parmesan crusted pork chops & roasted broccoli

Ok, didn't take a picture of last nights dinner but it was good so I'll write it up!

I made parmesan crusted pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli. Yum. The sweet potatoes weren't anything special this time so I won't write them up but the pork & broccoli were great.

I didn't have recipes for either of these... They just came to me. So, here they are:

Roasted Broccoli

Trim broccoli flowerets into bowl
Drizzle with olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon)
Shake pepper over and stir
Spread into cake pan - single layer
Top with shredded parmesan and cheddar cheese (2 Tabl of each)
Bake 375 for 20-30 minutes
(Variation: zest & juice a lemon. Add lemon juice with the olive oil and zest with the black pepper. Omit cheddar cheese)


Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Grab some shredded parmesan and chop it up or use grated small style. You'll need about 1/2 Cup for 4 pork chops.
Put it in a shallow dish with equal parts flour.
Add pepper and stir (I skip salt since the cheese is pretty salty)
Dredge chops in cheese/flour mixture - both sides coated.
Heat saute pan over medium high
Add oil to pan (usually use olive oil but used coconut oil last night and it was great)
Brown pork chops on one side (about 5 minutes) and turn over. I usually give the pan a few shakes to loosen the chops up before trying to turn.
If needed, add more oil to keep chops from sticking.
I like thin cut chops so they cook pretty fast. 5-10 minutes on each side - if its nicely browned on each side, thin cut is done. If think cut, you'll want to cut into it to test. No pink pork for me!



Emma is sitting at my feet trying to eat a magazine... Better go change her diaper (its been over 5 minutes so its probably wet) and occupy her!

fresh, homemade tortilla chips. YES.

Homemade Tortilla Chips!

I'm not sure why homemade tortilla chips seems like such an amazing and impressive thing. But it is! My wonderful husband is actually the one that taught me how to make them. If you sit & thing about it, it shouldn't really require a recipe but it did... In fact, up until recently, I still had him do them if he was home. Fact is, if you use white tortilla's, its pretty darn easy and REALLY TASTY. So. There you go. Grab some white tortillas. Cut them into your favorite shape. I cut a stack in half horizontally & then do 4 or 5 vertical cuts. If you don't cut them at all but leave whole, they tend to pillow up and are harder to cook. Toss them into hot oil (not smoking but sizzle - 375 degrees is good) stir & flip a few times (so they don't stick) and let them brown. Take them out of the oil and let dry on paper towels. Shake salt on top and toss with hands. Voila! I used to make them on the stove top - I have a sauté pan that I reserve just for oil & frying - but recently got a "deep" fryer and it works just lovely for this.