Pesto Stuffed Pork Chops

This past Saturday we were lucky enough to be graced with the presence of my lovely mama. Besides having a wonderful visit, we also got upon request a BEAUTIFUL basil plant!! I have been dreaming of having my very own basil plant for quite a while. When we searched for one around here and the only one we found was yellow and had about three leaves Joel said I was not allowed to buy it. 

I knew Trader Joe's carried them so when I found out my mom was coming I beseeched my request upon her...and low and behold...this beautiful plant came to live with us:

Thanks mom :) 

For now the plant gets to live on one of my ceramics pieces from college. 

Anyway, with this lovely fresh basil plant I decided to make pesto stuffed rolled pork chops...I didn't know if that was a real thing when I started so I just went with it. We had it with mashed potatoes and balsamic corn. It was a pretty lovely combination. 

Here is the recipe for the pork - it is only for 2 servings. 

Pesto Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:

* 2 thin pork chops

* 1/2 c. fresh basil 

* 1/8 c. almonds - this was approx 13

* 2 cloves garlic

* 1/4 c. parmesan or italian cheese blend - I used the latter

* 3 tsp olive oil

* 1/4 tsp salt

* garlic powder & black pepper to taste

Method:

Chop almonds.

Add almonds, basil, garlic, cheese, olive oil, and salt to food processor. Blend, making sure to scrape sides with spatula to bring pesto to proper consistency. Add garlic powder & black pepper to taste, then blend.

When finished blending you will have about 1/3 cup of pesto.

Preheat oven to 350°

Take pork chops (thawed, if from frozen), remove excess fat (if desired) and pound or use meat tenderizer. 

Take prepared pork chops and spread with pesto. Then roll pork chops, making sure to leave the seam side down. 

Carefully move rolled pork chops to a greased baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. 

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through  - this will vary depending on thickness of your chops.

I served the stuffed chops with garlic/green onion mashed potatoes and balsamic corn. The flavors all blended together quite nicely. 

Enjoy!

Homemade (refrigerator) Dill Pickles!

I love pickles.

That was an understatement. I LOVE pickles.

When I was a baby and teething, my mom would give me a cold pickle to chew on. I think that may be where my association with pickles as a comfort food came from. 

Living in an apartment, and not being quite adventurous enough to try canning (yet anyway) I got it into my head I would try to make refrigerator pickles. BUT I didn't want them to be sweet or at least not too sweet, as I am very loyal to my baby dill pickles. 

After much searching and much dismay over finding recipes that called for WAY too much sugar and ingredients I didn't have, I came up with my own recipe. After the 24 hour waiting period we tried them and were oh so pleasantly surprised. They are crunchy, and delicious, and while there is a hint of sweetness it is not in anyway overpowering. Joel said they remind him of the pickles at Erbs & Gerbs which we love, so I think it was a success.

Besides the waiting period these were really easy to make and I read that refrigerator pickles can keep for up to three weeks, although I highly doubt this small batch I made will even last a week ;)

Homemade (refrigerator) Dill Pickles 

(small batch)

 

* 3 small cucumbers

* 2 tsp dry dill

* 1 tsp garlic powder

* 1 tsp 21 Seasoning Salute (I used this as the "pickling spices") 

  - If you don't have a Trader Joe's to get 21 Seasoning Salute from some of the flavors it lends are: onion, black  pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin, etc. - We don't have a Trader Joe's here but stock up on goodies every time we are near one!!

* 2 tsp kosher salt

* 2 tsp sugar

* 1-2 tsp minced garlic (we looove our garlic!)

* 1 bay leaf

* 1/2 c. white balsamic (I think apple cider vinegar would work well too)

* 1/2 c. white vinegar 

* 3 c. water

Method:

 

Slice cucumbers in spears and place in dish - I used a small glass Pyrex bowl since we don't have any jars :)

In pan combine dill, 21 seasoning salut, garlic (powder & minced), sugar, salt and bay leaf.

Add water and vinegars, stir and bring to a boil. Allowing mixture to boil at least 2 minutes or until sugar and salt have dissolved.

Pour mixture over cucumber spears.

 

Allow mixture to rest until it becomes room temperature.

While it was cooling I put spoons on top to keep all cucumbers submerged - haha I don't know if that was really necessary. 

 

Cover and allow them to marinate at room temperature for about 5 hours. 

- I realize in this picture they are not covered :P

Place tightly sealed dish in the refrigerator for 24 hours - or if you are like me and impatient 24 hours from when you poured the liquid on the cucumbers :)

When they are ready they will not be as brilliant of green and less firm than when you first sliced the cucumbers. (and to my excitement...they looked like real pickles!)

Now...ENJOY!! 

I couldn't even wait to take a bite before the above picture. haha

Bitten pickle now replaced with a fresh one...which also was eaten :)

We enjoyed our pickles with sloppy joe's on homemade wheat bread & sweet potato fries. 

