Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops

It's winter here in Western New York, and there is nothing better to get you through those cold days than some good fashioned comfort food. I decided to make some cast iron skillet pork chops.

This is another quick and easy meal to put on the table after a long day at work. Fran picked up some thin cut bone-in pork chops at the grocery store the other day. I had everything else that I needed to make these cast iron skillet pork chops.

First I minced a clove of garlic and chopped a medium onion. Heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in my cast iron skillet. Then I cooked the garlic, and onions with 2 cups of fresh sliced mushrooms until they were tender. About 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat.

I removed this from the pan into another bowl. I added the four pork chops and browned them on both sides. Seasoned with salt and pepper. About 5 minutes per side.

After the pork chops were browned, I returned the mushroom mixture back into the skillet. Then added a 12oz. jar of Heinz Pork Gravy. I covered the skillet and let it cook for 20 minutes over medium heat.

Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops:

Ingredients

4 Thin cut bone-in pork chops
1 clove garlic minced
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1- 12oz jar pork gravy
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in the cast iron skillet and cook the mushrooms, garlic, and onions over medium heat until tender.
2. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3. Brown the pork chops on both sides seasoned with salt and pepper. About 5 minutes per side.
4. Return the mushroom mixture, pour in the gravy, cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

That's all there is to it. In about 40 minutes you'll have this delicious comfort food on the table and your family is going to love it. Serve with your favorite vegetable or baked potato. We had baked sweet potatoes as our side dish.

Note: I used thin cut pork chops. If you use a thicker cut of chops you may want to cook for more than 20 minutes. The guideline internal temperature for pork is 145 degrees with 3 minutes of rest time.  

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron 3 Skillet Bundle. 12 inches and 10.25 inches with 8 inch Set of 3 Cast Iron Frying Pans

Chocolate Peanut Butter Peanut Clusters

This simple recipe for these chocolate peanut butter peanut clusters was given to us by a good friend years ago.

We normally make these every Holiday season. This year we just ran out of time and never got around to making these.

That means that I had all of the ingredients in the house and ready to go. The AFC playoff game this Sunday was so one-sided, that I decided to gather everything and check these off my list for some sweet treats.

These little treats are just so easy to make. And, what a great idea to make them and keep some in the freezer for that chocolate and peanut craving.

Here are the simple ingredients I used. Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, and Salted Peanuts.

After melting Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and the Chocolate Chips together, I stirred in the peanuts and dropped them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Peanut Clusters

Ingredients:

1- 10oz. bag Reese's Peanut Butter Chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups salted peanuts

Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler melt the peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. (I used my double boiler on the stovetop)
2. Stir the chocolate continuously until all is melted and smooth.
3. Add the peanuts, stir, and mix well.
4. Drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper using a tablespoon.
5. Let them set up for a few minutes and place them in the freezer for about 10 minutes. 

 I yielded 24 of these little treats but, I used heaping tablespoons. I could have had 30 or more if I used just a little less.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Farberware Classic Stainless Series 2-Quart Covered Double Boiler

 

Instant Pot Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

This instant pot easy chicken noodle soup will surely warm you up on those cold winter days. We are just loving our new Instant Pot. Fran had this soup ready in less than an hour.

We enjoyed this hearty soup just before we left the house to watch our local hockey team play. Sadly we lost the game in overtime. But, at least we had this delicious chicken noodle soup before the game. It was the perfect meal before going to the ice arena.

