Pork Chops with Garlic Leek Sauce

    I had a few leeks left from my sweet potato chowder that I made last week. I had never cooked with leeks before so I've been exploring uncharted territory! I was very happy with how this recipe came out! The recipe that I found for the leek sauce originally called for dried sage, but I was fresh out of sage at home. I did a little research and found that marjoram has a similar taste and I happened to have some handy. I used butterflied pork chops, but you could easily use any kind you'd like.

Pork Chops with Garlic Leek Sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 butterflied pork chops

- 2 teaspoons of marjoram, divided

- 1 teaspoon of rosemary

- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, divided

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

- 1 leek, thinly sliced

- 1 cup of chicken broth

- 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream

    In a small bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon of marjoram, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and salt. Spread the mixture onto each pork chop, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight). When ready to prepare, heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Sear the chops on each side for a few minutes (until browned). Remove the pork chops and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the leeks to the skillet. Saute them for about 5 minutes, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add in the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Next, add the broth and bring to a boil. Place the pork chops back into the skillet with the leeks. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the pork has thoroughly cooked. Remove the chops again and set aside to let them rest. Add the whipping cream and simmer (stirring constantly) until the sauce reduces (about 5 minutes). Pour over chops and enjoy. 

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Corn Chowder

    Usually, when the thought of chowder comes to mind you're reminded of a chunky potato soup with a base of cream and maybe some seafood. This is a far cry from the typical! I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of kale. It can be tough and tasteless in my opinion. But, in this soup it was so tasty! I bought a huge bag of it and I'll probably be experimenting a bit more this week! Also, I've never cooked with leeks before. I found some massive ones at the grocery store. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods! I've been cooking with them a lot lately! This recipe is part of my meal prep mission, I've portioned it out for the week and it's going to make a great lunch to bring to work! I'm telling you, go make this! It's so good, I couldn't spoon it into my mouth fast enough. I just picked up my bowl and drank it! Not to mention it's pretty good for you!

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

- 1/2 of a large onion, chopped

- 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

- 3 cups of low sodium chicken broth

- 3 cups of water

- 1 large leek, cleaned and thinly sliced into half moons

- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

- 2 cups of fresh chopped kale, packed

- 2 (15 ounce) cans of whole kernel corn, fresh or frozen works too

    In a large stock pot, over medium heat, saute the onions and coconut oil until the onion has softened. Add in the sweet potato, garlic, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Saute for a couple of minutes. Then, add in the chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add in the leeks and simmer for another couple of minutes. With an immersion blender, roughly blend the soup until mostly smooth. If you don't own and immersion blender, simply pour into a blender or food processor, blend, and pour back into the pot. Add in the kale and the corn and simmer another couple of minutes, until the kale is tender. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.