Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salad

Our portions aren't really that big... we just used our smaller appetizer plates tonight which ended up making it look like we have a ton of food!

I'm still in the process of learning how to appreciate hot/spicy foods, so I was a little nervous about making this recipe since a Jamaican Jerk spice was a main ingredient. It turned out great! It wasn't necessarily hot, just had a little bit of a kick to it. The fresh lime juice in the mango salad really complemented the Jamaican Jerk spice and I felt really brought everything together. The mango was delicious! The best bites were the ones when you got some pork, bell pepper and mango all together. Really outstanding sweet and spicy combination!

The potato was something I thought up just before I got started with dinner and decided to add it to the menu. I had seen potatoes cut like that before and thought it was neat, so all I did was preheat the oven to 425°F, cut slices in each potato that almost went all the way through but not quite, drizzled some olive oil and seasoned with the same Jamaican Jerk seasoning I used with the pork and salad. Just bake it in the oven for about 45 minutes!

I modified the recipe slightly. This recipe came from a Pampered Chef cookbook, and I don't have the Pampered Chef Jamaican Jerk Rub, so I just got some Jamaican Jerk spice from the grocery store. I had some pork chops in the freezer, so I used those rather than getting a pork tenderloin. I never used the oven for the pork, as the recipe suggests. I just seasoned the pork chops with the Jamaican Jerk spice and heated some olive oil over low to medium heat in a skillet and cooked the pork chops like that. It took about 8 minutes to cook, 4 minutes on each side. Pretty tasty!

A few notes from the cookbook: 1) For a pleasantly tender texture that complements the mango slices, the bell pepper is first peeled using the Serrated Peeler before slicing into thin strips. Removing the ribs from the pepper gives it a professional, finished looks, 2) To slice a mango, use Utility Knife to cut thin slices from both ends of the fruit. Stand fruit upright, wide end down, on cutting board. Slice off peel from top to bottom. Slice flesh alongside the large, flat pit. Lay mango flesh side down on cutting board and slice into 1/4-in. slices, and 3) Jarred mangoes, found in the refrigerated produce section of most grocery stores, can be substituted for the fresh mangoes, if desired.

A fresh, delicious, easy, light meal! Enjoy!

Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salad
Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2007.

Total time: 28 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

Pork
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp Jamaican Jerk Rub


Mango Salad
2 green onions with tops, divided
1 small red bell pepper
2 large mangoes
1 lime
1 tsp Jamaican Jerk Rub


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. For pork, add oil to (10-in.) Saute Pan; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. As pan heats, trim fat and silver skin from pork tenderloin and cut pork in half crosswise using Boning Knife.
2. Coat pork with jerk rub. Cook 3-5 minutes or until browned on all sides, turning occasionally. Transfer pan to oven and roast 12-15 minutes or until Pocket Thermometer registers 155°F for medium doneness. Carefully remove pan from oven using Oven Mitts; transfer pork to plate. Tent with foil and let stand 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 160°F).
3. As pork roasts, start salad. Thinly slice green onions on a bias using Chef's Knife. Set aside 1 tbsp of the tops for garnish. Place remaining green onions into Classic Batter Bowl. Peel bell pepper using Serrated Peeler. Slice off top and bottom of pepper; discard or reserve for another use. Remove and discard seeds and ribs from sides of pepper; slice into thin julienne strips.
4. To finish salad, peel and slice mangoes. Juice lime using Citrus Press to measure 1 tbsp juice. Add pepper strips, mango slices, lime juice and remaining 1 tsp jerk rub to batter bowl; toss thoroughly.
5. To serve, slice pork crosswise into medallions and serve with salad. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

Honey-Lime Pork Chops with Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

Mmmmm look at those deliciously whipped mashed potatoes back there...

For those of you that know me or have read certain blog posts, you know that I love cheese. A lot. Like, way more so than the average fan. My love for potatoes comes in close behind my love for cheese. Any potato in any form, I love it. I especially love mashed potatoes, but not just any ol' serving of mashed potatoes (because you CAN screw up mashed potatoes). These mashed potatoes, to my delight, were very good.

