Breakfast Croissants

One tradition that Nick brought with him from his family to our family is making and eating egg and bacon croissants for breakfast the morning of General Conference.  I had actually never had a croissant sandwich before I met Nick but they are super good!  Scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon on a light flaky bun... who wouldn't love it?!?!  What makes it super good is the really thick bacon and cooking the eggs in some of the bacon grease.

INGREDIENTS

4 croissant rolls, sliced in half

4 oz pepper jack cheese, sliced

8 slices of bacon

10 eggs

4 Tbsp milk

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place bacon slices in a pan and cook over medium-high heat on both sides until browned and done.  Remove from pan onto a paper towel lined plate.  Drain off most of the grease leaving just enough so the pan is coated.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and salt and pepper.  Pour egg mixture into pan and scramble over medium-high heat until done.

Assemble the sandwiches by layering with cheese, bacon, and eggs.  Serve and enjoy!

–Melanie

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

I'm trying to do better at trying new recipes so the other week I went through all my recipe books/magazines and marked the recipes that I wanted to try.  This recipe is from The Costco Way 2011 magazine that comes out in November each year.  It was super easy and fast to make and used only a few ingredients that are relatively inexpensive (especially when you price match!).  I only changed a few things like I used bone-in pork chops instead of boneless because they were cheaper and I changed some of the cooking methods.

INGREDIENTS

4 pork loin chops, 3/4 inch thick

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper

1/4 c packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 Granny Smith apples

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high.  Add pork chops to pan (may need to cook in 2 batches) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook each side for about 5 minutes until evenly browned.  Remove from the pan and keep warm (in a covered pan or under foil).

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.  Wash and cut apples into 1/2 inch wedges (~12 slices/apple) being sure to remove the core/seeds.  When you are done cooking the pork chops melt butter in the skillet and then add the sugar mixture and apple wedges.  Stir, cover, and cook 3-4 minutes until apples are tender.  Remove the apples with a slotted spoon and place on pork chops.  Allow sugar to cook for 2 more minutes to thicken.  Mix in pecans and spoon over apples and pork chops.

Yield: 4 servings

–Melanie

Pork Loin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

This recipe is yet another one from melskitchencafe.com. A friend in my major made it and told me about it and I finally got around to making it this summer and am now just posting about it (I have been slacking). It was/is amazing! The pork is so tender since it is cooked in a crock pot and the glaze is unique and a great sweet addition to the pork. I served this for a dinner with friends with twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and some rolls.

INGREDIENTS:

Pork:
2 lb boneless pork tenderloin
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c water

Glaze:
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 c water
2 Tbsp soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pork:
Combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic together in a small bowl and then rub over roast. Place roast in crock pot and add the water. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low. Before the roast is done make glaze. After pork is done, remove from crock pot, shred, and serve on a platter with glaze drizzled over it.

Glaze:
In a small saucepan, combine all glaze ingredients, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to allow sauce to simmer until thickened.  Stir occasionally.

Yield: 6-8 servings

–Melanie

Baby Back Ribs

My mom makes the BEST ribs.  My mom made these for us when we came to visit her last month.  It might just be the last thing cooked on our barbecue at 42 Portland Dr. :( The meat is so tender that it just falls off the bone.  The barbecue  sauce is amazing and tastes like candy.  The trick is to boil the ribs first and triple dip the ribs when cooking.  I can't wait to have a barbecue and a bigger food budget so I can make these more often.

INGREDIENTS
2 racks baby back pork ribs
2 c Open Pit barbecue sauce
2 c brown
1 Tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Cut ribs, place in pot, and fill with water to cover all the ribs.  Boil ribs for 1-1 1/2 hours until fork tender.  While ribs cook mix barbecue sauce, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Light grill to preheat.  When ribs are done drain off water and add ribs to bowl of sauce.  Place ribs on grill for 1-2 minutes.  Take ribs off and dip in sauce and place on grill again for 1-2 minutes. Repeat once more.  Remove from grill and enjoy (because you definitely will)!

Barbecued Pork Chops

I got this recipe from my Cooking Light cookbook and it turned out great! I served it with risotto and sauteed summer squash and zucchini.

INGREDIENTS

6 (6 ounce) bone in center-cut pork chops 1/2 inch thick (I used boneless)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Sauce:
1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c ketchup

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

DIRECTIONS

Heat grill (I used my George Foreman).

Make sauce by combining sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside 1/4 c of sauce.

Combine thyme, garlic salt, and pepper; sprinkle over pork. Spray grill with Pam and place pork on rack. Cook 6 minutes on each side. Bast pork with remaining sauce. Serve pork chops with reserved 1/4 c sauce.

–Melanie

Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork

Cafe Rio is a popular Mexican chain restaurant in the west because it is amazing! They are most known for their sweet pork burrito and salad. This tastes pretty darn close!

INGREDIENTS

2lb pork
2.5 cans (3 3/4 c.) Coke (not diet)
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
dash of garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can diced green chilies
3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce


DIRECTIONS

Place pork, 1 1/2 can (2 1/4 c.) coke, and 1/4 c. brown sugar in a bag. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade. Sprinkle pork with garlic salt and place pork in a crock pot. Add 1/2 can (3/4 c.) coke and water. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove pork and drain liquid. Shred pork.

Blend 1/2 can (3/4 c.) coke, chilies, enchilada sauce, and 1c. brown sugar in food processor to make sauce.

Place shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on ow for 2 hours.

Make it into a burrito or taco salad!

–Melanie