Creamy Mustard Pork Chops

"Seasoned, browned pork chops simmer in a creamy mustard-laced mushroom sauce."

This is one of the new recipes I’m trying this week. I used some of the homemade cream of mushroom soup, which tastes pretty good, but isn’t very appetizing-looking (so I didn’t take a photo). It’s also much runnier than canned soup, so it needs some extra simmering time to reduce and thicken. Otherwise, the sauce is quite flavorful.

This recipe is from Allrecipes.com:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Mustard-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx

      Creamy Mustard Pork Chops
      Submitted By: Campbell's Kitchen
      Cook Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 25 Minutes
      Servings: 4
Ingredients:
      4 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
      1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
      1 tablespoon butter or margarine
      1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's®
      Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free
      Cream of Mushroom Soup
      1/2 cup milk
      1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
      1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
      1. Sprinkle chops with lemon pepper seasoning. Heat butter in skillet.
Cook chops 10 minutes or until browned.
      2. Add soup, milk and mustard. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low
heat 10 minutes or until chops are done. Sprinkle with parsley.

I served these with brown & wild rice and green beans.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

We all know that homemade is fresher and more nutritious than processed, and that’s definitely true for canned “cream of …” soups.  The other day I came across a recipe for cream of mushroom soup made in the Crockpot, and stored in the freezer, from A Year of Slow Cooking. This is right up my alley – and I’ll recommend this blog at my next Freezer Cooking class in April.

So yesterday I got the baby down for a nap, and headed to the kitchen. It just takes a few minutes to wipe off two pounds of mushrooms – looks like alot, huh? They filled up the Crockpot, too, after being cut into quarters. Throw in the spices and squeeze in the lemon juice, then add the broth and water, and walk away for eight hours. Can’t get too much easier, I think.

Here’s the recipe as it’s printed on the original blog, with my comments following:

Cream of Mushroom Soup (Crockpot)

“This recipe is for a LARGE Crockpot. Don't attempt these proportions in anything smaller than a 5qt.

--2 lbs mushrooms

--2 cups water

--2 cans (4 cups) vegetable broth

--1 qt of milk (to add later)

--juice of 1 lemon

--1/2 t salt

--1/2 t pepper

--1 T dried minced onion

--2 T Italian seasoning

The Directions:

Wash your mushrooms well and cut them into fourths. Put into your stoneware and add the spices and lemon juice. Pour in the vegetable broth and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

CAREFULLY use an immersion hand blender and blend until soupy. If you don't have an immersion hand blender, very, very carefully blend in batches in a regular blender.

Stir in an entire quart of milk. I used fat free cow's milk. You can use any percentage you'd like; even cream.

Let cool on the counter for quite a few hours, then pour into freezer bags to store or plastic containers. I used 2 cups per bag--which is 16 fluid ounces. A can of cream-of-soup is 10 ounces.”

This smelled amazing while it was cooking! After I blended the mushrooms, the crock went into the frig overnight. This morning I added what was left of a pint of fat-free half & half and a little bit of heavy cream, then added skim milk to make the 4 cups. It’s bagged and in the freezer, and I think will add so much flavor to any recipe that calls for canned cream of mushroom soup. Yes, it’s runnier than the canned stuff, but could easily be thickened if desired.

I’m going to leave it in the freezer until next week, then will use it in a recipe. If it’s awesome, like I suspect, I’m going to make another batch just so I have plenty on hand.

Enjoy!

Mushroom Tart

Awhile back I ran across this interesting recipe for a mushroom tart. We like the flavor and texture that mushrooms add to a dish, and use them often. While
I really liked this tart, Greg wasn't as enthusiastic, but he did eat it. The recipe comes from Designs by Gollum where she hosts a Foodie Friday event each week. Lots of yummy things to check out.
Here's the recipe as she wrote it with my comments in red:
Mushroom Tart
Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry sheets -- 2 I used just one and made a small tart - it was plenty for the two of us for supper, and lunch for me the next day.
mushrooms (shitake, etc) 1 box shitakes, 1 box button mushrooms. I used a box of crimini mushrooms.
shredded swiss cheese -- 1 c, more if you like it cheesier
rosemary -- sprigs for garnishing and 2 sprigs (cut with scissors) to scatter over the tart
chopped onions 1/4 c.
leftover vegetables (peas) 1/2 c I used steamed fresh broccoli cut into small pieces.
Sautee onions in butter. Add mushrooms, plus a little red wine (1 T) . Fold in peas. Line a deep pan with a thawed puff pastry sheet. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheese. Place remaining sheet on top of mushroom mixture. Crimp edges. Wash pastry with 1 egg plus a little water (whip with fork).
Bake at 400 degrees 20 minutes or until pastry puffs and browns.
Garnish the tart with rosemary. But let it cool, or your rosemary will blacken in a flash. I didn't have any fresh rosemary, so just skipped this step. Next time I'll make sure I have it, since I think it would add a nice touch to the finished tart.

Menu Monday & recipes

While planning menus this morning, I kept in mind some things in the frig that needed to be used up, and which meats I already have in the freezer. Grocery shopping will be minimal this week, and that's always a good thing.
Monday: Green salad w/ warm goat cheese and stuffed mushrooms (recipes at the end of this post). I meant to make bread this afternoon to go with this, but got busy around the house and forgot until it was too late.

