it should have a paste-like texture). Keep whisking and cooking for a couple minutes, to cook out the raw flour taste, until the roux turns light brown.

4.) Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly, until the roux is fully incorporated with the milk, and there are no lumps. Continue to stir frequently until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes (do not let the mixture boil!).

5.) Once the milk mixture has thickened, reduce the heat to low, then stir in the salt and pepper, and the two cheeses. Slowly stir until all the cheese has melted, and you have a smooth sauce. Turn off the heat.

6.) Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (I used a 9×9 pan), and pour half the macaroni and cheese mixture into the bottom of the pan. Top with the pulled pork, spreading it out as best you can, and then top that with the rest of the macaroni. Spread the breadcrumbs evenly over the top of the macaroni, and lightly mist with oil (you can also dot a tablespoon or so of butter around the top of the breadcrumbs – this just helps the breadcrumbs brown).

7.) Bake for 30 minutes, until the breadcrumbs have turned golden brown, and the cheese is bubbling.

Well, I must say, this was an excellent way to use up some leftover pulled pork! The sweetness of the sauce on the pork paired so well with the smokiness of the smoked cheddar – and who can refuse the crunchy breadcrumb topping on a pan of mac and cheese?! No one, that’s who.

Why NOT put the main dish inside the side dish?
Tina