A Very Apple Dinner

Such a bad blogger here - made an amazing dinner, and was so wrapped up in it's awesomeness that I didn't take any pictures! Boo me!

Anyway - still really want to share. I have become addicted to finding recipes on the internet. I subscribe to a ton of baking and cooking blogs, and while I adore my "Joy of Cooking" and "Better Crocker - Bridal Edition", sometimes I need the quick search that I can only do digitally.

We went apple picking last weekend, and have been eating apples all week. To the point where I no longer had enough apples left to make a pie, which was my original intent. Instead I hit the internet last night, and googled "Pork and Apples", as that's what I had in the freezer.

The main course: Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Caramel Apple Pork Chops from Allrecipies.com

I used bone-in pork strips vs. pork chops (because I like more dark-meat). I had to cook covered in the skillet for about 10 minutes each side (not the 3 minutes per side the recipe called for). I also would have liked to have more "sauce" at the end, so I will double that next time. I used fresh Empire apples which were AMAZING. The dish was completely gobbled up by hubby and all 3 kids. Came out excellent.

Side Dish: Squash-Apple Bake

Squash Apple Bake from Allrecipies.com

While I wouldn't normally do 2 apple dishes in the same meal - I was on a roll and felt experimental.  I used frozen butternut squash vs. fresh because that's what I had in the house, and as a result I overcooked it a bit - not accounting for the difference in the size of the pieces. The dish was "mushy" but completely delish.  This was the first time my kids had squash (I don't make it often at all) and the apples make it much less like a vegetable for them, and they ate it all- eating the apple slices first of course!

Thanks again Allrecipies for coming to my rescue. Both these recipes are now saved in my recipe box, and ready for next time!