Simplified Smothered Pork Chops with Apple Cider (page 212)

This dinner received a perfect score from me. I really liked the delicious sweet and savory flavor with the subtle mustard undertone. My husband did not like the pork as much as I did though. I served this over white rice and will probably be making it again, when my hubby is out of town.

Beef Teriyaki (page 205)

Of course I had to cook this recipe because it looked so delicious on the picture page :-) This meal can be made much faster than the 30-minute maximum. In fact I’m pretty sure I had this insanely simple meal on the table it a little over 15 minutes. I used 1/8 tsp dried ginger instead of freshly grated, which probably saved on time. I also added sesame seeds and served it over white rice to match the picture. Deliciously quick dinner!

Simple Sauteed Chicken Breasts (pg. 191) with White Wine Sauce (pg. 196)

I've made these several times already, so obviously we like them!  They are exactly what the name says....simple!  I would recommend using thinner chicken breasts.  I used some pretty thick ones the first time I made these and it took longer than it says to cook.  Also, be careful not to over-salt these, especially if you are making the sauce b/c it also has salt in it (I made that mistake once).  I like that these are so versatile and can be served with many different kinds of sides.  I have served them with the creamy skillet penne w/mushrooms and asparagus (pg. 142), and it was a yummy meal.  This particular time, I wanted the simplest meal possible so I just made a Lipton rice packet.  Not exactly gourmet, but we needed a really quick meal!

Simple Pan-Seared Pork Chops (page 208) and Worcestershire & Butter Sauce (page 196)

Well the pork chops were exactly like the title suggests: simple. I’m really not sure it gets easier than this. They would probably be delicious on their own, but I added the Worcestershire and butter sauce. In the very last step, when you turn the sauce down to low, I added the pork chops back into the sauce so the flavors could mellow together. I totally forgot to add the parsley and it was fine; I’ll try to remember it next time though. I will say that because the Worcestershire sauce is salty enough on its own, you probably don’t need to add anymore. Because I need variety on the plate, I paired the pork chops with rice pilaf and some fresh green beans. This was a “simple” week night meal that I will certainly make again.

Simple Pan-Seared Pork Chops P. 208 & Warm Cherry Tomato Relish P. 198, 30-Minute Roasted Red Potatoes P. 208

This was a yummy dinner last night. Definitely not 30 minutes! It took about 50 minutes and there was a huge mess to clean up after we ate. So, it wasn't even one of those meals that you can at least clean up while it cooks.

The pork chops were good. Mine were maybe a touch dry but that's because my thermometer is broken apparently so I was guessing on the cook time. I think I did the 2nd side the 10 minutes. I also used thick boneless chops. The grease does splatter A LOT so if you don't like a messy greasy stove top then I wouldn't recommend this recipe. I even used a splatter screen.

The tomato relish was very yummy. The only bad thing is I think the garlic and rosemary get a little burnt with the high heat. The relish helped with the fact that the pork was a touch dry.

The potatoes were good as well. I did the garlic rosemary version since I had rosemary from the tomatoes. They were pretty easy so I would make them again. Our son, Isaiah, loved them! He'd already eaten earlier and he was wanting them as we were eating!

Almond-Crusted Chicken Breasts w/Cranberry-Orange Relish (pg.201) and Skillet Green Beans (pg.233)

Hmm...where to start? Let me first just say that overall, we liked both of these dishes. I did have a few issues, though!

The chicken: This is not something I would normally choose (b/c of the fruity relish) but what appealed to me was the almond crust. I love chicken and love finding new ways to cook it, and we've never done an almond-crusted chicken so I went for it. My main issue with this dish was the fact that my chicken breasts were way too thick (and one was thicker than the other). I had a feeling this might be an issue but I didn't even start thinking about this meal until probably 30 minutes before I was about to cook it...and the only chicken I had thawed were the really thick ones so I had to use them. The recipe says to cook it in the skillet for a total of 6-8 minutes, browning both sides. Honestly, I didn't keep track of exactly how long I had to cook mine but it was WAY MORE than 8 minutes! I used a meat thermometer to test the temp in the thickest part after 8 minutes and it was only around 100* and it needed to be 165* (according to my thermometer recommendations-this did not come from the cook book). So, I kept cooking it a bit more making sure to turn every few minutes b/c I was afraid it was going to burn. I don't know how much more time passed b/c I was getting a little frazzled that I would not have dinner ready in time to leave for small group (and I was working on the green beans and dealing with my 19-month-old, ha!), but I finally decided that I would put it in the oven to cook the rest of the way while I made the relish. Unfortunately, I had been turning the chicken so much that the crust was beginning to break and as I moved it to a wire rack over a baking sheet to go into the oven, one half of the crust just fell off. oops! Anyway, as it finished cooking in the oven, I made the relish (in a separate, smaller pan b/c I only made a 1/2 recipe). I was very leery of this relish b/c the thought of putting cranberries and orange marmalade on top of my chicken just did not sound right. Not much to say about the actual cooking process of the relish - it was straightforward and I didn't have any issues with it (except my hubby bought orange juice w/mango instead of just plain orange juice-oh well!). So, overall the verdict is: I really liked the chicken alone but did not care for the relish. I tried one bite with it and that was it. The almond crust (which has panko bread crumbs in it) was delicious. There is also cinnamon in the crust (which I thought was kinda weird). Since I only made a 1/2 recipe, I needed just 1 teaspoon, but we're not really crazy about cinnamon so I just used 1/2 teaspoon. I could just barely taste it and thought that was the perfect amount for us. My husband ate his with the relish and said that it was "not bad." He liked it more than he thought he would. Overall, my vote would be to make just the chicken again and skip the relish...AND, use thinner chicken breasts so there's no issue with cooking it through w/in the 30 minutes!!

