What No Meat???

I was initially going to post a breakfast recipe this week, however I received a comment on my blog regarding previous post that took me in a different direction.  I received a comment stating that although my recipes look delicious and the writer of this comment wanted to try them, all of the recipes I have posted so far were seafood recipes and the person who posted of this comment detest seafood( I know shocking right!!!!) Until I read this comment, I hadn't realized that I had only posted seafood recipes.  However I do realize that there are some out their who do not enjoy the delicious delicacies of the sea , (BTW you don't know what your missing ;-) ). So in light of this, I decided to switch things up a bit and share a meaty pork chop dish.  Now I know that there are many people who do not partake of the other white meat, however I chose this recipe specifically for the person who posted the comment as I know that she is a pork lover.  But fret not all my non pork eaters, you can easily swap out the pork in this recipe with chicken and have just as tasty of a meal.  I know because I actually do exactly that when I make this meal for my dad who is among the legion of non pork eaters.  So pork eaters and non pork eaters alike, I hope you try out this recipe.







Apricot Chipotle Glazed Pork Chops w/ Mashed Sweet Plantains and Sautéed Green  Beans

Ingredients

For the Pork Chops:

4 6-8oz bone-in pork chops(1 inch thickness)

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup chicken stock

1chipotles in adobo sauce chopped plus 1tbsp of the sauce

1 shallot minced

1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic

2 tbsps. oil

For the Mashed Plantains:

3-4 ripe sweet plantains

2 cups of chicken stock

1 tbsp. of chopped garlic

1 small onion thinly sliced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup of sugar

1/8 cup of honey

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbsp of oil

3-4 tbsp of butter or margarine

salt & pepper to taste

For the Green Beans:

1 bag frozen whole green beans

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 small onion sliced into thin slivers

1 tsp crushed red pepper flake

1 packet of Goya vegetable and salad seasoning

Directions

For the Pork Chops:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat the oil in a large oven safe pan.  Season pork chops to your taste and place pork chops in pan sear on each side for 3-4 mins until the pork chops are nicely browned. Place pork chops in oven for 15 mins. While Pork chops are cooking, in a small saucepan add 1 tbsp oil, garlic, and shallot, cook 2-3 min until fragrant and shallots start to become translucent.  Add apricot preserves, chiles in adobo plus sauce, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10-15 mins until is become syrupy.  Brush apricot mixture over pork chops and bake in oven for another 5 mins then remove and let sit for 2-3 mins before serving.

For the Mashed Plantains:

Peel and chopped plantains into 1 inch pieces.  Place plantains in a medium pot , add chicken stock and garlic.  Cover pot and let boil for 20-25 min until soft.  Drain plantains reserving liquid.  Add plantain back to pot, add butter and mash.  Continue to mash plantain and adding reserved liquid slowly to plantains until they become the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Once desired consistency is obtain cover to keep warm until serving. While plantains are cooking in a small sauce pan, add oil and sliced onion.  Cook onion until they start to brown slightly, add  crushed red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and honey and cook 15-20 min until it becomes thick and syrupy. When ready to serve drizzle onion mixture over mashed plantains.

For the Green Beans:

Heat oil in medium sauté pan.  Add garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper.  Cook 2-3 mins.  Add green beans to pan, sprinkle Goya seasoning and mix to evenly cover all green beans.  Place cover over pan and cook 15 mins.  Stir during cooking to prevent burning and get even cooking.

Place all components on a plate and eat.

Hope You Enjoy and Keep SIMPLY COOKING!!!