Baked Stuffed Pork Chops

Having a savory smell wafting through the house on a non-descript cold winter day in February is a welcome treat.  With the smell of apples and pork you just know that there's going to be something great for dinner. What is it about that combination of flavors? Haven't been able to figure it out, but it's magical good and this recipe is great as is . I wouldn't change a thing except maybe to prepare this stuffing for our next Thanksgiving turkey. It's already passed the test with pork and I honestly think it could go famously with chicken or turkey too. My only suggestion is not to use a heavily pre-seasoned stuffing mix like Stove Top. It's just a little too rich for this dish.

Baked Stuffed Pork Chops

1/2 pound Italian sausage (remove if in casing)

3 cups Pepperidge Farm dry cornbread stuffing

1 can chicken broth

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoon butter

Pepper

8 thin sliced boneless pork chops

Preheat oven to 350F.

Brown Italian sausage over medium heat until cooked and crumbly. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat in the pan. Using slotted spoon, mix sausage with dry stuffing and can of chicken broth in large bowl.

Pepper both sides of pork chops and place in heated pan used to cook sausage. Cook on each side approximately 3-4 minutes until brown.

While chops are cooking, melt butter in separate pan and saute apple, onion, celery, and garlic. Combine with sausage, stuffing and broth mixture.

When chops are cooked, place in buttered 9x13 baking dish and use ice cream scoop to place scoops of stuffing mixture on top of chops in baking dish. 

Bake 30-40 minutes or until chops are fully cooked (160 degrees on meat thermometer).

Irish Part 3--Guinness Pork Chops

Okay, I admit I'm on a bit of a Guinness kick lately. Maybe it's a sudden desire to be Irish, I don't know, but I'm thoroughly enjoying preparing and serving these main courses that fill the house with a comforting aroma (and the fam is loving it too--more the eating than the smelling though!).

This pork chop dish is almost as good as the Guinness Irish Stew and, again, it's just gotta be the Guinness. I don't care for it by itself--a little too heavy for me--but in gravies and soups I'm convinced it's the secret weapon. It may also have some tenderizing ability too, because the meats that could come out very fibrous or tough with all the simmering, end up fork tender. And the gravy! Don't get me started or I'll launch into something like I have in some of my recent posts. (I think I'm a little too passionate about delicious food!) 

Another secret I'll share with you is God's gift to the cook--immersion blenders. They are ideal for making smooth gravies, sauces, and soups right on the stovetop. No need to pour it all into a blender or food processor. This tool is a relatively new phenomenon and my adding it into the recipe below is my own doing. It wasn't in the original. Grandma used a whisk to make her divine gravies. I would probably get tennis elbow if I stood there whisking fast for 10 minutes. No thank you and I'm sure Grandma would forgive me. In fact, she would probably switch to an immersion blender as well!

Give these a try and let me know what you think!

Guinness Pork Chops

8 boneless pork chops (1 inch thick)
salt and freshly ground pepper
all-purpose flour
 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Guinness
1 cup chicken and/or beef stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Wash pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour, shaking off excess.  Set aside.

Melt butter and olive oil in Dutch oven or large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Sear chops in batches about 5 minutes on each side (being careful not to burn), remove from pan until all 8 chops are seared.

Put onions in separate bowl and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour on top. Mix with spoon until onions are coated with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat reserved tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and pour in the seasoned and floured onions. Add garlic. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes.

Pour in 1/4 cup of the Guinness and 3/4 cup stock and bring to boil scraping up brown bits on bottom of pan. Return chops to the pan and spoon some of the onions on top. Add remaining Guinness and stock to almost cover chops. Cover pan, reduce heat to simmer about 20 minutes, then flip over chops and continue simmering about 20 more minutes.  

Remove chops from pan and heat remaining juices to boiling. When thickening begins, add parsley and balsamic vinegar, and blend with immersion blender until smooth.  Serve with gravy on top.

Ravioli Soup

It is so beautiful when a week comes together--good meals, good memories, and when all the leftovers are used up.  Our fridge was literally jammed with stuff that we really needed to get rid of, but I am loathe to pour anything down the drain or throw it out. I just hate wasting anything!

