Pantry, First Steaks & Apple Maple Glazed Pork Chops

We have now been in our house for two weeks. There have been a lot of changes in that period both inside and outside. Our upcoming anniversary party on August 6 is forcing more work and less play to get the house in shape for a lot of visitors (more on that shortly). With the very generous help of our kids the outside and garage came around rather quickly but there is more outside work to do before the party. Inside is getting organized but there is a lot of cleaning to do and we are painting the family room as well as renovating the kitchen. Meals have been rather simple but tonight I felt like making something a little more complex so scroll down for the picture and recipe for Apple Maple Glazed Pork Chops.

Pantry

I have a walk-in pantry so I'm am elated! The previous owner left behind an ancient freezer that we quickly decided to replace for both safety and energy efficiency reasons. The new freezer is the larger of the two freezers. The canning shelf is smaller so that will need to be changed. As you can see there are still boxes of food that need to be unpacked. I'm thinking a large corner unit would work to organize all the food. Our old microwave stand is now home to some of my cookbooks and canning equipment along with the larger jugs of vinegars and oils.

The pantry itself is about 10' x 10' (guestimation). It is partially finished so next spring or sooner we will re-do this room. In front of the freezers there is a rectangular rust mark where the old freezer actually molded into the sheet flooring. Other than that the flooring is in great condition. We will be focusing on the walls, shelving and ceiling. This room has a lot of food storage potential so I'm still pretty happy!


Rib Steak

Last night we grilled rib steaks as the first grilled steaks in this house. This was a simple no muss meal. Normally we do not use a barbeque sauce on steaks however the Diana Sauce whispered to my husband aka King of the Grill (shh, I just let him think that) so the steaks were cooked medium rare then the sauce was added. Sauteed mushrooms and vidalia onions served as a side. We ate our simple meal in the sunporch while watching the setting sun over the water.

Thick cut boneless pork chops are one of our favourites so I have several ways of preparing them. Tonight I decided to do a quick browning of the pork chops, place them in a baking pan then pour apple maple jam over and cover then bake. The result is a wonderfully flavoured boneless pork chop. Serve with a baked potato and vegetable mixture.

Apple Maple Glazed Pork Chops

2 boneless pork chops, 1 1/2" thick
extra virgin olive oil
250 ml (1 c) apple maple jam
1/2 c water

Brown the pork chops in hot extra virgin olive oil. Remove from pan. Place into a baking dish and top with the jam. Pour the water in the bottom. Cover and bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes until the meat juices run clear. Remove from oven. Spoon glaze over the pork chops and serve.