The greenbeans: these were super easy and tasty. I was rushing so much to get dinner on the table that I accidentally skipped the last step of seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. When we started eating it, I thought they were missing a little something and commented that I thought it odd that the recipe did not call for salt and pepper. I checked the recipe again and realized that I'd left it out - oops! Overall, these were good and I'd make them again just b/c they were so easy and quick.

This entire process took me 1 hour and 15 minutes. Next time, I think I can get it done much quicker now that I've done it once and learned some lessons!


Here is my plate, minus the relish...



Hubby's plate with relish...



And a closeup of the relish (looks weird, huh?)

Simple Sauteed Chicken Breasts P. 191 & Red Wine Sauce P. 196 & Skillet Green Beans P. 233

Oh my goodness!! This was quite the dinner last night! I was all optimistic about cooking my chicken breasts without pounding them because they did a good job explaining the technique of higher heat on the first side and lower heat on the second. But medium high is way to high heat for the first side. It was really and I mean really blackened! Our house was filling up with smoke like crazy. In the end they came out ok once we cut off the black side but they were pretty cold by the time we ate. It was just a bad night of cooking. We started at 7 and didn't eat until 8.30....arghh!

The sauce was the saving grace! Daniel always does our sauces and he did this once to perfection! It was great. I can imagine PW saying she would eat it by the spoonful!:) He said he was unsure about adding the brown sugar but it didn't taste sweet by any means. He also mentioned that he simmered it probably 10 minutes. Oh, and we used white wine instead of red. We also made mashed potatoes and the gravy was so yummy with them. Daniel went back for second of just the potatoes with sauce!

The green beans were really good too. Another saving grace! I'm not the biggest fan of fresh green beans but these were really yummy. I will definitely make them again. I think we simmered ours 20 min...they weren't quite done at the 15 min mark. I'd be curious to know if anyone tries dried thyme...buying a full thing for just 1/2tsp is a waste in my opinion. Or if anyone knows how long fresh thyme keeps or how to store it I'd appreciate the tips.

All in all this was a good meal. I just wish we would have ate sooner and our chicken wasn't cold but I don't think we prepped enough so that was more our fault. Daniel said he would make again even though there were A LOT of dirty dishes.

As you can imagine there is NO picture. I just was ready to eat!!

Fast Oven-BBQ Chicken (page 231) & 30-Minute Baked Potato (page 209)

Maybe I’m a cheater (or lazy), but I have always cooked baked potatoes in the microwave. I don’t usually put them in the oven afterwards, so it was a *treat* this time because the oven gave them a nice crispy edge (which I’m sure most of you non-lazy cooks are familiar with). I had the potatoes in the microwave while I was browning the chicken & just put them in the oven when I put the chicken in the oven. I think this was the perfect amount of time because I was using smaller potatoes. If you use larger potatoes you may need more time in the oven. These were great & definitely fast.

We also really enjoyed the chicken, especially the BBQ sauce (which I think I read someone else saying as well). The sauce had a nice strong kick (probably due in part to the fact that I totally forgot the maple syrup which would most-likely balance out the chili powder & cayenne pepper). I will definitely make this BBQ sauce again because we love the tangy flavor. This meal was a hit & only took 30 minutes for both recipes.

Quick maple-glazed pork chops (page 211)

I thought the pork chops were very tasty, though a little on the sweet side. They had a gourmet and ritzy flavor. I paired the pork chops with rice pilaf & peas. Very quick & easy!

30 Min Red Roasted Potatoes

I am used to making sure I start my roasted potatoes long before I start the rest of dinner- I had never even thought of nuking them in the microwave for a bit first :)  This worked really well and ALL of the roasted potatoes were eaten! 

I did toss mine with minced garlic after taking them out of the oven to cool.  Yummy! 

Almond- Crusted Chicken Breasts with Cranberry-Orange Relish

Another success!  I used pretty big chicken breasts, so I had to cook mine in the oven a bit longer than it says to just "warm" them.  I loved the crust, and we both enjoyed the cranberry relish.  Danny asked if I used a can of cranberry sauce- and when I told him I had used craisins and made the sauce from scratch, he was once again shocked we were eating so quickly and it was so yummy!  I REALLY am enjoying being able to come inside from playing outside at 5:30 pm and have dinner on the table by 6:00 ish!  Without much thought earlier in the day- except to get my meat out to thaw in the morning.

Make sure you use Panko bread crumbs- if you've never used them before, you will be hooked!  They stay crispy and crunchy.  Look for them in the chinese/asian section of the grocery store.