I was a tiny bit afraid that my father would turn his nose up at this. He is a man of very simple tastes. For years my mother was only allowed to use salt and black pepper.  

Surprisingly he didn't say too much about it. He just ate it.  He did dip each piece in ketchup however.  Men!

Mary recommends marinating the chicken in the herb and olive oil mixture for ten minutes. I marinated them for a bit longer as I felt it would enhance the flavours even more.

I also added some garlic and onion powder for a bit more oomph. (Now you know why I was worried about my father, lol)

He always worries if he eats anything with garlic in it that he is going to have bad breath. In all truth after he leaves here, he goes straight home and watches the news, falls asleep in his chair and then goes to bed. 

So, nobody would actually be smelling his breath except for us. As we ate garlic as well, we probably wouldn't notice.

Men are often quite resistant to change of any kind.  I get that. I am not fond of change either in most things. But I am open to trying new flavours and things when it comes to cooking.

So long as my protein comes from a source with fins, legs, etc.  I am not overly fussy about things reptilian or that crawl on their belly.

For instance you would never get me to try frog's legs. I don't care how much you tell me they taste like chicken.  And snake is definitely off my menu.

I also won't knowingly eat insects or rodents.  I know in some spots of the world these are great delicacies, but not in my little world.

Having said that, I am open to most other new flavours. Whew!

Mary likes to do this with chicken thighs.  I have to say I found chicken thighs to be a bit greasy and if I make it again (and I will) I would make it with breasts. This is just a personal preference.

 

 

We are so lucky these days and have a variety of quick side dish options available to us. I love the pouched of ready cooked rice.

If you opened one of those and popped it into the microwave along with some steam pouches of vegetables you could have supper on the table in not much more than half an hour, which would include the marinating time for the chicken.

I think these herbs would also work well with cubes of salmon or cod, or even cubes of pork.  That makes this quite a versatile recipe all told.

Tonight we are having the leftovers chopped up even smaller and then fried with some rice as a stir fried rice side dish. I will add some peas and corn, and possibly some scrambled egg.

 

There I go again with the garlic!  It does sound good however!! Or maybe with some Tzatziki sauce.

I think it would also make a great salad topper. A hot salad. I love salad in any way shape or form. Hot, cold and in between.

 

Mediterranean Chicken Bites

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Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 30 Mincook time: 10 Mintotal time: 40 Min

A nice and flavourful way to cook chicken that cooks up nice and easy. You can cook either chicken breasts or chicken thighs this way.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (thighs or breasts)
• 2 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 tsp dried oregano flakes
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1 tsp dried parsley leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, rubbed to break it up
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• the juice of a lemon

Instructions

1. Trim any fat off your chicken and then cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Whisk together 1 TBS of the olive oil along with all of the dried herbs. Add the chicken cubes, tossing them to coat them in the oil and herb mixture. Leave to marinate for about 1/2 an hour or so.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet, along with the butter. When the butter starts to foam add the chicken pieces.
4. Stir fry and cook the chicken until it just begins to brown in places and is cooked through. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over top, give it another good stir to make sure the lemon flavour gets all the way through.
5. Scoop into a serving dish and serve immediately.

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What you are seeing here today is a very rare treat. Bacon chops.  We very seldom eat processed meats such as bacon, even though we really love it (and who doesn't!) Every once in a while I will cook us some bacon for breakfast/supper.

We will either have it in the form of rashers or as these lovely bacon chops which we get from the butcher.  Most of our bacon chops come from Denmark, which is a shame as we produce really good bacon here in the UK.  I try to buy British Bacon when I can, as well as nitrate free if possible.

You might live in a country where you cannot get Bacon chops. If that is the case you can easily substitute smoked pork chops or plain pork loin chops in their place.  I would use boneless for this recipe. 

If you can get bacon chops, or even thick sliced peameal bacon I would definitely use it. Prepare yourself to fall in love.

The cooking method for these is exceptionally simple. There is nothing complicated and then turn out tender and juicy every time. 

My chops came with a healthy layer of fat along one edge. You might be tempted to cut that off, and you can certainly trim it down some if you wish, but you will need at least 1/4 of an inch along the side.

I slash it at 1/2 inch intervals. This helps to prevent any pork type of chop from curling up. They will lay flatter in your skillet, and brown more evenly. 

