Pork Chops and Potatoes Au Gratin

I made a really good dinner tonight. I wanted to share and/or remember what I made, so I’ve decided to blog about it for posterity. I also realized that there are not very many recipes for NuWave Ovens out there, so this is my attempt to get more out there.

I used my NuWave Oven. For those that don’t know, I have a NuWave Oven. It’s is the best infomercial product I’ve ever purchased. If you’ve never heard of it, the NuWave Oven cooks food using three different methods: Conduction, Convention, and Infrared. Below are descriptions from the NuWave website.

• Conduction is the heat that is applied directly to the food.
• Convection is circulated hot air, produced by our quiet motor and a specially designed fan. This allows the heat to distribute evenly for faster cooking and even browning.
• Infrared is simply a form of gentle, invisible, radiant heat. It penetrates the inside of foods while also cooking from the outside, leaving dishes moist and full of flavor yet browned to perfection. Hearthware's specially patented heating rods enhance the NuWave Oven's unique infrared capabilities. The concept is similar to the warmth of the sun's rays felt on your skin. As a matter of fact, about 80% of the sun's rays consist of infrared waves. The same principle applies to our NuWave Oven, only on a smaller scale. Restaurants have been using this technology for years to keep foods warm.

For more info about my thoughts on the NuWave Oven, check out my blog about cooking. If you want to purchase one, go to their website.

A few things before I attempt to put to the recipes down.

1. I used the NuWave Oven, so the instructions are for how to cook it in there – But you could easily put this in a conventional oven. The NuWave Oven operates at 350˚, but you may have to add a little bit of extra time to cook everything properly.
2. I don’t usually measure stuff when I cook (especially when I’m experimenting), so all the measurements are just guesses on my part. My philosophy w/ cooking is that you can usually tell it’s enough by looking, tasting, or smelling. Also, everyone has their own preference with ingredients, so you can add or subtract ingredients as you like.
3. I very rarely use salt and pepper. Ever since I was on the 6 Week Body Makeover Diet, I use Garlic power or Onion power and I don’t like pepper. So, you can add salt and pepper if you like, but you won’t find them in my recipes. The food tasted amazing, so it wasn’t even needed.

Back to my dinner…

Pork Chops

1 Pork Chop (½ inch thickness)

1 clove of Garlic
¼ Cup Vinegar (enough to marinate the meat in)
1 tsp Garlic Powder

1. Chop up the Garlic.
2. Marinate Pork Chop in vinegar, garlic and garlic powder. You can marinate for 1-2 hours or prep it ahead of time like I did. I put the pork chop and marinade in a FoodSaver freezer bag. I vacuum sealed it and stuck it in the freezer about two months ago.
3. Place the frozen Pork Chop on the 4” rack
4. Set NuWave Oven on High for 7 min.
5. Turn Pork Chop Over and cook for another 7 min.
6. Poke Pork Chop with fork, if the juices run clear it’s cooked, if not cook a little longer.

The Pork Chop tasted amazing, because the vinegar and garlic were infused by the vacuum seal before it was frozen and were locked in when cooked w/ the NuWave Oven. I was experimenting with the FoodSaver I bought just after Thanksgiving and marinated the pork chop before freezing. I’m for sure going to do that again.

Potatoes Au Gratin

2 Russet Potatoes

½ Cup Onion (Chopped)
1 Green Onion Stalk (Chopped)
1 clove of Garlic
2 Tbsp Butter (Softened)
2 oz. Blue Cheese (Crumbled)
¾ Cup Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
1 Cup Milk
¼ Cup Champagne
¼ Cup White Wine

1. Wash and Peel Potatoes.
2. Cut into thin discs. I used a mandolin to make them even
3. Add Onion, Green Onion, Milk, Champagne, White Wine, Butter, Blue Cheese and ½ cup of Cheddar Cheese to a bowl and mix
4. Place the potatoes in the 10” NuWave Oven Pan. Make sure the potatoes are spread evenly in the pan. (You can also use a 9x9 pan)
5. Pour the mixture from the bowl over the potatoes.
6. Sprinkle half the breadcrumbs over the top of the potatoes
7. Place the pan on the 1” rack
8. Set NuWave Oven on High for 20 min
9. Sprinkle the rest of the Cheddar Cheese and breadcrumbs and cook for another 10 min
10. Let potatoes sit for 2 mins in NuWave Oven before serving

This was a complete experiment. I had to do something with my potatoes, milk, and cheese that were going bad, and the leftover Champagne & White Wine that was getting flat. Yes, you can use milk that’s going bad for baking or cooking. You’ll kill all the bacteria if it’s cooked in something that’s more that 145˚. I originally put the potatoes in for 15 min and added Step eight and set the NuWave Oven for 5 more mins, but the potatoes weren’t fully cooked. I ended up Cooking them for an extra 10 mins (at 5 min increments). That is why I put the times the way they are. I suppose you can do the same and just taste the potatoes to see if their cooked. This will ruin the nice presentation and great look of the potatoes, but it’s up to you

You can actually cook the two things in the NuWave Oven at the same time, but I didn't want the pork chop juice to drip on to the potatoes, so I cooked them separately.

I wish I had pics, but I didn't realize that I was going to blog about this until after I ate! haha. Next time!. If you try out these recipes, let me know how it turns out. =)

1 Year

It has been 1 year since my father’s passing. I don’t want this to be a sad entry nor do I want to pass over the somberness of this day. I’m just gonna do what I always do and go where ever the words take me. Let’s start at the beginning.

In 2009, my dad missed my B-School graduation, because he had to get his appendix out. We found out that his appendix had cancer cells. So, the doctors decided to cut out 18in of his colon. They found that only the first 6in had “cancer-like” cells. We were told they got everything. Note: To others in the future. Make sure you do Chemo even after “getting all of it”. You may not be able to see the cancer, but it’s still there.