As I was reading through the recipe for the first time, I saw something that I had never seen before. This recipe calls for you to boil the potatoes WITH cloves of garlic also in the water! Nice! Why have I never thought of doing this before? I got really excited when I read this because I am a big fan of garlic. A fresh head of garlic is something that I always make sure I have in the house. However, I am convinced that there HAS to be an easier way to peel garlic than standing there for several minutes tediously peeling the individual cloves of garlic. If you know of a method, please let me know!

Anyways, the potatoes were great! The final mashed product had a nice subtle hint of garlic. I personally think  that you could add even more garlic. And of course, the best way to make mashed potatoes is with a KitchenAid mixer. :-)

The pork chops also had a great flavor to them! They are supposed to marinate for 8 hours or overnight, so I got that together this morning before work and let them marinate all day. I'm not too crazy about soy sauce, so that flavor was a little more prevalent than I cared for, but the lime juice also really came through which I thought was delicious. We didn't have any of the sauce for the pork chops at the end, as you can see from the picture. I messed up the sauce the first time I made it. The recipe says to bring to a boil the six ingredients and in a SEPARATE bowl combine the cornstarch and water until smooth and then add that together to the broth mixture. The first time I did it, I added the cornstarch and water to the boiling broth mixture separately and it didn't turn out too well. The cornstarch just clumped together and wouldn't mix in. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had read the recipe wrong. So make sure you read through carefully! I made the sauce again, but as I was plating dinner, I realized that the pan with the sauce accidentally got washed out. No big deal! The pork chops were still delicious! They were very juicy and full of flavor after sitting in the marinade all day.

A yummy, simple meal! Give it a try!

Honey-Lime Pork Chops w/ Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
Taste of Home: Everyday Light Meals
Published by Reiman Media Group, LLC in 2010.

Pork Chops


Prep time: 20 minutes + marinating  Grill: 15 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each)
Sauce:
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon browning sauce
Dash pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first four ingredients. Add pork chops Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.
3. For sauce, combine the broth, garlic, honey, lime juice, browning sauce and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into broth mixture. Return to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with pork chops.

Mashed Potatoes
 Prep/Total time: 30 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

8 medium red potatoes, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fat-free milk, warmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender. Drain well.
2. Add the butter, milk and salt; mash. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Panko-Crusted Pork with Plum Sauce

In the mood for some Asian cuisine? Look no further! This pork and plum sauce was very delicious. It also takes very little to fix. You'd have dinner ready quicker than it would take the Chinese delivery guy to bring you your food!

This was my first time using panko crumbs. But I can tell you that after tonight, it will be a staple in my cabinet! The cookbook states that, "Panko (PAHN-ko) crumbs are coarse, Japanese-style bread crumbs that are made from crustless bread. These crumbs lend a light and crispy coating to the pork." Coating the pork in the panko crumbs added some good flavor to  the pork, something different from what we're used to. Very tasty! You can find panko crumbs in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Now, the plum sauce. I can't lie to you guys - I didn't actually make the plum sauce. I bought some jarred plum sauce. I know, I know... if you are completely disgusted with me and never want to read my blog again then I understand. BUT, I didn't skip out on making it from scratch for no good reason! I had every intention of making the plum sauce, but my grocery store (whom I have complained about in this blog several times before for not carrying items that I need for my cooking), did not have any plum preserves. There wasn't even a spot on the shelf for it. SO, I found some jarred plum sauce (also found in the Asian section) that had the exact same ingredients that the cookbook listed for the made-from-scratch plum sauce.

The plum sauce that I bought was really good! The tart flavor of the plum sauce very nicely balanced out the flavor of the panko-crusted pork. Everything was delicious! Give this recipe a try next time you are in the mood for some (very quick) Asian food!

Panko-Crusted Pork with Plum Sauce
Pampered Chef Cooking for Two & More
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2006.

Prep time: 20 minutes  Total time: About 30 minutes  Yield: 2 servings

Pork
2 boneless pork loin chops, cut 3/4-inch thick (5-6 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Plum Sauce
1/4 cup plum preserves
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh gingerroot
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions with tops

1. For pork, flatten pork to 1/4-inch thickness using toothed side of Meat Tenderizer; trim excess fat. Season both sides of pork with salt. Lightly dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess; dip into beaten egg and then into panko crumbs, coating generously.
2. Heat oil in (10-in.) Skillet over medium heat until hot. Add pork; cook 4-6 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and pork is no longer pink in center, turning once. Remove pork from Skillet; drain on paper towels.
3. Meanwhile, for plum sauce, combine preserves, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and ginerroot in (1.5-qt.) Saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until heated through. Slice pork lengthwise into 4-5 strips; serve with sauce and garnish with green onions.