That fatty edge is also going to provide you with a bit of fat for browning your chops. You need nothing else. I hold the fatty edge down in the hot skillet using some tongs until some of the fat has released.  This is all you need to brown the chops in.

Once they are browned on both sides, I like to glaze them. I use a mixture of Dijon mustard and fruit preserves to do this.

Today I used Peach preserves. But you could use any fruit preserves that you feel would go well with the flavours of bacon and of mustard.  Think about it. Salty and sweet are the quintessential moreish flavour combination that has us all drooling.

 

Today I accompanied my chops with Champ Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Bacon is a very Irish thing.  Champ is also a very Irish thing.  It is Irish comfort food. 

I am afraid I have  it a tiny switched it up a bit here today by adding some cheese. I hope they will forgive me. I did use an Irish cheddar if that helps.

You will need to begin the potatoes about an hour or so before you cook your chops.  Pick some nice sized baking potatoes and wash them really well.  Dry and prick them all over with a fork. This helps to prevent them from bursting in the oven.

Place them into your hot oven, right on the oven rack.  This is the trick to really crisp skins. You don't need to rub them with oil or anything, just place them right on the rack.  The hot air of the oven will circulate around them, crisping the skins up perfectly.

You can also cut the time of baking considerably if you are in a hurry. You can do this by inserting a long, (clean please!!) galvanized nail into the side of each one lengthways. The nail heats up in the oven and the potatoes cook from the inside out and the outside in. 

Once they are tender, you remove them and begin to make your filling for them. You will need to let them cool slightly, just until you can comfortably handle them.

 

 I am not doing that of course.  Another thing I hope the Irish forgive me for.  But the onions and the milk are there, with the butter, and then there is the cheese.

Altogether a brilliant combination of flavours.  Stuffed into a crisp potato skin and baked until a bit of a crust forms on top. Make sure you rough the tops up a bit.  That will give you lots of scrummy little crispy bits.

 

Glazed Bacon Chops with Champ Stuffed Potatoes

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Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 5 Mincook time: 1 H & 15 Minactive time: 5 Mintotal time: 1 H & 25 M

A delicious meal for two that can easily be doubled or tripled to feed more. Glazed tender bacon chops are served with baked potatoes stuffed with spring onions and cheese. Fabulously tasty!

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 2 TBS butter
• 2 TBS milk
• 3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (60g) grated strong/sharp cheddar cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste
• paprika to sprinkle
• minced chives to garnish (optional)

For the chops:

• 2 boneless bacon chops (can use smoked pork chops)
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 2 TBS peach preserves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes well, dry and then prick all over with a fork and place into the oven to bake, right on top of the oven rack.
2. Bake for one hour or until the tip of a knife slides easily in and out of the potatoes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes until you can safely handle them.
3. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.  Try not to tear the skins. Set them aside until a bit later.
4. Mash the potato flesh well with a fork, adding the butter and milk. Add the spring onions, grated cheese and mix in well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells. Place into a baking dish.  Sprinkle with paprika and return to the oven while you cook the chops.
5. Trim the fatty edge of the chops and slash the fat at 1/2 inch intervals.
6. Warm a skillet over medium heat.  Using a pair of tongs, hold the bacon chops, fatty edges down in the skillet to help render out some of the fat, pressing them down slightly. After 2 to 3 minutes, lay the chops flat in the skillet. Sear for two to three minutes per side.
7. Whisk together the mustard and the peach preserves.  Spoon over the chops.  Increase the heat and cook, turning the chops frequently until the glaze thickens and coats the chops.
8. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes prior to serving.
9. Serve the chops hot, with some of the pan juices spooned over top and a baked potato on the side.

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I love meals like this. Quick and easy, and which don't require a lot of thought or hands on. The potatoes basically cook themselves. You can vary the glaze on your chops by using any preserves that you enjoy. Orange marmalade is very good. So are blueberry, cherry or apricot preserves.  

Recently when I was doing my online Grocery order I noticed that Ocado had Tomahawk Pork Steaks. I ended up ordering two of them.  They were a bit pricier than normal chops, but I had high expectations. 

Salt dried aged pork tomahawk steak from M&S.  They feature outdoor bred pork from Hampshire. I have always enjoyed the quality of M&S goods. I always said if I won the lottery I would only ever shop at M&S.  They have excellent food and other products. Just my opinion.

