Lime-Garlic Pork Chops and Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

Before you say 'gross'...don't. 

I'm with you. I hate cauliflower. Always have. A friend had told me about this recipe, and mentioned, off hand, that her kids loved it, and even the teens couldn't tell it was cauliflower. So I plunged and gave it a try.

And am SO glad that I did. But first, the chops!

I had everything for this recipe in my pantry already, which is why I decided to make it. Only a few ingredients, and the lime-garlic combo sounded delicious.

Cast of Characters

4 boneless pork chops (or be like me, and cut two butterflied chops in half)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1 t paprika
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine everything in a gallon size ziplock bag, and give it a good shake. Or rub. Just do whatever you deem necessary to get the goods onto the chops. Up to you. Stick the bag in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, minimum. You can leave them in there for up to six hours or so.

Ok, fine. I made that number up. But I'm sure six hours will be fine. Or eight. I did two.

When you're about 40 minutes or so from dinner time, go ahead and start making the cauliflower.

What you'll need:

2 16 oz bags frozen cauliflower- you can use more or less, but this will be a good 8x8 size pan
3 T sour cream
1 T mayo
Green onion, to taste
Cheese, to taste (I used a cheddar jack blend)
Salt and pepper, to taste
- you could also add bacon, which is super good, if you have bacon. Which I don't.

Boil the cauliflower in water, and prepare just like you would mashed potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients (sour cream, mayo, cheese, etc.) and mash. 

Spoon into an 8x8 baking dish and cover with more cheese, if desired. (or bacon. yum.) and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melty and bubbly and oh-so good.

Now onto the chops.  Again. 

Line a baking sheet, or broiler pan, if your husband hasn't used yours for God-only-knows-what and ruined it, with foil, which makes for easy clean up.  Easy+clean up=very, very good.

Place the chops under the broiler  for 4-5 minutes on each side, until nice and brown. 

The aroma.  Oh, the aroma.

Serve with a nice salad.  Enjoy!



Love,
Liz

Strawberry Lime Bars with Coconut Crust

I've been wanting to make a lime-coconut-something for a while now.  Just ask Sarah.  It was going to be cookies.  It really was.  But then...I glanced over to the other side of my counter and the strawberries that were sitting there called my name, loudly.  But the thought of using strawberries in cookies scares me a little.  I think they would look dirty.  So I decided to do bars.  I love bars.  No pun intended. 

I have a go-to recipe for lemon bars that I decided to tweak a little bit to make it extra yummy.  Here's what you'll need:

1 stick of butter
1 C. lightly packed brown sugar
2 C. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 C. flaked coconut.  (using oatmeal is very good too)

3 limes
Strawberries
1/3 C. sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Zest of one lime

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Slice the strawberries and put them in a bowl with the sugar and the juice of one lime.  Let it sit for about thirty minutes to get all nice and glossy and sweet.

Mix together butter and brown sugar, for the crust.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add it to the butter/sugar mixture.  Add the coconut and stir to combine.  You'll have extra, because I usually use these measurements for a double layer.  If you want to, you can use the leftover crust mixture and sprinkle it on top of the strawberry layer.
Press it into the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.

Open up your can of sweetened condensed milk and mix it with the lime zest and 1/2 C. of lime juice.  The limes I had were NOT good for juicing, but luckily I had bottled lime juice on hand.  Mix it together well, then pour it on top of the crust.

Take the strawberries and put them in your blender and puree for a few seconds, until there are no more big chunks.  Pour it on top of the lime mixture and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.  Cool completely and cut into squares.  These are really good cold, so slide them in the fridge for a while before eating.