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Life Lessons

Friday was one of those days that you look forward to and then when it comes it is everything you had hoped for and more! I had planned all week to prepare a meal I had never made in the almost eight years of being married. He has asked for a dish like this countless times over the years but I was always quick to say no as soon as the request left his mouth. This week I felt he needed something special seeing as how he took off early a few times to tend to me while sick even in the midst of a very busy time at work, on top of house hunting for us in between. Plus I just felt like we needed a special dinner since I hadn't made a meal meal in like, well forevs. So I set out onto the web to find a recipe for pork chops smothered in applesauce. I know right...gross. I for one have not been a fan of the "chop" since I was a kid, not sure if it was the way it was prepared growing up or what but I haven't had a pork chop since I was a young girl and kind of just wrote them off as something I would never make. After reading countless recipes and reviews I made my menu.

  • Pork Chops smothered in caramelized onions and apples. recipe
  • Collard Greens recipe
  • Roasted Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes (my own recipe)
  • and for dessert, drumroll please... Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes! recipe

Before I continue let me just say that if your side dish includes a whole lot of this
and your dessert consist of these ingredients
You know it's going to be a good meal!
Finally, Friday arrived and I set out to get my groceries and plan my day accordingly. In between being a mama to Elsie, and setting up times with a realtor to have people view our house I now had to get everything prepped for this meal and set up for the garage sale we were having the following morning. Ambitious much? I wanted him to come home to a fab meal and then relax afterward not having to worry about bringing stuff down and what not for the sale so I even had my neighbors bring down the furniture we were selling as a surprise. You know how it goes, life just throws itself at you on these days where you have something planned and of course it did that morning for me but in a good way... I think. Micah called to inform me we were accepted on a house we had fallen in love with a few weeks prior. Praise God! Oh but then he said that we needed to move in there by the 15th of February...what? Umm, wait,  Ok what? Ya I was like a deer in headlights because I wanted to stop what I was doing and immediately start packing. As I excited as I was about the house I had to put my feelings aside and focus on the exciting evening I had planned. Now it was like a celebration dinner as well. Woot-woot!
As the collard green simmered, potatoes boiled and  onions caramelized I knew we were in for a treat. The aroma in my house was so overwhelmingly good that I could hardly contain myself from picking at everything. 
It also warmed my heart with the thought of in just a few weeks I will be able to plant my own produce garden to pick fresh veggies from in the new house.  

Oh and why were these greens so easy to make? Side note: I did modify the recipe a bit by adding brown sugar and a splash of cider vinegar to cut the bitterness down. I recommend you do the same.  oh and I didn't use Olive Oil, just added more bacon and used the grease from that.
Do you have one of these? An apple corer/peeler from Pampered Chef. My mom gave me hers a few months back and this thing is amazing. I forgot how much I loved it. Plus Elsie thought it was the neatest thing and kept eating apples right off of it.If you don't have one. Get one!
I realized I hadn't planned for rolls or cornbread at the last minute and had Micah pick some blueberry cornbread up on the way home from a local BBQ joint. I think at that moment he knew something fishy was going on. When he entered the kitchen and saw Elsie eating frosting out of the bowl and me filling the serving dishes he was smiling ear to ear. I had just taken the chops off the grill and I could tell he knew at that moment what was on the menu for the night.
I will sum this long post up by saying that this meal was FAMAZING! (remember this word I created, so bringing it back yo!) The only thing we needed was some sweet tea and fresh squeezed lemonade. Noted for next time for sure. 
They both were watching me frost the cupcakes so intently I had to snap a pic.
Oh you know I used our new chafing dishes!
Micah's first bite of this heavenly goodness! Look at that face. He is so happy!
oh just look at this sweet sweetness.
Micah has officially ranked this as his #1 or maybe #2 meal that I have ever made. I was shocked because he has so many all time faves and just pushed those out of the way without giving it a second thought.

Okay so what did I learn this day? Let's see...
  • don't judge a chop by its bone. meaning Pork chops (if prepared properly) are so yummy
  • collard greens have my heart
  • Elsie really loves to help me cook
  • anything salted caramel should be banned from this earth...DANGEROUS!
  • Micah is the most fun person to cook a meal for
  • if you're watching your weight, don't make this
  • everyone should own an apple corer thingy
  • I LOVE being a housewife. (I already knew that but it is always nice to have a reminder day like this)
Ok loves, go and get your grub on. Seriously you need to make these recipes ASAP. Even if you just start with the dessert, that works. I mean Valentine's Day is around the corner and I know all your sweets love a good sweet and trust me they will love this one. Enjoy!



2 comments:

DawnaHartman said...

My mouth was watering through that whole post. Holy moly. Yum! I need you to send me the recipe for those potatoes....

Dang.
I'm hungry.

Ali Winter said...

I am now another pregnant woman you have drooling! Dang Mama! Good Job! I am totally making those cupcakes!!!