Dash of Grace: Pork chops star of holiday weekend
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| Grace spoons the sauce over the chops. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com) |
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What is more American than an old-fashioned cookout for family and friends on Labor Day weekend? Everyone is together having a good time, and eating good food.
What is more American than a thick, juicy pork chop, raised in the Midwest?
That’s what we’re cooking up today. We will start with a fun one:
Pork chops on a stick
8 wooden skewers
8 (6-ounce) boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick
1/2 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
Peanut oil for deep-frying
Bottled barbecue sauce
Place chops in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. Pour salad dressing over chops; seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.
Preheat oil to 350 degrees. Drain chops, discarding marinade. Insert a wooden skewer into a short side of each chop. Deep-fry the chops, half at a time, for 5 to 8 minutes or until 160 degrees. (To test for doneness, carefully remove one chop from the hot oil. Insert an instant-read thermometer into side of chop.) Be cautious of splattering oil. Maintain oil temperature around 350 degrees. Remove chops from hot oil and drain on wire racks. Serve with barbecue sauce.
Nutrition information per serving: Calories, 344; grams of protein, 37; carbohydrate, 3; fat, 9; cholesterol, 93; saturated fat, 5.
Easy pork chop skillet
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 29 minutes
Serves: 4
4 bone-in pork chops, 3/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed, or 2 teaspoons fresh, finely chopped
1/4 cup Ken’s raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing, divided
1 can (15 1/4 ounce) pear halves in juice, not drained
Cook chops in oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, 3 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides. Remove chops from skillet; set aside.
Add onions, garlic, rosemary, and 2 tablespoons of dressing to skillet; stir. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return chops to skillet. Add pears and remaining dressing; simmer on medium heat 10 minutes or until chops are done.
Serve chops topped with the sauce.
Serve with hot cooked rice and steamed green beans.
Pork chops and cinnamon apples
4 pork chops
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 red apples, cored and halved
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Arrange pork chops in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan; spread one tablespoon butter over each pork chop. Lay one apple half-cut side down on each pork chop; sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until pork chop centers no longer are pink.
Spicy grilled pork chops
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 4 hours, 26 minutes
Serves: 4
4 pork rib chops, 3/4-inch thick
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sliced mango
Place chops in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, in a small bowl, stir together lime juice, chili powder, oil, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, hot pepper sauce, and salt; pour over chops. Seal bag; turn to coat chops. Marinate in the refrigerator 4 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Drain chops, discarding marinade.
Place chops on the rack of an uncovered grill, directly over medium coals. Grill 11 to 14 minutes or until pork juices run clear (160 degrees) turning once. If desired, garnish with mango.
Nutrition information per serving: Calories, 196; grams of fat, 9; saturated fat, 2; carbohydrate, 3; fiber, 1; protein, 25; milligrams of cholesterol, 61; sodium, 159.
Bacon-cheeseburger potato pie
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Serves: 6
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 slices bacon
1 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
Chopped green onions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onions, ketchup, mustard and salt in medium bowl. Mix well. Press mixture in bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch pie pan. Bake 15 minutes.
Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Cool and crumble.
Combine water, butter, and garlic salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add milk. With fork, stir in potato flakes. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
Remove partially baked beef crust from oven. Pour off any drippings. Spoon potato mixture evenly into crust. Return to oven. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked and potatoes are heated.
Remove pie from oven. Top with tomato, remaining 1/2 cup cheese and crumbled bacon. Return to oven. Bake additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Top with green onions. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.
Peach-glazed pork skewers
Serves: 4-6
Total time: 25 minutes
1 pork tenderloin, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 (18-ounce) jar peach preserves
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
Preheat your grill to medium heat. In a small saucepan, stir peach preserves, vinegar, and pepper flakes. Cook over low until completely melted.
While sauce is simmering, thread pork tenderloin cubes onto 4 to 6 skewers, depending on how full you want to make them. Salt and pepper liberally and place on hot grill.
Grill for 6 minutes or golden brown. Turn over and grill other side 6 minutes. Spoon one tablespoon of peach glaze onto cooked side while opposite side is cooking. Turn and spoon equal amount of peach glaze on the other cooked side. Allow to continue cooking for 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat and spoon 1 or 2 tablespoons of the peach glaze on the cooked skewers. Serve with remaining peach glaze on the side.
Meatball kabobs
Serves: 18
18 bamboo skewers, 6 inches long
18-ounce package of frozen, fully cooked beef meatballs, defrosted
1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
Oregano
SAUCE
1 teaspoon oregano
Plain Greek-style yogurt
1 grated lemon rind
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 10 minutes and drain. Alternately thread meatballs and bell pepper pieces onto skewers. Place kabobs in single layer in shallow baking pan. Sprinkle skewers evenly with oregano. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve the sauce with the meatball skewers.
Oops!
One of the ingredients – mustard – was left out of last week's deviled egg recipe. Here it is again:
Cheesy deviled eggs
Makes about 2 dozen
9 hard-boiled eggs, chopped or mashed with a fork
4 strips of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1/3 to 1/2 cup real mayonnaise, enough to make the mixture moist (no generics)
1 teaspoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl, until creamy. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in cheese. Cover and refrigerate until served.
Tip of the week: Cook pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions and cook it the rest of the way in the pan with sauce.
