Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Pork chops with sliced mushrooms and mustard cream sauce

This is why my pork chops are coming up to temperature behind closed doors:
He doesn't seem to care about mushrooms, but he did give them a good sniff. Such a great little carnivore.

It's been a while since I've blogged.  At a certain point, I was just exhausted from a number of factors, not the least of which was the medical school interview trail. This same trail also made staying on my diet really difficult, and I've gained back some of the weight.  But I have no more interviews planned, so I am happy to be back in the kitchen and back to the blog!

In terms of medical school, so far I have been accepted to one of my top three schools, and I'm still waiting to hear from the other two. I also have received a scholarship from another school that might outweigh my preferences. I am extraordinarily pleased and humbled by these opportunities. This does mean that my blogging might be limited after school starts, as this will be another rigorous endeavor. I do love me a challenge!

For today, though, I am prepping my lunches for the week.  Given that it's COLD here in North Texas, I want something warm and comforting.  As I walked the aisles of Costco, the pork chops beckoned to me. They were thick, pretty, and 3.50 off. The Dutch in me really does love a good deal. And what goes better with pork than mustard cream sauce.... and I saw a really nice selection of mushrooms.... and I had a GIANT head of cauliflower in the fridge.... So, as often happens in life, the little factors all came together to make one lovely dish.

Now, pork is a meat that I love. A good pork chop is a divine thing. But I'm always afraid of not cooking it enough and dying or of overcooking it and crying. I should just cough up the money and buy an instant read thermometer.... For me, for these 1" thick chops, a cast iron skillet well heated for 4 minutes to sear the side, flipped and baked for 30 minutes at 350 worked out just fine. And, you know, smothering them in a cream sauce never hurts.

Tips and thoughts: You can slice mushrooms and chop onions while chops bake. I also use pinot grigio for most of my wine needs in cooking if not shooting for a particular flavor profile. It's generally easy-going. And this could totally look gorgeous if well plated.... I'm just putting it straight into tupperware because there are lots of gorgeous food photos out there, but I pretty much just cook so I can eat.

Edit: I really ended up eating half a serving per day because the chops are HUGE. Nutrition and cost are accordingly edited. No pretty photos of finished meal, but it looked like a pork chop with mushrooms and cream.... Surprising, huh.

Ingredients:
chops and sauce:
4 pork chops that have rested for a bit
2 T honey dijon or straight dijon
Salt and pepper
1/4 c white wine
1/2 c heavy cream
1 T mustard
1 package of mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Steps:
1) Preheat oven to 350. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and smear with mustard of your choice.
2) Heat up your cast iron skillet for a few minutes at high. Sear pork chop for 3-4 minutes, flip them, and put the skillet in the oven.
3) Put chops aside on a plate and cover with foil tent.
4) Deglaze the pan with white wine and stir that around a bit.
5) Add onions and cook until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook down. Add mustard and garlic salt, stir until well combined. Add cream and stir til it's luscious. Pour sauce over chops and serve with pureed cauliflower or other side of choice.

Cost (very rough cost wise)
4 giant chops at $1.45 apiece: 5.8
mustard: .5
white wine: .5
cream: 1
mushrooms: 2.5
onion: .5
salt: .1
Per serving: 1.36

Nutrition:

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