Simple Pork Chops

10 pork chops
salt and pepper
honey barbecue sauce
one large onion finely chopped,
water,
large pan for baking.

Put about one inch of water in bottom of pan, add a layer of chopped onion in water, then salt and pepper pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops on top of onion, then add a few onions on top of pork chops. Add water to cover.
Bake at 450°F about 1 hour. When nearly done, remove from oven (I poured the water out at this point...) and pour honey barbecue sauce over meat evenly. Return to oven for about 3-5 minutes on broil or long enough to brown barbecue sauce.
Serves 8-10 people.

I used this recipe and only cooked 2 pork chops, they were VERY thick...and they were Grass Fed CSA Pork Chops...which means there is no preservatives/salt in the meat which means you don't need to cook it nearly as long as store bought meat. I cooked them for about 40 minutes and they were plenty well cooked. I think cooking them in the water was a good way to go since they were so thick. I used a meat thermometer and made sure they got to about 160degrees...I didn't want to over cook them since it was my first time cooking grass fed meat.

This was a simple recipe and super delicious. The meat was tender and moist and the flavor was great cause I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce and that stuff is divine!

Jamie

Salsa Verde Carnitas & El Torito Dressing

Salsa Verde Carnitas
(from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds pork butt (pork shoulder)
• 2 cups salsa verde, bottled, canned, or homemade
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano (or 1 teas dried)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt

• 12 to 16 corn tortillas, heated and softened
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled Cotija Mexican farmer's cheese, or some grated Monterey Jack cheese
• Crema fresca, crema Mexican, or sour cream
• Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Method

1 Trim the excess fat from the roast. Put the meat in a large casserole or Dutch oven with salsa verde, onion, stock, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, about 3 hours.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove meat from liquid in pot and put the meat into a roasting pan. With 2 forks, tear meat into large shreds. Roast meat for 15 to 20 minutes until parts are brown and crispy.

3. While the meat is roasting, skim and discard fat from liquid in the casserole pan. Boil juices, stirring, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 10 minutes.

4 Return the meat to the Dutch oven. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt.

Serves 6.

This salad is from one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants in CA called El Torito. They actually sell the dressing in grocery stores in CA, but I like this version much better!

El Torito Salad Dressing

• 1 Tbsp Original Ranch Salad Dressing Mix (Dry Mix)
• 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 c. Low-Fat Buttermilk
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup Fresh Cilantro (long stems cut off)
• 2 Tbsp Roasted & Salted Pepitas
• 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 c. Vegetable Oil
• Salt & Pepper
  

In blender combine all ingredients except oil. Whip or process until well bended or mixture is green. Slowly add oil through top cover of blender jar while motor is running. Process until dressing is smooth. Add Salt & Pepper to taste. If needed, refrigerate until well chilled. Serve as desired over chilled greens sprinkled with extra Pepitas.

El Torito Salad

• Romaine Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Avocados
• Pepitas
• Queso Fresco
• Tortilla Strips

Enjoy!!!

~Amy

Easy Lemon Pork Loins

I learned this dish years ago and probably have made it well over 100 times. Its an extremely easy dish to make and you will never forget it. You can make it for 2 people or 10 or more. This is a recipe that I don't measure so you can adjust the ingredients as much as you like.

You will need:

Pork Loins (as many as you want to cook)

Lemons - 1/2 a lemon per loin and have an extra for juice

Onion - 2 rings per loin

Ketchup

Brown Sugar

Foil

Thats it!

Preheat oven to 425.

Place pork loins in baking dish. Cut lemons and onions into rings. Place lemon slices directly on top of loins. Squeeze extra lemon over entire dish to add some juice. Then stack onion rings on top of lemons. Sprinkle brown sugar over whole dish. And top with ketchup. I just make pretty lines about 1/2 inch apart over complete dish. Cover with foil. Place in oven for 45 minutes. Or until throughly cooked.

You can adjust the ingredients to taste after making this dish for the first time. If you want more lemon taste, add more lemons. You can do the same with onions. Add more or less. The taste of the dish will change with the adjustments. More brown sugar will give it a more intense taste. Feel free to try with chicken too.

Enjoy!

~Kassandra