Ah, the Possibilities

So, on Friday morning, I told my wife I wanted to cook this weekend (as I do just about every weekend). I also told her I wanted to do the “IronChef” thing…she goes to the store and comes back with stuff that looks good to her. I have to make something out of it. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post what she got, and what I’m thinking so far with what she brought home. Here’s what Susan came home with:

Colby/Jack shredded cheese
1 lb burger
2 chorizo sausages
2 lbs thick cut pork chops
2 jalapenos
Cilantro
2 red peppers
Asparagus
Red potatoes
Yellow onions

I’m also allowed to use whatever we have in the pantry or fridge, which includes canned beans, pasta/noodles, rice, canned tomatoes, garlic, and canned chicken broth.

So, I’m thinking for tonight I’m going to utilize the burger and chorizo to make a baked southwestern pasta dish. Maybe sauté up some garlic, onions, peppers, and jalapenos in some olive oil, then add the burger and chorizo, brown that, and then add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and simmer for an hour. Once that is reduced to a nice thick sauce, boil some pasta, mix it with the sauce, put in a baking dish, sprinkle some minced cilantro over the top, cover with the shredded Colby/jack cheese, and bake until the cheese is almost browning.

Not sure what to do the pork chops yet. Considering just grilling them and serving them with roasted asparagus and the potatoes, although I also saw a great recipe that involved marinating a pork loin with orange juice and garlic, and roasting. I also have this idea of pairing the potatoes with apples with grilled pork chops….

I’ll post tomorrow to let everyone know how things turned out.