Recipe & Gadget of the Week: Cheesy Pork Chops with Spicy Apples + Apple Peeler/corer/slicer

Recipe of the Week: Cheesy Pork Chops with Spicy Apples

This week's recipe comes to you from my favorite recipe site, Allrecipes. I found this one last week when looking for something to do with limited ingredients that I had in the frig/freezer. The combination of flavors sounds really strange, but it's surprisingly delicious, AND easy! The recipe says to grill the pork chops, however, I'm not so savvy with the grill (I leave that to my grilling and smoking expert husband), so I used a grill pan, which still worked great. Also, that way I didn't have to worry about any onions or apples falling through the grill. Give it a try...it's worth it!

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices extra sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Prepare a grill for high heat.
2. While the grill heats, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until soft. Season with red pepper flakes then add the sliced apple. Stir in the sugar and balsamic vinegar, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until apples are soft and golden.
3. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Spoon the onions and apples on top of the chops, and top with a slice of Cheddar cheese. Cover the grill, and cook for about 3 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Kitchen Gadget of the Week: Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer

This gadget will make the coring and slicing of your apple for the above recipe take mere seconds. There are many different brands, as you can see above, but they all basically do the same thing.  Stab your apple with the prongs on the end of the corkscrew-like post, then crank the handle.  As your apple spins, it will be spiral cut, peeled, and cored all at the same time.  This thing is awesome if you like to make apple pies, apple crisp, muffins, etc. and don't want to spend your whole weekend hunched over the garbage can peeling apples.  It also works for potatoes, although it works best with a more uniformly shaped piece of produce like an apple.  It's not exactly an appliance you'd like sitting on your counter top on display, as it's form is entirely dictated by it's function.  But, when it comes to saving time, you won't care how ugly the thing is!