With that in mind, I found a recipe in Grandma's archives that literally could be considered "toss-it all-in-soup."  She would have been proud.

• Lean ground beef (how about using up that ground turkey?)
• Onions & garlic (what about all the extra onions and garlic we prepped yesterday?)
• Beef broth (what about the leftover French Onion soup we had the other night? It is mostly beef broth.)
• Ravioli (what about that big bag of them in the freezer we've been meaning to use up?)
• Bread (what about that French loaf that will be brick hard by tomorrow?)

Yes, my friends, I threw it ALL in there...and it was quite simply amazing! Only problem? I may have to make it exactly the same, French onion soup and all!

Ravioli Soup

1/2 lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/2 lb ground pork

1 cup onion, chopped

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes, undrained

1 12 oz can tomato paste

2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth (3 cups of French Onion soup here, onions and all)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

¼ cup dry bread crumbs (I processed a couple slices of a French baguette)

½ cup Parmesan cheese (fresh), shredded

1 (12 oz) pkg frozen ravioli (14 raviolis)

Brown beef and pork with onion and garlic in non-reactive pan or a Dutch Oven. Combine tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, sugar, Italian seasoning and dry bread crumbs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package directions and drain.  Top bowls of soup with ravioli and additional Parmesan cheese and serve with salad and bread.

Apple-Baked Pork Chops

A popular term right now is "comfort food." 

I imagine they call it that because some foods may bring back memories of a comforting time at home with no worries or cares. Some of the old standby recipes like meatloaf, pot roast, and chicken soup are all comfort foods for me. 

We had dinner at the table every night--just us three--Grandma, Grandpa, and me. How on earth Grandma found the energy in her 60s and 70s to cook a full meal deal, I have no idea. And, of course, I didn't appreciate it then. Shame on me. I was a reckless brat. 

Okay. True confessions aside, I have at least come full circle to give Grandma her due and I'm sure an angel in heaven has given her the good word that the brat finally came around. I have realized for quite some time how important a meal at the table with the family is. How important the wonderful kitchen smells are and how meaningful the care in preparing a meal is to a kid--even if they don't appreciate it at the time.

This one is a comforting standby and one that will fill your kitchen with beautiful smells and comforting memories. Apples. Onions. Cornbread stuffing. C'est une belle vie.

Enjoy this one with your whole heart. You are making memories by preparing it.

Apple-Baked Pork Chops

6-8 boneless pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick*

1 tsp dried thyme, divided

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup apple, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 cups cornbread stuffing mix, processed to crumbs

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 425F.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. While butter melts, trim pork chops and sprinkle both sides with 1/2 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper. Add chops to skit and cook 3-4 minutes each side until no longer pink. Transfer to baking pan.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet and add onions and apples. Scrape pan greases while cooking and cook onions and apples for about 5 minutes until softened. Add stuffing mix crumbs, water and other 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring, until water is absorbed and stuffing is moist.

Mound 1/4 cup of stuffing mixture on each pork chop in baking dish.

Bake in 425F oven 8-10 minutes until stuffing is crisp and lightly browned. 6-8 servings.

*We purchased 1 inch thick pork chops from Costco and balked a little at the price, but we cut them in half and ended up with twice as much for the money!

Ham & Vegetable Stuffed Crêpes

Crêpes are one of the most versatile things in the culinary world. You can make them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or appetizers--it all depends on what you fill them with. 

Of  course, Grandma knew all that and when the budget was a little tight, she would abandon any thoughts of a big heavy meal and go for light crêpe fare filled with something delicious.

She had a funny-looking flat-topped, non-stick crêpe pan with no lip and it took her some amount of practice to perfect its use. If she poured too much batter on top, it would run off the sides onto her electric burner and into the pan beneath. (Even with the aluminum covers most of us remember what a dried on mess that could be.)  Eventually she gave up on the crepe pan (remember garage sale fodder?) and just cooked them in a non-stick skillet, which worked just as well. 

Another plus with crêpes--other than the fact that they contain about 4 ingredients and can practically be cooked while unconscious--is that they can be made in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to use them, which prevents pans, skillets and mixing bowls from causing a counter top crisis. Just bring the refrigerated batch to room temperature and then fill them with your items of choice.

