A Little Political Party

Presidential Pork Chops with Apples

Despite her valiant campaign, unfortunately Roseanne did not win last night. I didn't make these chops for watching election results, but it would have been a fun idea nonetheless. Instead, a bunch of us got sauced and watched Fox News wipe the egg off their face. This blog doesn't pick favorites but we're more than pleased with the results of this annoying election, now back to flooding our newsfeeds with grainy food pictures!

To me pork is less of the "other white meat" and more of the "forgotten white meat." I never think about it, but whenever I make it I'm reminded how tasty it is, not to mention cheap. My mom used to make the world's worst pork chops and I think I'm still trying to get over that. I've always liked the idea of apples and pork together so I tried some stuff out.

You will need the following:

2-3 large pork chops (or tenderloin cutlets)

1 sweet apple (I like braeburn)

1/2 red onion (sliced thin)

fresh rosemary sprigs

2 tsp olive oil

3/4 c water

1 tsp mustard 

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 pinch pie spice

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375. Saute onion slices in oil until translucent. Set aside and brown both sides of the pork chops in the same skillet. 

Step 2: Arrange pork chops, onion, apples and rosemary in a baking dish. 

Step 3: Mix water, brown sugar, mustard, pie spice, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour marinade over chops and bake 30-45 minutes covered. Pork is cooked to 140 degrees. 

Crock Pot o' Gold Month (Part 3)

Welcome to the third installment of my slow cooker extravaganza month! With St. Fratboy's Day behind us, it's time to refocus and get away from soups and stews. You can use your Crock Pot for so much more! For those of you who remember the book porn from the first edition, you will be pleasantly surprised by this issue's cheap and simple book craft. Stay tuned, I've got one more slow cooker recipe up my sleeve before this month is over. 

Red Wine Pork Tenderloin

Obviously this is nothing new, my mom used to make pork tenderloin in the crock pot all the time, most recently on Christmas Eve. For some reason people have the idea that this is an expensive cut of meat. I find it to be very affordable by comparison. I've added a few bells and whistles to my mom's method. After you've eaten this, you'll never cook it any other way. And as always, it's heavy on the rosemary.

1-1.5 lb pork loin roast

1 packet dry vegetable soup mix

1/2 red onion (quartered)

3 cloves minced garlic 

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

3/4 c red wine

1 c water

salt & pepper

Step 1: Fill crock with water, soup mix, and onion. 

Step 2: Coat both sides of roast with rosemary and garlic. Slowly pour wine over roast and cover. 

Step 3: Set crock to LO and simmer 4 hours. Do not open lid! After 4 hours, toss in more fresh rosemary. 

Step 4: Take a picture of it before you eat and upload it to Facebook, people love that.