This winter has been crazy. Here in central NJ, we’ve seen more snow this year than we have in at least a decade. The kids no longer get excited when it’s snowing – it’s happened than often. And I know other parts of the country are dealing with an unexpectedly harsh season too, and not fairing as well as we have been.
I take heart knowing spring is around the corner.
Even with spring on the horizon, it’s still soup weather. Lots of my favorite soups are very wintery – so I decided I needed one that was more spring-appropriate. This vegan soup is packed with spring veggies – and flavor.
Despite the leaves starting to change, summer weather has been hanging on around here. We had several days in the 90s this week! I’ve been doing a little scrambling to get in some last-minute summer dishes on our weekly menu, because I know this won’t last.
I’m loving these afternoons where I can let the kids play in the backyard while I get dinner going on the grill. We’ve been eating on the deck a ton. I’m going to miss it terribly when the weather cools down.
You know what I currently have a lot of? Cell phone videos of my kid gagging on green vegetables. Peas and green beans were both an epic fail, so when we got around to trying asparagus with him, I only made a few spears – I knew there would be lots of disgusted faces and spitting it out. To be fair, I don’t know if I’d be a huge fan of plain, steamed asparagus either.
The asparagus in this dish, though, was awesome. My husband said it was his new favorite way to eat it. And a one pot dish = less to clean up, so this was a win all around.
Another win this past week? Getting Jake to eat broccoli without gagging. I mixed it with sweet potatoes and he happily gobbled it up. Why didn’t I think of that before?!
Balsamic Pork Chop Skillet
(adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 2
2 boneless pork chops
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
12 oz. red potatoes, cut into chunks
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. herbs de Provence
1 small red onion, chopped
8 oz. asparagus spears
2 Tbsp. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
Preheat your oven to 425F degrees.
On the stovetop over high heat, heat a heavy, oven-safe skillet. Add 2 Tbsp. of the oil and heat until shimmering. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. .Add pork to pan and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the potatoes to pan and cook for 2 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove pan from heat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, vinegar, tomato paste and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Take 2 tbsp. of this mixture and toss with herbs de Provence, onion, and asparagus in a bowl. Add this mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine.
Bake for 25 minutes, stirring about halfway. Place the pork chops over vegetables and bake until the pork is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Top pork chops with additional balsamic mixture and Gorgonzola cheese before serving.
