Wednesday Dinner

Remember my little goal this week to try new recipes and post pictures of my adventures?  Well, here they come…

Wednesday night we had braised pork chops, zucchini tomato toss, and corn potato pancakes (well, almost).  The dinner was fabulous, if I do say so myself (and my husband agreed).  Eating healthy certainly has its benefits.  The entire meal was only 400 calories, and we all left the table satisfied (but not over-stuffed).

Here are the ingredients for the zucchini tomato toss.  They look amazing, don’t they?  I love the bright greens and purple against the red.  Beautiful.

The aroma of this cooking was phenomenal, honestly.  Everyone started flocking to the kitchen to see what I was whipping up.  There was none of this left after dinner either.

Here is the beginning of the corn potato pancakes.  I made my own mashed potatoes from scratch – yummy.

The next step was to add the rest of the ingredients for the pancakes.  Fresh parsley, cream style corn, flour, egg, onion…it all smelled so good.

Well, here they are in the skillet.  Unfortunately, they never made it out of the skillet (not in the proper form anyway).  I could not get the pancakes to stay in pancake form.  Every time I went to flip them they just fell apart and behaved, well, like mashed potatoes.  So, instead of throwing away all the “batter” I ended up throwing it all in the pan and cooking it that way.  When they changed in consistency (a little thicker, and less wet) I scooped them up and served them as mashed potatoes.  Apparently, I went wrong somewhere.  If anyone has tried this recipe, or any other potato pancake recipe please share your words of wisdom.

Here are the braised pork chops sizzling away in the skillet.  The flavor was amazing, but I will admit they were a little dry for my taste (and my husband’s).  The next time I prepare these I will tweak it a little to make the meat a little more moist.

Overall, though, we had an amazing dinner.  Even my chicklets loved everything.

Here are the recipes:

ZUCCHINI TOMATO TOSS

1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices (I doubled this)
1 small onion, thinly sliced and separated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
2 small plum tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (I cut 3 tomatoes)
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

In a nonstick skillet, saute green pepper, zucchini, onion, and garlic in oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until heated through.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Here’s the dirt:
2 servings (more if you add extra zucchini and tomato)

59 calories
3 g fat (trace saturated fat)
0 g cholesterol
597 mg sodium
9 g carbs
3 g fiber
2 g protein

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BRAISED PORK CHOPS

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 bone-in pork loin chops (6 ounces each)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth

Combine seasonings; sprinkle over chops.  In a nonstick skillet, cook chops in oil until browned on both sides.  Add water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender.  Remove meat and keep warm.  Combine cornstarch and broth until smooth; stir into cooking juices.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Serve over chops.

Here’s the dirt:
4 servings (1 chop with 2 Tbsp of gravy)

180 calories
9 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
67 mg cholesterol
83 mg sodium
1 g carbs
trace fiber
23 g protein

-Erica