Pork Chops

Ok, so I loooooooove pork chops. But I've never mastered making them. They always turn out too dry, or if using the baking method they are either drowned an a sauce that takes away from the pork or my crust ends up a soggy mess. After browsing recipe after recipe online, I decided screw all of that. Let's keep it simple! This is what I came up with and they were delicious!

1. Season/dry rub as desired (plenty of ideas online). I did a poultry seasoning and garlic powder on each side.

2. Fry in a tablespoon or two of butter over medium heat. (Hey, I didn't say "Healthy Pork Chops"!) Five minutes on each side.

3. Add chicken or beef broth and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes depending on how thick your chops are. Be careful here, my broth caught fire as I added it. Maybe remove from heat for a few minutes to prevent fire hazard!

Done! Simplest and yummiest chops I've made to date.

OK so the angle wasn't so good, I got mostly potatoes. But hey, I was too hungry to take another!

Homemade Bagels...For Real!

I’ve made these 3 times now and have perfected it to deliciousness!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/real-homemade-bagels/detail.aspx

I use my (awesome) Cuisinart food processer, and don’t knead for a full 8 minutes. Usually just let it run for a couple minutes until the dough is stretchy. This recipe makes 8 good size bagels for me. I skip the honey in the water, and haven’t felt I needed it (that would be very expensive too??). My bagels float immediately, so it is important to cook them for 1 minute, and NO LONGER. I did 2 minutes the first time and they started to fall apart. I also bake at a lower temp (400) to decrease getting a hard outside crust. I probably left him in a total of 20 minutes, but just keep an eye on them, you don’t want them getting too brown because they will be hard once they cool. I top with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt, and onion powder, and sprinkle these on as soon as the come out of the boiling water. They are so good! I would like to experiment with using some whole wheat flour to make them a little healthier, and let you know how that goes :)

And obviously making lox bagels with them is the best way to serve them up!

Stuffed Baked Apples

These are super easy and absolutely delicious, better than apple pie in my opinion!  I used a food network recipe that I only changed a little bit.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/super-stuffed-baked-apples-a-la-mode-recipe.html

I usually use Granny Smith and sometimes McIntosh.  I also peeled the apples this time.  I don't usually add the lemon juice, I only use half the cinnamon, and I've never used raisins, walnuts, or whipped cream.  So my filling is only brown sugar, oatmeal, and butter.

Shendy and I made a bourbon sauce that was drool-worthy, which we drizzled over the top once the apples we slightly cooled.

Bourbon sauce:  Heat 1/4 cup bourbon, 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1 tablespoon butter and let simmer for a few minutes.  Then it is ready to drizzle, or eat with a spoon. :)