We may be having crêpes most of this week simply because my meal planning and prep has been put to the test with our kitchen project. I am thanking God above for giving me the good sense not to do a full blown, down-to-the-studs kitchen renovation, because even having our cupboard contents temporarily boxed up in the living room is challenging enough!

With those constraints in mind, today's crêpes will be simply filled with ham and vegetables and topped with a yummy cheese sauce. Is there anything more divine than that?

Here's the basic recipe and the first step to crêpe heaven.  (Keep in mind it takes longer to explain how to do it, than to actually do it. Bottom line? If you can cook pancakes, you can cook these.)

Basic Crêpes

½ cup milk

½ cup cream

3 eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp butter

With wire whip (or in food processor), blend milk, eggs, and flour until smooth. 

Place a 6 or 7 inch crêpe pan (or other flat-bottomed frying pan) over medium heat. When pan is hot, add ¼ teaspoon of the butter and swirl to coat surface. All at once, pour in 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons batter, quickly tilting pan so batter flows over entire surface. Cook until surface appears dry and edge is lightly browned; turn over with spatula and briefly cook other side. Transfer to plate and repeat procedure for each crêpe, stacking them when finished. After all the crêpes are cooked, you can wrap airtight and refrigerate up to a week. Makes 12-16 crêpes.

NOTES: 

Unfilled crêpes may be frozen stacked one on top fo the other between pieces of wax paper and wrapped airtight. To serve, remove the number of crêpes you need and let them come to room temperature before filling (they tear when cold). Avoid refreezing.

Filled crêpes may be frozen individually then baked (without thawing) in whatever quantity is needed. To freeze, place filled crêpes, seam side down and not touching, on greased baking sheet. Freeze uncovered, then package airtight.

Ham & Vegetable Stuffed Crêpes

12-16 pre-made basic crêpes

5 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2/3 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup half & half or milk

2 cups cooked ham, cut in julienne strips

1 (10 oz) package frozen peas, thawed and drained well

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 tsp dry rosemary (optional)

salt and pepper

1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

Prepare crêpes or bring to room temperature, if refrigerated. In a wide frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add onion and cook until onion is soft. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and flour; cook, stirring until bubbly. Gradually pour in broth and half and half and continue cooking and stirring until sauce boils and thickens. Add ham and peas. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, rosemary (if using), and salt and pepper to taste; cool slightly.

Spoon filling down center of each crêpe and roll to enclose. Arrange crêpes, seam side down in shallow greased casserole or baking dish. (At this point you may cool, cover and refrigerate until next day or freeze as noted in Basic Crêpe recipe.)

Baked covered in 375F oven for 20 minutes (30 minutes if refrigerated; 35-40 minutes if frozen) or until heated through. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle Swiss cheese over crêpes. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

Servings: 6-8.

Apple Roasted Pork Loin

A poorly written cookbook recipe can cause great consternation, but if you're fearless you can overcome it and still manage to put a great meal on the table. 

This recipe was one of those that started out as a confusing mess but Grandma managed to correct it. I'm not sure if she did that while she was cooking it the first time, or if she tried it out further and perfected it. To be honest, I can't remember. What I do remember is that this pork loin was always an amazing "something different." And Grandma never said a word about the failings of the original recipe. I guess she heard the old saying "only a mediocre musician [chef] blames his instrument [recipe]!" I can vouch for the fact that the recipe was substantially annotated though.

This dish is also one more example of perfect synergy--apples, onions, salt and pepper. Balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Positively perfect in this hearty meal. What I need to find is a side dish for it. Perhaps a great rice pilaf. We tried a noodle dish, but it was a little heavy. That's something I'll have to work on.

Apple Roasted Pork Loin

4-5 pound pork loin roast

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
1 large red onion, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper  

Cover rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place pork roast on it. Trim of any fat and generously season with salt and pepper.  Leave on counter for about an hour before cooking to allow it to warm up to room temperature.  

Adjust oven racks so one rack is in top third of oven and another rack in bottom third. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

When roast is at (or near) room temperature, place in oven and roast for 1 hour. (This will make a crust and prevent roast from drying out.)

