Pork Chops & Spiced Apple Sauce (a Whole30 recipe!)

This is one of my favorite recipes from doing Whole30 last year. I am gearing up in my mind for doing another round of Whole30 (not anytime soon, in a few months) so I wanted to unearth a few of my favorite recipes that are easy and delicious and don't feel like diet food. That's what I really loved about Whole30 - everything we ate on the program was real, fresh whole foods. Lots of veggies, protein and healthy fats. This pork chop is no exception - it's super simple to cook (pork chops used to intimidate me), and the apple sauce is really easy and really makes the dish pop with flavor. Stevie asked for this one over and over when we were on Whole30, and we've continued to make it since coming off the program, too!

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2 bone-in pork chops (about 1 pound total)
- 3 tbsp. oil olive
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 1/2 cup apple cider (in a pinch you can use no-sugar-added apple juice)
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 2 generous handfuls of arugula (or frisee or spinach, you can see the spinach pictured here)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the salt and pepper in a small bowl and use it to season both sides of the pork chops.
3. Melt oil oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the olive oil is hot, add the pork chops and sear until you see a golden-brown crust, about 2-3 minutes. Turn over and sear the other side for 2 minutes.
4. Transfer the pork chops to a baking dish and roast in the oven 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness. (If you have an internal meat thermometer, you want the temperature to reach about 140 degrees).
5. While the pork is roasting, combine the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil and onion in the same skillet. Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the apple, apple cider, ginger, allspice and nutmeg. Cook until the apples soften, about 5 minutes.
6. Optional step - transfer the apple sauce to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. I say this is optional because we have eaten this recipe with both smooth apple sauce and chunky, and it's delicious both ways.
7. Dress the plates with your green of choice (mine is arugula, because it's the perfect pinch of spice), and top with the pork. Dollop the applesauce on top and bon appetit!

And there you have it! It's really simple to execute this meal and it feels so hearty and wholesome. Also, a word on apple sauce - it is perhaps the most versatile food ever. I love finding new ways to serve it, bake with it and prep different dishes with it. Last month I shared about the different ways I make apple sauce, and included this wonderful spiced version. Let me know if you decide to try this recipe out and what you think of it! Happy cooking, friends!

P.S. - If anyone has done Whole30 while breastfeeding, I would love to hear from you! I'm interested in learning how to safely do the program without sacrificing my milk supply. Give me a shout in the comments with any advice or tips! Many thanks :)

Pulled Barbecue Chicken Tacos (in the slowwwcooker!)

I love this recipe because it's for the stupendously lazy. There are some days where you just don't want to chop, prep or cook. This is a meal for one of those days. This is virtually a 5-minute fix it and forget it recipe, and you will laugh when people take a bit and simultaneously trip over their words, complimenting this easy and yet somehow delicious meal. It's fool-proof. I'm serious.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs. of chicken breasts or chicken thighs (or a mix of both!)
- 1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (I love Annie's Organic Original BBQ Sauce.)
- 1 chopped white onion (or if you're uber lazy, you can just quarter it and call it a day.)
- 1-2 tsp. minced garlic (I buy the jar of minced garlic, because I can't be bothered with the press anymore - who has the time??)
- tortillas (or if you're on the Whole30 train, you could swap these for lettuce wraps)
- salt and pepper to taste

Add-ons:
- Cole slaw
- sliced radishes (so peppery and crunchy!)
- sliced avocado (so creamy. so right.)

Method:
1. Dump your chicken into the crockpot.

2. Generously salt and pepper the meat.

3. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic and entire bottle of bbq sauce.

4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4. I find that this chicken pulls apart easier if its cooked on low, but its still delicious either way.

5. Once it's ready, just shred with a fork (it should come apart easily) and dress atop a tortilla with assorted toppings. Enjoy!

I love this meal because it usually lasts us a few days (and a few meals!) and tastes better with each passing day. I also love that it can be easily converted into a Whole30-compliant dish with a few minor switches (swap the tortillas for lettuce wraps and make sure the bbq sauce you choose doesn't have any sugar in the ingredients), and I mostly love that it's just so easy and yet tastes indulgent. I love it so much that I'm making this for my people on Easter Sunday. Seriously. The Easter Bunny eats barbecue in the South, yall.

