DRESSED PORK CHOPS

This super simple dinner dish is one of hubby's absolute favorites, because it is one that his Momma used to make when he was growing up. So it's for SURE an oldie! LOL But it truly is a goodie! 

All you need to go along with this dish is a nice green salad and/or veggie, such as roasted asparagus. One thing I like about this recipe is you can use either pork chops or pork steaks with it (whichever is on sale that week!) The dressing baked on top of the chops gets a light crispy top but keeps the pork nice and moist on the bottom. And since you brown the chops before baking them, they don't take much longer in the oven. Which is nice if you still have "a to-do list" that you're chipping away at for the day! You can throw dinner in the oven and check a few more things off that list! Clean up is pretty easy too since you use so few dishes in preparing it.

DRESSED PORK CHOPS

6 bone in pork chops (not too thick) or pork steaks

1 cup 1/2 & 1/2 or whole milk

1 cup all purpose flour

Salt

Black pepper

Garlic powder

Lawry's seasoned salt

Oil for frying

1 (12 oz) pkg cubed stuffing mix (your favorite flavor)

2 cups chicken broth

1 stick butter (divided in half)

In separate mixing bowl, place 1 (12 oz) pkg of cubed dressing mix. Melt 1/2 stick of butter and add to the the 2 cups of chicken broth. Pour the chicken broth & melted butter mixture over dressing in bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Season chops with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Lawry's. Dip chops in milk and then coat both sides with flour. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. When oil is hot, place as many chops in, as your skillet will reasonably hold (without cramming them). I like to fry only 2 or 3 at a time. Fry until a nice golden brown (about 4 - 5 minutes each side). 

Place browned chops in baking pan, overlapping slightly if space is needed. 

Top chops with all of the dressing from the bowl.

Melt remaining 1/2 stick of butter and drizzle over dressing. Bake at 375 for 30 - 45 minutes, depending on thickness of chops, until chops are done and dressing is a nice, golden brown. 

Serve with a nice steaming side of roasted asparagus!

ENJOY! 

ZESTY PULLED PORK SANDWICHES W/ COLESLAW

Oh how I wish this was a better pic - and oh how I wish you could smell this pic! haha This is one delicious sandwich! My Honey makes a mean smoked pulled pork, but he is out of state this week! So I had to come up with an oven version of pulled pork. This one was a winner! As you read down through the recipe for the dry rub and the liquid portion, don't be skeptical like me! haha I read it, and thought WOW 2 Tablespoons of black pepper?! But.... I threw caution to the wind and just went with it. And am I ever glad I did! This was just sooooo good! IF you have leftovers, be sure to pour the leftover juice, that the meat cooked in, over the leftover meat, before you refrigerate it. It will be extra juicy when you warm it up!
Also - I have NEVER tried coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich before (I tend to be a bit skeptical about new things) but my daughter in law and daughters all urged me to try it.... I'll never eat it without the coleslaw again! It was that good!

ZESTY PULLED PORK SANDWICHES W/ COLESLAW

2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons paprika
1/2 Tablespoon cayenne pepper

4 pound shoulder pork roast (boston butt would work too)

2 cups apple juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar (trust me on this)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
1/2 Tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

6 soft, deli style hamburger buns
Bbq sauce
Coleslaw (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Use a spoon to sprinkle the dry rub over each side of the meat, using only your left hand, press the rub into the pork, then rub it in good. Sprinkle it on and rub it into all 4 sides of the pork. If you only use 1 hand to rub the pork, then whatever dry rub you have leftover won't be tainted from pork juice. Seal up the remainder of the dry rub ingredients in a zip top bag and store it in your pantry until you need it again. Cover the seasoned pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. *NOTE* I was rather in a hurry this day and skipped the refrigeration step and it still turned out fine. I'll try this on another day when I'm not so hurried.

Combine liquid ingredients and the garlic powder in a large measuring pitcher, pour into a large dutch oven. (I used a porcelain coated, cast iron dutch oven and it worked wonderful!) Unwrap the pork and place it in the dutch oven with the liquid. Lightly cover the pork with a piece of aluminum foil, and then place the lid on the pot. Roast in oven for 4 hours or until fork tender and shreds easily. Brush the meat with the cooking liquid every hour.
Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred the pork with a fork or tongs into bite size pieces. Serve on toasted hamburger buns and top with Bbq sauce and coleslaw.

COLESLAW

1 (12 oz) bag rainbow slaw (Green Giant)
1 (12 oz) bag broccoli slaw (Green Giant)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions (white and green parts) chopped
1 fresh red chile, sliced (I substituted 1/4 of a poblano)

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1 lemon juiced
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Several dashes hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

*Special Note* If you are pressed for time, Marie's coleslaw dressing is the closest substitute for this dressing recipe. You just might want to add the few dashes of hot sauce to it before you mix it into the slaw.