Brew Pub Pork Chops

A quick post tonight! This recipe was really good. The mixture that was brushed on the pork chops was very tasty, and that combined with the marinade made for some very tasty pork chops! I was really pleased with how they came out - very juicy and full of flavor! I highly recommend this one! Happy Saturday!

Brew Pub Pork Chops
Kraft Foods

Prep time: 10 minutes  Total time: 1 hour 22 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

1 cup beer
1 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
4 bone-in pork chops (1-1/2 lb.)
1/4 cup Kraft Real Mayo Mayonnaise
1 tbsp Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1. Mix first 4 ingredients until sugar is dissolved; pour over chops in shallow dish. Turn chops over to evenly coat both sides of each chop. Refrigerate 1 hour to marinate.
2. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients.
3. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chops from marinade; discard marinade. Grill chops 5-6 minutes on each side or until done (160°F), brushing occasionally with mayo mixture.

Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Sauce, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, & Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans

I absolutely love this time of the year. Crisp, refreshing mornings warmed up by a hot cup of coffee, leaves are changing colors, extra blankets are going on the bed, hints of a fireplace burning waft through the air... there is just something comforting and calming about this time of the year for me.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is so nice to have family and friends gather together, and I think it goes without saying that I'm a big fan of all of the delicious food that I get to consume. I'm also big on traditions, and I have some from growing up that I really enjoy, like making cinnamon buns on Thanksgiving morning, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and playing games after the big meal. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the changing of the seasons taking place, I felt like making a dinner tonight filled with foods that I associate with this time of the year.

A baked ham is a comfort food for me that I think of during this time of the year. Since it is only the two of us, I didn't want to get a gigantic ham, so I got one of the little Smithfield 2-pound hams that are already sliced and cooked and you just have to heat it up in the oven. I looked around online for some sort of a glaze recipe to bake the ham with and found this very delicious glaze and sauce on the Kraft website! The brown sugar, maple syrup and Dijon mustard mixture really baked into the ham and gave it a delicious taste. Adding the crushed pineapples to the glaze mixture for the sauce really balanced out the flavors and paired quite deliciously with the ham!

Here is a picture of the ham when it came out of the oven and you can see the glaze shimmering. Mmmmm:

I decided to make some mashed sweet potatoes and green beans to go with the ham. For the mashed sweet potatoes, I used the Pampered Chef recipe that I have posted on here before. I will post the recipe again below. While I was on the Kraft website getting the recipe for the ham glaze, I found a very yummy balsamic-glazed green bean recipe! It incorporated sweet onion and dried cranberries, which I thought added fantastic flavor to the green beans! Here is a picture of them:

Everything turned out so delicious! Here are some pictures of the finished product with the pineapple sauce on the sliced ham:

Since I was making (what I thought to be) a really nice dinner, I wanted the whole dining experience to be nice also! The nice place mats came out, warm candle light lit our table, the musical talents of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington (among others) filled our apartment, and some goooooood food filled our plates! A very smooth Pinot Noir with hints of fruit and oak was an excellent final touch that paired exceptionally well with the whole meal. A nice way to end the weekend!

Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Glaze

Yield: 24 servings

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/4 cup Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
1 whole fully cooked boneless ham (5 lb.)
Whole cloves
12 maraschino cherries, halved
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix sugar, syrup and mustard until well blended. Use paring knife to make a shallow even diagonal cuts across top of ham in one direction. Repeat, making slits in opposite directions to form diamond shapes.
3. Insert cloves where cuts meet. Place ham on rack in shallow pan. Place cherries, cut-sides down, on surface of ham.
4. Bake 2 hours or until ham is heated through, brushing occasionally with 1/2 cup syrup mixture of 1-1/2 hours. About 10 min. before ham is done, mix remaining syrup mixture with cornstarch and pineapple in saucepan; bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir on medium-low heat 5 min. or until thickened.

