Apple Chutney Pork Schnitzels

Hello folks. Happy Monday to ya. I hope you had a good weekend! We sure did- lots of lounging around the house, catching up on our DVR, and checking out the state fair. Fun times all around.

Before I start to tell you all about this apple deliciousness, I have to say something-what kind of word is chutney? If you ask me, it doesn't sound very appealing. But I'll eat anything with apples. And cinnamon. And butter!

Believe it or not, this is actually really easy. The first time I made this it was just for Miss A & I. Surprisingly, she loved the pork and ate every bite. She wasn't a big fan of the chutney, but that was before her recent I'll-eat-all-the-things attitude. I'll bet $50 she'll eat it now.

• Hello Fall! If you've gone apple picking recently, this is a great way to use them up!
  
  Every two months I buy pork tenderloin (and most of our other meat) from Costco. I usually roast pork in the oven but it's always hit or miss. Does this happen to you- sometimes it's moist and flavorful, but more often than not, it's dry and flavorless. I don't understand! Such an unforgiving piece of meat! So now I like to slice it and use it other ways.
  
  The original recipe (I included the source below) is actually for pork schnitzel sandwiches. No thanks. That sounded like more work to me. I also didn't have the right bread on hand (I didn't think regular ol' whole wheat bread was going to do the trick) so I decided to forgo making these as sandwiches and have the pork and apples shine on their own. After eating it this way I can't imagine having it as a sandwich. It's so good just like this.
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• Source: adapted from Rachael Ray
• Serves: 2

For the Chutney

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 a sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 apples (honeycrisp, fuji, or braeburn) peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

For the Pork

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 boneless pork loin cutlets, slightly pounded

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

1/8 nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parsley, for garnish 

• Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions, apples, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, a light sprinkle of nutmeg, sugar and lemon juice. Cook until soft and tender, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
  
  
  Crack eggs into a bowl and scramble with the milk. Season the pork cutlets with salt and pepper, then dredged in flour, lay in the egg wash, and last in the breadcrumbs. Fry the cutlets in a thin layer of olive oil until crisp and golden. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. To serve, top pork cutlets with the apple chutney and garnish with parsley if desired.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! Are you as ready for the weekend as I am? I missed the link up last week and I'm happy to be joining up again. 

1. "And we'll never be royals..."

Have you heard the song called "Royals"? It's sung by this girl, Lorde, and I'm obsessed. If it comes on as I'm pulling into the driveway, you bet I'm going to sit in the car until it's over singing my heart out. 

2. Witches of East End

Do you watch Lifetime? Normally, I don't, but lately the network has been producing new TV shows that aren't half bad. I watched Devious Maids in the summer and now I'm hooked on Witches of East End. I was pleasantly surprised that it's pretty good!

3. Easy Weeknight Meal

As you know I'm always on the lookout for quick, easy weeknight meals. I had several new recipes on my menu plan this week and was disappointed by many of them. I hate it when that happens. But these enchiladas were a hit! I swapped out the chicken for shrimp and the hubby and I really liked them. What have you liked recently?

4. Cute Halloween Treats

I love being festive for every holiday, but there's something about Halloween that makes it so much fun. With tons of Halloween treats floating around on the web right now, I thought I'd show you some of my favorites. I mean, look how cute Minnie and Mickey are!!

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5. Spooky Reads

Keeping in spirit, my friend, and soon to be published author (eeek!) Beth shared a list of her favorite spooky reads this week and I checked out two at the library. What are you reading?

The Toughest Job

There are some days you want to rip your hair out. The screaming doesn't stop. The tantrums continue for longer than they should. A nap doesn't happen.

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Then are there days filled with laughter and sunshine. You play, run, explore the backyard, watch the leaves fall off the trees. These are the days you'll remember.

Yesterday was not one of those days. It was a hard day. I'm going to blame it on teething because I have nothing else to blame. I swear her teeth take FOREVER to come in. Her top right tooth is almost all the way out (am I the only one with a fifteen month old with three teeth!?) but her left one is taking it's sweet ol' time. I know she's in pain.

Distraction is really the only way to get her through it. At night, Tyenol lends a hand. We went to story time, out for a walk, and to run errands. You might think I'm crazy to take a screaming teething child out in public but it actually seems to help. She likes to people watch and "help" me shop. She also likes being in the car (thankfully) and since she was refusing to take a nap I knew she'd eventually fall asleep in the car. I grab a book to take with me so I have something to do in the car because I can't take her out of her car seat once she falls asleep. She's not one of those babies who will go back to sleep if you wake her. So in the car I wait and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Yep, sometimes being a Mom is hard. You have to take a breath and count to ten. You have to drink lots of coffee. But then you have to think of all the wonderful things that happen every day. Her face lighting up every morning when I come to take her out of her crib. Hearing her say a new word. Watching her learn imaginative play. Following close behind as she learned how to walk. These moments I take in and breathe in deeply, because I never want to forget.

