We love pork chops, but they’re one of those things that I don’t always think about, and then I exclaim, “Why don’t we have this more often?”

I recently made these pork chops, and they turned out great. As a matter of fact, someone said we should have them again sometime, so I’ve actually made them twice. That’s quite a feat for me because I have some sort of recipe amnesia and I don’t often remember things I’ve made if they are out of the usual rotation.

Beer Braised Pork Cutlets

Ingredients:
pork sirloin cutlets, tenderized, about 1/4-inch thick
4 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp butter
8 oz beer (actually, I made these once with beef broth instead of beer and they were also good)
2 Tbs cider vinegar
2 Tbs prepared mustard
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp dill weed

Stir together flour, salt and pepper and coat cutlets well. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter to sizzling and add cutlets. Saute until golden brown on one side; turn cutlets and add remaining ingredients to skillet. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, until pork is cooked through. Remove cutlets to a warm platter, boil and stir pan juices until thickened; serve cutlets with pan sauce.

Verdict: the whole family loved these. It’s a great take on a classic comfort food, and we’ll put these in the regular rotation.

If I remember, that is.

Lovely accent to your kitchen, or flat filing cabinet?

It’s been a hot topic around here the past couple of days as we’ve attempted to give the kitchen a thorough cleaning. It’s come to light that we (the adults in the house) are of differing philosophies regarding the counter space.

One of us thinks that the more stuff the better on the kitchen counter. That way, you can see and get to whatever you need.

The other one of us has the right idea.

(Oops, did I give away who’s who, here?)

Left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have much of anything on the counter because I think it looks better. However, I know I’d be complaining every time I had to get something out to use it. But. other people in the house *ahem*husband*ahem* see things a little differently. For him, the more stuff the better on the counter. That way, you can see what you have and use it!

As you may be able to tell, we don’t always see eye to eye about what should stay on the kitchen counter.

Right now, The permanent residents of the kitchen are: the microwave, the coffee maker, the bread box, a small television, toaster, electric can opener, an iPod dock and an electric pencil sharpener (The kids do homework at the kitchen table, and they are really hard on pencils.).

However, I’m not fond of the way it looks, especially since the kitchen is the main way people come in and out of the house, and the kitchen is the first thing they see. I think it looks too cluttered, but these are things we actually use.

Our kitchen was done many, many years ago, and I wish I’d had the foresight to ask them to put in an “appliance garage” to get some of the little ones out of plain view, but I didn’t. One thing I do need to do is replace the plug covers with something closer to the paint color, that would help the overall look, I think.

How about you? How do you decide what gets kept out on the kitchen counter and what lives behind closed doors?

Lest you think I’m obsessed with my car, it’s just that I spend a lot of time in there, and I like to be prepared. We’ve already discussed must-have items for the car trunk, as well as handy items to keep in the car console.

But, what about the glove compartment? What goes in there?

When I was in high school. most of my friends turned 16 before I did, and could drive. I longed to have a car of my own, ready for whatever came my way. I remember one friend in particular who had snacks in the glove compartment (it would be many years later before I realized that she probably had an eating disorder), and I recall thinking it was cool that she could keep whatever she wanted in there.

The day finally came, and I had a car of my own. I don’t know exactly what I kept in there, but I’m sure it was all “useful” stuff crammed in there with the silly things my dad made me put in there like the registration and insurance information.

As an adult, I’ve learned to keep the most important things in there and reasonably organized so they’re easily accessible, but I’m wondering if my “important” things are the same as yours.

What’s in my glove compartment?

(Apparently, I keep a mystery piece of my car interior in there to the right of the sunglasses, too.)

Owner’s manual
Proof of insurance
Car registration documents (it’s debatable if you should keep these in there)
Roadside assistance instructions and phone number
Maintenance receipts
Pen and paper
Extra sunglasses (a must, if you wear contact lenses)
A flashlight
A snack (I keep it hidden in there in case we forget my 4th grader’s snack for school)
Extra straws (yes, they are important)

One thing I need to remember to put in there is a list of emergency contacts. Come to think of it, I’m not sure if I have a list in my wallet, either. I need to get on that.

How about you? What’s in your glove compartment?

When I was on vacation with my friends a few weeks ago, the conversation turned to dinner, specifically a lack of inspiration, everyone seemed to be in a rut. So, everyone made a list of quick and easy things they make for dinner at home and we shared it in an effort to gain some new ideas.

One thing that came up was an idea for Salsa Chicken Soup. I love soup, but sometimes when I get an idea for soup, it never quite comes out like I intended (except for the Loaded Potato Soup, I like that stuff when I make it). This one was really simple, and actually tasted like I wanted it to!

We only discussed the ingredients in general, so even though it’s not scientific, here’s what I did:

Salsa Chicken Soup

2-4 Chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans chicken broth
1 can sweet corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 jars salsa (I used 15 oz ones)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup

Combine all of the above and heat it up! I put it in the crockpot on low for an hour or so.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips:

Like many things, this gets even better after about a day.

Perhaps if I make soup often enough, winter will actually arrive since it hasn’t really shown up here, yet!

Do you have any simple soup recipes?