Back in the kitchen!

So awhile ago I started posting recipes and dinner ideas, but then like everything else, my interest in it grew tired… also like everything else, I tend to come back to old ideas when I feel so inspired. Thus tonight’s post. I woke up on the wrong side of bed today, and have pretty much been reclusive all day, which is hard to do with so any people in our home mind you, so I decided to retreat to the kitchen.

Tonight I made a new dish, though I’m sure there are many variations out there, but this one was just a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing.

I’m calling it :

Honey & Herb Stuffed Boneless Pork

(Serves 6 people)

here’s what I did…

Ingredients:

* 6 one inch thick boneless pork chops

* toothpicks (usually 2 per pork chop)

* Frozen Green Beans (or fresh)

* 2 boxes of Stove Top stuffing (1 package in ea. box, flavor should be pork for better taste, but you can use any)

* Honey (approx 1/2 cup)

* 1 half stick regular salted butter

* Dill weed (3/4 tsp)

* Roasted Ground Coriander (1/2 tsp)

* Tarragon Leaves (1 tsp)

* Marjoram Leaves (1 tsp)

* Sea Salt (pinch) 

* Sesame Seeds (optional)

 

Prep & Cooking:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

2. Start your Stove Top boxes according to directions on the box then let cool a little while you prepare pork for stuffing.

3. Get a 13 x 9 metal or glass pan and put foil (reflective side facing up) on the bottom of the pan (and cover the sides as well, this will make for easy clean up after and helps the meat cook faster.)

4. Take each individual pork chop and  make a pocket by cutting into the side of it (non fatty side) with a small sharpened knife. (I found this easier than with a butcher knife). The pocket should be about 2 inches from the edge into the pork chop meat so there’s enough room for stuffing and to secure with two toothpicks later.

5. Now that they’re all cut, start your honey and herb baste but putting your honey and butter in a microwaveable bowl and melting it together for approx. 1 to 1 and 1/2 minutes. Take it out of the microwave and add a small amount of water (about a shot glass full) and all of your spices to it while it’s hot (not the sesame seeds though), this will capture the flavor of the spices for a better taste, also, I gave you measurements but I actually eyeballed them and tasted and added as necessary. You should experiment and find out what tastes the best for you. When you make a recipe your own, it feels nice, instead of following a sheet of paper. Others also appreciate it when you take the time and effort in your meals to make them one of a kind.

6. When your baste is perfect, then use a baking brush to brush some of the mixture on the bottom of the pan which will of course get the flavor into the bottom side of your pork chops.

7. Go back to the pork chops and stuff them with your stuffing ( about 3 or 4 tbs full) then secure the flaps of pork on the ends with two tooth picks to keep the stuffing inside. This will also give your pork more flavor. Put the stuffed pork chops in the pan, arrange as necessary to fit.

8. Brush your honey and herb baste over the pork chops, don’t miss any spots. This will seal in flavor and keep the meat juicy while cooking. Then sprinkle Sesame Seeds over the chops. (optional) Honestly, those are more for aesthetic to me than taste…

9. Add the remainder of the stuffing to your pan in the spaces between the pork and the sides.

10. Put in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. I usually check it every 15 minutes to prevent the meat from drying out.

It’ll look something like this:

Tips:

If you find that your meat is drying out a bit, put more of your baste on the pork, then put it back in the oven. This is the trickiest part of baking, keeping your meat juicy and still cooked thoroughly.

approximately 7-10 minutes before your pork is done, start cooking your green beans. We just had steamed green beans, but prepare them however you want. They should be done by the time your pork is done.

Take out of the oven and you’re ready to serve your family and/or friends some grub!

My hubby and roomies really liked this dish, and we even talked about adding more to it next time. Some suggestions for this recipe would be to stuff with cream cheese (original or herbal flavored) and stuffing, or even regular cheese such as monterey jack, or pepper jack and stuffing and ham or prosciutto. Make this recipe your own, have fun and be full and happy folks. Hope you like it!!!

With love,

Kymlee

Chez le Chef Kymlee is at it again

Except for this is not french. I thought the name was just clever.

So my phone camera is finally working correctly again. I decided to take photos of my new recipe from scratch tonight.
I have this thing with just looking at whatever meat I’m cooking, and deciding last minute what I want to go with it and how I want to prepare it. I should really write some of these “recipes” down because some of them come out pretty fantastic! (Not gloating but they are definite yes’s in my household)

Like tonight for instance. I didn’t originally feel like cooking, but then I thought, well, it beats spending money on take out. So I threw some butter in my skillet to melt and looked at the boneless pork chops I had thawed for tonight’s dinner… and then voila! the recipe for  Boneless Pork in a carrot and red wine sauce was born.

Here’s what you do,

Melt about a tbs of butter in a skillet on high heat  (you can also add olive oil so the butter doesn’t burn the bottom of the pan like I did.)

Then take your boneless pork chops (I made 6) about 2 inches thick and place them in the skillet

let them cook a bit then turn heat to medium, then drizzle a LITTLE bit of soy sauce onto each pork chop, turn them over and do the same on the other side.

Then add about a half cup of Red cooking wine (or if you prefer, real wine)

Let simmer, turning the meat over occasionally for about 5-7 minutes

Now add some seasonings, and feel free to be a bit liberal with your choosing. I picked some chopped onions (dried) and also used a LOT of lemon pepper seasoning.

Here’s what I should have done, I should have waited until the meat was pretty much done to add the carrots. (I used canned carrots which are already soft and absorb much faster)

If you are using fresh carrots, add to the mix now, if you are using canned carrots, wait until the meat is barely pink inside to add otherwise they will come out a little bit too fermented and salty.

Warning, you are cooking pork, so it is very important that your meat is WHITE before it is done.

It should look like this while cooking….

I also decided to make pork stuffing

and some beets (which happens to be one of my most favorite vegetables)

The end result, should be a little like this….

I hope you decide to try this new recipe, and hopefully you and your families enjoy it. If you like your food on the saltier side, this fits the bill, but as long as you don’t overdo it on the soy sauce, it won’t be overpowering. This dish would also be complimented by mashed potatoes vs the stuffing if you wanted to add something less salty with the beets and pork.

With love and a happy tummy,

Kymlee