About a year later in 2010, the cancer came back…This time hitting his stomach and intestines. He had another surgery to cut it out, but he was the never the same after that. Over the course of the year he was in and out of the hospital. He came home for about month in November of 2010 only to return in Dec 2010 and never came home after that.

In the days leading up to his death, we were hopeful he would make a full recovery, but I think I knew deep in my heart when he spent Xmas in the hospital that he was nearing the end. I got a text from my mom on Jan 13^th to call her. This was a little bit of a surprise because just a few days before we were hopeful to hear that the number of tumors w/in his digestive track had decreased from 32 to 6. However, the 6 tumors were inoperable and were so big that no food was getting thru his digestive track. He basically couldn’t eat anything for like 3 months. So when the news came that he was moving to Hospice care, so I took the flight home that I had planned (I was going home for Martin Luther King Weekend). They gave him 2 weeks. He lasted 4 days.

As I packed my stuff to head home, it was sad to think about, but I made sure there was something for me to wear in case he passed. As I was flying to AR, I couldn’t sleep. I cried a little on the plane when the realization hit me that this was the last time I was going home to visit both my parents. I knew I had to prepare myself for the worst, which is something my dad always taught me. I knew I have to be the strong one for my mom and my brother. I’m usually the rock. I knew I had to be that again. So, I did most of my big sobbing before I went out there and behind closed doors.

It sucked that the doctors were giving up and that my dad essentially was too. But the more I thought about it, my dad had more time to get used to this idea before any of us. He had months of sitting in that hotel room. Months to ponder his mortality. Months to get ready for what I feel like he knew was the inevitable. I realized that as much as it sucked, he would no longer suffer. I think for me it was hard to hear, but I was thankful for him. Thankful he would no longer be in pain. Thankful he could finally eat whatever he wanted. Thankful he was at peace. Thankful he would be reunited with his parents and with GOD.

What was this day like a year ago?

It was the holiday. Martin Luther King. My bro and I went to visit my dad to have him meet my bro’s new dog, Rusty. The day before we brought my parents dogs Nook and Geoff to visit. My brother has a video of it, but it still makes me a little sad to see him so thin. I’m just not quite ready yet. My bro went to bring Rusty home. My mom was still at home working. My bro came back and we went down to the cafeteria to have lunch. We stopped by the gift shop and got my dad a Peanuts toy. When we got back to the room, my dad had gotten worse. His breathing was labored and the nurses told us that it was only a matter of time. We called my mom to get to the hospital as soon as she could. There we sat. My brother and I flanking my father as his breathing got shallower and shallower. Each holding one of his hands.

I remember thinking and praying that my mom would get there in time. My brother was sending my dad energy. I remember looking and waiting until seeing my mom’s car in the parking lot. Telling my dad and my brother my mom was on her way and that I saw her. I felt my father tense a little bit. He was waiting for her to get there. My mom entered the room. My brother moved closer to my father’s head as my mom grabbed his hand.

I remember saying. “Dad. She’s here. It’s ok. We’re all here.” He took two more breaths. Then he passed with all four of us in the room. Just like he would’ve wanted.

And that was it. He was gone. From then on I teared a bit, but didn’t really sob until after the funeral and everyone had left. The one I felt really bad for was my uncle, my dad’s brother. He missed my dad by about 45 mins. He was prob landing right when my dad died. So many people came for his funeral. I think the hardest part was delivering the news. The part that made me cry was hearing all the stories and all the outpouring of love for him. Everyone loved my father. I just hope that when it’s my time, so many people say such nice things about me.

Here is the remembrance video I made that we played at his wake.

So many things have happened this past year that I wanted to tell or talk to my dad about. The Packers won the Super Bowl. The guy who won the Tour de France was an Australian named Cadel Evans. The lockout for the NFL and for the NBA. I would’ve loved to hear what he thought about the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries thing. I think normally he wouldn’t have cared, but because there was a sports connection it would’ve peaked his interest. Oh and the whole TEBOW thing… man I wish I knew what he thought about that whole mess.

I miss talking to him about sports. I miss his weather reports. I miss his funny/goofy way of thinking/speaking about things. I miss his laugh. I miss his lame jokes. I miss his love. I miss his support.

I’ve changed my entire life as a result of his death. I wish he could’ve been around to see what I’ve been doing w/ my life. In this past year, I have changed my attitude. I’m a lot less stressed (except at work). I’m more sure of myself. I care less about what others think about me, which in this sense is a good thing. I’m not trying to please everyone. I’m just trying to please myself. Trying to please my family and to honor my father’s memory. I’m trying to be the person he would’ve been proud of.

I blogged for 6 months straight. I let go of all the drama. I met some amazing new friends in the F2F family. I’ve reconnected with old friends that I never thought I would. Finally, the one thing I wish I could share with him is that I found the love of my life. I’m so happy. It’s given me new life. New drive. I know all he wanted for me was to be happy. I am. I finally am. My mom and brother are so happy for me too. Would he have misgivings or be happy for me too? I hope my dad would’ve felt the same. In fact, I know he would’ve. He led me straight down that path (but that’s a story for another time).

My life is ever changing. And with that I have to get used to the fact that my dad is not here to talk about the weather or sports. He’s no longer here to go on family vacations or holidays. But that he’s here in other ways. In the way I care about others. In my dorkiness. In my sense of humor. In the way I love my family and friends. He’s here in our hearts. I know he’s looking down on me and that I know he can see all the changes I’ve made in my life. I know he’s smiling down on my mom, my brother, and me. I love you Dad. Thank you for making me the person I am today and for influencing the person I will be tomorrow. I miss you.