The Perfect Fall Meal // You're Welcome

Seriously, this is the best fall meal, ever. ever. ever.

Harvest Salad + Apple Pork Chops + Mashed Potatoes and the Sauce. Yum so so so so so good.

This meal will have four burners going (unless you make the mash ahead! I would recommend it!), so mix up the salad last. It's so worth the full stove!

Here we go!

Harvest Salad - Makes 6 Servings

borrowed, adapted, and enjoyed from Witch in the Kitchen by Cait Johnson

1 tart, firm apple, chopped into chunks
3 cups lettuce, I used 50/50 mix
3 T. dried cranberries
3 T. chopped walnuts or pecans
Cider Dressing (1/4 c. olive oil (fruity if you have it), 1 T. cider vinegar, 1 T. apple cider, 2 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. dijon mustard, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1/8 tsp. dried thyme, crushed.)

1) Mix the dressing, toss with salad ingredients, top with freshly cracked salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes - Serves 6

borrowed, adapted, and enjoyed from The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman

Kosher or Sea Salt
8 large potatoes (~ 4 lbs), peeled and cut in half, or fourths if you want to cook it a little faster ;)
1 cup milk (whole, or not whole mixed with some half and half or cream)
1/2 cup cream or half and half
4 T. (1/2 stick) of butter, cut into pieces
Freshly ground salt and pepper

1) Fill a large pot with water, salt generously. Bring to a boil and add peeled, cut potatoes. Partially cover the pot and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender when pierced. About 15-20 minutes.

2) Drain the potatoes, and return to the empty pan to dry them out. Stir for about 2 minutes until dried but not brown. Remove from heat and mash. Microwave the milk and cream/half and half for about 1 minute or until hot. Add the butter and hot milk to the potatoes and stir with wooden spoon until well combined.

3) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the pork chops, apples, and salad.

Enjoy!

Apple Glazed Pork Chops - Serves 6

borrowed, adapted, and enjoyed from The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman

** allow 1-8 hours for marinating **

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
3 T. of canola or veggie oil, plus extra for the pan
2 T. low sodium soy sauce (regular works too... but we always go with low sodium!)
2 T. cider vinegar
1 tsp. grated peeled ginger (you can sub powdered, but fresh is SO much better and it's not high maintenance like fresh herbs I promise!)
Kosher or Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
2 tsp. cornstarch
6 pork chops, (we do boneless, but either works!)

For the Sauteed Apples (just say yes!!)

1 T. unsalted butter (or salted and skip adding the salt)
2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (we used honeycrisp, but any work, also we use the corer slicer tool and then I like to go ahead and cut each slice in half again, it's a really nice thickness)
1 T. maple syrup (the real stuff!) OR brown sugar
1 pinch of kosher or sea salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream **optional** - we don't add this!

1) Prep your pork chops. Combine brown sugar, apple juice/cider, 2 T. of the oil, soy sauce, cider vinegar, and ginger in a small sauce pan. Season with the salt and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce to medium heat to keep at a simmer. In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix the cornstarch with 1/3 cup of water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the brown sugar mixture in the sauce pan. Let simmer, stirring occasionally as needed until thick, about 3 minutes. Let cool to room temp.

2) In a non-reactive dish, grind salt and pepper into the bottom, and place the pork chops on top, flip them over allowing the salt and pepper to stick to both sides of the chops. Lay the pork chops out in a single layer in the pan. When the marinade is cooled, pour it over the pork chops, use tongs to turn them, coating both sides. Cover the dish with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 - 8 hours.

3) Remove the chops from the marinade, scrape off the sauce as you remove them. Pour the remaining marinade into a small sauce pan. Let the marinade simmer for at least three minutes to make sure the bacteria is killed. This will be your (AMAZING!) sauce.

4) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1 T. of oil, once it is hot, add pork chops in a single layer. You may need to use 2 skillets or cook in 2 batches. Cook them without moving them for 4 minutes, then turn and cook 4-5 minutes more on remaining side, or until they have lost nearly all the pink in the middle.

5) While the chops are cooking, saute the apples in another small sauce pan or skillet. Melt the butter, and add the sliced apples.Cook the apples until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the maple syrup OR brown sugar, and salt (if using unsalted butter). Cook while stirring until the apples become glazed, about 1 minute longer. Sometimes... I add more maple syrup if it is looking too watery... If using the cream, add it and cook until heated through. About 2 more minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and salad. We like to put the apples on top of the pork chops and then top it with the sauce. We also use the sauce as a "gravy". Just do it.

Enjoy.

This is why you love fall.

You're Welcome. ;)

While you're hungry... here are 8 Favorite Fall Recipes... (two words: pumpkin. waffles.)

What are some of your favorite fall meals?

Linking up with Kari, who just happened to post these awesome freebie calendars of ALL THE MOVIES playing on TV this month in prep for Halloween. #amazing!

XO,

Alexandra