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!

St. Patty's Cheese Pie

For St. Patrick's Day, Ryan and I had our friends, Liz and Jordan, over for dinner and green beer (light colored beer mixed with 1-2 drops of green food coloring). Ryan made some delicious club steak, and I made the following cheese pie for dessert. It was delicious and so beautiful. :)

St. Patty's Cheese Pie

1 (9") graham cracker crumb crust
1 (8oz) package Neufchatel 1/3 less fat cream cheese or regular cream cheese
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla extract
Green food coloring

In a large bowl, beat neufchatel cheese until fluffy. Beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, vanilla extract and 2-4 drops green food coloring (to make a light green color). Pour into graham cracker crumb crust. Smooth top surface. Drip 3-4 drops of green food coloring on top. Swirl with a knife until desired pattern. Chill 4 hours or until set. Pie fully sets up over night.

Herb Roasted Whole Chicken

Mmmm! Chicken! Served with green beans, butter and garlic pasta, and salad. Delicious!

Herb Roasted Whole Chicken 

1 Whole Chicken
3 T Rosemary Infused Olive Oil
2 sprigs fresh oregano
2 springs fresh thyme
1 small onion
1 small lemon
5 garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
Handful of cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub rosemary infused olive oil between flesh and skin. Stuff, onion, lemon, and garlic inside of the chicken cavity. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Chicken right before he oven-bathed :)

Julie & Julia

Ryan and I watched Julie & Julia last night. It reminded me that I had a food blog. :) Julie was way more dedicated to her blog than I am to this one. She probably also had 20 times more readers than me, but I realized how much I miss making new dishes. I really haven't made anything new in 2011; hopefully that will change. And hopefully I'll remember to take pictures and post the new dishes on here. Sorry to my five or so readers. :)

8 Layer Dip

It's Super Bowl time! Okay, I'm not a huge football person, but I do love to eat! So, I made a variation of this 7 Layer Dip. Here's mine:

8 Layer Dip

8 oz refried beans
1 c colby jack cheese
1 c pepper jack cheese
8 oz sour cream
2 avocados
salt
pepper
lemon juice
ground red pepper
1/2 c salsa
4 oz sliced black olives
2 roma tomatoes, diced
3 green onions, sliced

Mash avocados; add salt, pepper, lemon juice, and ground red pepper to taste. Spread refried beans in the bottom of a 9 inch round pan (or something close to that). Sprinkle 1/2 c colby jack and 1/2 c pepper jack cheese over beans. Spread sour cream over cheese. Spread mashed avocado over sour cream. Spread salsa over avocado. Sprinkle the rest of both cheeses over salsa. Top with black olives, tomatoes, and green onions. Serve with chips!

Oatmeal Waffles

This morning, I made waffles for breakfast.  I cheated and used pancake/waffle mix, but I didn't quite have enough batter for both Ryan and me to eat.  I ended up grinding some oats to a fine powder using the coffee grinder.  I added the powder to the batter along with a little more milk and oil to give the batter the correct consistency.  I topped my waffles with peanut butter, a little syrup, and strawberries!  This gave the waffles a savory, sweet, and fruity flavor.  They were delicious, but the oats made them a bit more crumbly than I'd like.  However, I think they filled me up better than regular waffles, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to stay full longer.  So I consider them a success...just wish they weren't so crumbly.  Also, now I really want to try some other waffle recipes.

Home-grown

Mmmm!  I love home-grown veggies!  My container garden has been through a lot (including a move to a new state), but it has survived.  I have ONE pepper and lots of tomatoes.  I also have three tiny cucumbers!  My yellow squash has flowered at least three times, but not squash yet.  My zucchini died...as did my radishes and green onion.  My carrots have lots of green leaves showing, but I'm too scared to pull any up yet.  Here are some pictures:

Cucumbers (3 little ones)

Sweet Pepper (only 1)

Tomatoes (multiple cherry and regular-sized ones)

Basil (also in the container: cilantro, parsley, and oregano)

The tomatoes are DELICIOUS!  I can't wait for the green ones to turn red...they're not producing fast enough for me.  Hehe.  :)