This is one of the first recipes I found a couple of years ago (Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8 Great meals for couples or crowds)that Bill ever requested me to make again. We love it, and I love the fact it is so versatile and it the recipe is only made for 2. You can use pork, chicken or veal...whatever is in your fridge! Depending how long you let the sauce cook down, you can have leftover sauce to use again for another meal (using it as burger topping is delicious). This time I cooked it the sauce cooked longer than normal (Bill got stuck at work) so it was thicker than we were used too, but we both loved it this way! Sometimes being stuck at work is a good thing...not very often, but sometimes...
Pork with Caramelized Onion Sauce
4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
5-6 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt + Pepper
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter- or whatever you use as butter
2 bone-in loin pork chops
For the caramelized onion sauce, preheat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and thyme sprigs, then season them with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every now and then, for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the garlic, and continue to cook for 1 minute, then add the vinegar and chicken stock. Bring to simmer over high heat and cook until the liquids have reduced by half (about 3-4 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the thyme twigs, and add the butter. Stir until the butter melts.
Once the onions are on their way, preheat a second skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the chops liberally with salt and pepper and add them to the hot skillet. Cook the chops for 5 minutes on the first side. Resist the temptation to move the chops in the pan, as it will slow down the browning. Flip the chops and reduce the heat to medium. Cook them on the second side for 8-10 minutes or until the desired done-ness. Transfer them to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil to rest for a couple of minutes. Serve the chops topped with some of the caramelized onion sauce.
I am on spring break this week, so hopefully there will be more blogging...I am trying a new recipe tomorrow that looks delicious!
xoxo
Meggan
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Slow-cooker pork tacos
I love slow cookers, but I do not use ours enough. Our slow cooker is definitely temperamental...it cooks way warmer and faster than any recipe calls for. I am still trying to figure ours out, but in the meantime, I did cook a fabulous meal on Sunday! Not only did Bill think it was good, but Curt (brother-in-law) came over for dinner and enjoyed it too!
I have had this recipe on our fridge since Thanksgiving, and finally I got around to cooking it! I don't usually like recipes that call for "random" ingredients...ie...Mexican oregano...do they make their oregano special down there???, but Sprouts does have spice-by-the-bulk, which means you can buy the only what you need of the "random" spice! Also, we bought two pork shoulders at Costco in January and had one in the freezer. Have I told you how much I LOVE Costco...especially when there are coupons (which there were for the pork!). We made more salsa (http://eatplaysave.blogspot.com/2011/03/salsa.html), but added the left over chipotle chillies in too. Definitely made it more spicy, but it was delicious!
Slow-cooker tacos
3lb pork shoulder, trim excess fat
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 can chipotle chilies in adobo
2 large dried chilies (ancho, guajillo, New Mexico, pasilla)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. Mexican Oregano (go to a place where you can buy just what you need of this!)
1 cup broth (beef or chicken)
1. Put all ingredients into a slow-cooker. Cook on high for 5-6 hours (we did ours 2 hrs. on high...3 hrs on low...temperamental slow-cooker), stirring and flipping meat occasionally.
2. Remove meat and set aside.
3. Strain remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce liquid until noticeably thickened.
4. While liquid is reducing, shred meat into small pieces.
5. After liquid is thickened, add meat back into liquid.
6. Serve in steamed corn tortillas with normal taco toppings (tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream & salsa).
Tip of the Day: Buy your "random" spices from place that buy in bulk. It will save you money when you only have to buy what you need!
xoxo
Meggan
I have had this recipe on our fridge since Thanksgiving, and finally I got around to cooking it! I don't usually like recipes that call for "random" ingredients...ie...Mexican oregano...do they make their oregano special down there???, but Sprouts does have spice-by-the-bulk, which means you can buy the only what you need of the "random" spice! Also, we bought two pork shoulders at Costco in January and had one in the freezer. Have I told you how much I LOVE Costco...especially when there are coupons (which there were for the pork!). We made more salsa (http://eatplaysave.blogspot.com/2011/03/salsa.html), but added the left over chipotle chillies in too. Definitely made it more spicy, but it was delicious!
