Peas and Pork Chops

Typically when most 18-year-olds leave for college, they know how to cook a few choice things, among them, toast and ramen. For me, I couldn't really do either of those very well, some how I had difficulty remembering to put water in my bowl of ramen before I microwaved it. Yes that happened more than once. But when I arrived in Provo, UT with all my worldly possessions, there was only one thing I could cook, and that was Peas and Pork Chops. I'm pretty sure I was in High School when my parents instituted a dinner night for each kid, they had to decide what was for dinner and tell mom, she'd get all the ingredients and tell us how to cook it if need be and then we would make that for dinner. I'm sure there were other things I made for dinner on my night but after the rave reviews of my Peas and Pork Chops, I don't think I ever made anything else. Mom would always tell everyone how delicious my Peas and Pork Chops were, that making this dish was one of my greatest talents.

My brother and I, whom I lived with at college until I got married, ate Peas and Pork Chops an awful lot and first. While it is a really delicious meal, when its the only thing you're eating, it gets pretty old pretty fast. I didn't really start learning to cook until after I got married. I somehow needed to impress my new husband with my awesome domestic skills. We ate a lot of Peas and Pork Chops as newlyweds until I slowly learned how to cook other things, there was a potato cheese soup we ate a lot too. I now have an overflowing bookshelf and recipe drawer of delicious things I've learned to make and love. But every now and again, we come back to that familiar old favorite, Peas and Pork Chops. She ain't much to look at, but she sure is delicious.

Peas and Pork Chops

1 to 2 lbs Pork Chops or cuts, my favorite is country style ribs with white and dark meat, but a classic bone in chop makes the best flavor. Alternative to Pork: boiled eggs. no really, it's yummy!

3 cans Peas, I like to use the small early peas, but the regular ones are fine too

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

Cajun seasoning to taste, I like to use Tony Chachere's

Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbs oil. Season chops heavily and brown both sides in pan but don't cook all the way through, allow a nice dark brown crust to form on the pan bottom. Remove chops and add onions and more oil if needed. If using boiled eggs, just heat oil and saute onions, boil eggs separately. Saute until clear, about 3 minutes, deglaze the plan with some water and scratch up all the yummy bits. Add two cans of the peas with juice, cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add seasoning if needed, usually not. Add the last can of peas sans water. Cook uncovered on medium until some of the peas begin to break and make gravy. Add the pork (or shelled boiled eggs) back to the pan and cook just until the meat is done. Serve over hot rice.

This makes the best chops, but you can also use the lazy person way and not remove the chops, but if you go this route, you need to cook the chops much much longer so they are very tender and falling from the bone so they regain moisture. Anything been just barely done and falling off the bone is going to be dry, tough, and difficult to eat. As Alton Brown would say: not good eats!

Oven Fried Eggplant

1 large eggplant, sliced inch thick

1 egg

seasoned breadcrumbs to coat

olive oil

Coat a baking sheet with the oil, dip each slice of eggplant in the egg and then coat well in crumbs and lay on the oiled sheet. drizzle lightly with more oil. Bake at 380 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Broil on low for another 5-7 minutes. They should be sizzling around the edges and tender when pierced with a fork.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat eggplant, well actually I like them deep fried better, but this way is delicious and less mess. Even though I only had three eggplant plants this year, I put 8 quarts of eggplant in the freezer and then ripped out the plants even though they were still going, I just couldn't bear to put anymore in the freezer. If you're looking to get into gardening, eggplant is an incredibly easy to grow, high yield, tolerant plant. It's a great success. Look for my eggplant dressing in a later post. Even if you don't like eggplant (like Brandon) you'll love this dressing!