Instant Pot Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion Chopped
4 carrots cut into round pieces
3 stalks celery chopped
1 clove garlic minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large chicken breasts (We used bone-in, but you can use boneless)
32 oz. chicken broth
4 cups water
1 package wide egg noodles

Directions:

1. Press the saute' button and let the Instant Pot heat up for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir and cook about 5 minutes to allow them to get tender.
4. Add the chicken breasts (we removed the skin), Chicken broth, and water.
5. Set and lock the instant pot lid and make sure the vent button is closed.
6. Press the Soup/Broth button and set the time for 30 minutes.
7. After the cycle, open the vent to release the pressure, wait a couple of minutes before unlocking the lid.
8. Remove the chicken breasts with a pair of tongs and let cool a few minutes.
9. Press the Saute' button and bring the soup to a boil. While your waiting you can shred the chicken breasts.
10. When the soup comes to a boil add the noodles. Cook the noodles to your liking then add the shredded chicken and stir in until all is mixed well.

Now you can serve and enjoy this hearty chicken noodle soup. Ready in less than one hour and oh so delicious.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Instant Pot Ultra, 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Yogurt Maker, Cake Maker, Egg Cooker, Sauté, and more, Includes App With Over 800 Recipes, Stainless Steel, 6 QuartInstant Pot Recipe Collection

 

Instant Pot Country Ribs and Sauerkraut

Eating pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day is well known to be good luck for the New Year. I'm not sure that this always works but who are we to break such a well-known tradition. So, we always have our pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day.

Since Santa brought Fran an Instant Pot for Christmas this year we thought what a great way to make our pork and sauerkraut.

So far we've only made a couple of things in the Instant Pot. Fran made meatballs and tomato sauce the other day in about 30 minutes and it was delicious.

And, this is coming from somebody who likes their tomato sauce cooking for hours. I didn't document the sauce process but, when we make it again I'll post it.

The first thing was to brown the ribs on all sides. To do this, I let the Instant Pot heat, up and then added 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. I added some black pepper and browned the ribs on all sides.

Instant Pot country Ribs and Sauerkraut:

Here is what I used:

1-1/2 lbs boneless Country Ribs
2 tablespoons peanut oil or Olive Oil (For Browning)
2 lbs. sauerkraut (drained)
2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup water

Instructions:

1. First I warmed up the Instant Pot by pressing the saute' button.
2. Added the oil, black pepper and browned the ribs on all sides.
3. I added the sauerkraut, brown sugar and water.
4. Lock the lid in place and make sure the vent is closed.
5. Pressed the manual button, then set the time on 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes I moved the vent to open to relieve the pressure.
7. Then pressed the keep warm button for about 5 minutes before opening.

That's all there was to it. In about 30 minutes we were enjoying delicious Country ribs and sauerkraut. 

I highly recommend the Instant Pot for quick and easy meals. I can see why they say this is a real time saver.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Instant Pot Ultra, 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Yogurt Maker, Cake Maker, Egg Cooker, Sauté, and more, Includes App With Over 800 Recipes, Stainless Steel, 6 Quart

 

Spinach Cream Cheese Appetizer

These spinach cream cheese roll-ups make a perfect appetizer for any party or just as a great snack. This recipe is sort of a different way to serve up spinach dip.

You and your family are going to love this no-cook easy-to-make recipe. And, these will disappear just as fast as you made them.

With the football playoffs coming up these are a perfect crowd-pleaser for your guests on game day. And, for all of those bacon lovers out there, add some bacon bits for some added flavor.

Spinach Cream Cheese Appetizer: Ingredients 

1-8 ounce package of cream cheese (Softened)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic (minced) or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers (drained and diced)
1-10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach (Thawed and drained)
5 or 6 (10-inch flour tortillas
1 small package of bacon bits (Optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated cheese, and garlic.
2. Add in the spinach, roasted red peppers, and bacon bits,  
3. Mix well with a hand mixer or KitchenAid Stand Mixer.
4. Spread the mixture evenly on the flour tortillas.
5. Roll them up tightly and wrap them in plastic wrap.
6. Place them in the refrigerator for about 2 hours,
7. Cut them into 1/2-inch slices and enjoy. 

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it!

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield - Imperial BlackKitchenAid NEW 7 Quart Bowl Lift Stand Mixer with Double Flex Edge Beater KSM70SK, Empire Red