..the rest of the week
I am happy to say that Claire ended her first week of camp in fine form. She cried less yesterday than she did on the first day, and today, only cried a bit (even if it was intense while I saw it) Her teacher (Miss Stephanie) said that not only did Claire enjoy Circle Time, she had a blast the whole morning, and that she is really a sweet and funny little girl! Hooray for progress!
I got very little done today. Grocery shopping. Whoo.
Yesterday, I ran an errand to the mall, and took another nap. What, I'm 7 months pregnant, given the opportunity, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO NAP!
I got very little done today. Grocery shopping. Whoo.
Yesterday, I ran an errand to the mall, and took another nap. What, I'm 7 months pregnant, given the opportunity, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO NAP!
*****
This pregnancy has had me craving comfort food in a major way. So today I indulged myself. Smothered Pork Chops. My mom used to make them when I was a kid, and I think I one-upped her with my version. For one thing, I don't remember her adding onion or garlic to the gravy. For another, there was butter.
So here goes - Smothered Pork Chops:
PART THE FIRST - PORK CHOPS
4 or 5 bone-in pork chops trimmed of visible fat (whatever comes in your package. I made five, so we can eat the leftovers another night.)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
oil for frying
Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl (I used one of those sandwich-size Ziplock containers)
dip the chops in the mixture and then coat with the breadcrumbs. Fry the chops in the oil until golden brown on both sides. Mine were fairly thin pieces of meat, so I was pretty sure they cooked through at this point. Put the chops aside for them moment to drain on a plate layered with a couple of paper towels.
PART THE SECOND - THE GRAVY
tablespoon of butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced, or you can be lazy like me and grate them directly into the pan when the time comes
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups chicken stock (I keep a container of stock starter around and used that)
house seasoning (which around here, is the Costco version of an organic, salt-free seasoning blend.)
Add the butter to the same pan where you just cooked the chops. (Take a look first, and adjust your butter accordingly, if there is a lot of oil left, use less butter...) Once the butter is melted, add the onions, and then the garlic. Sautee until translucent, then add the mushrooms. Continue sauteeing until the 'shrooms are starting to give up their liquid. Add the seasoning blend and the stock and bring to a boil. Allow to cook down until it's as thick as you like your gravy to be. I added a pinch of cornstarch to mine, since I was on a schedule. Return the chops to the pan, and allow them to come back to temperature. Of course, if you had thicker chops, you would just let them simmer in the gravy a bit longer to ensure they were cooked through.
Serve with whatever sides you like. We had tater tots and a green salad.
So here goes - Smothered Pork Chops:
PART THE FIRST - PORK CHOPS
4 or 5 bone-in pork chops trimmed of visible fat (whatever comes in your package. I made five, so we can eat the leftovers another night.)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
oil for frying
Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl (I used one of those sandwich-size Ziplock containers)
dip the chops in the mixture and then coat with the breadcrumbs. Fry the chops in the oil until golden brown on both sides. Mine were fairly thin pieces of meat, so I was pretty sure they cooked through at this point. Put the chops aside for them moment to drain on a plate layered with a couple of paper towels.
PART THE SECOND - THE GRAVY
tablespoon of butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced, or you can be lazy like me and grate them directly into the pan when the time comes
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups chicken stock (I keep a container of stock starter around and used that)
house seasoning (which around here, is the Costco version of an organic, salt-free seasoning blend.)
Add the butter to the same pan where you just cooked the chops. (Take a look first, and adjust your butter accordingly, if there is a lot of oil left, use less butter...) Once the butter is melted, add the onions, and then the garlic. Sautee until translucent, then add the mushrooms. Continue sauteeing until the 'shrooms are starting to give up their liquid. Add the seasoning blend and the stock and bring to a boil. Allow to cook down until it's as thick as you like your gravy to be. I added a pinch of cornstarch to mine, since I was on a schedule. Return the chops to the pan, and allow them to come back to temperature. Of course, if you had thicker chops, you would just let them simmer in the gravy a bit longer to ensure they were cooked through.
Serve with whatever sides you like. We had tater tots and a green salad.
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