Easy Boneless Pork Chops

March 12, 2018 Red Rose & Honey1 Comment

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by my blog again. Today I am sharing a dinner recipe that I have actually been avoiding for quite some time. One of my husband’s favorite dinners is pork chops which happens to be one of my least favorite. Pork chops are one food that always stand out in my mind as bland and dry. My mom is the best cook I know, but growing up I always cringed when she said she was making pork chops!

College was the first time I really started experimenting in the kitchen. I was always interested in trying new recipes and let’s face it, I had plenty of time to do so. I made pork chops for Mike a few times in college. I believe one was in a fancy blackberry reduction. I can’t even say I was really trying to win him over because back then he was a total plain Jane in the food department!

For the last few months Mike has been asking me to make pork chops. I finally caved-in because I was running out of ideas for new recipes to try and found myself staring at the meat/poultry display at the food store. I decided to buy a 3 pack of organic, boneless pork chops from Stop and Shop. When I got home I did a little bit of research on how to cook pork chops. I find most of my recipe inspiration from magazines or Pinterest photos (not usually the recipes themselves). Once I see a picture I like to try to figure out what the ingredients might be or how I can use that photo as my starting point.

For this specific dinner I kept the ingredients simple. I also decided to cook these pork chops the same way I have cooked filet mignon. Sear both sides on the stove top then pop the pan in the oven. It’s super important that to use a good quality, oven safe pan for easy transfer from the stove top to oven. It’s easy to forget that a pan was in a very hot oven and reach for the handle. I have burned my hand really bad by accidentally grabbing the handle. To prevent that from happening again I put a “pot holder” on the pan handle right after it comes out of the oven (similar to this).

Disclaimer: I am participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I love sweet potatoes and I have finally perfected what I think is the best seasoning ever. Cut up the potatoes however you like (cubes, discs, slices) then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, paprika and herb de Provence. THE BEST!

Pan-seared Boneless Pork Chops

Servings: 3
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

3 boneless pork chops, about 1-1 1/2 inch thick
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more to oil pan)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, pressed

Directions

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-In a zip-top bag, marinate pork chops with EVOO, garlic and seasonings for 20/30 minutes.
– Heat no more than 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO in an oven safe pan (pork chops will be well coated in oil to begin with) over medium heat
– Sear pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side (if your pork chops are thicker than 1-1 1/2in you will probably need to increase the time).
– Transfer pan to oven for 10 minutes

Brown Butter Cream Sauce

March 5, 2018August 19, 2020 Red Rose & HoneyLeave a comment

Hi friends! Before I share today’s recipe, I thought I would share a little bit about why I started this blog. I actually started my first blog in college when I started cooking for myself for the first time. I had a lot of fun trying out new recipes and cooking for my friends – including my now hubby! Maybe it was my cooking that actually won him over? I don’t claim to be a blogging expert (I am still trying to figure it out), but back then I had zero clue about blogging. I didn’t know anyone who had a blog and I didn’t follow any blogs. I just liked to cook and wanted to share my excitement for cooking somewhere. If I knew blogging and social media would become a huge industry I probably would have focused on my blog much sooner. Let’s face it, back then I had tons of free time (even if I didn’t realize it).

After college I started my gluten-free journey and thought my blog would be the perfect place to share my experience. I eventually decided to switch from Blogspot to WordPress.com (not realizing it was different from WordPress.org) and later created a second then a third blog. When you start a blog, you can blog about anything you want because it’s your space. For someone like me who is in a profession that requires close to zero creativity, a blog is a great way to actually be creative. I dabbled in some beauty blogging as I was on the search for a good skincare routine and had a few outfit posts, but I quickly learned that it’s important for your blog to have a focus in order to build a consistent following. Although I have posts about other topics from time to time, I’ve decided to focus on what I enjoy most…cooking! I’m not even sure my mom reads all of my blogs, so if you’re reading this, THANK YOU!

