So after a morning of cleaning and playing with the dog, by 1:00pm I’m bored. I open the fridge to see what I can occupy my time with. Lo and behold there are pork chops sitting on the bottom shelf we took out to thaw yesterday. So now, the preparation of dinner begins…
The pork chops are boneless, and not much I can do with them until dinner time. I wash them and soak them with the juice of 2 limes and some cold water. While it soaks for about 10 minutes I check with foodnetwork.com for any new pork chop recipes. Apple glazed this… molasses marinated that… chutneys on the side… stuffed… so many different recipes. So I text my boyfriend and sister for a consensus on how they’ll want their chops… unanimous decision in favor of simply fried (although my sister tried to be a smartass and initially replied “cooked”). Not a whole lot of effort needed there so I just season up the chops with a few dashes of black pepper, garlic powder, seasoned salt, thyme and I throw in some chopped onions for good measure. Place it in the fridge and voilà, done!
Now onto side dishes…
5 people for dinner tonight and I like to provide variety. Glazed carrots, sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, white rice, red beans and caramelized onions are on the menu for tonight.
The following have been scaled down from servings of 5 to servings of 2:
Glazed Carrots-
(Serves 2)
Boil ½ pack of baby carrots for 10-15 minutes. You still want a little crunch when you bite into them. Drain the water from the pot. Mix in honey. As the carrots cool more honey will stick to it.
Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes-
(Serves 2)
Peel and quarter ½ lb. of potatoes. Boil for 20-25 minutes, until you’re able to stick a fork in it without resistance. Drain the potatoes and mash them in the pot. Mix in 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped chive. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with chopped chive for presentation.
White Rice-
(Serves 2)
Boil 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water. Drain and serve.
Red Beans-
(Serves 2)
Semi-drain a can of red beans, leaving about half can of liquid intact. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in sauce pan. Add in some chopped onions and a small clove of minced garlic. Empty can of beans into pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Add a dash of oregano and 3-4 healthy squirts of ketchup. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Caramelized onions-
(Serves 2)
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat in a sauce pan. Add 1 ½ – 2 thinly sliced onions and lower the heat to medium-low. Add salt and pepper to taste, approximately ½ teaspoon of each. Stir constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons of sugar and cook until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Hours have passed and now back to the pork chops…
After removing them from the fridge, I prepare a large and mostly flat plate with a beaten egg. This is to dip the pork chops in before coating them with breadcrumbs/shake and bake/crumbled crackers/flour. Once you’ve dipped the chop in the egg and picked and utilized your choice of coating, just fry ‘em. For the 5 of us I used 1 ¼ cup of vegetable oil, and ¾ cups of coating. For 2 people you’d use about ½ cup of oil and ¼ cup of coating.
I’m sure there will be raving reviews from my boyfriend if you check his blog.
