Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

A few weeks ago I had some pork chops that I had thawed (not unthawed...) but had no idea what I was going to do with them. I racked my brain all day long as to what to do with these pork chops. At about 5:00pm  I realized that I really needed to figure something out and get making it. I had some potatoes, and decided I wanted to use them, but realized that at this point I was a little short on time. Well, I came up with a beauty of a dinner that everyone loved, and it was easy and quick. There was a ton of flavor with very little effort. You should try it!

Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

4-6 pork chops (I used boneless pork loin chops, but any kind will work)
6 or so medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 1/2 -2 cups whipping cream
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil

Drizzle a little olive oil into a large skillet. Heat over med-hi heat. Salt and pepper the chops. Add chops to pan and brown chops on each side, but don't cook through. Remove chops to a plate, then add the garlic to the drippings left in the pan. Cook and stir the garlic for 1-2 minutes, then whisk in the whipping cream and mustard. Next add the potatoes. Gently fold and stir the potatoes into the cream sauce. When potatoes are coated, place pork chops on top of the potatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to about medium and cook for 15-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and chops are cooked through.

Sweet and Sour Pork

A couple of months ago, my husband and I were able to go visit his brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Ann, in Kansas City.  We actually surprized Mike for his 40th birthday.  We had a great weekend and ate some great food while were were there.  My husband did his internship in Kansas City, so we lived there for a few months. Our all time favorite BBQ joint is there. We actually ate there twice in the 4 days we were there.  One of the yummy things we ate that weekend was this Sweet and Sour Pork that Ann made for us for dinner one night.  We loved it.  Thanks for sharing the recipe Ann.

**it was easier to list the ingredients in with the directions, so I put all the ingredients in bold so they would be easier to identify.

Sweet and Sour Pork

In a bowl combine:

2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chicken broth

Beat until smooth. Cut 1 pound boneless pork into 1-inch cubes and stir into the batter. Fry in cooking oil until golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a skillet cook 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 Tablespoons of oil. (if you wanted to add some veggies like green pepper or carrots at this point, you could)

Stir in:
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce

Bring to boil and boil rapidly for one minute.
Mix 1/4 cup cold water into 2 Tablespoons cornstarch.
Stir this into sauce mixture until thickened and bubbly.

Mix fried pork cubes into sauce until warm and coated. Serve over rice.

Pot Stickers

I learned how to make these from a friend in Iowa that is from the Philippines.  This is kind of a hard recipe to post, because I don't have a recipe, and every time I make them they are a little different.  I even taught a class a couple of months ago at my house on how to make these, and even then the ladies were saying "how much of that did you put in?" I tried really hard to measure things the last time I made them, so I hope this all makes sense.  I took a few extra pictures of the process...I hope that helps.

Pot Stickers

1 lb ground pork
1/2-3/4 package coleslaw mix (by the salad mixes in the produce section)
1 package won ton wrappers (in the produce section of all grocery stores)
Salt (about 1 tsp)
3-4 chopped green onions (or 1Tbsp dried minced onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced (add more or less according to taste)
1/8 tsp grated ginger (optional)

Mix ground pork with about half of the package of coleslaw mix, salt, onions, garlic and ginger. Place about a Tablespoon of the meat mixture on a won ton wrapper.

Put some water in a bowl and with either your finger or a pastry brush, wet all four sides of the wrapper.  Then fold 2 corners together, pressing them together.

 Then bring up the other 2 corners, sealing it all together.

Using a NONSTICK skillet, place a little bit of oil in the pan, (I used about 2 Tbsp for my large 15 inch skillet) then place the pot stickers in the pan.

Saute over med/med-hi heat until the bottoms are a golden brown.

This is the tricky part.  At this point you need to add some water to the pan, but it is hard to tell you how much, because a lot depends on the size of pan you are using.  You need enough that it will last for the whole steaming process, but not too much.  I used about 1/2 cup in my 15 inch skillet.  As soon as you pour the water in, cover immediately.  Steam with cover on for 5-7 minutes, until pork is completely cooked through.

Remove cover and serve.

A few more bits of info:

*If you run out of water during the steaming process before they are done, add a little more and continue to steam

* You can add any other ingredients or seasoning that you want. You can also try using different ground meats, like chicken. (I have only used pork, but I bet others would work fine)

* We like to dip these in soy sauce that has a little bit of red wine vinegar drizzled into it

*You can freeze these.  After you have them assembled, freeze them in a single layer, after they are frozen, you can put them in a ziplock.  Then take them out and cook them from the frozen state, don't thaw first.  You will just need to increase your cooking time, and probably use more water.

* To make egg rolls instead of pot stickers, buy the egg roll wrappers (or you can make mini egg rolls with these wrappers).  Add the whole package of coleslaw mix instead of just half.  You can also add things like rice noodles, and bean sprouts.  Wrap them up egg roll style, starting with a corner, then tucking in the side corners (kinda like rolling up a burrito). Fry them in about 1/2 inch of oil, turning over once.

*These are fun to make for a group when you have everyone help you assemble them.

*Let me know if you have questions!

Ranch Pork Chops

This is another one of those recipes that isn't really a recipe, its just more of an idea.  I like the flavor of the ranch with the pork chops, and it makes it so easy.  When I do it like this, I don't use any other seasonings, not even salt and pepper. The dressing mix gives it plenty of flavor. You can season these then broil, grill, saute, or whatever you want. 

Ranch Pork Chops

Pork Chops (the ones pictured are boneless pork loin chops)
Dry Ranch Dressing mix

Sprinkle each side of the chop with the dry dressing mix, let sit for a few minutes, then saute in just a little bit of olive oil. If the chops are thin, saute in pan until done.  If they are thicker cuts, saute just to brown them, then place on a cookie sheet and finish cooking in the oven at 350 degrees until pork is cooked through.