Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Ahh fall..or should I say #fall

Everyone is busting out their sweaters and boots and participating in the classic fall activities, and I am no exception. My favorite thing to do in the fall is go apple picking. I have been going to Honeypot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA for 6 years and counting! I even had my engagement pics taken there. While ironically, I am not the biggest fan of apples on their own(too much work in my opinion), there is nothing like a caramel apple and some cider donuts from honeypot- OH- and the actual apple picking is fun too. Problem with apple picking is- you always pick wayyyy too many. So my goal this year was to actually DO something with the apples we picked, and not have them sadly rotting away in my fruit basket. So I knocked out about half the bag with a classic apple pie, but I still had a half dozen apples left. So I was searching online for a good entree that incorporated apples, but wouldn't take me hours and tons of ingredients. I came across this recipe for Caramel Apple Pork Chops, and was really happy with the result..my full and happy belly :)

Ingredients
3-4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
1 tsp veggie oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
3 apples (pref. tart), peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 175 degrees (no this isn't a typo- we are using the oven to keep the dish warm, not cook it) and place a medium size dish in the oven to warm. Heat a large skillet  over medium-high heat. Brush your chops with oil and place in the hot pan.

 

Cook until no longer pink (about 10 minutes depending on thickness) turning occasionally

 

 

Transfer the chops to the warming dish in the oven

 

 

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter to the skillet and stir in brown sugar mixture and apples.

 

 

 Cover and cook until the apples are tender

 

 

Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of the chops. Keep warm in the oven.

 

Pour the remaining liquid from the skillet on top of the apples and pork chops. If you are looking to have more sauce on top, you can quickly whip up some more using the same steps as above (melt butter and brown sugar mixture). Once the dish is complete, top with your pecans and serve!

 

 

 

 

One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

I guess I should start being a real human again. While its been nice and easy plopping some Willowtree chicken salad on a couple slices of wheat bread for the last month and a half, there's nothing like a good 'ol home cooked meal. On Monday afternoon, I spent my morning going through Pintrest for ideas and came across a few inticing recipes that I have made this week! The first was a one pot meal (the best) that actually came out really good!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large chicken breasts (or 5 breast tenderloins)- cut into one inch pieces
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp flour
8 ounces dry fettuccini pasta
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Parsley

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add your veggies and minced garlic. Saute them over medium heat until the vegetables become tender (5-7 minutes)

 

Add chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Continue to saute over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink.

 

Add your milk, broth and flour. Stir to combine and add your dry pasta (yes, dry pasta). Make sure the pasta is completely covered by the mixture- you can use more broth if necessary. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover, reduce to low and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the pasta becomes tender. MAKE SURE to stir the pasta every 5 minutes so it doesn't stick together!

 

Remove the lid and cook for 5 more minutes, so the sauce can thicken. Remove from heat, stir in your shredded cheese until incorporated. Top it with parsley and serve!

 

 

 

This is an awesome dish for a weeknight din! The pasta is tender, creamy and not too cheesy, and the veggies and chicken are a great addition (and make me feel like I'm kinda healthy-here's hopin). Will definetly be making this again!

Crockpot Pork Carnitas

 I don't know when it was, but at some point in the past 5 years, Mexican food became one of my favorite cuisines. Maybe its the melted cheese, maybe its the guac, but nothing gets me more excited than washing either of the two down with a frozen strawberry rita. I make tacos at home a good amount, but have never made my go-to dish to order: pork carnitas! When I saw this recipe in my new slowcooker cookbook I was ppuuummmpppeedd.

Ingredients:
4lb pork shoulder (preferably boneless)
1 can chopped green chiles
1/3 cup OJ
1/3 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
Small white tortillas
Mexican cheese
sour cream

 

Cut the pork into two inch cubes. I kinda felt like a clumsy Dexter doing this, almost chopped my fingers off a few times so be careful!

Mix the cubed pork, chiles, OJ, lime juice, garlic and cumin in the crock pot.

 

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

 

With a slotted spoon remove the pork out of the crock pot and place it on your tortillas. Cover with cheese, sour cream or whatever else you want!

 

 

OMG these were so good! Such a good change from my normal taco night. The pork melted in your mouth and tasted like restaurant quality carnitas! Ole!

"Non Mayo" Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad, and I love mayo...so the thought of separating them makes me really upset. However, I keep seeing this recipes on Pintrest using greek yogurt to replace mayo and always wonder if it is just as good (wishful thinking). So since I had some leftover roast chicken, I couldn't resist making this. Roast chicken is the best type to use in chicken salad, especially shredded because it is so moist, tender and not too chewy..nothing worst than dry and chewy chicken..WOOF...I digress...anyway, I found a recipe called "healthy chicken salad" on pintrest using greek yogurt..so in the words of Kel:

Ingredients
2 cups roast chicken (shredded)
1 cup green grapes sliced
1/3 cup craisins
1 green apple peeled/chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1/2 red onion chopped
1 (5.3) oz of CIOBANI non-fat greek yogurt- plain
Your bread of choice (will effect the healthiness)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and put it on bread. Boom- done.

