The Notebook

I finished reading "The Notebook," by Nicholas Sparks tonight.

Oh. My. Gosh. I cried like a baby. Like a hyperventilating baby. Excellent book - horrible reaction.

Country Fried Pork with White Gravy

I saw that I had pork chops in the freezer, so I found a recipe for Country Fried Pork with White Gravy to try out for dinner tonight.

Country Fried Pork with White Gravy

Ingredients:
For pork:

• 2-3lbs thin pork chops or cubed tenderloin
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• canola oil
• cayenne pepper, to taste preference
• salt/pepper, to taste preference

For gravy:

• 4 TBSP butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 cups whole milk
• salt/pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Set up two pie plates or flat baking dishes. In one, mix eggs with milk. In second, mix flour, cayenne pepper and salt/pepper.
2. Take each piece of meat, salt and pepper each side.
3. Dip each piece of meat into egg mixture, flour mixture, then, egg mixture and flour mixture again.
4. Set aside.
5. Heat canola oil in a large skillet.
6. Once oil is ready, cook each piece of meat 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through.
7. Drain meat on paper towel while you make gravy.
8. For gravy: Over medium heat, cook butter, flour, salt/pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook for approx 3-5 minutes. Slowly, add in milk and whisk out lumps. Continue cooking until thick. About 10-12 minutes.

Because I wasn't sure if the cayenne pepper would make it too spicy for Tom, I used the recipe for breading Oven-Fried Chicken, and reserved 1/4 cup of that mixture for the gravy. Tom and I both liked it. I think I may have finally found a way to get him to eat pork!

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

The last of the three recipes that I wanted to try from Damn Delicious was a Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce, and I tried it tonight.

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonade

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil.
5. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.
6. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.

Even though I baked it for a little too long, it was still quite tasty. I am officially in love with chicken thighs after these last few recipes.

Lemon Butter Chicken

I really enjoyed the Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken from the other night, and I happened to come across a few more recipes I'd like to try from DamnDelicious. After getting Tom's opinion on the options, we decided on a Lemon Butter Chicken.

Lemon Butter Chicken

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season chicken thighs with paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice and thyme.
5. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, stir in spinach, and simmer until the spinach has wilted and the sauce has slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.
6. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

Well, it was pretty damn delicious! Tangy and creamy at the same time, and since there was spinach in the recipe, I didn't have to make an extra side dish.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Tom wanted chicken for dinner tonight, so I decided to make chicken for myself as well. I used a recipe I found on Pinterest for Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in brown sugar, honey, oregano, thyme and basil until well combined. Return chicken to the skillet.
6. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve chicken immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Let me tell you, this was delicious. I could barely taste the garlic, so Tom might even like this one. Initially, I was worried that the honey and brown sugar would make the dish too sweet, but I was pleasantly surprised - it was just right!

White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes

As a side dish for dinner tonight, Tom requested scalloped potatoes. I found a recipe that looked like it was yummy on the Betty Crocker website, for White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes.

White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 container (8 oz) refrigerated prechopped onion
• 2 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 bags (20 oz each) refrigerated sliced potatoes
• 2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
3. In medium bowl, stir whipping cream, rosemary, salt and pepper with wire whisk until blended. In baking dish, arrange half of the potatoes. Top with half each of the onion and cheese. Layer with remaining potatoes, onion and cheese. Pour cream mixture evenly over potato mixture.
4. Cover; bake 55 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Expert Tips
* Use any cheese you like in this rich side dish.

Despite looking a little funky, they were quite tasty (Was it the 2 cups of light cream and 1/2 cup of heavy cream that I used? I used red potatoes and didn't peel them. I omitted the onions for Tom's sake). Tom thought they were good, too.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I had been wanting to try out this recipe, and just in case my chicken didn't turn out quite as expected tonight, I wanted to have a back-up. So, in addition to everything else, I made Broccoli Cheese Soup.

Broccoli Cheese Soup with Cheddar Bobbers

Ingredients

• 1 can (10.2 oz) Pillsbury™ Grands!™ refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (5 biscuits)
• 2 cups shredded medium Cheddar cheese (8 oz)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups diced onions (2 large)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 bag (12 oz) Green Giant™ Steamers™ frozen chopped broccoli

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Separate dough into 5 biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 2 layers, then press each to form 4-inch round.
2. For each bobber, place 1 tablespoon cheese in center of 1 round. Pull up dough around cheese, and pinch to seal. Place bobbers seam side up 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, in 5-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Slowly stream in milk, stirring constantly. Heat to simmering; reduce heat and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until milk has thickened.
5. Turn off heat; add remaining cheese. Stir to melt cheese.
6. Meanwhile, make broccoli as directed on bag. Stir broccoli into soup. Divide soup among 4 large bowls. Serve each with 2 or 3 bobbers.

Now, it was super thick. Was it the 2% milk I used instead of whole milk? Maybe is was the extra 1/4-1/2 cup of half-and-half I threw in, just because it was in the refrigerator. Since I didn't make the biscuits, I'm not sure how much cheese I used, but I used whatever was left over from the chili cook-off - maybe 3/4-1 cup total of cheddar and a Mexican blend. Or maybe it was the 16 ouce bag of broccoli I used, since I couldn't find a 12 ounce bag. Regardless, it was tasty. Even Tom thought so, and he knew about the onions!