Dinner for two

I made a super yummy dinner tonight and I just have to share it. Pork chops with artichokes and capers, and asparagus in a balsamic butter sauce. SO yummy.

Pork with Artichokes and Capers

2 pork chops (the original recipe called for pork loin, cut into 1" slices, but I opted for the chops)

1 T. butter

2 green onions

1/2 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, chopped

1/4 c. chicken broth

1 T. capers, drained

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 T. minced fresh parsley

lemon slices

Cook your pork in butter in a large skillet until juices run clear. In the same skillet, cook onion until tender. Stir in artichokes, broth, capers, and mustard. Heat through. Serve over pork, sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon slices.

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch asparagus

PAM

salt and pepper

2 T. butter

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse asparagus and snap ends off. Place on baking sheet. Coat with PAM and then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 min. (If you like your spears crisp, don't bake a full 12 minutes!) Meanwhile, melt butter and add soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to it. When the asparagus is done, pour your balsamic butter sauce over it, and enjoy!

These two dishes happened to complement each other pretty well. The pork definitely has a unique flavor, with the capers and Dijon mustard and all, so I didn't know how well this particular asparagus recipe would go with it. But it definitely worked. We had some foccacia bread on the side and it was delectable.

Pork Medallions

If anyone is there.....here is a delicious recipe someone gave me!! Apparently I like pork.


Pork Medallions

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire
6 oz pineapple juice
1 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Cut pork loin into medallions. Marinade in sauce as long as desired. Grill medallions and boil marinade to serve as gravy.

Mexicali Pork Chops

These are really easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 pork loin chops

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1/4 c. chopped onion

1 16oz. can diced tomatoes

1 8oz. can corn, drained

1 8oz. can red kidney beans, drained

1/2 c. long grain rice

1/2 c. water

1 4oz. can mild green chili peppers; rinsed, seeded and chopped

3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat from chops, in a skillet cook fat trimmings till 2 lb. accumulate. Discard trimmings. Brown chops on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and set chops aside. Reserve drippings in skillet.

2. Cook green pepper and onion in reserved drippings til tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained corn and beans, uncooked rice, water, chili peppers, and salt. Bring to a boil.

3. Turn mixture into a 12x7.5x2 baking dish. Arrange chops on top.

4. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

5. Uncover and bake 10-15 min. more until meat is tender.

6. Enjoy.