YUM!

French Onion Soup

 

Well, after about an 8 month hiatus from posting I thought it was about time I start again. Or at least Joel thought it was about time I should...so I am. 

After my stint as a nanny I took the summer off with Joel - an opportunity we probably won't have again for a very long time. We were able to see family and friends. We were able to relax and have fun. We were able to (for the most part) be carefree. As with many things though, that time has come to an end. Joel started school yesterday, and I am back to job searching...and as it were...food blogging.

Anyway, on to the good stuff! FOOD!

This was my (our) first attempt at French Onion Soup, and we loved it! Which actually says a lot for me because I don't even like onions. Seriously.

This recipe started from a Better Homes & Gardens recipe, but ended up with a few more ingredients and a LOT more time - the recipe said it would only take 30 minutes start to finish! And perhaps whoever made it didn't care if the onions were caramelized or perhaps they have a special magic caramelizing machine...but that part alone took over 30 minutes. So, be patient (a thing which I am no good at whatsoever) and ENJOY!

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

* 3 yellow onions

* 4 tbs butter

* 1 tbs minced garlic

* 5 cups beef broth (I used beef bouillon)

* 1/3 cup white wine (I used some left over Riesling)

* 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce 

* Black Pepper (to taste)

* Thyme (to taste approx 1 tsp)

For Bread Croutons:

* French Bread

* Italian Cheese Blend

* Olive Oil

Method:

Peal, slice and ring onions.

Melt butter with minced garlic.

Add onions to pot, stir to coat in melted butter. Simmer covered until caramelized, making sure to stir regularly. (You will see the onions greatly reduce in mass).

 

While the onions are cooking prepare beef broth (if using bouillon) - 5 bouillon cubes & 5 cups of water.

The onions will  be a beautiful golden brown when ready.

Add thyme, black pepper & Worcestershire sauce. Stir.

Add wine. This adds a nice hint of sweetness to the soup.

Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

While the soup is finishing toast bread in the oven with olive oil. Top with cheese and stick under the broiler for a few minutes (until cheese is lightly browned).

While the food is cooking it is perfectly acceptable to sip a little of the extra wine ;)

Top soup with toasted bread...and enjoy!

YUM! Yum, yummy, yum!

The next day with our leftover soup we had French Onion Soup Burgers & used the soup as an au jus!

Happy eating :)

Sweet Treats

 

Besides our regular meals, on occasion I make treats as well. This post is the treats I have made over the  past month. Some of which, only a few have stayed at home because Joel needed a treat to bring to school for one reason or another. 

For a farewell party he attended for the dean of the medical school I made mini peanut butter pies:

They were pretty yummy, and we kept some of them in the freezer for ourselves (although they didn't last too long...)

He decided that the little sign I made so people would know what they were was a little too much, so it it didn't get used...other than for the cute picture above.

Another time, as the weekly captain for his small group he was required to bring breakfast. So, along with some fruit, juice, and yogurt, I made pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting for him to take along. Mmmm.

I even piped the frosting to make them a little cuter :) Two of those managed to stay home so the next day (a Saturday) we had a very darling little breakfast:

Now for some treats I will share the recipe for:

Banana Bread (made with yogurt!) and Cookies made with semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini peanut butter cups...yum!

The banana bread came about because we had 2 sad bananas and a car trip to Bismarck for Thanksgiving (in a snow storm) planned, so I thought we could use a snack for the car. 

Here's what I did:

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

* 2 bananas
* 2 c. flour
* 3/4 c. brown sugar
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 (6 oz) apple turnover yogurt (you can use any flavor you want)
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 eggs

Method:

Preheat oven to 350˚

 

Combine bananas, eggs, yogurt, vanilla and vegetable oil.

Mash mixture to break down bananas. 

Stir mixture to fully combine.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.

Fold in banana/yogurt/egg mixture.

Stir mixture until well combined. Pour into greased bread pan.

Bake at 350˚ for 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove bread from oven, and allow to cool on rack before slicing.

Yum, yum!!! Moist banana bread :) - And made without butter!

Next, is cookies!!! Yesterday we had a hankering for some cookies so cookies are what we had!

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip/Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

(this made 24 cookies)

Ingredients:

* 1 c. flour

* 1/4 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt 

* 3/4 stick butter (6 tbsp)

* 1/2cup brown sugar, packed
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup mini peanut butter cups (these are tiny and from Trader Joe's)

* 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 325˚

In mixer, combine butter and both sugars.

Add in egg and vanilla, and mix until blended.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt. 

Once combined pour in mixer and beat until well mixed dough forms.

Chop (just slightly) mini peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.

Mix in peanut butter cups/chocolate chips with cookie dough.

Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Allow to cool on rack.

 

Cookies!!

Yum, yum!

 

Don't forget your milk ;)