Let’s cook!

Herb Cursted Pork Chops with Charred Peppers

2 – 1 inch thick bone in pork chops

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 bell peppers in assorted colors, cored, seeded and cut lengthwise

1/2 lemon, plus 2 lemon wedges for serving

Herb Crust:

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

3 oz. chopped pancetta

1 tablespoon coarse black pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the garlic, lemon zest, sage, rosemary, and pancetta.

Brush the chops with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then season all over the herb mixture, patting it into place.

Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and put a flat rack in the roasting pan if you don’t have one you can use the broiler pan like I used.

Heat your cast-iron over high heat. Add the chops and reduce the heat to moderate. Lightly brown the chops on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side.

Transfer them to the prepared roasting pan. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 140.

While the pork chops cook, toss the bell peppers strips in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place the peppers back in the cast-iron pan you used to cook the chops. Cook the peppers until they are lightly charred.

Time to plate! Pour the charred peppers on a serving dish.

Top with the pork chops and squeeze fresh lemon over the dish.

Here is a close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Pork Chops with Bourbon Sauce

2 center cut, bone-in, pork chops

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup bourbon

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons grain mustard

2 tablespoons heavy cream

salt and pepper

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Season one side of the chops with salt and pepper.

Add the oil to the skillet. Add the chops season side down.

Cook for 4 minutes then season the top side of the chops with salt and pepper. Add the butter and cook for another minute.

Turn the chops over.

Continue cooking until thermometer registers 130 – 135 degrees–about 5 minutes more. Transfer the chops to a plate, tent with foil.

Turn off the heat  for the skillet the chops just cooked in. Add the bourbon.

Turn the heat back on and let reduce by half. Add the chicken broth and bring to simmer for 3 minutes.

Whisk in the mustard and cream. Simmer for another 2 -3 minutes.

Time to plate!

Here is a close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Pork Chops with Sofrito Sauce

Rub:

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 bone-in pork chops

salt and pepper

Sofrito Sauce:

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/2 cup apple juice

1 – 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (less if you don’t want heat)

salt and pepper

In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the onion with olive oil.

When the onion starts to brown, add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vinegar to caramelize the onion and garlic.

Cook until the vinegar has almost evaporated. Add the apple juice.

Simmer until the liquid in the pan has reduced by half. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the sauce to a blender.

Blend to puree and pour the sauce into a bowl.

Lightly coat the chops with oil and season with the rub.

Pour some of the sauce over the chops and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat grill on medium heat. Place the chops on the grill and cook 5 minute per side.

Pour a little of the sauce on a serving dish. Remove the chops and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Pour enough sauce over the top of the chops to cover and here is the a close-up of the final dish:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Glazed Pork Chops

For the Pork:

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1  teaspoon smoked paprika

2 bone-in pork chops (about 1/2 pound each)

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup apple juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the pork, mix 1 tablespoon salt, the black pepper, brown sugar and paprika in a small bowl. Rub all over the chops and let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, time to make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and brown sugar until dissolved.

Add the ketchup, apple juice, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender.

Let the sauce rest at room temperature.

Preheat the grill on medium. Place the chops over direct heat and cook for 8 minutes per side.

Brush the chops on all sides with the sauce, then cover and cook until glazed, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a plate and for 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the chops.

Here is a close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Pork Chops with Caper Sauce

4 butterfly porkchops

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes

1 lemon, zested

2 tablespoons capers

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cups flat parsley

salt and pepper

In a large skillet over hight heat, heat the olive oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper.

Add the pork to the pan and brown on all sides.

Remove the pork from the pan and place in foil and set aside.

Add onion, shallots and  parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the wine.

Scrape the bottom bits of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add capers, lemon zest and tomatoes, stir well.

Add the pork back to the pan and cook for another 15 minutes.

Time to plate! I like the butterfly pork chops because they make awesome pockets to hold the caper sauce.

Here is the close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Pork Chops Stuffed with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 handful sun-dried tomatoes, diced

10-oz bag of frozen spinach, thawed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup goat cheese

1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese

4 – 1inch thick pork chops (I need to have lunch tomorrow)

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 lemon, zested

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until you start to smell it which took about 2 minutes for me.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, add goat cheese and the cream cheese.

Transfer the spinach mixture into the bowl of goat cheese and cream cheese.

Stir to combine and let rest while you finish the meal.

Take a sharp filet knife and cut a pocket into each pork chop.

Stuff each pork chop with the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture.

Close the pork around the stuffing as much as possible.

Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. When the pan is hot add the pork chops.

Cook until golden, about 6 minutes per side.

Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet you cooked the pork chops in over medium heat.

Scrape up the brown bits (aka tons of flavor) from the bottom of the pan and let the chicken broth simmer. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce which takes about a total of 5-8 minutes.

For this dinner I served the pork chops with rice which the sauce over the rice and pork were delicious!

Here is a picture of the plating:

Here is a picture of Jen’s AWESOME salad which I will talk her into posting for you all!

Here is a close-up of the main dish:

So now you have a stuffed pork chop recipe which is simple and takes a total of 35 minutes! For tomorrow’s dinner I am going to let you the readers decide on what I should cook. Email me at thecookinghusband@gmail.com and the dinner I chose to cook will get a special surprise!

Happy Cooking!

4 boneless pork chops

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 clove garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Place pork chops and remaining ingredients into the crockpot.

Cook on low for 6 hours. Here is what the finish chops look like:

Here is the close-up:

So the next time you are looking at pork chops and the crockpot you now have a simple dish to make. Check back tomorrow for an AWESOME flank steak recipe in the crockpot. Yep you are reading this correctly.

Happy Cooking!

Pork Chop Casserole

4 butterfly pork chops

3 large potatoes

2 large onions

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of fresh thyme

1/4 cup of white mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350. In a large pan add thyme, pepper, and pork chops. Sear the pork chops.

Remove the seared pork chops from the pan and add the white mushrooms to gather flavor from the pan.

Once the mushrooms have cooked for about 1 minute, arrange the pork chops in the bottom of a casserole dish (wait till you see mine at the end).

Slice peeled potatoes and onions into 1/4 inch slices and arrange in alternate layers in the dish on top of the pork chops.

In a bowl, mix soup and milk and whisk until combined and semi smooth.

Pour the soup mixture over the entire dish.

Put the dish in the oven for 1 hour (+15 minutes) and now you can catch up on your sports/tv. Here is the dish and check out my casserole dish.

And here is how I plated the dinner:

So here is a dinner you can make and watch TV for at least one hour before dinner time (for me it was checking my work emails and leveling up on Ka-ching in Kaneva). Tomorrow night one of my friends is going to bring a smoked turkey and I will make side dishes so be sure to check back to see what I decide to make.

Happy Cooking