Cajun Smothered Pork Chops

Cajun Smothered Pork Chops

8 thinly cut (about 1/2 inch thick) pork chops (about 3 pounds total)
2 teaspoons Emeril's Original Essence
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups thinly sliced onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
4 bay leaves
Two 14 1/2-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth, or 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cans water (measured in the chicken broth cans)
1 pound smoked sausage or andouille, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
Steamed white rice or rice pilaf, for serving

Directions

Season both sides of the chops with the Essence. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add the pork chops, 3 or 4 at a time, and lightly brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the pork chops and transfer to a platter. Set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the flour and stir constantly until the roux is the color of peanut butter, about 4 minutes.

Add the onions, salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions are slightly soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, bay leaves, chicken broth, and water and bring to a boil.

Return the pork chops to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Add the smoked sausage and the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves. Remove from the heat.


Makes 4 servings to 8 servings

Perfect ButterCream Icing

1/2 shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP Milk

Cream together butter, shortening, and vanilla. Blend in sugar one cup at a time, beating well each time. Beat in milk and continue mixing until light and fluffy.

Go ahead and make some chocolate cupcakes to frost :)))

Stuffed Steak

Ingredients
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped pickled pepperoncini peppers
2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (1 1/2-pound) lean flank steak
Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation
Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; stir well, and set aside.

Trim fat from steak. Using a sharp knife, cut horizontally through center of steak, cutting to, but not through, other side; open flat as you would a book. Place steak between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to an even thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Spread spinach mixture over steak, leaving a 1-inch margin around outside edges. Roll up steak, jelly-roll fashion, starting with short side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with heavy string.

Coat a large Dutch oven with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add steak, browning well on all sides. Add water, wine, and oregano to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender. Remove string, and cut steak into 16 slices.
Source (introduced to us by Christi...http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?)action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=665577

Cajun Pork Burgers

Source: Foodnetwork--thanks Christi for introducing us!!!
Ingredients
3/4 pound andouille, removed from casing
1 pound ground pork
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small white onion (boiling onion), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped, about 1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, several drops
Coarse salt and black pepper

Cut sausage into large chunks and place in a food processor. Grind sausage into crumbles. Combine ground sausage with pork, vegetables, garlic, thyme, hot sauce and a little salt and pepper. Form mixture into patties and cook 7 minutes on each side on an indoor electric grill preheated to high. To cook in a skillet, heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and cook burgers 6 to 7 minutes on each side. For outdoor grill, cook patties 6-inches from hot coals or over medium high gas heat 6 minutes on each side, covered.

Special Sauce:
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup (3 well-rounded tablespoons) mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup (3 well-rounded tablespoons) prepared sweet red pepper relish

Mix chili sauce, mayonnaise, and sweet relish in a small bowl.