A Thankful Heart and Stomach

I just typed out a list of everyone I was thankful for family, friends, etc and quickly deleted it. Way too much mushy love for one blog. Know that I am thankful for all of you…today and every day.

Two weeks ago I was particularly thankful for pork. I had moved on to turkey last week, but because by the time this is posted, America will be all turkeyed out …. I will share my recipe for honey apple pecan pork chops. YUM.

Ingredients:

Boneless Pork Chops ( I used a Costco pack so I think there were 12 million of them in the package)

Kerrygold butter (whatever it takes)

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Allspice

Cayenne pepper

Mustard Powder

Salt

Pepper

4-5 Fuji apples

100% raw unfiltered honey

Handful of pecans


Directions:

Set oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.

Brown both sides of pork chops in Kerrygold butter in a saute pan set at medium heat. Browning takes about 3 minutes on each side. They develop a fun little cinnamon butter crust. They should not be cooked all the way through.

While the chops are browning, slice apples into 1/6th, removing the seeds.

Spread half of the apple slices into a lightly buttered pan (whatever size you need to fit 12 million pork chops).

Place browned pork chops on top of apple slices, then take the remaining apple slices and spread out between  and on top of the chops.

Sprinkle the pecans amongst the apples and pork chops. Walnuts also work well.

Sprinkle the dish with more cinnamon, a little more salt, pepper, a few pinches of nutmeg, a few dashes of mustard powder, and a pinch of allspice. For those who like a little sweet/spicy combo, add a few sprinkles of cayenne pepper.

Take the buttery saute pan juices and pour them over the chops and apples.

Take your honey and drizzle two tablespoons over the pork chops and apples. You won’t need too much as the apples are naturally sweet.

Bake the pork chops for 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees.

I made about 9 pork chops with this recipe, so decrease the time if needed.

The result is a mix of savory and sweet decadence that will earn praise from your husband and your stomach.







Bon appetit!