Food 'n Stuff

Pork Chops, Green Beans, & Bacon!

A favorite meal around our house is Pork Chops...they're pretty hard to screw up and only take a few minutes to cook!  So, last night, I got out the two 3" thick boneless Pork Chops I bought last week (I get mine at the meat counter in Fred Meyer, they way thicker than what they sell prepackaged!), sliced them in half to make four 1.5" thick chops and sprinkled them with a little Mrs Dash.  I picked up a new (to me) flavor the other day as well, Caribbean Citrus!  Then, I heated my favorite frying pan (the only one we own that isn't warped) and put a little EVOO and butter in the pan.  When hot, I tossed in the chops, seasoned side down, and topped them with another good sprinkle of the Mrs Dash.  While they started cooking, I filled the small sauce pot with water and tossed in about 1 cup of green beans (Cut, and just enough for the two of us to each have about half a cup).  After a few minutes (4-5 maybe), I flipped the pork.  I wait until most of the top side is white (not pink) before I flip them, that way the first side has a nice golden brown crisp to it.  Another few minutes and they were done (I usually flip them around a few times while the other side cooks to even out the browning)!  To the heated up green beans, after straining, I added a large handful of bacon bits (I bought a bag of "Real Bacon Recipe Pieces") and tossed them together and put it back on the hot burner to help "crisp up" the bacon, since it appeared to be mostly fat.  Once I was happy with the look and smell of my green beans, I added a little pat of butter (1-2 teaspoons) and set it on the now turned off burner to melt the butter.  Another good toss to coat and the beans were ready too!  Total cook time was maybe 15 minutes...like I said, fast and easy meal!  This is half the reason it's a favorite...  What you can't see in the photo is the puddle of juices from the chops!  When I cut into mine, liquid literally ran out!  Which, I just "dip" my bites of meat into as I eat, to soak up all the yummy flavor!  I was completely stuffed after this dinner!  (But, before we went to bed, some 6 hours after dinner, we finished our evening off with an Atkins' shake before bed.  That was a long time after dinner!)

Coffee Table Book!

Yesterday morning/afternoon, we went to the mall to talk to the people at the Sprint store about new phones, my poor Palm Pre is getting ready to give up the ghost again.  We did find out they are having an "event" tonight, so are going back at 6pm to most likely get me a new phone, the new Windows phone that Sprint carries...the HTC Arrive.  I have an accessory picked out that I want, but I also need a bluetooth headset (my hand-me0down one broke over a year ago)...we'll see what they're offering on their "wheel spin", lol.

Anyhow, while we were at the mall, we went to Barnes & Noble to browse and I broke down and got a "coffee table" style book...big, with lots of pictures!  Extraordinary Chickens was in the "bargain books" section, and has been there for nearly 2 months with none of them being sold, as far as I could tell.  So, for $7.98 (minus our member discount, so just barely over $7), I picked up one!  I've looked through it at the store before...I really enjoy all the crazy looking chickens!  The cover is a White Frizzled Polish, awesome looking little birds (they fit in the bantam category)!  The white dot in it's mouth though is just the glare from the flash.



Henri taking a moment to pose.

 My girls are getting bigger every day!  And, as they get older, they are getting used to being handled more and have either decided they like it or are just resigned to the fact that it will happen whether they want it to or not, lol.  As their "big girl" feathers are coming in, each one's individual pattern is starting to show more and more!  Gerty (the Plymouth Barred Rock) has alternating bands of black & white on each feather, the other two are still looking pretty mottled, but they will all be black & white when they have all the adult feathers in a few months!  Henri has a little more white on her wings right now, and I suspect (since she has the light streak down her back) that she will end up with more white than Clyde.

Painted & awaiting chalk "primer"!

Last night was a busy night!  I also finished painting the picture frames I'm giving three of my nephews!  I had to do some touch up work on the trims after making a big mess with the chalkboard paint!  I let the paint dry over night, then I brought them up stairs (where our sidewalk chalk lives) and gave them a good rub down with the chalk (like the paint directions say to) before I wrote a little "Happy Easter" message on each board.  They are now ready to go in the Easter baskets (that I will hopefully have done by then)!  I also want to attach a small piece of ribbon to the backs so they can be hung up...they came with a little wooden rod, but I think it would be easier to play with if they could take them down to draw on them!

Boiling Rhubarb!

Today has been less busy, most of it spent playing Dragon Age and World of Warcraft...but I did get a "cooking bug" and decided to try a sugar free "Rhubarb Sauce".  I had a sweet tooth and wanted to give it a try, since Rhubarb is technically a vegetable and allowed on Atkins, even better!  All I did was put 2 cups (frozen, pre-cut) of Rhubarb into a pot with about 1/4 cup of water, with 2 T Splenda, a dash of Cinnamon (I keep mine in a baby food jar and just shake a little out), half as much Nutmeg as Cinnamon, and a splash of Vanilla (I use Madagascar Pure Vanilla from Costco).  Bring to a boil, stir the heck out of it to break up the rhubarb pieces, and wait for it to thicken a little!  I didn't think it was quite sweet enough, so when it was done, I poured a little imitation Honey over the top and stirred it in before I ate it.  YUM!  This time around, I just ate it with a spoon, but it would be awesome on top of homemade (sugar free, low carb) Ice Cream or under a little fresh made whipped cream!  Or better yet, sandwiched between to the two!  Now I'm hungry again, lol.

Dish of vegetabley goodness!