Pork Chop Bake

This is a really yummy, super simple, pork chop recipe. The best part is that I usually have everything I need without having to make a trip to the store.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 pork chops (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons Ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Season the chops with salt and pepper and brown them in olive oil

Combine the soup, 3/4 of onion slices, ketchup, Worcester sauce and stir

Place chops in a baking dish, pour the mixture over the top and place remaining onion slices

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Hoisin & Honey Glazed Pork Chops

Please don't be frightened by some unusual ingredients. Be intrigued. This recipe is delici-oso and we love it.

It calls for:

1 bunch scallions (you know, green onions?)

1 TBSP Dijon Mustard

2 TBSP Hoisin Sauce

1/4 tsp Ginger

1/4 C Asian Oyster Sauce (contrary to popular belief, it does NOT taste like oysters)

2 TBSP Honey

1 TBSP Soy Sauce

2-4 Pork Chops

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Cut scallions into little crunchy pieces, like in the photo below

3. Whisk together the remaining ingredients, (except the chops)

4. Add scallions and pork, and cover those babies... you want them drenched

5. Set in a baking pan and spoon the rest of the sauce over the chops (you DON'T have to eat all those onions, but they have great flavor, so just let them hang out until you're done cooking and then decide if you want them)

6. Roast 15-20 minutes

7. Turn on broiler and broil until top is slightly carmelized

And then you eat them. And they're awesome.

Skillet Barbecue Pork Chops

Ingredients
4 pork loin or rib chops
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can (15 ounces) chunky tomato sauce with onions, celery, and green peppers
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground mustard

Directions
Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper. Cook pork in skillet about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown.

Stir remaining ingredients into skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pork is slightly pink when cut near bone.

Comments
Sorry there aren't any pictures. I whipped this up & then was too hungry to take pictures! It was so fast & yummy!

This is great with potato salad and green beans!

Oh yeah, for some reason (I am blaming it on the fact that I was shopping with two kids!) I couldn't find "chunky tomato sauce". So instead I got a can of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano & then added a little bit of tomato sauce. It still turned out great!

Enjoy! Happy Hump Day!

Chicken Cordon Bleu...sort of

Casey loves Chicken Cordon Bleu, but it can be such a pain to make, I rarely make it. I found this really easy recipe that tastes just like Chicken Cordon Bleu.

1 loaf of bread (I got the Rhodes white bread loafs in the freezer section)
8 oz Ham deli meat
1/2 cup swiss cheese
5 oz chicken deli meat

1. Roll out the bread dough until it is about 10 inches by 8 inches.
2. Spread butter all over the dough
3. Lay out the Ham, then the swiss cheese and then the chicken on top of the bread.
4. Roll up the dough starting at the long edge.
5. Lay it out on a cookie sheet, with the seam down.
6. Let dough rise for 20 minutes
7. Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Sweet Pork Fajitas

Another fantastic pork loin recipe! I just throw all the ingredients into the crock pot and dinner is ready when I get home.

You'll Need
1 pork loin
1 can "Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce"
1 can pineapple chunks
1 liter Coke (don't use Diet Coke)
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Instructions
1. Strain the peppers over your crock pot by pouring the Coke over the peppers while they're in a strainer. (You only want the sauce the peppers have been canned with) Trust me, you don't want to just dump the entire can of chipolte peppers into the crock pot. The heat will kill you. But, if you're very brave, leave one of the pepper in the pot. But only if you're very brave and have a tongue of steel.

2. Now add the sugar, garlic, mustard, cumin, pineapple

3. Add the pork loin

4. Let it cook on high for about 6 hours. (or low for 8-10)

5. Pull the loin apart with forks (you might have to remove it from the pot to do so) and then let it simmer a bit longer in the crock pot to soak up the juices.

6. You'll want to strain him before serving.. FYI

Goes great with:

Warm Tortillas
Roasted Red Pepper
Sauteed Onions
Sour Cream
Peach Mango Salsa (THE BEST!!)
Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
Olives
Lettuce

Apple Butter Pork Loin (Hump Day Dinner)

The Players

Pork Loin

2C Apple Juice

1C Apple Butter - this is found in the "jam" section of your grocery store

1/3C Brown Sugar

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Season Salt and Garlic Powder

*Pork Loins almost always come in packs of two. I usually just freeze the extra loin or plan on using it for a different meal later that week. For example, I made this dish last night and tonight I'm making sweet pork fajitas with the extra loin. (it cooks in the crock pot and with the busy night we've got it makes dinner very quick) Anyway, back to my recipe.

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Coat the loin with the seasonings and place in a Pyrex.

3. Pour the 2C apple juice of the loin

4. Combine the 1C apple butter with the 1/3C brown sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

5. Pour the apple butter mixture over the pork. Smother the thing. Then, cover and bake for 3 hours.

6. Pull the apple butter pork loin out of the oven and place on serving dish. Slice gently, it's usually very tender and falls apart easily. (trust me, it's worth the wait. I love this meal! And, the drippings make a great dipping sauce)

Pineapple Glazed Ribs (from my blog but worthy to post here)

Ahhh... baby back ribs. The quintessential BBQ feast. (and a Vest family classic) Eat at your own risk, these addictive racks of meat are sure to clog your arteries but they are oh so divine...


The Marinade
1 can pineapple juice (set a little aside for the glaze, maybe 2 TBSP)
1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 - combine the marinade ingredients in a crock pot and turn the heat to "high" (FYI - I always line my crock pot with "Slow Cooker Liners". They make the clean up that much faster)
2 - pull your slab of ribs out of the fridge. (if they were in the freezer, defrost them first) This is how I buy them:

Now, do not think that I buy this many slabs on a regular basis. I was feeding my in laws, which consisted of two teenage boys and a gaggle of husbands. We needed BIG MEAT. Usually, I just buy one rack for Kurt and I and cut it in two and then freeze one half for another time. I think a 1/2 a rack is plenty of ribs for two people, but, it's quite easy to eat an entire rack so pick your poison. Also, I wouldn't buy spare ribs... look for baby back. The price may cause you to question but trust me, it's worth it.

And if you look at the price, I got an entire rack for $9.42. And splitting it into two separate meals means I only spent $4.71 for each dinner. For two people. Not too shabby.

3 - cut the ribs into individual slabs and throw them into the marinade

4 - Walk away. At least for 7 hours or so. Don't even open the lid. (not that you'll have to, the smell is permeating. In fact, I have to cook mine out on the patio because I can't stand the strong smell lingering in my house)

5 - After about 7 hours gently lift them out of the pot with tongs and set aside. They look gross, I know, but just relax. They're not done yet.

6 - Fire up the grill

7 - Now mix up the BBQ glaze. This is my secret sauce. Very complicated.

Basically, I just pour the BBQ sauce in a bowl and mix a little of the pineapple juice with it for taste. Don't make it too watery or else it won't glaze up on the grill.

8 - Ask your hubby to gently place the ribs on the grill (if they're cooked right they'll literally be falling off the bone) and start slathering them with sauce. You can't use too much sauce. And you'll know when they're ready because the BBQ sauce will have become like a "glaze", very sticky. We turn them twice, slathering them each time and they sit on the grill for about 10-15 minutes

That's it! Enjoy your feast!