Our Thanksgiving!

We had the sweetest Thanksgiving this year in our new home. I am so unbelievably grateful that I had the opportunity to host my side of the family. My sister and her hubby and kids came and stayed with us, which was the BEST, and I got to soak in all the family moments I had been craving for such a long time.

I got to introduce my nephew to the golf cart, which he begged to ride over and over. I get it. Everett's first words in the morning are, "waffles?" and "g-ride!" (which is what we call the golf cart, ha.) So we drove the g-ride all over this town, and thankfully, we had wonderfully strange warm weather to enjoy so much time outdoors.

The meal went off without a hitch (mostly), and it was a fun twist to set a formal table for the meal. I don't think my family has ever sat down to a formal meal together. We just aren't formal people. But it was so fanciful and fun, it made me wonder why we have waited this long to do it. I had to look up on Martha Stewart's website how to actually set a formal table, and I was definitely missing a few necessary items (who has 10 mini butter knives??) but it didn't matter even the tiniest bit.

There was one moment when we were all sitting around the table, having dessert, that I found my mom staring into her coffee cup. "I never got to drink out of these as a little girl," she said, so softly, I almost missed it. She was pensive, but elated. She shared the memories of her parents and their parties, using my grandmother's china, and the years of hand washing each dish when the party ended. But she never got to enjoy the fancy dishes herself. So she was pretty excited to be sipping her coffee and eating her pie, kind of like having her cake and eating it too :) Oh, my sweet mom.

My new brother-in-law Chuck joined us for all the Spencer shenanigans.

Because who doesn't want to dive into a basket of toys while staring at the glittery Christmas tree? Smart little lady.

Macaroni and cheese was the only Thanksgiving food this kid would consider. Which is on his face. Am I failing as a parent??

The beautiful people.

My mother is nuts.

Sooooooo newlywed, Am I right?

JUST COME BAAAACK.

They are the best grandparents. I'm so happy for these kids to have them.

My sleepy little heart and soul.

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary for Thanksgiving. We ate, took a walk (this year we also took a g-ride :), then had some dessert. Then we just hung out. It was so simple. It was an awful lot of work, but the kind that is so satisfying and filled my heart all the way up.

When everyone left the house the next day, things were so still and quiet. I found myself really sad, so I curled up on the couch and watched Everett play in the living room while the TV was on. But you know what? That boy came over to me, reached up so I would put him in my lap, and he just rested there with me. Thumb in his mouth, he just sat in my lap without wiggling, squalling or doing the hundred other boy-ish things he normally does when I take him captive and make him sit with me. On this day, he just rested in my lap, leaning his head against my chest, and I could finally breath really deep. It was the most calming moment with my little boy. And these are the ones, the little nuggets of time that life is all about. It's not about the monumental Thanksgiving and all it's glory, it's about the string of bitty moments that wrap the tree in the whitest of light. No one can take those lights away from my memory, and no one can replace the glow in my heart from this holiday. And even though I'm sad Thanksgiving is over and my family is dispersed across the southeast once again, I am the luckiest girl because I have this boy (okay, boys - Stevie counts!) who reminds me what this life is all about. Thanks boys. You're the best ones to me :)

I hope your Thanksgiving was the sweetest, friends.

P.S. - Stay tuned for my holiday gift guides, launching this week! xox

Soda & Sugar Pulled Pork.

Soda & Sugar Pulled Pork.
It was a Friday night. I was walking around Williams Sonoma, dreaming of taking home all the Staub cookware and copper saucepans that could fit in my Nissan Leaf. Yes, obviously I was on a date. And my man is a good one, so he followed me around the store and let me have my moment in the sun. Or rather, in the Nespresso section. I got to talking to the lovely WS employee, since I like to ask a zillion questions and make friends, and after I professed my love for French cookware, she offered an olive branch - a new recipe! A new recipe for my Le Creuset! And I tried it out and it's friggin awsome, so here I am to share it with you. Incidentally, this recipe is dangerously similar to The Pioneer Woman's, so you know it's going to be good. Nay, GREAT!

