Onion Pork Chops, Banana Bread, Stuffed Peppers and Pear Torte

I know, I know, 2 posts so close together, what am I thinking?! I've gotten a bit of a backlog, so decided to put 2 out this week.

First off, a copiously easy dish that's good for a weeknight. All you do is pour a can of Cola and packet of onion soup mix in a container with a couple pork chops, then bake for 30 minutes a side. I recommend reducing the sauce a bit more once it comes out, but otherwise it works well as a sauce over rice. Tasty, simple, and can make enough for leftovers.

Next, some banana bread. Combine 2C flour, 1t baking soda, 1/4t salt, 1/2C butter, 3/5C brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1t vanilla and 3-4 overripe bananas. Stir until combined, pour in a loaf pan, then bake at 350 for about 60 minutes. If you use bananas that are still edible to normal people, they will end up as chunks in the bread (which is actually quite tasty). Makes a great snack, breakfast, or dessert.

A stuffed green pepper makes for a great dinner, and keeps really well for a couple days. If you have leftover filling, it also works well sautéed for breakfast. To make the filling, brown 1 chopped onion and 1 lb ground beef, drain grease, then add 1 minced clove of garlic, 2t basil, 2t oregano, salt and pepper and a 15oz can of chopped tomatoes. Add the meat mixture and 1 cup of prepared rice with an egg, adjust seasonings to taste. Then fill halved and cleaned green peppers, top with cheddar, and bake at 350 for an hour. They're quite tasty, and sort of a comfort food for me.

Finally, another filling for the torte recipe from a while ago. Slice pears, then boil in heavily sugared water with cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook until well reduced, then use as filling in the tort, sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar and nutmeg, close and bake. Delicious.

Breakfast salad, Corn Soup, Chocolate Milkshake

I was able to get to a farmers market (finally!), and so have been enjoying some fresh vegetables lately. One thing I've liked is a simple variety of fresh things for breakfast. A sliced avocado, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, crumbled bacon and cheddar, then drizzled with balsamic and sprinkled with sea salt make a great start to the day.

Next, a soup with some fresh sweet corn. Sauté 5 ears worth of corn with a little butter, cumin, salt and pepper, and add to chicken broth. Then, sauté a sliced onion with some olive oil, and add that to the broth. Add some milk, minced garlic, onion and garlic powder, more cumin, and a touch of cinnamon, them pepper and salt to taste. Simmer for half an hour or so, then puree, and add more seasonings to taste. Quite delicious, and also quite healthy.

Finally, a chocolate milkshake that's not nearly as bad for you as most of them out there. Start off with a couple cups of skim milk in a blender, then add ~12 ice cubes. Then add ~1/3C of baking chocolate powder, sugar, chocolate syrup, vanilla and peppermint schnapps. Comes out light and frothy, and significantly better for you than making a milkshake with ice cream, and just as delicious.