Baby, you are a handful sometimes. But you are so worth it.

What We Ate Wednesday

Breakfast: 8:30 am

I ate: pumpkin spice frozen waffles with strawberries and granola with a glass of OJ

Miss A: pumpkin pancake with strawberries (!!) 

If you remember, Miss A hates fruit, or at least, she used to. Last week when her grandmother was here, she ate a couple of strawberries off her plate. I thought it was a fluke! Luckily I was wrong and she's continued to eat them! Happy mama here. 

Lunch: 1:00 pm

I ate: a whole wheat turkey wrap with Swiss cheese, dried cranberries, almonds, lettuce, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar 

Miss A: a turkey wrap with cheddar cheese, and slices of banana (another new favorite food!)

I know this has nothing to do with food, but I have to share these pictures with you. After lunch we put on our shoes and headed out to the trail behind our house. Miss A is in love with the outdoors lately and loves to explore and take in her surroundings. The leaves crunching beneath her feet and the tall trees were amazing to her.

This picture. I want to frame it and capture this moment forever. I'll always be behind you, baby.

Snack: 3:00pm

I ate: pumpkin seeds! I'm obsessed. I also had some granola bites I got from Costco last week. So good!

Miss A: watermelon and a two cookies

 

Dinner: 6:30pm 

I ate: shrimp enchiladas with brown rice and corn. Delicious! You can find the recipe in my menu plan.

Miss A: chicken with brown rice and corn. I figured the enchiladas would be too spicy for her and made her something different to eat

I'm SO happy with the recent changes in Miss A's eating habits. Fruits and vegetables are suddenly no longer an issue! She is eating up everything I put in front of her. Hopefully this isn't just a phase and she continues to be an incredible eater.

Candy Corn M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few weeks ago I picked up a bag of candy corn M&M's from Aldi. Oh, how I love that store. You never know what you're going to find there, which is a part of the appeal for me. I snipped open the bag when I got home, with my back turned to Miss A, (because she wants whatever I'm eating these days) and gulped up a handful without even thinking. They are so good! If you haven't bought a bag yet, you really should, after all, you're going to need them for these cookies. 

These cookies. Gah! What can I say? I can tell you that they only lasted a one day in my house once my in laws arrived last week. Poor hubby only got to eat one cookie. One! I may have snuck a few for myself while everyone was distracted by Miss A. They are just so addicting, much like the m&m's themselves. I love when a chocolate chip cookie recipe uses brown sugar, because then they end up so sweet and chewy. I also have to tell you that they are the best right out of the oven. But what cookie isn't? It doesn't matter how you eat them, as long as you do eat them, and enjoy them. Yes, yes, you will. 

When you read through the recipe, you'll see that there are two ways to make these cookies. Small and large. I don't know about you, but I like large, fat, chunky cookies. Which means I usually add a teeny tiny bit more than one cup of chocolate chips. That's just not enough for me.  

How fun would it be to make these cookies for your kids on Halloween? Or for a Halloween party? Too bad you can't pass these out to trick-or-treaters. I sure like them better than a regular ol' candy bar. Whoever you make them for, they're sure to love them. Enjoy!

Source: cookie dough adapted from How Sweet It Is

Servings: 18 large or 36 small cookies

2 cups & 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature 

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup candy corn m&m's

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they are combined and silky smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Gradually add the flour and mix until a dough forms. I like to do this in increments, allowing the dough to come together each time before adding more flour. Once the dough has come together add the m&m's and chocolate chips. Fold in with a wooden spoon. If dough is very sticky, add a tablespoon or more of flour until you are able to handle it.

Divide the dough how you choose (1/4 cup portions for 18 large cookies or 2 tablespoon portions for 36 smaller cookies. I chose to make 18 large cookies.) Shape each portion into a ball,  then pull a part, into two equal pieces (Jessica has a great picture of how this looks on her blog). Turn each half so that the rough side of the half (what used to be the inside of the ball) faces upwards. Squish both halves together and place the dough rough-side up on the baking sheets. Leave about 2 inches in between each if you're doing large cookies.

Bake for 12-15 minutes if making large cookies or 8-12 minutes if making small cookies. My cookies were done after 12 minutes. Do not over bake, the centers will be soft and puffy, and the edges should be golden. Let cool on the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling after 2 minutes.