Roasted Pork Chops with Hard Cider Jus

Ingredients:

8 (1-inch-thick) rib pork chops (4 lb total)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 lb large shallots (8), bulbs separated if necessary and each bulb halved lengthwise

1 cup hard cider

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Pat pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with sea salt and pepper. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chops in 3 batches, turning once, 6 minutes per batch, and transfer with tongs to a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep).

Add shallots and remaining tablespoon butter to skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add cider and boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 3 minutes.

Spoon shallots and sauce around chops and roast in lower third of oven until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of 1 chop (do not touch bone) registers 150°F, 7 to 9 minutes.

Let chops stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 155°F while standing). Serve chops with shallots and sauce.

Halloween Dinner Idea: Candy Corn Look-Alike Quesadillas

Celebrate the season with a savory touch! These candy corn triangles will be a smash with kids, and the flavor will win over adults. Let kids join in the fun by filling a bag with the nacho tortilla chips to crush with a rolling pin while you do the rest. 

Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken, cut up
• 1 jar (16 ounces) salsa
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 8 flour tortillas (10 inches)
• 1 jar (15-1/2 ounces) salsa con queso dip, warmed
• 4 cups (16 ounces each) shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 2-2/3 cups crushed nacho-flavored tortilla chips
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

• In a large sauce pan, combine the first five ingredients; heat through.
• Brush butter over one side of each tortilla. Place one tortilla, buttered side down, in a large skillet. Spread with 1 cup chicken mixture; top with another tortilla, buttered side up. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Flip.
• Spread 1/2 cup queso dip over top of quesadilla. Sprinkle cheese around outside edge. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Remove to a cutting board. Sprinkle chips over middle of quesadilla. Spoon a dollop of sour cream into the center. Cut into six wedges. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Yield: 2 dozen.

Chicken Meatball Stroganoff

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1½lbs ground chicken breast
• 1 slice bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces (I used wheat sandwich bread)
• ½c finely minced onion
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2½c chicken broth
• ¼c sour cream
• 1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

To serve:

• 8oz egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
• additional fresh thyme, optional

Instructions

For the meatballs:

1. To make meatballs, combine chicken breast, bread, onion, milk, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss with a fork until combined and smooth, but try not to over-mix. Using your hands, or a small scoop, form the mixture into 1½” meatballs (I usually get 20-24).
2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Working in batches, so as not to overcrowd them, add meatballs to the pan. Cook until well browned and cooked through, turning regularly and adding more olive oil as necessary (this took me about 8-10 minutes per batch). Transfer cooked meatballs to a plate and repeat with remaining meatballs.
3. Add the mushrooms and butter to the same saute pan and cook over medium heat, turning often, until mushrooms are golden and cooked through. If mushrooms begin to stick, feel free to add a little more butter or a small drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom/garlic mixture and stir to coat well. Pour in chicken broth and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes, or until sauce has thickened somewhat.
4. Whisk in sour cream and Dijon mustard until smooth. Taste sauce and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
5. If serving to children or for ease of serving, slice meatballs in half. Return meatballs to the skillet and stir to coat with sauce. Add noodles to the pan and stir to coat. Top with an additional sprinkle of fresh thyme for garnish, if desired.

Mom’s Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta (I used whole wheat shells)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.), diced

1/4 cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

5 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1/4 cup white wine

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Set a large pot of water to boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, salt it and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides – about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and simmer with the chicken until it’s fragrant and begins to turn golden – about 3 minutes.

Add the salt. spinach and white wine to the skillet and cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Toss the contents of the skillet with the pasta and place in a casserole dish. Cover with cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

Makes about 8 servings.

Hamburger Cookies

Do not be fooled.  These are in fact cookies that look like hamburgers.  Oh yes, believe it.  They are real.  They are adorable.  And most importantly, they are delicious. Simple to assemble, using Nilla Wafers & peppermint patties.  My daughter & my niece had a lot of fun with this cookie "recipe." 

Ingredients:

48 Nilla Wafer Cookies

24 mini peppermint patties

1/4-1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 can vanilla frosting

1/2-1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Red, Yellow, and Green food coloring

Directions:

Spoon out half of the frosting into one bowl and the rest in another.  Drop the red food coloring in the first bowl and mix.  Continue to drop the coloring until the desired color is reached.  Repeat with the yellow coloring in the second bowl.

Pour the shredded coconut into a third bowl.  Drop the green food coloring and mix.  Continue to drop the coloring until the desired color is reached.

Lay out all of the Nilla Wafers, curved side down, on a cutting board or large plate.  Using a knife, dab a bit of frosting (does not matter if it's the red or yellow) on 24 of the Wafers.  This helps to secure the peppermint pattie.   

Unwrap the 24 peppermint patties and place on top of each Wafer with the dab of frosting.  Carefully spread a bit of red frosting on half of each pattie.  Repeat with the yellow frosting on the other half.  Take the coconut and sprinkle on top of each pattie.  Place the remaining Wafers on top of the patties.

Now you can dab a tiny bit of water on the top of each Wafer and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Let stand for about 30 minutes to an hour in order for the cookie to stick together.     

(makes 24 cookies)