Meaty Monday: Pork Chops with Smoked Paprika, Roasted Peppers & Braised Onions

A break in the heat means a wonderful dinner
that's not grilled, for a change!

Cook the onions until they turn gold and translucent...
they get sweet!

Smokey, juicy pork chops, oh, deliciousness!

Yep, this is a rerun. But Chuck has been complaining that we haven't had this is a long time and I've been working and gardening, working and gardening. Last time I made this was last summer when I told you all about it, and it's a perfect dish for a Meaty Monday because you can have it on the table in about a half hour, and for much of that time, the food is in the oven.  So you can sit and have that much deserved beer. Sadly, we are not having the little cool-off we had last year...but we do have air conditioning...

We must be having a blip in our oven-like summer. Suddenly for the last couple of days, it's actually been nice. Like "my shirt isn't stuck to my back" nice. Nice enough for a hot dinner from the oven. A lapse in the heat and humidity. Even though I go from my air-conditioned job to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned home, I'm just not that motivated to turn on the oven. Not when it's just plain hot-hot-hot. But I am really tired of grilled this and that.

Even though I do love summer, it made me very happy to make a deeply smoky, spicy, oniony base for some nice, thick bone-in sirloin pork chops. Without having to think about how much it might heat up the kitchen. I miss the savoryness of cooler weather foods. Just not the cold weather. This Spanish-inflected dish doesn't take that long in the oven, so you really could consider it for just about any time of year.

We enjoyed our chops over simply sauteed mushrooms and spinach for a grain-free, gluten free and Paleo dinner. And best yet, since we were just two at dinner last night, there are leftovers for today. When the heat comes back this afternoon, I'll just have to reheat. For now, yippee! for the nice blip in the weather and a flavorful baked dinner.

Note: Smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón) comes usually in either mild or hot, but be careful. Even the mild can pack a wallop at the two tablespoons used in this recipe. Use your discretion.

Pork Chops with Smoked Paprika, Roasted Peppers and Braised Onions
Serves 4

4 bone-in sirloin pork chops 1/2" to 1" thick
salt, fresh ground pepper
2 T olive oil or coconut oil
4 cups sliced onions (about 3 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2T smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón, see note)
1 12-oz. jar fire roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup dry Sherry or white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Salt and pepper the pork chops on both sides lightly. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan, and quickly brown the chops on both sides, remove from pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions to the oil and stir well to cover with the oil, salt lightly and cook about 5 minutes until the onions begin to brown a bit and turn golden. Stir in the garlic and the smoked paprika and mix well. cook for about a minute, then add the roasted peppers and the wine. Bring to to a simmer, cover the pan and turn down the heat. Cook for about 5 minutes until the unions are nearly translucent.

Place the pork chops in the prepared baking dish, then removing the cover from the pan, and stirring up all the juices, pour the onion and paprika mixture on top of the pork chops. Taste the juice for seasoning.  Bake in the oven uncovered, about 20 minutes until they are cooked through.

I like this with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, or this cauliflower puree. If you like potatoes or a grain, go for it.

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup No Added Sugar

Sometimes I'm just being so good about what I'm eating I can't stand myself; and then I find the cookies. Last night I had a nice grass-fed burger on one of my Funky Flax buns, with some smoked bacon on top and it was delicious. I also had this wonderful sweet, spicy ketchup and a pickle on it. Would have had red onion, but had none. I really do try to avoid grains,  sugar and its evil cousin, HFCS. Problem is even the organic ketchups, while they don't have HFCS in them, or even GMOs, they are full of sugar, and  not for me because I am not a modest ketchup user.  One serving? Hell, I just slather it on. I love the tangy flavor of homemade far more than the ubiquitous commercial stuff, although if that's what's available...

Now, last year I gave you a stove-cooked version of no sugar added ketchup, but when you are going to eat in an hour or so, it just won't be ready to eat in time. Hence this high speed version that you microwave for just 3 minutes. It's actually delicious still warm, but even better after it stands about an hour or longer.  Will keep about 2 weeks, covered in the fridge.

Oh, and I was so good about dinner last night, and then I DID find the cookies.

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup with No Added Sugar

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup with No Added Sugar

Note: if you can buy tomato products in glass containers, I highly recommend you do so as the linings of many cans still contain BPA. Read the label, it will usually tell you if the lining is BPA-free.

Makes about a cup.

6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2T rice wine or cider vinegar
1teaspoon Cholula or other hot sauce
Liquid or powdered Stevia  (two servings worth depending on brand)
black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Mix all the ingredients in a 2-cup or larger microwave safe container.

