Herb Roasted Pork with Garlic and Spinach Orzo

Looking in my fridge and pantry this week, I saw lots of half boxes and bags of things. I hate when I have a lot of random leftover items because I always find it difficult to make a complete dinner out of them. Well there was no way I was fighting the last minute Thanksgiving shoppers at the grocery store so I decided I needed to use up what I had. So out of a pork roast, half a box of orzo, half a bag of baby spinach, 1/4 head of garlic, and 1 cup chicken stock came the idea for our dinner tonight. It turned out really well and was simple and delicious.

Herb Roasted Pork

1.5 lb pork roast
1 tsp dried thyme
1 large clove garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat a skillet over med/high heat and add 3 Tbsp olive oil. Rub the roast with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. Place the roast in the skillet and sear on all sides. Place roast in a preheated 375 degree oven and cook for about an hour. Check to make sure the internal temp is 160 or that juices are clear. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 min before slicing. Pour pan juices over sliced pork.

Garlic and Spinach Orzo

1 cup orzo
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp salt. Add orzo and boil for 9 min, until al dente. Drain the orzo. Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 min. Add the orzo and chicken stock and stir. Remove from heat and stir in chopped spinach, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Maple Braised Pork Chops

I really love the food blog community. I get so many great ideas and dinner is hardly ever boring anymore. I can barely keep up with all the great recipes I have saved! Well I've had this recipe saved for a couple weeks but it's been getting pushed back and pushed back because we've been so busy and I haven't been doing as much cooking as usual. So I finally decided I wanted to make this for dinner tonight. Well wouldn't you know I didn't have the brown sugar that the recipe calls for. I get so frustrated when I get ready to make something and then realize I don't have one or more of the ingredients. But I was determined to make it anyway so I improvised a little. It still turned out really good even without the missing ingredient. The great combination of flavors still came through in every bite.

Maple Braised Pork Chops

1-2 lbs pork ribs (I used boneless pork chops)
maple rub (recipe below)

Maple Rub

• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar(I used a little granulated sugar and extra syrup just for sweetness because I was out of brown sugar)
  
• splash of worchestershire sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chicken stock for the bottom of the crockpot
  

1. Combine above ingredients in a bowl. Consistency will slightly clumpy and paste like. Coat pork ribs with this paste using your hands - a basting brush isn't as effective.
2. Place coated pork in a dutch oven or in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours OR Place coated pork in your crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.

Prep time: 5-10 mintues

Cook time: Oven: 3-4hrs Crockpot: 5 to 5 1/2hrs

Serves: 4

(I baked my chops in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 min and then broiled for a couple min. I added a little chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. My maple rub was a little thinner than it probably should have been because of the extra syrup. Still good though.)


Adapted from: Tara's Pork Chops
Original Source: Joelen's Blog

Another Recipe Revisited

Since I'm going back through some of my favorite recipes, this one had to be on the list of things to make again soon. I think I've only made this once before, but I remembered it being very good and very easy. So it made it's way onto this week's menu. My husband nor I have ever really been big fans of pork chops, at least the way our mothers made them, but this recipe is a keeper for both of us. It really takes no time at all and requires few ingredients to make. Very easy for a weeknight meal.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Original Source: foodnetwork.com

A vegetable-less dinner

This never happens but tonight we had dinner without vegetables. I always try to make a balanced meal for dinner; protein, carbs, and at least one non-starchy vegetable, but tonight I was just not feeling the veggies. So I didn't make any. But what we did have was very good... barbecue pork sandwiches, made in the crock pot and homemade mac 'n cheese. So I guess I don't feel so bad about the veggies. Eh, I'll do better tomorrow.


Crock Pot Pulled Barbecue Pork

2 lb pork loin roast
1 jar barbebue sauce (I use a honey bbq sauce for a sweeter flavor)
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups broth or water

Place roast in the crock pot. Add 1/2 bottle sauce, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and garlic on top of the roast. Pour broth or water in the bottom of the crock pot. This helps to keep the roast from burning or drying out. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Before serving, take two forks and shred the pork in the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on keep warm and allow the pork to warm in the juices in the bottom of the crock pot for 15 min or so. Remove pork from the crock pot and place in a bowl. Add the other 1/2 bottle of sauce and toss to coat. Serve on buns or rolls.



I'm especially proud of how the macaroni turned out. It was the first time I have made this dish that it turned out well. You would think any proper southern girl would be born knowing how to make a killer mac 'n cheese, but I have never had any luck with it until tonight. This will be my go to mac 'n cheese recipe from now on! I basically just took ideas from several different recipes and came up with this.


Creamy Baked Mac 'n Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Begin my boiling the macaroni in salted water until done. Drain. Heat the milk for about 1 min in the microwave just to get it warm. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add flour and stir in with a whisk. Cook over medium heat for about 2-3 min. Slowly add warm milk to the pan and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup cheddar, 1/2 cup mozzarella, salt and pepper. Stir in macaroni. Pour into a greased baking dish. Top with additional cheddar, mozzarella and bread crumbs. Bake for about 25-30 min or until bubbly and golden brown.

Quick Dinner and Dessert!

I never know what to do with pork chops but I had some in the freezer so I figured I better use them up. I wanted to do something easy that didn't require any breading. So I just made a simple sauce to go over some pan cooked thin, boneless chops. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savory. And the best part is they were done in about 15 min! We had them with some roasted potatoes and green beans.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

4 thin cut, boneless pork chops
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Spray a pan with non stick spray. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Cook 4 min on each side or until done. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar and honey. Remove pork chops from the pan and set aside. Pour the vinegar and honey mixture in the pan and whisk to combine the pork chop drippings with the sauce. Let simmer a couple minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the pork chops back to the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chops when serving.

*I got the idea for this simple recipe from Cooking Light.

I also whipped up some simple, but delicious peanut butter cookies tonight. This recipe only requires one bowl, no mixer, and they are done in about 12 min. My mom used to make these all the time for us when we were kids. They are my favorite easy cookie recipe!



Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Roll cookies into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork to flatten. Bake for 10-12 min or until edges are brown.

*If the dough looks too runny, just add a bit more sugar. The dough should be stiff.