Maple-Cinnamon- Breaded Swine Chops and Garlic Smashed Taters w/ Steamed vegetables

Delicious pork. Some would swear against it but it truly is one of the more flavorful meats available. Naturally salty and delicious, pork pairs well with sweeter, more tart flavors, and always excites the palette.

3-4 Pork Chops, best quality you can find
1 Cup Breadcrumbs
Generous dash of Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 Onion, sliced pole to pole
1/4 cup milk
Tsp. Maple Syrup
2 Tsp. Thyme
2 Tsp. Rosemary
Olive Oil
Your favorite Applesauce

5-6 Red or Russet Potatoes, unpeeled
3 Gloves garlic, Diced

Your favorite vegetables, thinly sliced

Beat your egg with the milk until well-blended. Mix breadcrumbs with cinnamon, thyme and rosemary. Dip chops in egg/milk mixture and coat in breadcrumb mixture. Make sure they are well-coated. Set aside.

I always take a fork and pierce each 'tater a couple of times, they cook a bit faster. Once you got a pot of water boiling, throw the taters in with the diced-up garlic bits. If you have the convenience, use the colander right over your boiling potato pot to steam your favorite vegetables, otherwise, use a seperate pot.

Once your potatoes are in, heat your oil in a big skillet.

Once the oil is warm, drop in a dollop of maple syrup and mix it in well. This is crucial to the breading.

Throw your onions in and cook them all close together, on medium heat, with enough oil to keep them fairly submerged. What you're going to do is reduce the onions, carmelize them into little golden-brown chips, and either discard or remove them afterward. This, with the maple syrup, will make for a sweet and interesting oil to cook your chops on.

Cook the chops slowly, a notch lower than when you were cooking the onions, just a quiet, steady sizzle. Give about 10 minutes on each side.

When done, take out your steamed veggies and coat those babies with a little butter if you so desire. Put those aside, keep 'em warm.

For the taters, strain them with the garlic and put em back in the pan. Make sure no left-over garlic chunks are left on the strainer, you want that in the pan.

People like their smashed potatoes differently, but for me, I put in a tablespoon or two (or three) or butter/margarine, and just under a 1/4 cup of milk. Sometimes I like to add a pinch of fresh parsley if I have it on hand. Mash those guys up until they're nice and smooth.

If you reserved your onions, lay them across the pork chops. Serve with vegetables, potatoes, and your favorite applesauce, which greatly compliments the maple-cinnamon tinge of the pork chops. ENJOY!

Applesauce Bread with Apple Cinnamon Butter

Easy as cake. Well, it's more like a bread than a cake, but there's plenty of sugar, and the butter is just divine. I got this from an old Pilsbury cookbook, and it was a banana bread recipe that intrigued me. It was alright, but it wasn't until after I decided to replace the bananas with applesauce that I was able to conjure up a hit.

You will need:

- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of a 9x5 or 8x4-inch loaf pan.

In large bowl, cream sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs; blend in applesauce, milk, and cinnamon.

In small bowl, combine flour, nuts, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add to the creamed mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, and then remove. Cool it completely on a wire rack, and then stick it in the fridge with some plastic wrap.

For the butter, just mix about two spoonfuls of applesauce and a generous amount of margarine, and mix well. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and stick it in the fridge.

My old lady loves throwing a slice or two of this in the microwave and spreading a cool, slick layer of this apple-butter on top. Mmm, mmm...great homemade munchies!

Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon

I whipped this dish out of my refridgerator. Wishing to save my select meats and veggies for meals later on in the week, I thought about following a ham-n-cheese, grab-n-go initiative.
Have you ever heard of ham and cheese pasta? I hadn't, so I took a look around online and found some adaptions and recipes, most of them using tomato sauce and seeming a little crumby.
So this is what I came up with, and it's truly one of these easiest dishes I know. It starts with a butter and cheese-sauce, thickened with a little bit of milk.

You will need:

- 1 pound (maybe even a little more) Farfalle pasta
- 1 package (almost two cups) Frozen broccoli florets
- About 1/4 cup of margarine
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz package of your favorite shredded cheese (Vermont Cheddar, Monterey Jack)
- 1/4 cup milk
- Handful of peas, if desired
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 pound (or more) shaved ham
- salt and pepper, to taste
- grated parmesean cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add pasta and follow al dente instructions. Add broccoli florets at last 2-3 minutes of cooking time, and peas if desired. Drain together in colander.

Put pot back on low burner and add margarine. Return pasta/broccoli to pan and stir in olive oil. Add in cheese, milk, and shaved ham. Mix until creamy sauce forms and let everything warm nicely. Add salt and pepper to taste, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix once more. Serve with grated parmesean cheese and fresh bread.

The olive oil and butter flavor-combination is outstanding and compliments a sharp cheese beautifully. A bit of crushed red pepper will give it some kick, if you like 'em hot.