2. Cove and microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and stir. Serve warm or chilled.

Easy Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Orange

Yesterday was snowy and cold, today...wet and chilly. I'm not sure which is worse, but when my favorite attire is my ratty red fleece bathrobe, and a pair of ancient Uggs, its time for soup. But since I have to work for a living (imagine a food blogger that doesn't hang around home all day writing about her cool life!), long cooked soups are left for days off. Easy Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Orange just tastes like you've spent all day cooking it. The tomato and pepper flavors are old friends, but the orange zest and juice lift it out of this world. 

This brightly flavored soup is quick to make, and is one I fall back on when  I need something that is both sophisticated flavor-wise and filling enough to turn a sandwich or a slice of vegetable tart into a top notch meal. It reheats well, so it makes a real bright spot in an otherwise mundane work lunch. 

Now you could make this in early summer with the first peppers and tomatoes, and I have, and it's delicious. This mid-Winter soup is strictly off the shelf, and out of the crisper drawer. I always have small cans of plain organic tomato sauce in the pantry, as well as a few small jars of roasted red peppers.  A drained 12 oz. jar of peppers is perfect. Don't leave out the orange; it really boosts the flavors of both the peppers and the tomato.

Easy Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Orange

Easy Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Orange

Serves 2

Instructions:

1 cup jarred roasted red pepper, rinsed, seeded and rough chopped
1 cup plain tomato sauce
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 small leafy celery stalk, chopped small
1 smallish carrot, chopped or sliced thinly
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp. sugar or granular erythritol
salt and pepper
Crème fraîche or plain Greek Yogurt as garnish, optional

Instructions:

1. Place everything through the sugar in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer, cover and let cook until the celery and carrot are tender, about 15 -20 minutes.

2. Puree with either an immersion blender, or carefully puree in a regular blender. Taste for seasoning and add salt and / or pepper as needed.

3. Serve hot, dolloped with creme fraiche or yogurt.

A Summer Lapse: Pork Chops with Smoked Paprika, Roasted Peppers & Braised Onions

A break in the heat means a wonderful dinner
that's not grilled, for a change!

Cook the onions until they turn gold and translucent...
they get sweet!

Smokey, juicy pork chops, oh, deliciousness!

We must be having a blip in our oven-like summer. Suddenly for the last couple of days, it's actually been nice. Like "my shirt isn't stuck to my back" nice. Nice enough for a hot dinner from the oven. A lapse in the heat and humidity. Even though I go from my air-conditioned job to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned home, I'm just not that motivated to turn on the oven. Not when it's just plain hot-hot-hot. But I am really tired of grilled this and that.

Even though I do love summer, it made me very happy to make a deeply smoky, spicy, oniony base for some nice, thick bone-in sirloin pork chops. Without having to think about how much it might heat up the kitchen. I miss the savoryness of cooler weather foods. Just not the cold weather. This Spanish-inflected dish doesn't take that long in the oven, so you really could consider it for just about any time of year.

We enjoyed our chops over simply sauteed mushrooms and spinach for a grain-free, gluten free and Paleo dinner. And best yet, since we were just two at dinner last night, there are leftovers for today. When the heat comes back this afternoon, I'll just have to reheat. For now, yippee! for the nice blip in the weather and a flavorful baked dinner.

Note: Smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón) comes usually in either mild or hot, but be careful. Even the mild can pack a wallop at the two tablespoons used in this recipe. Use your discretion.

Pork Chops with Smoked Paprika, Roasted Peppers and Braised Onions
Serves 4

4 bone-in sirloin pork chops 1/2" to 1" thick
salt, fresh ground pepper
2 T olive oil or coconut oil
4 cups sliced onions (about 3 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2T smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón, see note)
1 12-oz. jar fire roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup dry Sherry or white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Salt and pepper the pork chops on both sides lightly. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan, and quickly brown the chops on both sides, remove from pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions to the oil and stir well to cover with the oil, salt lightly and cook about 5 minutes until the onions begin to brown a bit and turn golden. Stir in the garlic and the smoked paprika and mix well. cook for about a minute, then add the roasted peppers and the wine. Bring to to a simmer, cover the pan and turn down the heat. Cook for about 5 minutes until the unions are nearly translucent.

Place the pork chops in the prepared baking dish, then removing the cover from the pan, and stirring up all the juices, pour the onion and paprika mixture on top of the pork chops. Taste the juice for seasoning.  Bake in the oven uncovered, about 20 minutes until they are cooked through.

I like this with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, or the cauliflower puree recipe I posted last week. Gut if you would potatoes or a grain, go for it.