Now on to today’s recipe…

For Valentine’s Day I made this pasta dish inspired by a cooking class I took at Sur la Table. As I have mentioned in previous posts and on Instagram, I love to use a recipe or photo as my inspiration and create my own dish. The dish I made at Sur la Table was delicious, but super rich and creamy. That dish is a bit heavy to make on a regular basis, so I thought I would try to create something similar, but a bit lighter. This dinner turned out great. I especially love the flavor of the fresh sage! I haven’t cooked with sage much, but now I can’t get enough. I served this sauce with my favorite chickpea pasta. I have been loving this pasta because it has protein and is much more filling than traditional pasta.

Fresh garlic, onions and olive oil are staples in my kitchen. I’m convinced that if you have these three ingredients, you can make any meal taste delicious. Just like this one!

I don’t personally love dark meat, but I think this could be a great dish to try with chicken thighs. The dark meat would also add some more flavor.

Brown Butter Cream Sauce with Chicken

Servings: 4
Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, minced
2lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 cup white wine (such as pinot grigio)
3/4 – 1 cup unsalted chicken broth
1/2 heavy cream
1 tsp gluten-free all purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup frozen peas
fresh sage

Directions

Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic and cut into bite sized pieces
Melt butter in olive oil over medium heat then add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add chicken to the same pan, browning on both sides and cooking through, about 10 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with white wine and let it reduce by about half.
Mix-in flour, chicken broth and heavy cream. Continue stirring until sauce thickens (you can add more flour if you would like a heavier, thicker sauce)
Add garlic and frozen peas, stirring occasionally until peas have cooked through
Stir in fresh sage
Serve over your favorite pasta

BBQ Chicken Meatball Tacos

January 29, 2018 Red Rose & HoneyLeave a comment

Sometimes it’s hard to be creative in the kitchen. It’s easy (and convenient) to have your go-to meals, but I’ve learned that approach can also get boring. Have you ever had a day when you’re starving, but in the mood for nothing? I had one of those days a few weeks ago. Although I didn’t feel much like cooking, I forced myself into the kitchen and stared at the ingredients we had in the fridge. I must say, I make a mean chicken meatball that I’ve tossed in many sauces. I decided on BBQ chicken meatballs, but wasn’t sure what else I would make with them. What goes well with BBQ? Apples! And just like that, the BBQ Chicken Meatball Taco with Apples was born.

BBQ Chicken Meatball Tacos

Servings: 2-4
Time: 1 hour
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Ingredients

Meatballs:
1lb Chicken Chop Meat
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 Egg
10 Baby Carrots
1 Celery Stalk
1 Small Shallot
2 Clove of Garlic
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Paprika
1/8 Tsp Chicken Seasoning

Sauce:
1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce*
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Dijon Honey Mustard
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Sprinkle of Salt and Black Pepper
*I only had about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce left, but I recommend doubling the BBQ sauce and dijon honey mustard

Tacos:
Soft Corn Tortillas
Fresh Baby Spinach
1 Apple

Directions

Meatballs:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a food processor finely chop shallot, garlic, celery and carrots then transfer to medium size bowl.
Add chicken chop meat, egg, panko and seasonings to the bowl and combine well. Be careful to not overwork the meat because it can turn tough.
Carefully form balls with the mixture in the size that you like. I made 9 larger meatballs, but smaller may have been better for this dish.
Bake for 25-30 minutes then broil for 2-5 minutes.

BBQ Sauce:
When there are 5 minutes left on the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a small pot. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.

Tacos:
After getting the sauce started, place corn tortillas on a baking sheet. Bake for no more than 5 minutes in the oven. The small corn tortillas can harden pretty quickly and you want to be able to fold them like a taco (side note: these tortillas make awesome chips too).
Using a slicing grater (like this – I used the orange one), very thinly slice the apples.
To assemble to tacos, brush tortillas with BBQ sauce then layer with apple and fresh spinach. Cut your meatballs into 2 or 4 pieces and add to the taco. Finish each one off with a drizzle of BBQ sauce.

Disclaimer: I am participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. All opinions/recommendations are my own.