Tag Archives: pork chops

It’s a New Year

13332015….. how did that happen?!?! For me, every year feels like it passes so much faster than the last. And this year came and went so quickly. So how did we end 2014?

Well, on New Year’s Eve, I was woken up at 3:30 am to an extremely excited, giant man child telling me that it was snowing outside. I’ve lived in So Cal for the last 25 years and have only seen it snow ONCE, and it barely stuck to the ground. So my grumpy self got up and looked out the window and saw, yes a little bit of snow. I got back in bed only for Adam (aka giant man child) to come back in 10 minutes later and tell me to look again. And it was snowing, like really snowing out. Fast forward to 5am and I’m woken up by my house phone ringing and it’s Adam. Except when I pick up the phone, he’s not there so I figured his stupid, once again broken phone accidentally called me. Back to sleep I went only to have my middle child come in at 6am and say it’s snowing. Yes, I heard that at 3:30am. I told her that was really cool (even though I thought there was barely anything on the ground) and I’d get up soon. 7am rolls around and Adam calls, AGAIN. He tells me to go outside and that when he left in the morning, it had really snowed a lot. I was not the happiest to say the least since I didn’t go to bed until almost midnight and was woken up repeatedly. After hanging up though, I finally dragged my ass out of bed and looked outside and WHAT THE HELL?!?! There was major snow in my neck of the woods!!! 1321We don’t own snow gear of course so we just went outside in our pajamas and boots. It really was like nothing I’ve ever seen. At least not here. I’ve been to the snow but my kids never have. And they absolutely loved it. The day was spent with them outside off and on because their little hands were turning red and frozen. So they kept coming back in to warm up. But it’s something we’ll never forget.

1346134313411329133413701366As for ringing in the New Year, we were of course pretty tired from the lack of sleep and the day’s activities so after spending an evening hanging out with some good friends, we headed home and I was out like a light. Dead asleep just after 11pm.

New Year’s Day brought some major changes in our house. We split up our two oldest girls who’ve shared a room for many years and moved our oldest into her own room. That was almost an all day affair because after having kids for 9 years, you accumulate an enormous amount of crap. We donated and threw away so much stuff. But the end result? Two happy girls who are excited for “bigger” rooms and their very own space.

And our annual New Year’s Day tradition of going to my parents house for fried pork chops, collard greens, black eyed peas and mashed potatoes continued. We stuffed ourselves (as we always do when we go over there) and were in bed watching TV by 8pm. It was a tiring couple of days!

Hoping you had a good NYE and New Year’s Day. 2015. Yep, it’s here!

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Dijon Grilled Pork Chops

pork chops 2Dijon mustard and pork chops make a happy couple. Add in some thyme and this trio makes a happy threesome that actually works!

For those of you who usually steer away from pork, don’t fear the pork! Embrace the pork! It’s very easy to cook and if you’re careful to not overcook it, a juicy pork chop is just as satisfying as a big steak.

This main dish works for a quick weeknight meal that is sure to please all those picky taste buds in your family. These chops alone have outstanding flavor. But my kids prefer to still use BBQ sauce as a dip. Your choice!

Dijon Grilled Pork Chops (makes 4-6 pork chops)

  • 4-6 pork chops, any cut (I used boneless thick cut ribeye chops)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. each of salt and ground black pepper

Place pork chops in a large dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and then squirt the Dijon mustard on top. Using your hands, rub the olive oil and mustard all over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the seasonings, making sure to coat both sides of chops. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. But the longer, the better.

Heat your outdoor grill on medium high (or an indoor grill pan). The temperature on my grill was almost 400 degrees. For thicker chops, cook 5-7 minutes on each side. For thin chops, 3-4 minutes on each side. Take off the grill and let chops rest on a plate, covered with foil, for about 10 minutes.

Serve with or without BBQ sauce.

pork chops 5pork chops 4pork chops 3pork chopsMy husband used to tell me that recipes that had 5 ingredients or less just weren’t flavorful enough. He now stands corrected.