Lunch Off the Top, Not Over It!!!

I was home for lunch the other day. My two children were out of school—home with me-- and my wife, a teacher, was doing in-service work. It was my job to get lunch for the three of us.

Feeding lunch to children is simple. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the staple. PB&J sandwiches are simple to prepare and, when paired with fruit and milk, nutritionally quite sound.

After building those sandwiches, I was left in a bit of a spot. I was not terrifically interested a PB&J. There were some cans of soup in the pantry, but I could muster no inspiration to prepare one. A man has to eat (that is a dangerous mantra!). I kicked in the other side of the brain and got creative.

A quick scan of the kitchen revealed some tomatoes. I recalled seeing stuffed tomatoes at different times in my wanderings. Usually these cafeteria fare are a tomato with top removed and the interior filled with a measure of tuna salad. I latched onto the basic idea and modified it some.

I lopped the top off the tomato and removed the seeds. In a bowl, I mixed up a teaspoon of capers and 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and two drops of liquid smoke. This mixture is poured inside the tomato and then the tomato was topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese. I baked it at 350 until the cheese melted and started to turn brown. After baking, I dusted the top with a good shake of Parmesan cheese.

I had a baguette of sourdough leftover from a meal the night before. I sliced it thin and served it with the tomato. The tomato was filled with the caper, mustard mix. Dipping the bread into the interior was a real tasty treat!!

It was simple and fun and has probably been done before—but not by this Man in The Kitchen!!!

Egg-citing (terrible, huh?!)

I saw a tip the other day that worked when I tried it. Eggs occasionally plague me. No, I am not tormented by ostrich ovum steamrollering me in dreams and I do not fear that a tyrannosaurus laid a white globe on my garaged automobile. I boil eggs with the fear that the little devils (or, soon to be deviled!) fellows will crack and weep the white in the water and look pretty much pathetic and unworthy of use.

A Man in the Kitchen cannot live in fear of boiling eggs. That’s as bad as a claustrophobic Houdini!!

There are a few tips out there. If you know some, write them to me.

The one I found that worked was so simple: Put a good glug vinegar in the water before boiling the egg. Apparently, the acetic acid softens the eggshell. The more pliable shell resists cracking.

Worked for me.

Now, why does the eggshell work to settle the grounds in camp coffee and the goo in broth?
The odd musings of this Man in the Kitchen.

Quick and Easy Pork Chop Bake

Tonight, I tried a new recipe. The result was a tasty dish that can be prepared ahead of time and heated with little worry. In this busy world, there is true value in a recipe that one can prepare when convenient and heat-and-eat in the crunch time of a busy weeknight.

I’ll admit this dish has that “something Mom would make” flair. I think the chow mein noodles give it that feel. It is good food.

Quick and Easy Pork Chop Bake

6 pork chops ( I prefer boneless, but any will do)
Salt and Pepper
1 bag frozen French cut beans
1 TBSP Olive oil
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup ( I prefer Campbell’s Healthy Requests—lower sodium)
2 TBSP Milk
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 drops of Hot Sauce (like Tobasco)
1 can (3 ounces) chow mein noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet, brown pork chops, salt and pepper to taste. Place in baking dish, arrange green beans in a layer over the chops. Sauté mushrooms, green pepper, and onion in olive oil. Drain and place vegetables to top of green beans.
Mix together: soup, milk, basil, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Pour mixture over panned ingredients.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle Chow Mein noodles over dish and bake another 10 minutes.

This dish has very stable ingredients and can be prepared well ahead and refrigerated until ready to cook. Freezing would not be difficult either, but make sure it is well wrapped.