Pork Chops in an Orange-Cumin Sauce

I needed a quick and easy meal to cook for dinner last Friday night cause I had a lot to do...laundry, yuk!  I have made this particular orange-cumin sauce for one of my grilled chicken dishes but didn't have time for grilling. 

So knowing that I had pork chops on hand, I adapted that yummy sauce to become a pan sauce for the chops.  My oh my, was this yummy!

It's an easy weeknight meal with great flavors, Latin flavors, like a mojo sauce.  It has just a few ingredients so you can whip it up in a flash!

Hope you enjoy this recipe....we sure did!

You will need:  pork chops, orange juice, cumin, 2 oranges for zest and the segments, and cilantro. That's it! 

Zest your orange.  Next peel the oranges, be sure to remove the white membrane. (This part is bitter!)  Cut segments from the orange by slicing in between the white membranes.  

Place a tablespoon of oil in a hot skillet.  Salt and pepper both sides of your pork chops.  I used boneless skinless thin chops, but you can certainly use bone-in if you prefer.  (Thick or thin!)

Place chops in the hot skillet, cooking on the 1st side for 3-4 minutes. (Increase cooking time if using thick or bone-in chops)

Turn over chops and cook an additional 3 minutes until browned and cooked through.

Remove chops to a platter and keep warm.

Add zest, orange juice, and cumin to the skillet.  Cook until slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add orange segments.

Spoon mixture over pork chops on the platter and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Super flavors!

Pork Chops in an Orange-Cumin Sauce

Serves 4

1 T oil

4 pork chops boneless or bone-in

Salt and pepper

1 ½ t. cumin

2 T orange zest

1/2 cup orange juice

2 oranges, peeled and cut into segments

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

           

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season pork with salt and pepper and cook until cooked through, 3-4 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.

Add orange zest, juice, and cumin to the skillet. Cook until slightly thickened, 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in orange segments. To serve, spoon orange mixture over pork chops and top with cilantro.

Chicken with Lemon Sauce

When I was visiting Mom a few weeks back we had so much fun cooking together.  Making old family favorites, and some new ones too.

One dish my mom always likes to make is Chicken with Lemon Sauce.  She absolutely LOVES LOVES LOVES lemon anything, but especially lemon chicken, be it stir fry or Italian style...anything lemon goes! 

This is a simple take on a chicken scaloppini, similar in technique and flavor.  


This can be made as a quick weeknight meal or served as an elegant dinner for guests.  Serve it with pasta or rice as we did, and change up your vegetables to fit your mood.

Hope you enjoy this as much as my mom does.  It's super easy to make.

Here we go...

You will need:  chicken breasts, flour, butter, chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley.

Butterfly your chicken breasts, not cutting all the way through so you have a large piece.  Place the breasts in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound the breast out thin.  Go ahead pound that baby!

Salt and pepper your chicken.  Then put some flour in a pan and dredge your chicken breasts on both sides in the flour.

Heat up a skillet and put a pad of butter in it to melt.  Once heated add your chicken breasts and cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Turn your chicken over.  See how nice and golden!

Add your chicken broth, lemon juice and zest.  Cook chicken for another 3-4 min until done.  You can baste the chicken with the juices at this time to give it flavor.

Remove the chicken to a pan and keep warm.  Turn up your fire and cook the sauce until it thickens about 2 min.  Sauce should be boiling to reduce and thicken.

Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle parsley on top and serve.  Oops! I forgot the parsley on ours...oh well, use your imagination!

Yummy!




Chicken with Lemon Sauce

Serves: 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper
3 T. flour
2 T. butter
1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 t. lemon zest

3 T. fresh parsley chopped (optional)

Butterfly your chicken breasts, but don't cut all the way through.  Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper to season. Place flour in a pan and dredge chicken in flour.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and cook 3 minutes. Turn chicken over. Add broth, juice, and zest.  Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 3 minutes, basting chicken occasionally with sauce.  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Bring sauce to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Serve over chicken.  Sprinkle with parsley!

Product Review: Williams-Sonoma White Chili Starter

Today's post is a new type of post... 

 A Product Review

I thought that you all might benefit from reviews of products that you may like to try but haven't.  These reviews will be of a food item that I've recently purchased and used.  Just an honest opinion of the product. They are not sponsored by anyone.

I hope you enjoy these reviews.

Williams-Sonoma White Chili Starter

I made White Chicken Chili using Williams-Sonoma starter last Saturday when it was cold and rainy here in LA.  I used the recipe straight off the bottle.  I found that it was a simple recipe and very easy to make.  Cook time was about 40 min. 

The flavor of the starter has a very nice combination of spices and made for a tasty chili.  It is not hot with spicy heat, and I detected the lime juice to be a prominent flavor.  Not overpowering but definitely prominent.  My boyfriend and I both ate this for dinner and liked the flavor.  The one shortfall is the servings per bottle.  This bottle makes about 4 servings.  If you eat a good portion then most likely it will only be enough for 2 people.  MGG ate 2 bowls full, and they were not more than 1 1/2 cups each serving, I ate only 1 bowl.  There was just enough for lunch the following day for 1 person.

The cost is $14.50 at any Williams-Sonoma store or you can order online.  Click here for a link to the product.  White Chili Starter

It's definitely a good item and worth trying.  My only reservation would again be the cost per bottle/serving.

If you try this item or have in the past, let me know what you think!

Here's the recipe:

Easy White Chili

Whip up a pot of this Southwestern-style chili with ease by using our time-saving starter. You can prepare the chili with cubed chicken breast or ground chicken or turkey.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or ground chicken or turkey
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 jar white chili starter

Tortilla chips, chopped fresh cilantro and sour cream for serving

Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Stovetop method: In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Working in 2 batches, brown the chicken, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Return all the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the white chili starter, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Slow-cooker method: In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Working in 2 batches, brown the chicken, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the chicken to a slow cooker and add the chili starter. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ladle the chili into warmed bowls and serve immediately with tortilla chips, cilantro and sour cream. Serves 6.