Something New

We were talking at dinner this past weekend about many different topics.    As I do periodically, I had been complaining about being tired of trying to come up with different ideas for meals and that I was bored with my cooking.  My always supportive husband tried to assure me that I always came up with something good, we could eat out more often, and that he was always happy with my meal planning.  A second conversation revolved around reading.  I've kept track of everything I've read for many years now via Goodreads.com.  It's always interesting to review what I've read and discover patterns in authors or genres.  (Not too hard to do -- I tend to read too many (?) detective series.)  Anyway.  These 2 conversations led to a comment from my husband "You should keep track of what you cook for dinner the way you track your books."  We laughed and moved on.  But that comment stuck with me.  So I am going to try something a little different.  I'm going to try to record our main meal menus for a while. . . at least until I get too busy to do so.  I have no idea what I will discover about my cooking or our diets!  But it should be fun for a while at least.

So on this first day of the new year:

I actually made a brand new recipe from the newest Cooking Light:

Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Chops
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges.) (I used a premium store bought oj)
2 TBS orange marmalade
1 TBS whole grain mustard
1 TBS canola oil   (I used olive oil)
4 (6 oz) bone-in pork loin chops, 1 inch thick  (I used 2 center-cut chops,  3/4 inches)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 rosemary springs
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
2 TBS fresh lime juice  ( I used bottled)

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine juice, marmalade, and mustard in a sauce-pan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until syrupy.
3.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-heat.  Add oil; swirl to coat.  Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.  Add to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned.  Turn pork; add rosemary and onion to pan.  Pour juice mixture over pork; bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140°.  Place onion and rosemary on a platter.  Return pan to medium-high heat; add lime juice.  Cook 4 minutes or until liquid is syrupy.  Add pork to platter; drizzle with sauce.

Serves 4.  Calories 303; FAT 99g (sat 2.2 g, mono 4.5g ply 1.7g), PROTEIN 38g CARB 14g, FIBER 0.7 g CHOL 117 mg; IRON 1.3 mg; SODIUM 316 mg, CALC 47 mg

I served this with steamed garlic potatoes and a tossed salad.

I meant to take a picture of the finished dish but it got eaten too fast!  I think the sauce would be good with chicken breasts too.

So, maybe there will be more meals shared here this year!