Apple Pork Chops

Good morning!  :-)  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I am busy as a bee studying for midterms, which are this week.  I cannot believe that we are in the middle of October and that the semester is already halfway over.  We are finally experiencing some beautiful weather in Arizona, so my husband and I are loving that.  Temperatures are in the sixties in the morning and later in the night now, and we are super happy about that!  ;-)

I have a very simple dinner recipe for you all today that I found in Rachael Ray's magazine (the issue is October 2012).  This was exceptionally delicious and very filling -- we had leftovers, but I will be honest, the whole reheating-in-the-microwave thing probably wasn't the best way to go about it.  Instead, if you are reheating, I would simply preheat your oven to 250 degrees and put in the pork and apples for about a half an hour or so.  Check it, see if it's warm throughout, and then enjoy!

Apple Pork Chops

From: Rachael Ray Magazine (October 2012 Issue)

Ingredients

-3 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning Blend (I didn't have this particular type, so I used Mrs. Dash Onion and Garlic Blend)

-4 4-ounce pork loin chops

-2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded, and cut into 8 wedges each (as you can see, I forgot to peel them!)

-2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

1. Sprinkle the apples and pork chops evenly with the seasoning blend.

2. Heat a saute pan to medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and cook the apples for 3 minutes.

3. Move the apples to a plate.  Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and brown the pork chops on both sides until they are cooked through.

4. Return the apples to the pan on top of the pork chops and cook for 3 minutes, turning the chops once.

I hope you enjoy this Fall recipe as much as my husband and I did!  :-)

xo,

maria

Healthy Pumpkin 'Pancake'

Goooood morning!  :-)

How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was definitely a lot more stressful than I would have liked it to be, but my husband was as sweet as ever and tried really hard to coax me into relaxation mode these past few days.  He's the best.  ;-)

I love breakfast.  Like, love.  But while my husband can eat cereal in the morning and then be good to go until lunch, that's just not me.  I need something that sticks with me until later in the afternoon -- especially with my school schedule and client work that I do.  I really don't have a ton of time for snacking, and my lunch is usually some veggies thrown together in a big bowl with a splash of balsamic vinegar.  So a filling breakfast is a must-have.

If you're someone who likes super-luscious breakfasts, this probably isn't for you.  I would categorize this as 'diet food' without sacrificing the yummy taste.  You definitely can dress this up to taste even better (with syrup, jam, you name it); but for me, I love it plain!

Healthy Pumpkin 'Pancake'
Adapted from: Dukan Diet

Ingredients
-3 egg yolks
-2 tablespoons oat bran
-1 tablespoon brown sugar
-1 splash vanilla extract
-1 dash pumpkin pie spice
-1 tablespoon pumpkin puree

Mix it all up...

Pour onto a Silpat and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Serve with sliced pear (or fruit of your choice) and a glass of nonfat milk.

I'm telling you -- it's yummy.  Just try it!  ;-)  I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

What's your favorite healthy breakfast?

xo,

maria

Cookies, and a Casserole

Hey, there!  :-)

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  I spent mine doing homework, grocery shopping, accomplishing a few DIYs (which I will share with you this week!), and hanging out with my hottie husband.  ;-)  I spent a lot of time in my kitchen last night, and I wanted to share with you a couple of links to the recipes that I made.

First, I should tell you that my husband and I are trying to eat a lot healthier.  For me, this means finding recipes that taste great and a lot of times are versions of our favorite comfort food, but aren't high-calorie.  I made cookies so that I could freeze them and we could pull out one cookie at a time, thaw it, and enjoy it -- instead of grabbing the bag and going cookie-crazy.

I went to the grocery store yesterday, and while I was gone, Grey completely cleaned up our kitchen (it was a bit of a mess when I left).

That was seriously the best surprise, ever.  Then, I got to cookin'!

Yeah, I know -- I made it a mess again.  ;-)  Don't worry, I cleaned it all up.

For dinner, I made a Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole.  This was seriously so good!

I would definitely recommend preparing this earlier in the day, that way all you have to do is pop it in the oven for 20 minutes and you're set.  This took me about an hour and a half to prepare -- there is quite a bit of chopping involved.  Plus the fact that everything that could have gone wrong in my kitchen while I was making it did, and there were a couple of mini-meltdowns involved.  ;-)  But the end result was worth it!

Next, I made these Pumpkin Molasses Cookies.  I think you need to make them, too.  They are so good and a great introduction to Fall!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Have you made any yummy recipes lately?  Does Fall get you back in the kitchen after a hot Summer?

xo,

Maria

*Update* -- These cookies freeze beautifully.  My hubby and I pulled out two and let them thaw for a couple of hours while I made dinner, and they are just as soft as ever.  YUM!

We Started Fall Early!

Good morning!  :-)  How are ya?

Well, earlier this month (like, the first of this month), I made an executive decision: Fall?  Was starting.

Never mind the fact that it was (and still is) over 100 degrees.  Never mind my husband's crazy looks he sent my way when I told him that I was hoppin' on over to HomeGoods to see what I could find for the season.  Never mind, never mind, never mind...  ;-)

Here's the funny thing.  My husband has actually gushed to me several times over the past weeks about how happy he is that we started the season on the early side in our home, because he's been able to enjoy it that much more!  Fall is a state of mind, people!  And while my air conditioning is still on full blast even in the middle of the night, I'm making pumpkin treats and Fall wreaths.  Here's what we've been up to this month!

This is just a simple Fall table centerpiece that I came up with when I wanted to fancy-up a dinner that Grey and I were going to be enjoying together.  A couple of bouquets of flowers from Trader Joe's, two leaf-y garlands from the Dollar Store, and a few jars/glasses later, our table was colorfully adorned and super happy to look at.  ;-)

I can't forget these Fall leaf doilies that Grey and I found in an antique shop last year on our honeymoon, and, of course, a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

I saw this pretty vase filler at HomeGoods and brought it home to be stored in this apothecary jar.  This was sitting on our dining room table until I put the flowers there...now it's housed in a cluster of vases and candle sticks on our entertainment center (so that my hubby can enjoy the TV, and I can enjoy the jar).  ;-)

Okay -- this wreath is proof that the Dollar Store is great for easy projects.  It's small, but I didn't want our door inundated with Fall quite yet (we'll give it another week or so), so this petite lil' thing was the perfect fix.  All you need is a small grapevine wreath, and three bunches of whatever sort of flowers or leaves you desire.  No glue gun necessary, my friends.  Simply cut off the parts of the branches that you would like, and weave them into the wreath.  Easy, and it only takes about twenty minutes!

Gouda and Granny Smith Apple Paninis -- one word: Yum.  You'll need sourdough bread, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a smooth coating of Trader Joe's Apple Butter, one layer of sliced Granny Smith apple, and one layer of sliced Gouda.  Assemble, press, and enjoy!

I can't forget about my find of the day -- an incredibly creepy pilgrim doll.  Seriously, how frightening is this?

And finally, this amazing Pumpkin Coffee Cake was delicious and kept us fed at breakfast-time for days.

So there you have it.  That's what we've been up to for the month of September.  The weather is finally starting to give us a tiny break from the heat, and I can just feel that Fall is in the air!

What have you been up to so far this season?  Any crafting, recipes, decorating ideas you would like to share?

xo

Maria