(I didn't use the cloves and cherries, and because I bought the precooked ham, I just followed the baking instructions that came with it rather than following the baking instructions in this recipe.)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt

1. Pierce potatoes in several places with a fork; place onto microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high 14-16 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Transfer potatoes to Cutting Board and cool slightly. In Easy Read Measuring Cup, combing milk, butter and salt. Microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until hot. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out flesh into Small Batter Bowl. Add milk mixture; mash using Mix 'N Masher until smooth. Cover; set aside and keep warm.

Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans

Yield: 6 servings

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tsp. butter
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onions
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Cook beans and cranberries in simmering water in skillet 4-5 min. or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain; rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onions and sugar; cook and stir 5 min. Add bean mixture; cook and stir 3 min. or until heated through.
3. Stir in dressing; cook and stir 1 min. Top with nuts.

Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Puree & Black Bean Sauce

This dish had a great flavor to it! I thought it tasted a little more Mexican than Latin (it is from the Pampered Chef Latin Flavor cookbook), but also I haven't had much experience with Latin food. The sauce was delicious! The recipe calls for prepared recaito, which according to the cookbook is "a cooking base that usually consists of onion, garlic, olive oil, peppers and green herbs. It is used to season soups, stews, beans and rice." I couldn't find any recaito, but I did find sofrito (by Goya) in Harris Teeter. The description on the bottle is almost exactly the same as what the cookbook says recaito is. It really added a lot to the dish!

The sweet potato puree was so yummy! And the flavor of the sweet potato paired really well with the flavor of the sauce. The puree calls for crema agria, but you can substitute that with sour cream, which is what I did.

Overall, the recipe didn't take too much effort to put together and it was really tasty! It yields 6 servings, so I just cut everything down to make only 2 servings. The sauce KIND of reminded me of the sauce packets you get at Taco Bell, but it tasted better than that! All of the parts of the dish paired really well together! And I imagine you could use chicken if you didn't want to use pork chops. I bet that would be quite delicious!

Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Puree & Black Bean Sauce
Pampered Chef Latin Flavor
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2008.

Prep time: 17 minutes  Total time: 35 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

Puree
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled
4 cups water
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup crema agria
2 tbsp buter

Pork and Sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 boneless pork loin chops, cut 1/2-3/4 in. thick (4-6 oz each)
Sat and coarsely ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
1/3 cup prepared recaito
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1. For puree, cut potatoes into 1/4-in. slices. Place potatoes, water and salt into Large Micro-Cooker. Microwave, covered, on high 14-16 minutes or until tender; drain. Cool 2 minutes. Add crema and butter; mix well. Cover; microwave 1-3 minutes or until hot.
2. For pork, in (12-in.) Skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Season pork with salt and pepper. Cook pork 8-10 minutes or until internal temperature registers 155°F, turning once. Set pork aside; tent with foil (temperature will rise to 160°F).
3. For sauce, cook garlic, butter and cumin in (1.5-qt.) Saucepan over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add broth; simmer 2 minutes. In blender, blend broth mixture, 3/4 cup of the beans and recaito until smooth. Press sauce through Strainer into Small Batter Bowl. Serve pork with puree, sauce, remaining beans and cilantro.

French Onion-Pork Chop Skillet

This recipe came from the Kraft website. It was good, but not one of my favorites. I'm not sure that I will ever make it again, but that shouldn't stop you from giving it a try! 


It's not that it didn't taste good. It had a good flavor to it, but it just wasn't anything spectacular. It hardly took any time to make though, so it is a good option if you need a good meal and don't have a lot of time. The recipe says that it takes 35 minutes, but it didn't even take me that long. It serves 6, so I just cut down on the ingredients for the two of us!


I really don't have much to say about this one! It was a fine meal, but not one that will stand out in my memory down the road. Cheap and easy though!


