Coincidentally, in order to make room for a large turkey in my freezer I had to thaw several pieces of meat (steak, pork chops) and figured pork chops love applesauce- why wouldn’t they love cranberry sauce!? Golden opportunity. As a last minute addition, I used some refrigerated breadsticks and Steamfresh Roast Potatoes and Green Beans in Rosemary Butter Sauce. I can’t say enough nice things about the Steamfresh vegetables. They don’t overcook the veggies, which is a HUGE deal for me. What can I say- I’ve got texture issues.

So. Pork Chops and Cranberry Sauce.

Pork Chops, Cranberry Sauce, breadsticks, roast potatoes and green beans.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, washed/drained

3/4 c sugar (I used white)

1/2 cup plus a dash Tawny Port

1/2 cup orange juice

1tsp (ish) grated ginger (I used the store-bought-in-a-jar kind)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place cranberries, sugar, port, OJ, ginger in a pot on med-high heat. You want the berries to boil for about 10 minutes, so once they got to the boiling stage I turned down the heat and stirred constantly. In fact, I didn’t realize until I was already started that I didn’t have OJ so I actually put the other ingredients in the pot, turned the heat on low, and made a quick grocery run. No harm, no foul. When I got back, I added the OJ and ginger. Basically I used the ‘cook until they pop’ theory – waiting until the berries got so hot they began to burst their skins.

I very nearly forgot the lemon juice- important because WITHOUT it the sauce was almost too sweet. After the sauce is done, transfer to a fridge-safe dish. Add lemon juice on top of sauce DON’T STIR. Refrigerate. Most recipes say to cool at room temp before placing in fridge. I didn’t do that, it worked out fine. Then, stir sauce just before serving. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. Two thumbs up.

Baked Pork Chops

Heat oven to 350. I sprayed a pan with nonstick spray and placed the chops in the pan. I dusted with salt, garlic powder, and pepper just by eyeballing it. Then I flipped the chops and dusted the other side with poultry seasoning, paprika, and then added breadcrumbs. I baked them for about an hour (high altitude- for those below 10,000 feet it would probably be closer to 40-50 minutes). They turned out JUST right.

I also took pics of yesterday’s cheesy bread appetizers.

Martha Stewart Savory (non-pumpkin) Puffs

The recipe is here, just in case. The background looks a little weird because I cooked them on parchment paper.