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the rainbow slaw, broccoli slaw, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the mayo, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the coleslaw with the celery seeds, hot sauce, salt and black pepper. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

ISLAND PORK

I have Arlene to thank for this one!! I was scheduled to cater a sweetheart banquet this past weekend. I was so excited to have another event to cater! Then wouldn't you know it, I was laid up for 2 solid weeks with a sprained back! PAINFUL! So the task fell to my precious daughters and daughter in law. I sent my recipes and notes with them and didn't have a worry in the world that they wouldn't be able to accomplish it. And do you know, they didn't call me even ONE time to ask for help! The nerve! haha Anyway, I digress. I had posted a few months ago about an international dinner we had at our church. I hosted a Hawaiian table, and made all Hawaiian recipes. Arlene then wrote and told me about a delicious dish that her Pastor's wife from Japan used to make, called Island chicken. I made a mental note to try it sometime. As this banquet approached, I began putting the menu together. When I heard it was a Luau theme, I went back to my old post to read again and was reminded of Arlene's chicken recipe. I had found pork roast on sale for .99 / lb and purchased it ahead of time with the intention of making some sort of pulled pork. I began to roll around the idea of using pork in place of the chicken in the recipe. So I purchased the ingredients and sent the girls off with a brand new recipe that I hadn't even tried myself yet! Why do I do that to myself? It just sounded like a real winner! Nothing in it sounded weird or yucky. They all came back with rave reviews about it. And Arlene you were right - my son said, as soon as he walked into the building he could smell this wonderful Asian food aroma! They said it just wafted everywhere! I made them promise to bring back some left overs so I could try it. That's on the menu for Sunday dinner tomorrow! ISLAND PORK 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbs. cornstarch 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 Tbs. vinegar 1 Tbs. oil 1 lg. can pineapple chunks, drained 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 green pepper, sliced into strips 3 lbs. Pork roast Mix first 7 ingredients together. Stir in fruit and veggies. Place pork in 13x9" dish. Pour sauce evenly over top. Cover and bake @ 375 for 3 - 4 hours or until internal temp reaches 220° Baste pork occasionally. You want the pork to fall away from the bone, so you can shred it. Serve over rice. Remove meat from bones and shred with forks. Pour sauce over meat and keep warm until serving time. You can serve it immediately, but letting it sit for a while makes a world of difference!

MINI SAUSAGE AND EGG CASSEROLES

I like to surprise my family once in a while on Saturday or Sunday morning with a new treat. This one was for a Sunday morning. That is rare for me, since Sunday mornings here are so very busy with bus routes. The girls and I are all up and out the door pretty early. I didn't take into account that I had to allow for the set up and photographing of the dish! haha So I really pushed myself on time this particular morning - but it was totally worth it! Sooo good! The nice thing about these, is you can mix them up the night before and just toss them in the oven in the morning.

MINI SAUSAGE AND EGG CASSEROLES

8 (1 1/2 oz) sourdough bread slices, cut into cubes (or any other favorite bread)
1 (16 oz) package ground pork sausage, browned and crumbled
2 1/2 cups milk
4 large eggs
1 Tblsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Divide bread cubes among 10 (8 to 10 oz) lightly greased ovenproof ramekins or coffee mugs. Top with cooked sausage. Whisk together milk, eggs and mustard. Pour over bread and sausage mixture in ramekins. Whisk together buttermilk and cream of mushroom soup. Spoon over bread mixture in ramekins. Sprinkle with cheese. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until set and puffed. Serve immediately.
*NOTE* Unbaked ramekins of casserole can be covered with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and frozen up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. Bake as directed.

HONEY MUSTARD PORK KABOBS W/ GRILLED PINEAPPLE

I LOVED the hints of citrus in this dish! Very refreshing and out of the ordinary.
I wanted to grill out so badly tonight - but my Honey is out of town for the week. I jumped in with both feet though, and muddled through. Surprisingly, it turned out yummy. I served these with grilled pineapple (was so good w/ the pork) and lemon rice. I also cooked up the other half of that spaghetti squash from last night and served that. I had my son and daughter-in-law over for dinner tonight. My grandson (age 3) wasn't too thrilled with the kabobs, I should have thought ahead and whipped up some mac-n-cheese for him.

HONEY MUSTARD PORK KABOBS W/ GRILLED PINEAPPLE & LEMON RICE

12 wooden or metal skewers
1 (1 1/2 lb) pork loin trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2" chunks
3 assorted bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red onion - cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp. black pepper medley
Cooking spray

Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes or longer. Preheat grill to medium (350).
Thread pork, peppers and onions alternately onto skewers. Sprinkle with pepper medley and spray with cooking spray. Grill kabobs covered with grill lid at 350 for 6 - 8 minutes on each side or until done. Serve kabobs with *honey mustard on the side.
While kabobs are cooking in their last few minutes.
For pineapple: Arrange pineapple slices on cooking grate and grill covered with grill lid for 2 - 3 minutes on each side or until tender and grill marks appear. Remove from grill.

This honey mustard is REALLY good with fried chicken nuggets too.

HONEY MUSTARD

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tblsp honey
2 Tblsp yellow mustard
1 Tblsp lemon juice
2 Tblsp orange juice

Combine all ingredients except orange juice. Stir well. Thin to pouring consistency with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours.

