Skillet BBQ Pork Chops

This is a classic from my childhood and oh so good! It's one of the first recipes I put in my recipe box when I moved out of the house; one of the first dishes I learned to prepare. It's pretty simple.  I'm not really sure why it's been so long since I last made it? Anyway, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The kids protested at first but once they had a taste of the sweet & tangy sauce they ate it up without complaint. Andrew loved it, but then he's the best eater in this house anyway. ;-)

Ingredients:
6 Pork Chops (I use boneless)
1 Tbs. Oil
1/3 C. Celery, chopped
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans Tomato sauce (8oz. each)

1 can Diced Tomatoes (15oz) optional, see tips below.

How To:
Brown chops in the oil over med heat for about 3-5 minutes per side. Set aside and add remaining ingredients to pan, stir to mix and return chops to the pan. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hr. stirring occasionally.

Serve over whole wheat egg noodles or brown rice alongside your favorite veggie. My kids like steamed broccoli, green beans or baby carrots.

Tips:
Brown rice is a great choice as it takes almost as long to simmer.  Also, I love this sauce so much that I usually make 1.5 - 2 times the recipe and I like to add a can of diced tomatoes for a bit more texture but the main recipe listed above is the way my mother always made it.

All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce (Brown Garlic Sauce)

A few nights ago I made a traditional meat and potatoes meal with pork chops, mashed and green beans. I thought I would put an Asian spin on some of the left-overs. I thought, Mmm nice and easy and nutritious meal. However, the kids thought...NO! Actually they whined, "I don't want the vegetables!" Much to my dismay this came from the one who usually eats them without a smidgen of trouble. Oh well better luck next time! ;-)

Anyway here are the details of our meal just in case you want to risk it with your own family. I had two grilled boneless pork chops which I diced and mixed in with a packaged fried rice mix in the interest of speed. I also had some of the green beans which were still rather crunchy which I stir-fried with some other veggies (carrots, broccoli and pea pods).

All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce (Brown Garlic Sauce)

Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 20 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

2/3 C soy sauce
1/2 C chicken broth
1/3 C rice wine
3 1/2 TBS sugar
1 TBS sesame oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 TBS cooking oil
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS minced ginger
2 TBS cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions: 

1. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper. 
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water. 
3. Heat a pan over high heat; add the cooking oil, swirling to coat; add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. 
4. Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil. 
5. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 minute. 
6. Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.

Buffalo Chicken Salad Wraps

Tonight's dinner was sooo easy it seems crazy to post about it. But than again, it was sooo good it would be even more crazy NOT to post it. After all, those are my FAV meals - EASY but D-lish! Enjoy! :D


As you all know I am into making things super easy for myself, so I usually start with things where some of the work is already done. For example chicken tenders vs. breasts in this case and bags of salad, which in this case I chopped even more. It's not necessary but I like my salad fixin's chopped small, plus I think it's easier to wrap it.

Ingredients:
Chicken Tenders (6-8)
Olive oil
Hot sauce (your choice)
chopped romain lettuce
thin sliced carrots/celery (optional)
blue cheese dressing (your choice)
wrap (your choice)

How to:
Lightly brown chicken in a skillet with a little bit of oil, turning as needed. Prep your veggies while the chicken browns.  Chop the cooked chicken, return it to pan and add hot sauce stirring to coat well.  Set out your wraps load them and roll. So easy a monkey could do this!

I used the following "choice" items:
a few Tbs. Emeril's, red pepper sauce
a few drops of Taste of Thai, garlic chili pepper sauce
a good bit of Marzetti, light chunky blue cheese dressing
Joseph's flax, oat bran and whole wheat Lavash
(These wraps are healthy, soft and rectangular so they work very nicely!)

Please note:
I kept the chicken plain for the kids and just put the salad in a bowl for them. While the hubby and I enjoyed the wraps. Also he likes a side dish so I served him baby carrots on the side rather than in the wrap. The things we do for men!