Pork Chops with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I made this tonight and it was fabulous! It was really a great way to livin up pork chops (which I love.) I got the recipe out of my free trial of Cook's Country magazine, which I'm pretty sure is affiliated with America's Test Kitchen. Once DH and I get moved and settled I'm definitely going to subscribe to it and would recommend it to everyone else!

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this dish and look forward to making it again. I had a lot of leftover sauce - since DH is went really light on it and I didn't use 4 pork chops - so I plan on pouring over spaghetti or egg noodles for lunch tomorrow. No need to put it to waste! 

And the best part is....it's a 30 minute meal!

As for notes, there's not many. I followed the recipe really closely, making only a few minor changes. My sauce did turn out looking different though. In the magazine's picture the peppers are more minced than mine which I just roughly chopped. Also, my proportions may have been off because I just had to eyeball 12 oz. from a 15 oz. jar. But it still tasted great so that's all that really matters right!? ; )

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops, about 1 inch thick
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 (12 oz.) jar roasted red pepper, drained and chopped
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used a dash of dried)

Directions:

1. Pat chops dry with paper towels adn season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat until just smoking. Add chops and cook until well browned and meat registers 145-degrees, about 5 min per side. Transfer to serving platter and tent with foil.

2. Add onion to empy skillet and cook until softened, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in brother, cream, roasted peppers, and sugar and simmer, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 min. Off heat, add any accumulated pork juices back to pan and stir in basil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chops. Serve.

Personal Update

So you can all see what I've been working with this whole time....that is my current kitchen! (Since these pics the table has been moved and there's a freezer in its place.) And my "oven." = )

Aren't you just green with envy? lol.

Well DH and I have decided that we are going to be moving afterall! I'm super excited. We're going in the morning (it's midnight right now) to go look at apartments, but think we've already made our choice. I only have one more week of classes then one week of finals and we're free to move! Yay! One big relief is Scott's already found a place that's ready to hire him as soon as we get settled and then I've found a few places I would like to work at. So it all seems to be falling into place....so far. 

I've also finally got my camera back up and running so I'm going back through and adding pics to some of my recent pic-less posts.

Edited Posts: Carrot Cake, Apple Turnovers, and My Chicken Parmesan. 

More edits to come: Stuffed Portobellos and Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs (for some reason the uploader is taking forever.)

On a break

Right now I'm kind of on a break while DH and I figure out the plan for the next year. We're kind of drastically changing our plans (I will update once they're more set), but the changes will definitely be positive. I'm also trying to catch up on some school stuff so I really need to stay away from any superfluous comp usage for a while to get my grades up for the end of the semester. I have soo much to do I'm a little overwhelmed, so cooking and posting is going to be put on the backburner until I get to a comfortable place. 

Linguine with Shrimp and Veggies

Another post from my new cookbook The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. This made for a very tasty lunch today!

Notes: 

• Since I can't go out and purchase a bottle of white wine and I didn't have any on hand I used veggie broth and a couple splashes of white grape juice instead.
• I used spaghetti instead of linguine because it's what I had on hand.
  

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 box (12 oz) linguine
• 2 Tbls. olive oil
• 1 bunch (~1 lb) asparagus, woody bottoms removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)
• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the linguine according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and the asparagus is tender but firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from the pan and set aside.

Combine the lemon juice, wine, and reserved pasta water in hte skillet over medium-high heat. Let simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half. Return the shrimp and asparagus to the pan and stir in the parsley. Add the drained linguine, tossingto combine. Add the tomatoes and toss. Sprinkle with cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Apple Turnovers

Another new pick from my new cookbook, The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. I am seriously addicted to these they are so tasty. It was my first experience with phyllo dough and I think it was very successful. These were really easy to make once I got the hang of it. There's really not much else to say! 

Notes:

• I didn't think Scott would like the cranberries so I left them out. 
• I don't know what happened, but somehow I ended up with enough apple mixture for 16 turnovers rather than 8 so I doubled everything else to use it all up (ladyfingers, phyllo dough, and canola oil). I really don't see how I could possibly have fit all those apples into the first 8. *shrugs shoulders* 
• Also, my turnovers did not take the full 20 minutes to bake, so I would keep an eye on them after about the 15 minutes mark.

Yield: 8 turnovers

Ingredients:

• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon cold water
• 6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 3 Tablespoons canola oil
• 4 ladyfinger cookies, crushed
• Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large nonstick skillet, combine the apples, cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the juices in the skillet thicken, another 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a large cutting board and brush with the oil. Top with a second sheet and brush with the oil. Sprinkle half o fhte crushed cookies on top. Add another sheet of phyllo and brush with the oil. Cut the layered phyllo into 4 long strips (I ended up doing my width-wise to use up more apple mixture). Put a small mound of the apple mixture about an inch from the bottom of one strip and fold the phyllo over the mixture into a triangle shape so a turnover is formed. Repeat with the other three strips. Repeat the whole process again with the remaining three sheets of phyllo so that you wind up with 8 turnovers. Be sure to reserve a little oil to brush the top of each turnover.

coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, place the turnovers on the sheet, brush the tops with the remaining oil, and bake until nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes.  

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

My first recipe-test from my new cookbook The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger and it turned out great! I love it and am looking forward to eating on it the next few days for lunch - it was even better the second day!

I usually don't eat very much soup because I never feel full because there's nothing really crunchy, so this time I bought a french baguette and toasted it with some EVOO like Giada does and it is the perfect accompaniment to this delicious soup.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Notes:

• I always use less onion than recipes call for.  ; )
• I also added more chicken because it just didn't look like enough to me.

Ingredients:

• 4 t olive oil
• 8 oz. sk/bnless chicken breast halves, cut into small junks
• Pinch of salt, plus more to taste
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 teaspoons copped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup orzo, preferably whole-wheat
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat 2 t of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 t oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep te soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

Slacker

I've been slacking way too much over the past few weeks when it comes to cooking. Been kinda stressed out and busy, but I should get going again soon. 

Saturday I got "The Food You Crave" cookbook by Ellie Krieger and I'm super excited. I went through and bookmarked everything that I want to try at first glance and am making at least 2 this week. I would try more, but I need to take baby steps for Scott! I'm also determined to lose 15 lbs. and try to be healthier. This whole Freshman 15 thing is no fun! So I might try to blog about that too as a self-motivator (no promises though.) : )