French Onion-Pork Chop Skillet


Total time: 35 minutes  Yield: 6 servings


6 boneless pork chops (1-1/2 lb.), 1/2 inch thick
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg. (6 oz) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 cups hot water
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Park-Skim Mozzarella Cheese


1. Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chops and onions; cook 10 minutes or until chops are done (160°F), turning chops and stirring onions after 5 min. Remove chops from skillet; set aside.
2. Cook and stir onions 5 min. or until golden brown; stir in Worcestershire sauce. Return chops to skillet. Spoon onions over chops.
3. Mix stuffing mix and water; spoon around edge of skillet. Top with cheese; cover. Cook 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Pork Medallions with Mushroom-Marsala Sauce

This recipe is a great inexpensive, tasty meal that doesn't take long to cook! I couldn't find any Marsala wine so I got a Merlot instead, so I guess it was technically a "Mushroom-Merlot Sauce"!

The recipe is very straightforward and easy to follow. Overall is was a pretty good dish. The best bites were the ones where I got pork, mushroom, onion and asparagus all together. If I got a bite of just pork in the sauce, then I personally thought it was a little bland. I think it would have helped to season the pork before I cooked it. 

Whenever I make mashed potatoes, I normally like to make fresh mashed potatoes from scratch, but I broke out the instant mashed potatoes tonight... not as good as from scratch but still a nice side to the pork!

Not my favorite recipe, but still good! As I said before, everything mixed together tasted really good but I think the pork would have been better if it had been seasoned before cooking. 

Pork Medallions with Mushroom-Marsala Sauce

Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 2 

Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2009.

Total time: 19 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 lb pork tenderloin

8 oz asparagus spears, trimmed

1/2 small onion

16 oz sliced mixed mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 cup 33% reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup Marsala wine

3 tbsp cornstarch

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley

Hot mashed potatoes (optional)

1. Add oil to (10-in.) Skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Trim fat and silver skin from pork; slice into 1-in. medallions. Add pork to Skillet; cook 3-4 minutes or until browned, turning once. Remove pork from Skillet; set aside and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, cut asparagus into 1-in. pieces and thinly slice onion using Santoku Knife. Reduce heat to medium; add asparagus, onion, mushrooms and pressed garlic to Skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Combine broth, wine, cornstarch, salt and black pepper in Small Batter Bowl; whisk well. Add broth mixture and pork to Skillet; bring to a boil. Add butter; cook 1-2 minutes or until pork is heated through, stirring occasionally with Bamboo Spatula.

3. Snip Parsley using Kitchen Shears. Sprinkle parsley over pork mixture; serve with mashed potatoes, if desired.

Brandied Dijon Pork Chops

I actually made this dish on Friday night, but the weekend has been so busy that I haven't had time to update my blog! It was so yummy! I have actually made this before, and will definitely make it again!! It is perfect for a situation when you don't have much time to cook. On Friday, we didn't have much time between work and having somewhere to be, so this was great! Not only does it take very little time to get ready, but it is delicious!

The recipe calls for bone-in pork chops, but I forgot to write that down when I was making my grocery list, so I got boneless pork chops. I used bone-in last time I made this. Either way works just fine! It also calls for 2 tbsp of brandy. I personally think this can be optional. Last time I made this dish, I didn't use brandy because I didn't have time to get up to the store. This time I did use brandy. It is hard to compare the flavor without having it back to back (with brandy or without brandy), but I remember thinking how delicious it was last time I made it and it was very delicious this past Friday when I made it. So, I'll leave that up to you! If you do decide to get the brandy but don't want a whole bottle of it, then an airplane bottle is more than enough for what the recipe calls for.

The sauce has so much flavor to it! The Dijon flavor really comes through and gives the sauce a nice little kick. The flavors of the Dijon, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce combine really well. The cookbook suggests making Pecan Green Beans as a side. No one in our house likes pecans, so I just made regular green beans, but here is the recipe for the Pecan Green Beans:

Place 8 oz green beans, trimmed, 2 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup chopped pecans in Large Micro-Cooker. Microwave on high 4-6 minutes or until green beans are crisp-tender, stirring every 2 minutes.

Brandied Dijon Pork Chops

Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 2 

Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2009

Total time: 22 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

Pork

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 bone-in pork chops, cut 3/4 in. thick (6-8 oz each)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Sauce

3 shallots (about 1/3 cup finely chopped)

2 tbsp butter

3 garlic cloves, pressed

2/3 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp brandy

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Pecan Green Beans

1. Add oil to  (12-in.) Skillet; heat over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Season pork with salt and black pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Add pork to Skillet; cook 6-8 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Remove from Skillet.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop shallots with Food Chopper. Add shallots, butter and pressed garlic to Skillet; cook and stir 30-60 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients; simmer 2 minutes. Add pork; cook 3-5 minutes or until Pocket Thermometer registers 155°F, turning pork to coat with sauce. Remove from heat (temperature will rise to 160°F).

