Name: Seasoned Skillet Pork Chops with Tangy Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4 pork chops, 1 cup sauce
Ingredients: 1/2 cup apple jelly; 1/2 cup ketchup; 1 tablespoon white vinegar; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 4 boneless pork chops, approximately 1/2 inch thick

Seasoned Skillet Pork Chops with Tangy Sauce

April 28, 2017

These seasoned skillet pork chops come together in less than half an hour for a delicious weeknight dinner! The tangy sauce is perfect on the side.

There’s something about a roast that just makes dinnertime seem so simple. Even though roasts have to cook for a really long time, they’re so easy…just season and roast. Boom. Even better if you can put it in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. You don’t even have to heat up your kitchen!

The thing is, if you only have two people living in your house, a roast isn’t always practical. I mean, pork shoulders and chuck roasts are great because you can shred them up and throw the leftovers in the freezer, then pull them out whenever you need a filling for a sandwich or a taco. But with a roast that you slice up, the freezer option doesn’t seem that appealing.

There was this roast that my grandmother used to make all the time when I was a kid. It was a pork loin, seasoned with a spice mixture that included chili powder, served with a sweet and tangy sauce made from apple jelly and ketchup. It was absolutely delicious and it was one of the things that stands out in my mind that she made. Pretty much a flawless meal.

But again…it’s kind of hard to find a pork loin that isn’t gigantic. But you know what isn’t gigantic? Pork chops. So, I took my grandmother’s pork loin roast and turned it into these seasoned skillet pork chops. Not only did they taste great, these skillet pork chops were such a quick dinner. The sauce only takes about 5 minutes to whisk up, and the pork chops come together from start to finish in less than 20 minutes. I served them with some Instant Pot mashed potatoes from A Calculated Whisk (?). Seasoned skillet pork chops are a fabulous weeknight dinner!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 4 pork chops, 1 cup sauce

Seasoned Skillet Pork Chops with Tangy Sauce

5 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

25 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Sauce

1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder

For the Pork Chops

1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless pork chops, approximately 1/2 inch thick

Instructions

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir constantly until the apple jelly melts and the sauce is smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl if using immediately. If not using immediately, pour into a jar or lidded bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Place the olive oil in a medium oven-safe skillet and set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with the spice mixture.
Place the pork chops in the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side to brown. Remove from heat and place in the oven. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center reaches 145°. Serve immediately with warm sauce.

https://chattavore.com/seasoned-skillet-pork-chops-tangy-sauce/

This seasoned skillet pork chops are come together in less than half an hour for a delicious weeknight dinner! The tangy sauce is perfect on the side. | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Party Sandwiches with Bacon and Cheese

January 30, 2017

Tiny party sandwiches with bacon, melted cheese, caramelized onions, and a buttery sauce will make all your guests smile-if you choose to share.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.

Bacon & cheese party sandwiches are a direct descendent of the ham and cheese party sandwiches (sliders) that I’ve been seeing blowing up everyone’s Facebook and Pinterest feeds over the past several weeks. I first had those sandwiches at a baby shower a few years back and thought they were great, but somehow the flavors weren’t as pronounced as I would have liked. I like strong flavors. I’m the kind of person who’ll triple the garlic in a recipe and my cheese philosophy is “you can never have too much”. As I pondered what to make these sandwiches with, bacon, smoked gouda (after asking for suggestions from my Facebook followers), and caramelized onions sounded like a perfect flavor combo to me.

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend lately: bacon hating. Or maybe not hating, per se, but a bacon backlash. For a good while, there was a big-time bacon trend…everyone was putting bacon on everything. And while I am certain that people are always going to love bacon, I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of food-obsessed types making fun of the bacon trend and it is a little bit upsetting to me. Because, you guys, I was bacon when bacon wasn’t cool. So I will continue to put bacon on anything I can find an excuse to put bacon on, and I won’t apologize for it.

I definitely won’t apologize for these bacon & cheese party sandwiches. While you can use any type of cheese that you’d like, the combination of smoky bacon and smoked Gouda cheese with just a little bit from the caramelized onions and sweetness from maple syrup setting off the saltiness of the bacon and cheese makes these bacon & cheese sandwiches a pretty transcendent snack food experience. The original recipe calls for Hawaiian slider rolls, which I didn’t see at my grocery store, but I wanted to use potato rolls instead. If you use Hawaiian rolls, leave out the maple syrup…it will make the sandwiches too sweet.

