Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

I haven't posted a recipe in a month of Sundays! It's time. And this one's a favorite. And it's a yummy, healthy, low-fast dish... score! This one's a perfect fit for October and Halloween -- complete with its own trick and treat. The finished product would delight any little ghoul on All Hallow's Eve...

The trick to this recipe? Instead of cooking the onions for a long time in butter and oil to bring out their sweetness (and all those calories!), we'll cover the pan and add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. The treat is...it's ready in half the time!
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Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions
5 points
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4 (4 ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (2 cups)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

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1. Place pork chops between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound slightly to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chops and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove chops from pan, and keep warm.

3. Add onion to pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with brown sugar; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon onion mixture over pork chops.

Yield: 4 servings (1 chop and about 1/2 cup onion mixture)
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** Hint: Even though the recipe doesn't call for it, we cover the chops while cooking, keeping a close eye on them. They cook faster this way. We always use a meat thermometer to check the chops for safety and doneness. We ignore the recipe's overall cooking time and go by the chops' temperature to tell us when they're done.
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C'mon -- tell me -- served like this -- that it isn't a perfect candidate for the main dish of a Halloween meal! Bwahahahahaha! Enjoy...

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recipe credit: Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient, 15 Minute Cookbook, Winter 2008, p. 53

Navajo Fry Bread

Navajo Fry Bread

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp salt
about 3 cups of white bread flour ( you may need just a little bit more flour)

In a mixer, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Allow it to rest for a few minutes to make sure the yeast is activated. Add oil and salt. Add the flour and mix with a dough hook to combine. The dough should be a little tacky still. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for about 30-45 minutes. Put dough on a floured surface, and cut into equal pieces (usually 8-10 balls of dough).

Begin with a ball of dough and with a rolling pin, flatten out the dough until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle (my kids like rectangles personally).

In a large fry pan on the stove, heat a little canola oil. When the dough starts to bubble it is about time to flip. It should be golden brown.

After it is cooked on both sides, drain on a paper towel and enjoy!

This fry bread is a great substitute for tortillas. You could do Tacos as well as Chicken, Beef or Pork Fajitas.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Summertime means BBQ! Having grown up in Texas, BBQ was a staple in the summer. We add Cole slaw for a twist to an old favorite.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

1 Pork Roast (whatever is on sale...bone in or boneless and big enough for your family)

garlic salt, salt and pepper

1 bottle of your favorite prepared BBQ sauce

1 can of Coke or Dr. Pepper

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp prepared mustard

Rolls

Cole Slaw (optional)

Season the roast with a little bit of garlic salt, salt and pepper. Put it in the crock pot. Add 1 can of Coke or Dr. Pepper with enough water to come about 1/2 way up the roast. Cover and simmer for 4-6 hrs on high or 6-8 hrs on low. When the meat is tender pull it out onto a cutting board. Pour out the juices into a large measuring cup. Into the crock pot, add the bottle of BBQ sauce, brown sugar and mustard. Skim off the drained juices and add to the BBQ sauce mixture until it is your desired consistancy (you may not need all of it depending on how much drippings you have). Stir to combine. Shred the pork and add to the BBQ sauce. Heat through. Serve on rolls. We like to top ours with Cole Slaw (I cheat and get 1 lg container of Cole slaw from KFC) it adds a nice cool crunch to go with the tender, flavorful pork. Yesterday at Costco we found a bottle of Famous Dave's (our favorite BBQ restaurant...try the bread pudding it is amazing!) sweet and spicy pickles and those are really good on it as well.

Glazed Pork Roast

This is a tried and true recipe here at our house; we've tweaked it a little to our tastes, and it's a favorite now. The citrus seasoning really works with the pork roast, and the mandarin orange garnish is delish... perfect for spring and summer menus. This crock-pot recipe makes a great Sunday dinner entree. One slice is 4 points, which makes it light and healthy, too. Win-win! Enjoy.

Glazed Pork Roast
(4 points per slice)
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1 boneless whole pork loin roast ( 4 pounds), trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Glaze
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1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained (optional)
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Cut the roast in half. In a large skillet, brown roast in oil and butter on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the orange juice concentrate, water, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until a meant thermometer reads 160 ° F, and the meat is tender.

For the glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, orange juice concentrate, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Brush over roast. Garnish with oranges if desired.

