Sweet Harvest Pork Chops

Autumn has come and gone (all too quickly, in my opinion - but that's the way Utah weather goes every year!), but I'm still making dinners that have the Fall flavor to them.  I actually made this one up.  Yep, an original from yours truly (one of the very few)!  I tried my hand at whipping something up in the slow cooker for a big contest...that I did not even come close to winning.  But when you taste this, I'm sure you'll be wondering why in the world not - just as I was.  I tease.  Sort of.  Anyway, I tried it out with a pot roast as well, but the chops were our fave.  And I learned, while in my very own test kitchen, that I highly favor white sweet potatoes over the regular orange-y sweet potatoes/yams that I see much more often.  Hands down, the white get my vote.

Anyway, don't wait until next Fall to make this one.  It's a delight all year-round.

Sweet Harvest Pork Chops

A Get in the Kitch Original

Ingredients

2 sweet apples, cored & sliced (I used gala and Fuji)

2 white sweet potatoes, cut into large cubes

4 pork chops, I used bone-in

1 14-oz can low-sodium chicken broth

2/3 c. apple cider

1/3 c. brown sugar

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours.

Serve with a green salad.

resolution numero uno: cook, bake, blog.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you (any of you that may still be there, occasionally checking this sedentary blog) how much I've been cooking/baking/in the kitchen.  I could, but I won't.  Why?  Mostly because I haven't been doing much of any of that lately. Two resolutions on my very short list of resolutions are going to get me back in the kitch:

1. Overcome my fear of baking with yeast, and master the art.

2. Cook.  And blog about what I cook.  It's not that hard!

  Proof is in the pudding, right?  So, here's some pudding.  In the form of a very, very tardy TWD rewind post.

These corniest corn muffins are great on their own, or on the side of a meal.  My personal favorite way to eat them is crumbled up on top of a salad.  They're actually the star of my favorite salad:  Corn Bread Salad.  Click here for that recipe, and see below for the muffin recipe.

Corniest Corn Muffins

From Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

6 Tbsp. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional

1 c. buttermilk

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 Tbsp. corn oil

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 c. corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you like) - fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they should be drained and patted dry)

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular size muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.  In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and other yolk together until well blended.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.  Don't worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy, and that's just the way it should be.  Stir in the corn kernels.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Transfer to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

What are your cooking resolutions for 2011?