Towards the end of the first hour of cooking reduce heat to 350F and begin making glaze. In small saucepan bring vinegar and maple syrup to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally until mixture has reduced to 1/4 cup (about 3 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat.

Remove pork roast from oven and thoroughly brush on glaze. Return to oven and continue cooking at 350F until internal temperature reaches 150F. 

Prepare apples and onion and toss with oil in a baking dish or another rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer. Put in oven on bottom rack until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and toss again. Set aside until roast is done.

Continually test roast temperature until it registers 150F.  When temperature reaches 150F, transfer pork to cutting board, and let rest 10 minutes. Slice 1/4 inch thick and serve with onions and apples on top.

Sausage Stew

My weekly meal plans can sometimes take a u-turn if I find something unexpected on sale at the store. But then I stock up and life happens and whatever it was that I bought still sits in the fridge 3 or 4 days later. So before it reaches "the point of no return," I have to come up with a plan to use the bargain I found, along with whatever else has accumulated in the fridge during the past week.

This week it was ground pork. My intent was to whip up a couple meatloaves for freezing, but I never got around to it--life, kids, and holiday exhaustion got the better of me. The solution? Search Grandma's archives for something different that used ground pork and...behold!...I found something that not only used up the pork, but also some accumulated vegetables--celery, carrots, potatoes, and onions, and--bonus--some tomato soup leftovers! It was a trifecta of budgetary compliance! I was also able to convert it to a crock pot meal. 

The verdict? Surprisingly delicious and hearty and it was satisfying to know that nothing went to waste in the fridge this week. Grandma would have been proud.

Ground Pork Stew

1 lb lean ground pork

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 cups potatoes, diced

1 cup carrots, sliced

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

10 oz can of tomato soup

1 tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet or Dutch Oven. Brown pork, onion and celery then add potatoes, carrots, peas and corn. Stir to combine and add tomato soup, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 2-3 hours. (In a crockpot, I cooked it on low for 6 hours.)

Sausage Potato Supper

This is one of those "stovetop alchemy" concoctions that probably would not make the cover of Gourmet magazine, but the results are--as I recall being exclaimed by my picky eater--"amazing!" Now from a picky eater, that is the holy grail. 

Who says every single recipe result has to be beautiful in presentation? This isn't the Ritz! Ours is just a humble kitchen on a budget trying to make a few hearty dishes the family will love and many of them will even have a Grandma story behind them.

This is one of those recipes containing sausage that Grandma made and Grandpa actually enjoyed. As you will recall, he never liked sausage of any kind--that means hot dogs too. The only variety he ate was the breakfast kind and that was rare. But in this dish the blending of sweet, tart, salty and a little spicy just couldn't be refused. Plus there's something about meat and potatoes that resonated with Grandpa. He was, after all, a meat-n-potatoes Midwest guy!

A couple of suggestions: You can lower the calorie count by using chicken kielbasa (of course you can still use pork or beef too if you prefer the flavor). We also used Trader Joe's Dijon Mustard instead of the dry mustard called for in this recipe and brown sugar instead of the granulated for a richer flavor. These added so much depth that we thought it was worth adjusting the recipe a bit. Whatever modifications you make will probably enhance this recipe. As Grandma always said--"Cooking isn't that hard. Don't be afraid to be creative!"

Sausage Potato Supper

1 pound fully cooked sausage, thinly sliced (we used chicken Kielbasa)
1 Granny Smith apple (peeled), cored and diced in 1/2 inch chunks
1-½  pounds (about 8) boiling potatoes (unpeeled), sliced in 1/4 in thick slices
About 6 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 large onion,diced coarsely
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup dill pickle
¾ dill pickle liquid
2 tsp sugar (we used brown)
½ tsp dry mustard (we used Trader Joe's Dijon)
salt and pepper
chopped parsley for garnish

In a large skillet, heat sausage and apple together until the sausage is browned, then remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and add potato slices a few at a time making sure each slice gets coated with butter, and turn frequently, adding more butter as needed to coat all the potatoes thoroughly.  Add onion and cook, turning often until onion and potatoes are golden. Gently stir in celery, dill pickle and browned sausage mixture.

Combine pickle liquid, sugar, and mustard and pour over potato mixture. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Turn often. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley, if desired. 4 servings.