Mandy and Jace

This recipe took us a couple of tries but I think in the end we nailed it. We used a brine to infuse the pork with flavor and then merely used pepper to season before cooking in browned butter. If you are wondering what a brine is you can read our turkey recipe where I attempt to explain it, or you can read this post. This was written by my sister-in-law’s brother, Graham Fontes, and he explains the process better than I ever could. He is an amazing chef at Pinzimini in Arlington, Virginia. His post also has a killer brine recipe that will make any meat delicious. You should also add his blog to your google reader or whatever you use to follow blogs because he has some great recipes that you don’t want to miss.

Sweet Tea Brined Pork Chops
3 thick cut pork chops
1/2 gallon sweet tea
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

The day before you make the pork chops, combine the sweet tea, salt, brown sugar, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small pan and heat over medium-high heat until salt and sugar are dissolved. Refrigerate overnight (or at least until the brine is cool if you are short on time).

Place the pork chops in the brine and let them sit for 3-3/2 hours. Remove the chops from brine and rinse with cold water.
Pat dry and season the chops with pepper. DO NOT SALT! The brine took care of that.

In a saute pan brown 2 tbs of butter. When butter is ready, cook the chops in the pan for about 5 minutes on each side depending on how thick your chops are. If they are bone-in they may take a little longer. If they are pretty thin they make be less. When the chops are cooked remove from the pan and let them rest for at least 5 minutes so all the tasty juices don’t run out when you cut into them.

Tonight: football snacks at game night!
Tuesday: pork stir fry
Wednesday: chicken nuggets and fries
Thursday: take out after practice
Friday: date night!

Happy eating!

After a much needed break I am back to posting pretty regularly here. Over the past few months I have really began to re-evaluate the things in my life and have taken a sort of inventory of what is necessary in my life and what I can do without. At the beginning of this evaluation process I was really getting bogged down with people and things that were coming at me on a daily basis, means of which I chose to let in my life, that were not edifying my life but actually clouding it. Things like social media and constant television can distract us from the things in life that are beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook and Twitter for many reasons including promoting this website, but both outlets have become a place for people to constantly tear other people down or complain. So, I have done some cleaning of my Facebook account and twitter account and made it to where I only see the things I want to (the hide feature is great for this). Also, I have learned that it is OK to keep the TV off sometimes and listen to music (or nothing for that matter) unless there is something I actually want to watch. Also, now that the weather is getting better I have been spending a lot of time out on our patio reading. I have been inside surrounding myself with nonsense for so long I have missed the beautiful creation God has given us.

I want to begin to focus on the things that I love like design, cooking, music and just overall expressing my creativity. Also, I want to make sure I never lose sight of my marriage, family or myself for that matter. I think there are a lot of things that can fog up your clarity in life and get in the way of being the people God wants us to be. My goal in all this is to remove that fog and be sure that clarity is always there. If I have to give up something like Facebook that might be fun for a while but in the end isn’t beneficial to me, that’s fine. I have been leaning on Philippians 4:8 (particularly The Message version) for the past couple of weeks and will continue to be my guide to live by.

Philippians 4:8-9
The Message (MSG)
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

So, what does this have to do with mandyandjace.com? Not much. I will still continue to do my meal plans but they might be a little more minimal. To be honest our lives are just not that interesting every week. So I’m going to cut some of the “fluff” and meaningless chatter but still keep you up to date on the fun stuff that we do. Also, I will continue to post all of the new yummy recipes that I come across. My big Africa trip is coming closer and closer and I’ll be giving you the play by play on that too. So stay tuned great things are to come!

Tonight: Southwest steak au poivre with a spicy cream sauce on top, homestyle mashed potatoes and bacon green beans
Tuesday: Spicy pork stir fry with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, peppers and onions
Wednesday: pinto beans and cornbread
Thursday: take out after praise and worship practice
Friday: date night

Happy eating!