Put these bacon & cheese party sandwiches on your table for the big game this year. Your guests will thank you.

Shared on Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

(Also, check out my adorable custom cutting board! My friend and her husband made it for me. Check out their Facebook Page – Markums’ Wood ‘n’ Glass!)

Mary

Yield: 12 sandwiches (easily doubled)
Super Bowl Recipe: Bacon & Cheese Party Sandwiches
15 minPrep Time:
1 hrCook Time:
1 hr, 15 Total Time:

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Ingredients
12 strips bacon, cooked until crisp-reserve one tablespoon of drippings
2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 dinner rolls, halved cross-wise (I used potato rolls)
7-8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese or other cheese of your choice, shredded
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey would work as well)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional...I couldn't find mine so I left them out)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the bacon and set it aside. Place the tablespoon of reserved bacon drippings into a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat if needed to prevent over-browning (I turned the heat all the way down to low). Remove to a bowl.
Place the halved rolls into an 11×9 baking dish. Remove the tops (I lined mine up in order so I could easily match the tops to the bottoms since they were not all the same size. Break each strip of bacon into three pieces and arrange three pieces of bacon onto each roll. Sprinkle the onions over the bacon then top with the shredded cheese. Place the other half of the rolls on top.
Whisk the butter, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard in a bowl. Brush the tops of the rolls with the butter mixture then spoon the remaining butter mixture all over the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds.
Cover the sandwiches with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve immediately with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard on the side (honey mustard would be good too).
Notes
Feel free to add other meats here. For example, when I took these pictures, I had about 1/4 pound of turkey that I was afraid would go bad if I didn't use it, so I threw them on the sandwiches!
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https://chattavore.com/bacon-cheese-party-sandwiches/

Leftover BBQ Pork Sandwich & Peach BBQ Sauce

January 24, 2017

Leftover bbq pork shines when you pair it with a quick peach bbq sauce and pile it on a soft, fresh bun for this simple sandwich!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.
Leftover bbq pork sandwiches with peach bbq sauce = not a meal that I ever planned to make. Actually, my plan the day that I made these was to turn the slow cooker pork shoulder I’d made a couple of days before into Cuban sandwiches. The problem? I’d purchased a loaf of Cuban bread from the Publix bakery on Friday and by Tuesday it was completely dried out. The struggle is real, y’all.

Mind you, I already had these onion rings (recipe coming soon…these onion rings were fantastic and baked) in the oven, so I was pretty much committed at that point and needed to make something that I could throw together in the 10 minutes left on the timer. Then I remembered that I still had about half of the peach white wine sauce that I made to go with the pork shoulder and a pack of potato rolls in the freezer, and suddenly it all made sense. If I stirred a little ketchup into the sauce, I could make a simple barbecue sauce and avoid throwing away that delicious peach sauce…perfect!

These sandwiches came together in less than ten minutes. Don’t you love it when a meal comes together like that? It’s pretty exciting. For the two of us, this one pork shoulder made six meals (Cuban sandwiches and pork ragu with polenta coming up later this week, and more in the freezer!). Of course, for a larger family, you’ll need to cook a larger pork shoulder to get that many meals…but is that really a bad thing? There’s really nothing better than being halfway to dinner being done before you even get started. Look for more of these make-ahead style meals coming soon!

I hope you’ll make these leftover bbq pork sandwiches with peach bbq sauce!