Tuesday: chicken piccata, angel hair pasta, steamed broccoli, focaccia bread

Wednesday: grilled steak and shrimp kabobs, couscous, grilled veggies

Thursday: grilled burgers, baked beans, fresh veggies w/ dip

Friday: crock pot pot roast w/ veggies, homemade artisan bread

Recipes for tonight's supper:

Salad w/ Warm Goat Cheese

(adapted from Ina Garten)

1 (11 oz.) log plain or herbed Montrachet (I used plain goat cheese)
2 extra large egg whites, beaten w/ 1 TBS water

fresh white bread crumbs (I don't buy white bread, so mine were wheat bread crumbs - no big deal)

Slice the Montrachet into 12 (1/2" thick) slices (use dental floss). Dip each slice into the beaten egg whites, then the bread crumbs, being sure the cheese is thoroughly coated. Place the slices on a rack and chill them for at least 15 minutes.

Melt 1 TBS oil and 1 TBS butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat and just under smoking. Cook the goat cheese rounds quickly on both sides until browned on the outside, but not melted inside. Top each salad with 2 warm rounds and serve. (I used only one round per salad.)

I used a combination of romaine lettuce and mixed baby greens, tossed with a low-cal balsamic vinaigrette.

Stuffed Mushrooms

(Allrecipes "Andie's Stuffed Mushrooms")

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 pounds fresh mushrooms-stems removed,
chopped and reserved
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

(I add a little salt and pepper, too)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine and stir in the mushroom stems, green bell peppers, garlic, parsley and basil.

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, mushroom stem mixture, dry bread crumbs, soft bread crumbs and Cheddar cheese.

Place the mushroom caps, upside down, on a large baking pan. Generously stuff each cap with the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown.

Garlic-Rosemary Mushrooms

One night last week I made these as a side dish. I'll be making them again - and often. I used half a pound of button mushrooms since it was just the two of us, and adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly. The rosemary came from my garden. I just love being able to run outside and snip fresh herbs for my recipes!
(This recipe is from EatingWell)

GarlicRosemary Mushrooms
Makes 4 servings, about 3/4 cup each
Ingredients
1 ounce bacon (about 1½ slices), chopped
1 ½ pounds mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake (stemmed) and portobello, cut into ¼-inch slices
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
¼ teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ cup dry white wine

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost dry, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Nutrition Information
Per serving: 87 calories; 3 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 8 mg cholesterol; 8 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 1 g fiber; 316 mg sodium; 795 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Potassium (23% daily value).

The Meal of Love, Kinda

I had already purchased the ribeye steaks to cook for Valentine's Day before Pioneer Woman posted her four-part "Meal of Love" tutorial on her cooking blog. I hadn't planned on the garlic mashed potatoes, but she reminded me of our love for them, so that's what I made.

We did not, however, pan-fry the steaks. Just couldn't do it. So Greg went outside in the 18 degrees (above zero, though) weather and grilled those babies. I just sprinkled them with a little Lawry's. I also sauteed half a pound of mushrooms (wiped clean, sliced thick) to put on top.

[I never used to want any seasoning or topping on my grilled meat (except burgers, of course), but thanks to my new best friends Tyler Florence (I wish he'd come cook for me, I wish he'd come cook for me, I wish he'd come cook for me - I said it three times, think it'll come true?), and Alton Brown (Greg's hero), I know now that seasoning is not evil. Seasoning is good - over-seasoning is not, and we won't discuss how I know this...]

So I made the garlic mashed potatoes - roasted three heads of garlic in the oven, used real butter and fat-free half and half, oh, and some salt. Seasoning potatoes is a good thing, too. Who knew?

This photo doesn't show the salad or the wine. Just a regular salad. The wine was a Merlot-Cabernet blend from Columbia Crest Winery in Paterson, WA, very near the wineries we visited while on vacation in Seattle. It was just dry enough for Greg, and not too dry for me, and really went well with the steaks.

The photo does show the whole grain ciabatta roll - we like the "take and bake" type from the grocery store bakery section. We just tear it up and then dip in a little olive oil with fresh-cracked black pepper. Good and good for you.

So that was it - our own little "meal of love". We didn't do dessert since we went to the movie and Greg had popcorn. :o)

Appetizer

I don't usually fix appetizers for our meals, with the exception of celery stuffed with peanut butter. Sometimes I make a plate of those and Greg has them for a snack when he gets home from work. So much for the appetizers. :o)

Yesterday I purchased a 16 oz. box of whole mushrooms, and when I got them home I noticed a recipe on the side of the wrapper. I had all the ingredients, and thought these would be perfect along with the nice supper that was planned.

Since there were just the two of us, I made less than half of the original recipe, and I still had some filling leftover. That's okay - there are more mushrooms just waiting for some yummy goodness to be tucked inside and baked!

Here's the original recipe:

Stuffed Mushrooms

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)

4 slices bacon

1 small onion, finely diced

8 mushroom stems, finely diced

(I always clean mushrooms by wiping gently with a damp paper towel.)

Remove mushroom stems, saving 8 for the filling. Cook the bacon and let cool. Drain all but a small amount of bacon grease. Saute onion and mushroom stems in bacon grease, just till softened. Crumble bacon. Mix bacon, onion/mushroom mixture, and cream cheese til well blended. Fill mushroom caps w/ cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn on broiler. Broil just long enough to brown the tops. (Took about 2 minutes.)

Enjoy!