San Francisco Pork Chops

For about a year, the hubby and I worked in towns two hours apart, so we lived in the middle and split the driving difference each day. We had a horrid winter that year; the snow in our yard was more than waist high, and it we were pummeled with snowstorm after snowstorm.

I ended up working from home a lot that winter, and used my slow cooker every day that I did. I'd throw something in during my morning coffee break or my lunch break, and the hubby and I had supper ready as soon as he got home.

This is one of the recipes that I discovered during that stretch, and it's been a favorite ever since. It's incredibly quick and easy, and the result is some very tender pork chops in a spicy teriyaki-type sauce.

I usually serve this with rice or mashed potatoes so the yummy sauce isn't wasted, but tonight I stir-fried some veggies and noodles, and used some of the sauce as a basis for some stir-fry sauce.

A note of caution that this dish can easily become overcooked; if you're not familiar with whether your slow cooker runs hotter or cooler, you might want to try this on a day when you're home. (When I got a new slow cooker that ran significantly warmer than my last, I came home to some lovely charred chops stuck to the bottom of my crockpot in what appeared to be tar. Yum!)

As always, be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesdays on Dining with Debbie!

San Francisco Pork Chops
Serves 4

4 boneless pork loin chops (not thin-cut)
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. soy sauce, preferably a thick variety (I'd recommend my favorite brand, but it's been discontinued)
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water

1. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and brown chops on both sides.

2. Remove chops from pan and add to slow cooker.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic to pan. Cook about 30 seconds, until garlic starts to turn golden.

4. Combine soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper. Add to pan and cook until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute.

5. Pour mixture over chops.

6. Cover and cook on low about 6 hours.

7. Remove chops. Combine cornstarch and water, and add to sauce. Return pork chops to slow cooker. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Deconstructed Denver Omelet

A friend of mine half-joked the other day that I've just been phoning it in on my blog, and you know, he's right. I haven't been terribly active lately, and when I do cook something new, it's usually a very quick meal. I start each week with great intentions and a meal plan, but it sort of flies out the window within a few days.

There's a part of me that feels like I should apologize. And yet, I'm not really sorry. My time at home with the little man is rapidly dwindling. When I go back to work after the holidays, I want to look back on these past few months with longing, not regret.

That is why, even though I have a meal planned for each evening, I usually end up just phoning it in. The little man wakes up from his afternoon nap around 4 or so, and eats a leisurely supper. And then, well rested, well fed, and with clean pants, he is ready to par-tay, Jack-baby style. I then have to decide between A.) Putting him in his swing for an hour or so while I prepare supper, or B.) Scrapping my original meal plan and throwing something together at the last minute so Jack and I can play with the puppies. Or dance to Christmas tunes. Or see who can smile at the ceiling fan the longest. (I always lose.)

I always choose B. Which makes the little man pretty happy.

Can you blame me? This is the smile that will get him out of many hours of detention someday.

This meal was my standby supper last week, because we had oodles of ham. And eggs are my friend.

I've always been the type to eat breakfast for any meal of the day, but I've probably single-handedly upped the average number of eggs consumed per person this year. First off, my doctor suggested I eat a lot of eggs a few months before the hubby and I attempted our in-vitro. And I take doctors' orders very seriously. Also, while I didn't get terribly sick during my pregnancy, I also couldn't bear the thought of most foods. Eggs were the only food I could regularly eat, so I typically had them for two meals a day. Sometimes with bacon. And my cholesterol is stellar.

This skillet contains the typical components of a Denver omelet. However, I was hungry for eggs over-easy, which I like to mix all up with hash browns, so I just threw everything in together. That's how it all ends up eventually anyway, right? Right.

All quantities are to your liking.

1. Heat a skillet to medium-high and add a tablespoon or two of butter. Add the hash browns immediately (I used about a cup or so). Sprinkle the hash browns with pepper and Lawry's season salt.

Butter and season salt are a hash brown's best friends.

2. Cook the hash browns to desired doneness. I like mine with some crust, but still soft enough to mash together with my eggs. It took about 5 minutes.

3. In the same skillet, throw in some diced ham, onion, and green bell pepper. I used about a half-cup of ham, 1/4 a large onion, and half a large green pepper.

4. Cook until ham starts to brown, and veggies are crisp-tender -- about 2 or 3 minutes. Then mix everything together.

5. In a separate skillet, fry eggs (I made two) until cooked to desired doneness.

6. Top hash brown mixture with some cheese, and then eggs.

7. Wash your six dishes and go spend time with your family.