Ingredients:
- 1 5-8 lb. Pork Shoulder (also called pork butt, hehe. BUTT.)
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cans Dr. Pepper
- 1 can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 2-3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
- Salt and Pepper (a lot of it)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Quarter the yellow onion and spread the slices on the bottom of a large dutch oven. This is when my Le Creuset gets to come out and play :)
3. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the pork and lay it on top of the sliced onions. I had to really shove it in there to actually fit. It was cozy.
4. Pour the chipotle peppers (and the sauce) over the pork. Pour the 2 cans of Dr. Pepper over the pork, as well, and then top it all off with 2-3 tbsp. of brown sugar. I know it seems weird to put soda in here as a marinade, but it does a beautiful job tenderizing the meat.
5. Cover the dutch oven and place in the oven. Check the meat and turn it every two hours, finally removing it from the oven after 6 hours total.
6. Transfer the meat to a large plate or cutting board. The meat should easily shred with a fork. You can separate the fatty parts from the rest of the meat, although some people claim that it is the tastiest part of the meat. Like my husband. Totally your choice.

I personally like to use this pulled pork to make sandwiches, which I dress with muenster cheese, coleslaw and a pickle. Sweet or dill, I don't discriminate. However, you can also serve this on soft tortillas with some diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and coleslaw. It's all pretty ridiculously delicious. But make sure to invite some pals over - this meal makes a zillion servings. Bon Appetit, friends!

TASTE: Lemon & Olive Chicken.

TASTE: Lemon & Olive Chicken.

Happy Tuesday to you! I hope your Valentine weekend was full of love and hugs and kisses and tasty treats. Ours was hilarious and wonderful. With all this incredible cold weather up in our business, I've got a warm yummy dinner recipe for you today!

This meal has quickly become a staple in our household. When I got this amaaaaaazing dutch oven for Christmas last year, I started experimenting with all the delicious ways I could cook easy meals and make them taste like Heaven. This dutch oven has made my success rate increase tenfold. Seriously. This particular recipe is a favorite because it's super duper easy to make (no, seriously) and it's mega healthy. There's nothing crazy bad in it, which makes it the perfect midweek pick-me-up that tastes like comfort food without hindering my waistline. (I've got other temptations to hinder my waistline) :)

I got this recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's book, It's All Good, a publication that garners a lot of hate but I confidently stand by. Just because Gwyneth gets misquoted (okay, a lot) saying sometimes outland-ish, borderline pretentious things, her food life is the center of my envy. Everything I've cooked from that book has been GOLD. I've made a few changes (for the lazy crowd, you're welcome), so this recipe is officially easier than ever. Add a side of quinoa and a side of something green and this meal is going to become your new go-to. What's for dinner at our house tonight? I'll give you one, deeeeeelicious guess :)

Ingredients:

- 6 boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

- 1 Lemon, sliced

- 3 Shallots, sliced thinly into rings

- 1.5 cups Chicken Stock

- 1/2 jar Green Olives

- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled

- 2 tbsp. Olive Oil

- Salt and Pepper, to taste

- 1 sprig Thyme

Method:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle olive oil in a cast iron dutch on the stove and heat on medium.

2. Generously salt and pepper chicken on both sides and place in dutch oven. Cook until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side. Cook for another 4-5 minutes (chicken should still be pink inside), then remove chicken from heat and transfer to a plate. DON'T WORRY. We aren't done cooking the chicken.

3. Add shallots and garlic to the dutch oven, cooking until softened, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Place chicken back into the dutch oven, along with any juices that collected on the plate. That's flavor town, by the way.

5. Add the chicken stock, olives, thyme and scatter on top of the chicken. Squeeze individual slices of lemon over the chicken and discard the skins.

Note:

I like to keep the lemons in the mixture so they cook together, but you don't have to since you won't eat them. Totally up to you.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove top, then cover and place in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes on 400 degrees.

Woop, there it is.

Tada! I personally like to serve this dish with an herbed quinoa situation (quinoa on the stove, cooked in chicken stock, and fancied up with any fresh herbs you've got on hand - THE BEST.) This meal tastes gourmet and looks like something Ina Garten whipped up, but the hands-on time is minimal. Enjoy! And let me know how it goes!