 I think calling them Tomahawk Pork Steaks was a bit of a stretch. Basically it was just another way to describe a bone in pork loin chop which has had the rib bone "french trimmed." 

I decided to give them the sheet pan method of cooking.  I love sheet pan cooking. It involves very little preparation and little to no clean up.  I am all for that!

I had enough of fiddly cooking  when I cooked at the Manor.  I can do fiddly along with the best of them and occasionally I do like to fancy things up a bit here at home.

In my normal day to day life, however, I like to keep things simple. Life is far too short to complicate things that don't need to be complicated.  Things like every day meals.

I found the original recipe on a blog called Dinner Then Dessert.  I cut it down to size and adapted it to ingredients and methods, etc. that I felt would work for me. 

I actually didn't change a lot really. I used a large baking potato instead of Yukon Golds. I am not really sure what Yukon Golds are. We don't have them over here. I understand they are a yellow fleshed potato that lends itself beautifully to roasting and mashing.

I love the idea of using garlic and brown sugar.  It reminded me of my favourite Italian Brown Sugar Chicken Thighs. I have not made them in a long time. (Time to change that!)

The potatoes are chunked and tossed together with some oil and seasoning. You then scatter them on a baking sheet. I lined the sheet with foil so there was no sticking, and again, an easy clean up afterwards.

I think you could add a peeled and chunked sweet potato as a substitution for half of the regular potato. Sweet potatoes go very well with pork.

The chops get massaged with a mix of the leftover oil from the potatoes, brown sugar and plenty of garlic.  And I do mean plenty.  Garlic and pork have a natural affinity for each other.

When my family was growing up I used to do a roast of pork which was highly flavoured with garlic.  I would take a sharp knife and make deep slits down into the flesh of the roast. 

Slivered cloves of garlic would be pushed into these slits.  Oh my but it always came out some delicious!!  The pork would be beautifully flavoured in and out, and the gravy was fantastic.

You can do the same treatment with a beef sirloin roast. Trust me, it will be fabulously delicious, and you may end up with a brand-new favourite way of cooking it. 

These are just little tips of adding tastiness to things that I have accrued through the years.  My mom always said I had a special knack for making even simple things taste incredible.

I just like eating delicious food. It is the glutton in me. If you love to cook and you love to eat, you will probably have a natural aptitude for deliciousness.

Its a gift I guess.  But I come by it naturally.  I've also had lots and lots and lots of practice through the years.

I was not always a great cook. There was a lot of trial and error in the early years.  I have cooked some pretty awful food in my life time and my family has eaten rubber chicken.

I think though, because it was something I loved to do, I soaked all the knowledge I could up like a sponge. By watching others and reading I grew in knowledge and waxed strong.  Anyone can be a great cook. You just need to love food and eating. That's my opinion anyways!

Garlic & Brown Sugar Pork Chops

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Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 5 Mincook time: 35 Mininactive time: 5 Mintotal time: 45 Min

This is a delicious sheet pan supper sized perfectly for two people. You end up with perfectly seasoned and baked chops and crispy potatoes, with next to no clean up. Quantities can easily be multiplied to serve more people.

Ingredients

• 1 large baking potato, washed and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 1/2 TBS canola oil
• 2 bone in pork chops
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas  mark 5.  Line a baking tray with some aluminium foil and spray it lightly with some low fat cooking spray.
2. Put the potato chunks into a bowl. Toss together with the oil, half of the salt and 1/2 of the pepper.  Scatter on the baking sheet.
3. To the oil left in the bowl, add the brown sugar and garlic.  Season the chops with the remaining salt and pepper.  Put them into the bowl with the garlic/brown sugar/oil mixture and rub them to coat.  Place them onto the baking sheet, nestling them in between the potatoes.  Drizzle any remaining mixture in the bowl over top.
4. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. If desired you can flash it underneath the broiler for a minute to really gild the chops.
5. Let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving with your favourite vegetables on the side.

notes:

If desired you can use half cubed sweet potatoes and half baking potato. Delicious.

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We both really enjoyed these delicious, flavourful and tender pork chops. I loved that there was little to no clean up. I served them with some frenched runner beans and mashed turnips. Yummy yummy!

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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