The Elusive Day Off

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Yesterday, I had a day off. By off I mean I still had an 8 am class, but the bank was closed for Veteran's Day. After class, we drove down to philly and volunteered as dog walkers for NGAP, something we've been meaning to do for a long time. Those little greyhounds are such lovely little dogs that just want some attention and fresh air.

After we cuddled the doggies and made our way home, I had plenty of time to drool over some recipes.

 

  

Today's recipe inspirations were One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Mac and Cheese and this...
Pork Chops with Apples & Creamy Bacon Cheese Grits, but since I can rarely follow a recipe, they served more as inspiration. The Macaroni recipe I changed very little and after the fact, there are some changes I would make to get it a little creamier/wetter next time (stay tuned), but here it is.

Pan Seared Pork Loin Chops with Sauteed Apples

& One-Pot Macaroni and Cheese

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One-Pot Macaroni and Cheese

 

Crumbs:

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs

dash of paprika

Macaroni:

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 cups 1% milk

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups shredded cheese

salt and pepper

Buttered Crumbs:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add1/4 unseasoned bread crumbs and a dash of paprika. Toast briefly until crumb change color slightly. Remove from heat.



Macaroni:

Rinse macaroni in cold water and add to medium saucepan.

Add milk, butter, dry mustard, and salt, bring to boil over medium heat then reduce to a simmer over low heat. Stir frequently and cover for 15 minutes until milk is absorbed. (Be sure to stir constantly or the pasta will stick together.)

Remove from heat, stir in cheese and top with buttered bread crumbs to serve.

Pan Seared Pork Loin Chops with Sauteed Apples

2-4 boneless pork loin chops

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion, small dice

2 tart apples, small dice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider

1/4 cup brandy

Mix flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a dish. Dredge chops in seasoned flour and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet and when hot, add chops and sear until nicely browned on each side (approx. 2 minutes each side) and remove from pan.

 Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet, add onion and saute 1-2 minutes until lightly brown, add apples and saute until caramelized.

Add apple cider vinegar, apple cider, and brandy, return chops to pan, cover and simmer over medium low heat for 5 minutes. When internal temperature of the pork reaches 145f (varies depending on thickness of chop, mine only needed a few extra minutes) remove from pan and serve.

Ta da!