Slow-cooker tacos
3lb pork shoulder, trim excess fat
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 can chipotle chilies in adobo
2 large dried chilies (ancho, guajillo, New Mexico, pasilla)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. Mexican Oregano (go to a place where you can buy just what you need of this!)
1 cup broth (beef or chicken)
1. Put all ingredients into a slow-cooker. Cook on high for 5-6 hours (we did ours 2 hrs. on high...3 hrs on low...temperamental slow-cooker), stirring and flipping meat occasionally.
2. Remove meat and set aside.
3. Strain remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce liquid until noticeably thickened.
4. While liquid is reducing, shred meat into small pieces.
5. After liquid is thickened, add meat back into liquid.
6. Serve in steamed corn tortillas with normal taco toppings (tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream & salsa).
Tip of the Day: Buy your "random" spices from place that buy in bulk. It will save you money when you only have to buy what you need!
xoxo
Meggan
Monday, March 7, 2011
salsa
It has been a very busy week here in Arizona! My aunts came in the last weekend of February then Bill's parents on Wednesday...on top of that my computer broke for the second time this year.
We ate out a lot over the last week, but I did get some cooking in. On Wednesday as Bill worked a long night, I decided I need to make some salsa because 1. we LOVE salsa 2. we were out of salsa. Our original salsa recipe came from non other than the pioneer woman, but as we have perfected and adapted it, we made it our own.
Salsa is very cheap to make, and when you make a big batch it is even more cost effective. Our entire cost for meggan + bill's salsa was under $3. I always keep my eyes open for sales of the canned tomatoes because I know how much we love our salsa. The other day at Frys the cans of Rotel, plum tomaotes and fire roasted tomatoes (all brand names) were $.50 a can! The other ingredients are all things we have keep in our pantry besides cilantro, which is $.60 a bunch.
meggan + bill's salsa
1 can (14.5oz) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
1can (10 oz) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1 can (14.5oz) Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1/2 cups Chopped Onion
2 clove Garlic, Minced
2 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cup Cilantro or more to taste
1 whole lime, juiced or more to taste
This is a very large batch. We use a 12-cup food processor, but you could use a blender too.
Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, fire roasted, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—we do about 10 to 15 pulses. Make sure you have a whole bag of tortilla chips ready for testing because once you start, you won't be able to stop. Adjust as needed with seasonings.
Our FAVORITE chips with salsa is Kirkland Organic Corn Tortilla chips. Once you try them, you won't eat anything else!
meggan's mango salsa
1 mango, chopped
1 avacado, chopped
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoon honey
1 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tabasco or more to taste
Combine all ingredients. Test with tortilla chips and adjust as needed.
Tip of the Day: make your own salsa!
xoxo
Meggan
We ate out a lot over the last week, but I did get some cooking in. On Wednesday as Bill worked a long night, I decided I need to make some salsa because 1. we LOVE salsa 2. we were out of salsa. Our original salsa recipe came from non other than the pioneer woman, but as we have perfected and adapted it, we made it our own.
Salsa is very cheap to make, and when you make a big batch it is even more cost effective. Our entire cost for meggan + bill's salsa was under $3. I always keep my eyes open for sales of the canned tomatoes because I know how much we love our salsa. The other day at Frys the cans of Rotel, plum tomaotes and fire roasted tomatoes (all brand names) were $.50 a can! The other ingredients are all things we have keep in our pantry besides cilantro, which is $.60 a bunch.
meggan + bill's salsa
1 can (14.5oz) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
1can (10 oz) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1 can (14.5oz) Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1/2 cups Chopped Onion
2 clove Garlic, Minced
2 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cup Cilantro or more to taste
1 whole lime, juiced or more to taste
This is a very large batch. We use a 12-cup food processor, but you could use a blender too.
Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, fire roasted, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—we do about 10 to 15 pulses. Make sure you have a whole bag of tortilla chips ready for testing because once you start, you won't be able to stop. Adjust as needed with seasonings.
Our FAVORITE chips with salsa is Kirkland Organic Corn Tortilla chips. Once you try them, you won't eat anything else!
meggan's mango salsa
1 mango, chopped
1 avacado, chopped
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoon honey
1 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tabasco or more to taste
Combine all ingredients. Test with tortilla chips and adjust as needed.
Tip of the Day: make your own salsa!
xoxo
Meggan
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