Recipes

Last night, in the midst of crazy crock potting, I tried a new recipe from Pinterest (click here for the original). It was a bit of a juggling act as it feels like you’re making two separate sauces, one of which needs constant stirring. It was fun to finally use my immersion blender! This was delicious, especially with the bit of fresh basil in it. Yum!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 9 medium)
1 small onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup half & half
2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 pound farfalle or other short cut pasta

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Start the tomato sauce. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Score the bottom of the tomatoes, blanch in the boiling water for about a minute, cool and peel. Discard skins. Roughly chop tomatoes and set aside. In a small saucepan, sweat the minced onion and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender to make it thinner and to break down the tomatoes. Cook about 15 minutes until thickened.

While the tomato sauce thickens, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

While the pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, make the alfredo sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook about 2 minutes, until brown. Whisk in the milk, half & half, and garlic and season with salt & pepper. Continuously whisking, bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes until thickened. Fish out the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Whisk in the parmesan cheese. The sauce will be very thick, so add 1/3 cup of the hot pasta cooking water to the alfredo sauce to thin it out a bit. Remove from heat.

Drain the pasta and add to the alfredo sauce. Mix the basil into the tomato sauce and add the tomato sauce to the pasta. Mix well.

Tonight I decided to try a new recipe for smothered pork chops. I’m not gonna lie, they were pretty darned delicious. And it’s a nice change to the general cooking of pork chops that actually keeps them juicy.

Ingredients

4 center-cut bone-in pork loin chops

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

3 stalks celery, diced

5 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced

3 Tbsp. flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy creamhot pepper sauce, to tastesteamed rice

Instructions

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chips to the pan and cook until the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown the second side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

Add the butter to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. When the butter has melted, add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits in the pan. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the thyme. Sprinkle in the flour and stir well. Gradually stir in the stock and bring to a simmer.

Return the pork chops to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the pork shows no sign of pink when pierced, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chops to a plate. Stir the cream into the gravy in the pan and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and hot pepper sauce. Pour the gravy over the pork and serve with steamed rice.

On a side note, my mom got Kati and I “garbage bowls” for Christmas. We were both a little shocked (I had never heard of one) and joked about it. I used it last night for popcorn and Mom said to call her when I used it for real. Well, I did. And I stand corrected. It really is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It has a non-stick bottom that keeps it from moving around and is way easier to throw everything into as you’re chopping (instead of the plastic bags from the store or running back and forth to the trash). It’s the perfect size and I love the color! Thanks Mom!!!!

Down The Road I Go

Thoughts from my little corner of the world.

Creamy Tomato Pasta

Smothered Pork Chops