Do I have to turn on the oven today? (What was I thinking?!)

Today is going to be the hottest day of the year (so far), hitting 82 degrees; do I really have to turn on my oven for an hour? Yes, I do. "Why would you do such a thing?!" you may ask. Well, last week when the weather was still relatively cool I invited my recently widowed father-in-law to come over for dinner on Wednesday, and I wanted to make him some of my yummy pork chops. So here we are.

Yes, I am making pork chops! Some people don't like them because they have only ever eaten dry, tough pork chops. But mine are always juicy and tender; they take awhile in the oven and they are worth the wait! So this is how I will make them tonight:(this is my mom's recipe and again, this is a non-recipe recipe):

pork chops
black pepper
caraway seeds
olive oil
1 cup beef broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut any excess fat off the chops. Season chops on both sides with pepper and caraway seeds. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add chops to skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer chops to 9x13 pan. Deglaze the skillet with the beef broth, then pour broth over chops. Cover the pan tightly with tin foil and bake for one hour.

(Deglazing a pan is to pour in a liquid and stir up the browned bits on the bottom to make a sauce. Searing meat helps to seal in juices and adds color.)

These come out so tender you don't need a knife! I like to eat mine with some of the pan juices poured over them, my husband likes some italian dressing on his. I will be serving them with a garden salad and Rice-A-Roni spanish rice. I am getting hungry just thinking about them!

I guess it is good that I made guacamole before I started writing this post, I am gonna put a serious dent in it now! I got my guac recipe at the mall, of all places. There was a kiosk set up by Hass Avocados from Mexico with free chips and guac and recipe cards, so I grabbed some. I used to hate avocado as a kid, my mom was always trying to get me to eat some because she loved it. So that day at the mall I thought "Why not try it now? Maybe my tastes have changed..." and I am so glad I did. I do love it now, and here is the guacamole recipe from Hass:

2 ripe Hass avocados
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh salsa

Mash up the avocado and stir in the other ingredients. Easy-peasy!

I use my own homemade fresh salsa and omit the onion because my salsa has enough onion in it for me. I also like to eat avocado in a panini I get at a local restaurant which has grilled chicken breast, tomato, mozzarella cheese and avocado on french bread. Ooooh! Now I am really hungry! I have to go eat!
Happy eating!