Recipe: Vegetable Pork Chop Dinner

This is one of the tastiest and easiest dinners I have made in a while. I just went grocery shopping the night before, but wanted to use up the older veggies before they went bad to make room for the new ones. 

So, I typed into google, 'pork chops' and 'red bell pepper', found  this recipe and thought, wow, that's really easy! I added  mushrooms and altered the sauce a bit and it was perfection. The onions were easy, because I just pulled prechopped ones I had in a freezer bag already to go. We served the meal over steamed rice and had (store bought) strawberry shortcakes with fresh chopped strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.

You could substitute green beans or asparagus for the bell peppers in this easy and delicious recipe.

♥ Ingredients ♥

• 4 (3/4 inch) thick boneless pork loin chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 6 mushrooms, sliced thick
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons Girard's Caesar Dressing (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves (I used Emeril's table blend instead)
• 1/2 tsp flour or cornstarch to thicken sauce

♥ Preparation ♥

Sprinkle chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat and add chops, onion, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes on one side, shaking pan frequently so garlic doesn't burn, then turn chops and add pepper strips and mushrooms. Cover and cook 5-8 minutes longer until pork registers 160 degrees F. Remove chops and peppers from skillet and set aside, covered to keep warm. 

Add Worcestershire sauce, water, dressing, seasonings and flour, scraping bottom of skillet with rubber spatula to loosen pan drippings. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, then return pork and vegetables to skillet. Cook for 1 minute longer to coat pork with sauce, then serve. 4 servings.

Herb Crusted Salmon and Asparagus Recipe

This is our dinner. I'm not a big fish person, and when I do make it, dill and lemon juice are usually involved... and I was just not in the mood for that.

So, using this recipe as inspiration, I came up with my own ingredients list since I didn't have half of what was called for. I found this site on substituting for teriyaki sauce and the A1, oj and Worcestershire turned out even better than teriyaki. And, even though we have gourmet Parmesan cheese given to us by a cheese scientist, I forgot to add it!

♥ Herb Crusted Salmon Steak ♥

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon basil

1/4 c water

1/2 cup pulp free orange juice

1/2 cup A-1 steak sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 pounds salmon steaks

1. In a shallow, medium bowl mix Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoned bread crumbs, spices.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, blend A1, orange juice, butter, red onion and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender.

3. Press one side of each salmon steak egg and dredge into the Parmesan cheese mixture. Place steaks crust side up in saucepan with sauce mixture. Cook over medium high heat until most of the liquid is reduced, 10 to 15 minutes, then flip with a spatula. Continue cooking until crust is golden brown and fish is easily flaked with a fork.

♥ Asparagus ♥

 

I usually blanch* asparagus first, to maintain the nutrients and green color, and to stop it from turning mushy during cooking, but I didn't this time, though I would usually suggest it.

 

1 lb fresh asparagus spears

1 tb oilve oil

1-2 cloves crushed garlic

1tb butter (we use smart balance)

salt/pepper to taste

1 tb seseame seeds

 

1. Cut off woody ends

2. Cut asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces

3. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add asparagus, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on med heat, stirring frequently about 5 mins. Add butter and seseame seeds, cook until done.

 

*to blanch first:

Have a large bowl of ice water ready to go.

Boil a large pot of water. Now, place your asparagus into the boiling water. Cook until the asparagus turns a bright green. The time this will take will depend on how thick your asparagus stalks are. Usually takes about 2-5 minutes.

Remove asparagus from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and place into ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. This will tenderize the stalks a bit more, but they'll remain deliciously crunchy.

We served it with steamed rice with a touch of salt and pepper and butter and naan bread (we love our starches around here) and it was delicious... even for people who don't like fish, like me, I even ate more than 1 serving!

Nutty Red Pepper Chicken Tortellini Recipe

I got the basics of this recipe from some magazine, but I changed it up a bit to make it a family favorite. It's quite easy, feeds a lot and relatively cheap. Add a side salad, maybe garlic bread sticks and some fresh fruit for a satisfying meal, that even most picky eaters will like.

Red Pepper & Green Bean Tortellini

Ingredients

1 pkg. cheese tortellini

4 chicken breasts, cut up in 1 3/4 inch pieces

2 TB olive oil

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1/4 chopped red onion (about 3/4 inch)

1/2 c chopped walnuts (adds a light crunch without a nutty taste)

1 can whole green beans (or use fresh)

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 TB sour cream (optional)

2 cloves crushed garlic

sea salt, pepper, basil

Parmesan cheese for garnish/taste

Directions

Prepare cheese tortellini, drain, keep warm and set aside.

Heat  olive oil, then saute' garlic and onion on stove.

Add in red pepper, green beans and walnuts until tender.

Set aside.

Add chicken to pan & salt and pepper. Stir fry until done. Add in the nut/veggie mix to the chicken. Add heavy whipping cream, sour cream, basil and any other spices.

Bring sauce to a boil, then cover and simmer for approx 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Remove covered pan to unheated surface and toss in cheese tortellini to coat.

Sauce will thicken as it stands.

Serve topped with a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, and freshly ground black pepper.

*ps, I'm not a stickler to cutting the exact sizes I mentioned, I make things a little small since I have toddlers, but you don't have to, (with the exception of onion, chopping too small will result in a very oniony taste).

*pss, I don't usually set the veggies aside then do the chicken. I usually mix the chicken in with the onions and garlic too, then add the rest of the veggies/nuts when the chicken is done, but sometimes, I like the veggies to be a little more pan seared. Either way works.