Pork Chops with Onion and Asparagus

I love a good pork chop, and Ryan has pretty much figured out the best way to make them! Season them with salt and pepper. Then sear them in a hot cast iron skillet on both sides. Finally, pop them in the oven for 10 or so minutes. Amazing! But since Ryan cooked this style for me last week, I thought I better change it up a bit this week. I went to delish.com to find a recipe, and I found Pork Chops with Onion Compote. I wanted to add some asparagus into the mix so below is my adjusted recipe.

Pork Chops with Onion and Asparagus 

4 T olive oil
1 medium onion (cut into 1/4 inch-thick rings)
2 pork chops (I used center-cut chops)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 to 1/2 c. chardonnay
1/2 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Get out two skillets. I used the cast iron one for the pork chops and the non-stick one for the onions and asparagus. Heat two tablespoons oil in each pan on medium to medium-high heat. The non-stick skillet heats up faster than the cast iron; therefore, if using two non-stick skillets, start heating the one for the onions a couple minutes before starting the one for the pork chops.

After the oil has heated up in the non-stick skillet, add the onions to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add them to the cast iron skillet. Sear both sides, about four minutes on each side (if using thicker pork chops, you will want to sear them for longer). Remove the pan from the burner and cover with foil to let the meat finish cooking. If using a non-stick skillet, keep the pan on the burner, but reduce the heat and cover with a lid.

After the onions have sauted for 10 minutes, add the asparagus. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, 2-3 minutes.

Place one pork chop on a plate and top with the onions and asparagus. Serve with the leftover chardonnay. Mmmm!

Lasagna

A year or so ago, Ryan's mom, Gayle, gave us a simple lasagna recipe.  We liked it so much that we use it as a foundation any time we make lasagna.  We usually end up adding or altering ingredients.  The following recipe is one of our alterations. 

Lasagna

• 1 lb Ground Beef, Turkey, Pork, or Sausage
• Garlic, Sea Salt, and Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 Small Onion
• 1 Jar Prego Sauce (preferably the Roasted Red Pepper variety)
• 2 Shots Scotch, Whiskey, or Bourbon
• 2/3 Red Pepper
• 15 Whole Wheat Lasagna noodles
• 24 oz Cottage Cheese
• 2 c Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 to 1 c Parmesan Cheese

Brown ground meat in a large skillet.  Season with garlic, sea salt, and pepper to taste.  Add onion when almost fully cooked.  After meat is fully cooked, add Prego, liquor, and red pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.  Spoon some of the meat mixture into the pan.  Add three layers of noodles, cottage cheese, meat mixture, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese (in that order).  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce through noodles.  Top with more Parmesan Cheese, if desired.  Cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Parmesan Turkey Burgers and Yellow Squash

My sister made these burgers for the first time years ago.  I never even thought about making burgers out of other ground meat (besides ground beef) until she had me try these.  The recipe is quite basic, but feel free to try adding or substituting other ingredients to it.  Different toppings also can add new and exciting flavors.  Ryan and I are constantly making up "new" burgers.  We love experimenting.  For a base, we switch between ground beef, turkey, chicken, or pork.

The Original Parmesan Turkey Burgers
Makes 4 turkey burgers

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 T chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/8 t salt
• 4 hamburger buns
• Red onion rings

Heat grill for direct heat.  Mix together the turkey, Parmesan cheese, chives, pepper, and salt.  Shape into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick.  Grill patties for about 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, or until no longer pink in the center. Grill onion rings, if desired.  Serve patties on buns with onion rings.  Add extra toppings, if desired.  Be creative.  The first night Ryan and I ate these we added BBQ, tomatoes, and pickles to them (pictured above).  The second night, we just added Fire-Roasted Salsa to them, which made them pretty much the best turkey burger I've ever had!

Whenever we grill burgers, we like to also grill some vegetables to go with the main entree.  The day we made the turkey burgers, we grilled up some yellow squash.

Grilled Yellow Squash

• 1 yellow squash, cut in half length-wise
• Pepper
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Sprinkle pepper and seasons salt on squash.  Grill flesh side down until tender.  Flip over and grill for one more minute.