Shared on Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Mary

Yield: 4 servings
Simple Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Peach BBQ Sauce
5 minPrep Time:
10 minCook Time:
15 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients
2 cups slow cooked pork shoulder, shredded
1 cup ketchup
1/2 recipe peach white wine sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
4 hamburger buns (I used potato rolls)
dill pickle chips, coleslaw, etc., for serving
Instructions
Place the shredded pork, ketchup, peach white wine sauce, liquid smoke (if using), and cayenne (if using) into a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through.
Divide the pork among 4 buns. Top with desired toppings, such as pickles or coleslaw. Serve while hot.
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https://chattavore.com/leftover-bbq-pork-sandwich-peach-bbq-sauce/

Pork Ragu with Polenta

January 23, 2017

This pork ragu with polenta is a delicious, warming, rib-sticking way to make over leftover pork shoulder or other pork you might have around.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.
Pork ragu with polenta is a meal from The Make-Ahead Cook from Cook’s Illustrated. It started out as this slow cooker pork shoulder with peach white wine sauce, which I also turned into pulled pork sandwiches with peach bbq sauce and later Cuban sandwiches (which I’ll post later this week). (P.S. I love making over leftovers).
Make-ahead meals are perfect to have up your sleeve when you feel like I have lately-that “never going to not be tired again” feeling. It seems that I get this feeling every couple of months. I don’t think that it helps that it feels ridiculously cold (and I know, I know, I can’t really complain…it’s not that cold here compared to many other parts of the country) and that I am way over Daylight Savings Time (come back, summer!).

When I come home from work, I pretty much head straight to my basement to do a Fitness Blender workout of some sort (because I am trying desperately to fit back into the clothes that did fit me before I changed to this more sedentary job) then back upstairs to get dinner started.

Being able to whip something up from an already made meal is pretty fantastic, especially when it is as warm and rich as this pork ragu with polenta.

The quicker I can get dinner on the table, the quicker I can get to being lazy on the couch (well, and writing these recipes for you guys!). I’m looking forward to making more make-ahead meals to share with you!

Mary

Yield: 4 servings
Pork Ragu with Polenta
This recipe is adapted from the book The Make-Ahead Cook by Cook's Illustrated.
10 minPrep Time:
30 minCook Time:
40 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients
For the Ragu
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup dry red wine
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
3 cups shredded pork shoulder
1/4 cup chopped basil
For the Polenta
4 cups water
salt & pepper
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup coarse-ground polenta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds.
Stir in the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, with their juice, and the water. Mash with a potato masher to break the tomatoes into small pieces. Stir in the shredded pork and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the basil and salt and pepper to taste.
While the pork mixture is simmering, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt then slowly pour in the polenta, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to low and cover.
After five minutes, whisk the polenta to remove any lumps. Cover and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Divide among bowls and top with the ragu and grated cheese. Serve immediately.
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https://chattavore.com/pork-ragu-with-polenta/

Homemade Cuban Sandwiches

January 20, 2017

Homemade Cuban sandwiches are a perfect way to use up any leftover pork roast you might have in your fridge. They’re a classic!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.
I’ve written about Cuban sandwiches before, nearly four years ago when I first started writing recipes on this blog. Those were dark days, at least in terms of my photography, so sometimes I like to look back, cringe briefly, and think about how far I’ve come (and still have to go, but I’m doing okay for myself).
I have absolutely no Cuban heritage. I have no idea what the history or the origins of a Cuban sandwich is and at the moment (7:30 on a Friday night after what I can only refer to as a week) I am not feeling much of a desire to research its origins. I do know where I first heard about it…Alton Brown‘s Food Network show Good Eats, which I watched religiously for many, many years until it was taken off the air.

At the time that I first heard of Cuban sandwiches (or Cubanos, as they are sometimes called) I didn’t even really like pickles or yellow mustard, but I remember being intrigued and knowing that I had to try them. I loved them and honestly I think that the more pickles the better (which probably surprises you guys…you had no idea that I loved pickles, did you?). I remember Philip telling me about going to lunch with his team from work once and one of the ladies ordering a Cuban sandwich without the pickles. What the WHAT? Don’t you dare. Okay, do it if you must. But don’t tell me about it.
It’s kind of fun (for me, anyway) that I had this scheduled on the blog this week because we watched the movie Chef the other night. In the film, Jon Favreau is a chef who’s lost his passion and, subsequently, his job and, at the prodding of his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) starts a food truck where he makes great street food…like Cuban sandwiches. In fact, the name of his truck is Cubanos. The movie was surprisingly good. And what I love about these homemade Cuban sandwiches (besides, of course, the fact that they are super-tasty) is that they come together so quickly, with leftover slow cooker pork shoulder and deli ham and cheese that, yes, are directly out of the package.