3. Serve pork with green beans, if desired; drizzle sauce over pork.

Moroccan Pork Chops

Love, love LOVE this recipe!! We have had this a few times before and it never gets old. I was even a little sad when I took my last bite because it meant that there was no more. It definitely tastes very Mediterranean, and it is like a flavor explosion when you take a bite. The combination of the bitterness of the vinegar and olives paired with the sweetness of the raisins and brown sugar leaves you wanting more.

It is also another very inexpensive dinner! Pork chops do not cost much at all, and we still had two leftover from last week (see: Mushroom Pork Chops) that I had frozen. Most of the rest of the ingredients are probably things that you already have around your kitchen! It also does not take much time at all to put together and is very easy. Just be careful when you pour the vinegar into the skillet - it will steam up and the vinegar steaming kind of burned the inside of my nose and my eyes! 

The cookbook has a side note saying that soaking the raisins rehydrates them prior to cooking, making them plump and juicy, which they definitely were! You can also substitute the white balsamic vinegar with regular balsamic. I even used red wine vinegar tonight because that is what I had in the kitchen and it tasted fantastic!

استمتع

("Enjoy" in Arabic, the official language of Morocco)

Moroccan Pork Chops

Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner

Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2007.

Total time: 20 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

Sauce

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup raisins

2 shallots

1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp capers

Rice

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley

Pork

4 boneless pork loin chops, cut 1/2 in. thick (4-6 oz)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1. To start, pour vinegar into Prep Bowl; microwave on high 1 minutes. Add raisins; set aside to soak. To start rice, combine water and salt in Saucepan; bring to a boil. Add rice; cover and simmer over low heat 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

2. For pork, season pork with salt and black pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Add oil to (10-in.) Skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add pork; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from Skillet.

3. Meanwhile, to finish sauce, chop shallots and olives using Food Chopper. Reduce heat to medium. Add shallots to Skillet; cook and stir until golden. Add raisin mixture; simmer 1 minute or until liquid is slightly reduced. Stir in olives, sugar and capers. Simmer 2 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken.

4. Add pork chops to sauce; simmer gently 3-5 minutes or internal temperature reaches 155°F, turning pork chops to coat well with sauce. Remove from heat (temperature will rise to 160°F).

5. To serve, snip parsley using Kitchen Shears. Stir parsley into rice. Divide rice among serving plates; top with pork and sauce.



 

Mushroom Pork Chops

It really doesn't get any easier than this! This meal is so easy to make and it tastes so good! You can feed a family of four for under $10 with this dinner, and it is perfect for the evenings when you don't have time to cook and you just need something to stick in the oven. I'm not sure if this recipe actually comes in one of the Pampered Chef cookbooks. I got the recipe at a Pampered Chef show a few years ago, stapled together with some other recipes for the Deep Covered Baker.

You could pair anything you'd like with this dish. We had a simple baby spinach salad on the side with fresh tomatoes from my tomato plants. You just can't beat walking out your door and picking a fresh ripe tomato off of your own plant. SO much more flavor than any tomato I have ever bought in a store! But as I said, you could pair anything you'd like with the chops - corn, green beans, roasted red potatoes... the salad and pork chop was just enough for us.

The recipe calls for 1/4 cup white wine to be mixed in with the soup and garlic, but I imagine you could substitute that with water if you did not want to use wine. I, on the other hand, love cooking with wine - whether the recipe calls for it or not! ;-)

This one is too easy and yummy not to try!!

Mushroom Pork Chops

Recipes for Your Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker

Prep time: 5 min  Cook time: 45 min  Yield: 4 servings

4 (4 oz) boneless pork chops

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup white wine

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Empty 1 can of cream of mushroom soup into baker. Crush clove of garlic; mix in 1/4 cup white wine. Place thick sliced pork chops on top, cover with lid. Bake for 45 minutes.