* Our tweaks:

1. Double the glaze recipe. You'll be glad you did. We like to serve rice with this dish to "soak up" any extra glaze.
2. I've used a normal pork roast and it works just as well. (Didn't cut it half...)
3. I don't brown the meat every time, but when I do, I only use the olive oil. It's enough to brown the meat by itself.
4. Try the mandarin orange garnish. I love it.

original recipe: Light and Tasty magazine, February/March 2008, p. 49

Ham Fried Rice

Cory went on his mission to Japan, and so he is really good at making up Oriental recipes. So this is his recipe, not mine. We tried to do measurements as we went along, but some things depend on how much rice you use.

Ham Fried Rice

2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms, button or cremini
pinch of salt
a couple of shakes of Sesame oil...a little goes a long way
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, minced
1 1/2 cup cubed ham
2-3 large eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup soy sauce or tempura sauce
4-5 green onions, sliced

Heat oil (Canola and sesame) in a large saucepan. Add mushroom and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5minutes, then add garlic and ginger. When you can smell the garlic, add the ham. Stir to combine. Beat eggs and then add to the mixture. Stir around until eggs are cooked and mixed throughout mixture. Add rice and soy sauce or tempura sauce. Stir well to combine. Just prior to serving add green onions, reserving some for garnish.

Chicken with Curry Sauce

In this day of budget cuts and "stay-cations," it can be hard to visit other countries. Take a journey with me through the jungles of India and taste the spices of that land. This recipe was originally featured by Robin Miller on the Food Network and was slightly adapted by Melanie G. I tried this recipe with chicken and I liked it, and I have done it with a pork tenderloin, and it was fabulous as well.

Chicken with Curry Sauce

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
Salt and freshly gound black pepper
Olive Oil
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 tsp curry powder *
1 tsp Garam Masala**
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup couscous, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro for garnish


*There are two different types of curry spices. One is a green curry (which is the one Robin used) and there is a red Indian curry. I used the red curry because it smelled better to me, but either one will work for this recipe.

**Garam Masala is an Indian spice combination, just like Italian Seasoning is used in Italian cooking. I had trouble finding it at Smiths, so I had Cory go the International Market. I read that you can get it at Walmart. If you get desperate and can't find it, let me know and I will mail you some! :-)

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes per side until golden brown. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together coconut milk, green chilies, curry powder, garam masala, and cumin. Add mixture to chicken. Simmer 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces slightly. You can choose to add 1 tsp cornstarch to 2 Tbsp water and pour that in the sauce and let simmer to thicken it, if you want it a little thicker. Serve the chicken and sauce over the couscous and garnish with the cilantro.

+for the pork tenderloin, I sliced it into medallions and pressed them with the palm of my hand to flatten them slightly. I followed the instructions as listed for the chicken.


With the chicken I did fry bread and couscous with it. With the pork I did a regular dinner roll (for time's sake) and sticky rice and both versions were great. We are sauce people, so you might want to 1 1/2 times the sauce recipe if you like to have it with rice and have leftover to dip your roll in. This dish is not as spicy as it sounds. Brynley eats it just fine, and I always add red pepper flakes to it. I hope you enjoyed your trip to India with me. I wonder what country I am going to do next???? :-)

Mushroom Pork Chops

I found this recipe on-line at Allrecipes. My carnivores--- I mean, men--- loved it. I loved it too because it was cheap, easy to make and easy to clean up. One-pan-cooking-goodness. Enjoy!

4 pork chops

salt and pepper, to taste

1 pinch garlic salt, or to taste

1 onion, chopped

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

Season pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste. In a large skillet, brown the chops over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and saute for one minute. Pour cream of mushroom soup over the chops. Cover the skillet and reduce the temperature to medium-low. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through.

Note: Pour the leftover onion-mushroom gravy over some baked potatoes. Add a little shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes and sliced green onion. Wow. Delicious.

Two meals for the price of one.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mushroom-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx

Easy Café Rio

Café Rio Pork

3-4 lb pork butt
1 cup salsa
1 cup brown sugar

Place the pork butt in the crock pot. In a seperate bowl, mix the salsa with the brown sugar, then add on top of the pork. Cook all day in the crock pot (on Low setting) then shred the meat when it's done.

Use as a taco meat or with cilantro lime dressing, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

Café Rio Cilantro Lime Dressing

1 1/3 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayo
1 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
1 pkg ranch dressing mix (dry)
4 tbsp salsa verde (green salsa)
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce
juice of one lime (I like to add lime zest, too)

Mix together in a blender and serve on top of Café Rio pork.

Want to make it low-fat? Use light sour cream and light mayonnaise!

Recipe from Peggy Steward. Thanks for this one!