As far as quality chicken salad goes, the greek yogurt does not even come close to mayo. But it was really different tasting and intriguing with the salt from the chicken and almonds really contrasting the sweetness of the grapes and apple. While I would rather have normal chicken salad with mayo, I understand how it could be a nice healthy alternative for folks. I am glad I gave it a try though because I would have always wondered..and now I can just use this new recipe and replace the greek yogurt with mayo.... I'm sorry healthy chicken salad recipe, do you feel used?

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

I have always wanted to do this! Finally- I made an entire chicken in my crockpot, fit to feed us for two days! Here's what I did:

Ingredients
Whole chicken
1 Onion (in slices)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Rosemary





Rinse and clean the chicken as you would if you were roasting it. Rub the outer skin with olive oil and then coat with black pepper, salt and Rosemary. Place your onion slices on the bottom of the crock pot with your two tablespoons of minced garlic. Plop that big fat chicken right on top! Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

 

When its all done, remove the chicken from the crockpot and get ready to carve as you please. However, there isn't much carving needed, as the meat falls right off the bone! Serve with a starch and veggie and save the leftover meat for our next meal- Healthy Chicken Salad Sandwiches! I will post this recipe next!

BBQ Honey Garlic Glazed Pork Chops

I've never gilled pork chops before. Is that weird? These chops were a really good change up to the ones I usually make. Makes me want summer and grilling NOW though..P.S. Anything that has honey and garlic in the title makes me salivate.

Ingredients
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire suace
2 Teaspoons minced garlic
3 Boneless Pork Chops

 

 

 

 

This recipe is so easy! Just mix your first four ingredients together in a small bowl.

 

Place your chops on the grill and brush it with the glaze. Cook until no longer pink.

 

 

I served this with mashed sweet potatoes and boiled asparagus with a hollandaise sauce. Both of these veggies are super easy to make as well.

 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes: peel and cut your sweet potatoes in 2 inch cubes. Boil until soft and easily cut with a fork. Drain and mash, adding a tablespoon of butter and 2 tbsp of brown sugar.

 

Broiled Asparagus: fill a medium, deep, frying pan with water. Throw in all your asparagus and heat on medium with the cover on. It should only take about 10 minutes for these to be done.

 

Hollandaise: Just buy a little package of the instant hollandaise sauce at the store and follow the package instructions. I usually find this in the produce section. Its a great addition to make the flavor of the asparagus really pop and a great touch if you are having guests over!

 

 

 

Seasoned Turkey Burgers

I am not a turkey burger connoisseur by any means, but I have had a few in my life and they are typically under seasoned, and less than flavorful. I have attempted the turkey burger in the past and it was mediocre BUT in the words of the sweet sweet angel Aaliyah (RIP) I thought I would 'dust myself off and try again..'

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 package dry onion soup mix
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg (beaten)
Hamburger rolls of choice
Medium Cheddar Cheese

Any toppings you want!

In a medium size bowl, combine the ground turkey, onion soup mix, pepper, salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire and egg. Mix with your hands until incorporated.

 

 

Refrigerate for 10 minutes and then form into 3 patties.

 

Cook on your grill of choice until the middle is a whitish color. Place your cheese on about 1 minute before its done. Build your burger with your fav toppings of choice. I went with a lil mayo, lil tomato, lil lettuce and of course a lot of avocado. I served it with some roasted brussel sprouts and an avocado/tomato salad. This burger was so flavorful, and I think I would actually prefer it over most beef burgers I have made at home! The onion soup mix realy comes through in the flavor of the meat, and the egg/worceshire really help keep the ground turkey moist. I will def make this again!

 

CrockPotRoast

Another crockpot recipe- BOOYA! Pot roast is such a homey classic, that is perfect to make when you are serving a big group of people! And its SO EASY!

What you need:
2-3 lb boneless chuck roast
1 bag baby carrots
3 stalks of celery- chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package onion soup mix
4-5 red potatoes
Crockpot

 

 

 

 

 

Place your beef in the crock pot, and cover it in the carrots and celery. Decision time- you can either cut your red potatoes in 4's and place them in the crockpot OR wait until the meat is done and boil/mash them separately as a side. Either way, its super delish. This time I chose to wait and mash them on the side.

 In a small bowl, mix together the cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix and 1 cup of water. Pour this mixture over the meat/veggies in the crockpot.

 

 

Cook on low for 8-11 hours

 

 

When its done, pull the meat apart with a fork and serve! The meat makes its own gravy, but if your like me and prefer a thick and hearty gravy on your mashys, I suggest buying a jar or making a gravy mix on the stove. YUM!