Pork-Chop Cutlets Creation

Sometimes I think that cooking is a chore, I'm not gonna lie. For the most part I really enjoy trying new dishes, even after a long/tedious/boring work day. But some nights...the take out menus are calling my name. I say this because I was having just one of those moments last night. My love of cooking went out the window as my pajamas went on. However my wallet and defrosted pork chops did not take kindly to that whim. I am not a waster by any means and having defrosted meat out is by far the best way to ward off the terrible take out monster. I also have to admit that after my lapse of laziness subsided I realized that I had picked a pretty simple recipe and even simpler side dishes.

As I mentioned Erin had opted to take out pork chop cutlets this morning as we hastily decided what to have for dinner. I hadn't cooked in a few days so of course I thought I would be up for the job! I went online to search out some dishes and I must say most of the returns were mainly for pork tenderloins and cutlet creations were harder to find. Some of the menus that kept coming up were "rubs", which to me seemed pretty basic, but the one I chose also created a sauce which is always a plus in case the meats a bit dry :). I also had all the ingredients for this one and of course that is one of my number one rules when cooking on a budget!

These Pork-Chops with Maple-Mustard Sauce seemed to fit the bill where I was concerned. Although we had cutlets I saw that in the list of ingredients it called for "boneless pork-chops", perfect! I decided to serve brown basmati rice and steamed broccoli on the side. My one mistake came early as we were starving and brown basmati rice takes a good 40 mins. to cook. The pork-chops only took about 25 mins total, so I recommend starting the rice a good 15-20 mins. ahead of those. I spent alot of time "watching rice boil" which has a similar effect of watching a tea pot boil...even worse when you are hungry.

The recipe served two, and we had four pieces of pork so I doubled up! I used a combination of whole grain Dijon and creamy Dijon. I also didn't have any kosher salt on hand, so I opted for regular. No surprise I also did not use the oil, spraying the pan with Pam worked out fine. The mixtures of mustard's looked great together and the maple syrup was a nice addition in flavor. It was very savory and sweet at the same time, and I feel like there was almost a bit of spiciness without the heat (is that confusing enough?). There was plenty of sauce left to top the rice with and I will admit we couldn't wait the full 40 mins. for the rice to finish leaving it a bit al dente (just how I like it)!

Okay now erin gave this a 9! A NINE! But I then reminded her of previous ratings and I think that the food induced high has been compromising her ratings system. I am thinking that in the future I should ask her to rate dishes the next day, as well as provide her with previous ratings for comparative analysis...

Then again, its just pork-chops!