Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy

This recipe can be made as follows, or turned into a gluten free recipe by substituting the flour for your regular flour substitute (or cornstarch to thicken the gravy).

Ingredients:

5 boneless pork chops (I used the centre cut that are quite thick)

salt and pepper 

2 tbsp all-purpose flour (or your gluten free substitute)

2 tbsp olive oil and coconut oil (I used half and half)

butter

2.5 portobello mushroom caps, chopped

1-2 onions, chopped (I used 1 large, 1 small)

2 (large) cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup red wine

1-2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp sour cream

Directions:

Sautéing the onions

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and coat all sides with flour.  Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chops (working in batches if you need to) and cook until golden, about 3-4  minutes per side.  Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

2. Add some butter and add the onions.  Sauté for a couple of minutes and add the garlic; sauté another minute. Season with salt and add some more butter and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  

Returning the pork chops to the
pan with the onions and mushrooms.

3.  Turn up the heat and add the red wine, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom.  Stir constantly until it starts to thicken.  Add 1 tbsp flour (or a gluten free substitute like cornstarch) and cook, stirring for another 3 minutes.  

4. Return the pork chops to the pan, placing them on top of the onion-mushroom mixture.  Pour enough chicken broth to just barely reach the top of the pork chops.  Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cover.  Cook for another 20-25 minutes.

5.  Remove pork and add 2 tbsp of flour (or substitute) and stir for a minute to thicken sauce.  Make sure the flour does not clump up.  Add the sour cream and stir to thicken the sauce.  Place the pork chops back in the pot, covering with the sauce and to heat through (if necessary).

6.  Serve with mashed potatoes, covering both in the mushroom gravy.

Quick shot of the chops and mashed
potatoes covered in gravy.

The final product - in all it's gravy!

Mashed Potatoes

Pair your favourite mashed potatoes with the dish for the perfect combo.

I boil my potatoes over medium heat for at least an hour until they are soft.  I drain off the water and return the potatoes to the pot.  I mash them with my masher, periodically adding butter and milk to smooth out the potatoes to the consistency I like (not clumpy, quite smooth).  I also season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  If I have it on hand, I add 1 tbsp cream cheese and 1 tbsp sour cream towards the end and stir in for that extra creaminess.

Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

I don't really measure when I make my chicken, so I apologize in advance as I'm only listing the ingredients.  Some of these ingredients will cross over into your potatoes as well.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
Butter
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary
Thyme
1 Lemon, quartered
6 cloves Garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6-7 potatoes, peeled and chopped
Olive Oil
Wine

Directions:

1. Spray your dish with cooking spray or grease it. Preheat your oven to 450F.

2. Generously butter the outside of your entire chicken.  Pour some salt and pepper, as well as your other seasonings into the cavity of your chicken.  Then generously sprinkle those same seasonings over the entire bird.  Pour some olive oil and give your bird a rub down.  If necessary, sprinkle some more seasonings on the top of the bird. Take half of your lemon (2 pieces) and put them in the cavity, followed by 2-3 cloves of garlic.  You can also gently put some cloves of garlic just under the skin of the chicken breast as well.

3. Toss in about 1/3 of your onion and almost 1 of your carrots into the pan. Add another lemon quarter to the pan. Pour some wine (I used white) over the bird and vegetables, as well as some more olive oil.  Cover with foil and put in your oven.

4. Meanwhile spray another dish with cooking spray.  Toss in your potatoes and remaining carrots and onion.  Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic and toss in as well.  Pour some olive oil and then sprinkle with thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper.  I always had in a few other spices, like oregano or basil as well.  Take your last quarter lemon and squeeze the juice over the potatoes. Pour wine over top of the vegetables and give it a quick stir to make sure everything is coated.  Put 4-5 dots of butter over top.  Cover with foil and place in the oven beside your pan of chicken.

5.  Cook in a 450F oven for about 60-75 minutes, it really depends on when the chicken reaches its appropriate internal temperature.  The potatoes will take about an hour, but give them a pierce to check for doneness.  Remove the foil within the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.  Once the food is cooked, place your oven on broil for another 5 minutes to crisp up the potatoes and chicken skin.

Save your chicken carcass for homemade chicken broth.

Sausages & Frites

Today my grandparents visited me and my daughter. They dropped off some fresh sausages that my grandfather made this past weekend.  I knew right away what I was going to make: salsiccia con peperoni e cippole (sausages with pepper and onions). I had these nice Panini that would go great with the sausages. As my side I was going to use my T-Fal Actifry to make some potatoes - my husband loves them!

So I peeled one large sweet potato and 3 small-medium russet potatoes and chopped them into wedges. I tossed them with some vegetable oil, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and threw them in the Actifry. I drizzled some more oil over top, set it to 40 minutes and turned it on.

Next I chopped up one onion and 1.5 red peppers. I always prefer red peppers because they have this nice sweetness to them. I also chopped up my grandfather's sausages. They were very fresh, so I could have (maybe even should have) left them whole, but that's alright.

I heated up my pan with some oil and tossed everything in.  Because the sausages were very fresh, I added a little bit of water since they'd need to fry a little longer than usual. A sprinkle of salt and pepper and I let them cook, stirring frequently. Covering the pan will keep the heat and moisture in. At this point you could add a variety of seasonings if you wanted.

The bottom of the pan got a lot of nice brown bits so near the end I added just a splash more of water to loosen it all up. I cooked it all over medium-low heat for the most part. The onions got all yummy and carmelized, the peppers got nice and soft and the sausages were cooked through and brown.

The potatoes and sausages were done at about the exact same time. At this point you plate it and enjoy your dinner. You can put the sausages in a sandwich (especially if you kept the sausages whole or halved them lengthwise) or just eat them with the bread.
Dinner was so yummy - there wasn't enough leftovers for the both of us for lunch tomorrow!

Tonight's Dinner: braised chicken stew with quinoa

Back in November I was watching The Chew and Michael Symon was making this dish with turkey thighs. I was very interested in making that dish, but had to adapt the recipe to what was in my kitchen. It turned out quite good and I decided to make it again for dinner tonight with a side of quinoa. It was so yummy - and a little spicy! There was enough for me and my husband for dinner and leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

FYI: the original recipe can be found here - http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Braised-Turkey-Thighs-Spicy-Kale-Michael-Symon

Stew of Braised Chicken thighs, potatoes and spinach

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 30 mins
Ready in: 60-75 mins

Ingredients:

4 chicken boneless, skinless thighs, cut into large pieces

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 carrots, peeled and large diced

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 heaping tbsp tomato paste 

olive oil

2  tsp bay leaves (dried)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1.5 cups red wine

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped (or whole)

Salt

Directions:

1. Let the chicken come to room temperature for approx. 30 minutes. Sprinkle all sides with salt. 

2. Preheat the oven to 375F.

3. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, put the chicken down into the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the chicken is well browned. Flip the pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes to brown other sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.

4. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrots and garlic and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until wine is reduced by half. Add the potatoes, bay leaves, chicken stock, and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.

5. Adjust for seasoning, adding salt if needed, and then add the spinach. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Put the chicken thighs on top of the spinach, put the lid back on, and put in the oven for 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. 

Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed under cold water

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup water

1 tbsp butter

Mrs. Dash original seasoning - to your tastes

I tossed this all in my rice cooker and let it go. My rice cooker is slow so it took about an hour. But you can cook it over the stovetop on a medium-low heat until the liquid is evaporated. 

Spoon a nice scoop on your plate and top with the stew and some of the juicy liquids! If you're a wimp like me - keep a tissue nearby in case the spice makes your nose runny!