And we LOVED this rice! Don't you just get so tired of plain ol' boring rice? Then try this new jazzed up version! You'll love it too. Don't let the lemon zest scare you off - it's quite yummy!

LEMON RICE

1 Garlic clove, minced
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Basmati rice
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Saute minced garlic for a minute. Add chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes or until broth is absorbed and rice is tender. Stir in lemon zest and fluff with a fork.

BBQ RIBS

OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN do I ever love BBQ ribs! For you Southerners that think you can't get good ribs in the North..... well, you've never met my Honey! The man loves to grill and makes THEE best BBQ! I mean, fall off the bone tender. He gave me the OK to tell you his secret.

BBQ RIBS

1 good size hunk of pork spareribs
dry pork rub (you can make your own or just use Lysanders)
A good BBQ sauce - we tried Ditkas this time and it was DEElicious!
We've mixed our own before, but man alive, there are sooooo many good ones out in the market to choose from. WE like to try new ones all the time.

First you remove the white, tough, fatty portion with a sharp knife. Just cut it right off. Then you rub the ribs down real good with your pork rub. Don't be afraid to rub them down good. Then put them on a baking pan with a small amount of water (just enough to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan and to create a little moisture). Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake at 375 for about 1 1/2 hours. Or until you see the meat starting to pull away from the bone a bit. Remove from the oven and place on a preheated BBQ grill - gas or charcoal, it's your choice. Cook until they are nice and charred, slathering with sauce every 5 minutes or so. Once they are nicely charred, remove them from the grill and place them into a packet of foil and seal it up nice and tight. Let them sit for about 10 or 15 minutes, for the juices to redistribute. Then when you open the foil...WOWZERS!! Serve with your favorite veggies and ENJOY!

CROCKPOT RIBS

This recipe is compliments of my friend Chris. Thanks for letting me share this one on here Chris! It's a real keeper, that's for sure!
I'm not a big crockpot user, but I will definitely be making this one again. It got a big thumbs up from my family. I planned to be gone all day yesterday, so I put these in just before I left that morning. It was a Wednesday, so I didn't want to be cut short on time for dinner prep before church that night. I got back home about 3:30 p.m. just as a HUGE storm hit and knocked out our power. Thankfully the ribs were done and stayed hot forever, it seems, in my crockpot. It was too late to try to eat before church, so we ate afterwards. We lit our battery operated lanterns while my son fired up the gas grill outside (they were without power too, so we all ate together). I chopped up some potatoes & onions, drizzled my trusty iron skillet with olive oil, and dumped in all the potatoes and onions, threw on several spoons of butter and set the skillet directly on the grill grate. Just as the skillet got nice and hot and the potatoes started to sizzle, the power came back on! So I brought them back inside and finished them on the stove top. The ribs, were nice and fork tender, actually falling off the bone tender. I didn't intend to make sandwiches out of the ribs, but most of us pulled out a portion and kind of shredded it to put on a bun. My Honey is a meat "purist" though, and he just ate the ribs by themselves. This is what they looked like when I opened the crockpot to have a peek. You can see where my Honey has picked at one of them with a fork. *hehe* The pic at the very top, is a sandwich I made for lunch the next day! Mmm! They were excellent both ways. I highly recommend this recipe!

CROCKPOT RIBS

4-5 lbs. spare ribs, cut into 2-rib pieces (or whatever your favorite rib portion is)
(You can also substitute chicken breasts or boneless thighs, just skip the browning step)
1 C ketchup
2-3 shakes Frank's hot sauce (or whatever your favorite kind is)
1/4 C cider vinegar
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 small onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Place spareribs on a rack in a shallow pan (I just put them on a cookie sheet, because I don't have a rack). Brown in oven for 15 minutes, turn and brown another 15 minutes. Drain fat. In a wide bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Dip each rib piece in sauce and place in crock pot, pour remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low about 6 hours or until ribs are tender.

PORK CHOPS AND DRESSING

I wasn't going to post this recipe, but my Honey told me I should. At first I thought, it's too Kindergarten"ish," everybody has probably either had it, or made it themselves. This was one of his favorite dishes as a kid. His Momma made it quite often, so it is kind of special to him. It is one of those classic, 1970's, quick fix meals that Moms with lots of kids, just relished in.
Plus when I did my grocery shopping this week, I found a package of assorted chops on sale for $1.29 / lb. *hehe* So I may create a menu in my head for the week, but that can quickly change when I get to the store and see what meat is on sale or even better, CLEARANCE! We don't eat a lot of pork, but I just can't pass up a good sale.

PORK CHOPS AND DRESSING

1 package pork chops or pork steak, whichever you prefer
2 eggs, beaten with a little water
Flour seasoned with Lawry's and garlic powder
Corn flake crumbs
1 package Stove top dressing (your favorite kind), prepared according to package directions

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium pan, prepare stove top dressing according to package directions. Cover and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle with olive oil. Dip chops into seasoned flour, then in egg wash, then in corn flake crumbs. Place in hot skillet and cook until golden brown on each side (4 - 5 min each side). Remove skillet from heat. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Place half of pork chops in bottom of pan, pour dressing over top, then place remaining half of chops on top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 20 to 30 minutes.