Finally fall

We've got cooler weather, falling leaves and open windows at our house, which can only mean one thing: it's fall. And last night I made the yummiest recipe that got me even more in the mood for cooler temps than I thought I could be.

I must admit, I've hardly cooked at all since I've been pregnant. It's actually sort of embarrassing. Most dinners have involved take-out, Chad's kitchen magic or leftovers (though, to be fair, I'm almost always on dog-walking duty so we are splitting the chores).

Last night Chad left work earlier than I did, so the deal was that I'd make dinner and he'd take Lucy out.

What was in our fridge? Pork chops. And that was about it.

I didn't want to grill them. I didn't want to just throw some seasoning on them and bake them. Anything marinated would take too long because, let's face it, it was 7:30 and I was just thinking about dinner. I didn't exactly have 8 hours to let something soak.

After a few minutes of digging, I found the world's best solution: caramel apple pork chops (no caramel required), which I was able to make with ingredients I already had in the kitchen. The other best part? They were almost done by the time Chad got back from their walk and we had eaten dinner by 8:15.

Here's the recipe, just because I feel like sharing:

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/8 tsp salt and about 1/8 tsp pepper)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I cut ours into 1/2-inch wedges so they were bite-sized...and I didn't peel them)
3 tablespoons pecans (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Place a medium dish in the oven to warm.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush chops lightly with oil and place in hot pan. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, or until done. (It took about 10-11 minutes for our pork chops to be done, not 5-6.) Transfer to the warm dish, and keep warm in the preheated oven.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt and pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter to skillet, and stir in brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender, about 4 minutes. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of chops. Keep warm in the preheated oven.
4. Continue cooking sauce uncovered in skillet, until thickened slightly (about 3 minutes). Drizzle sauce over apples and chops. Sprinkle with pecans.

Chad rated these "a solid 8 or 9", meaning he definitely thinks they're something we should make again. (By the way, I'm fairly certain that "10s" are reserved solely for Thanksgiving, thick steaks, or anything fried so this was high praise.)

The only thing we still haven't decided? Who gets to eat the leftovers.

No turning back

Sometimes I don't blog because I don't have anything to say.

Sometimes I don't blog because there's so much going on that I can't figure out where to start.

My silence for the last two weeks has been a result of the latter, but I promise to be better about it! I really do have a lot of things to write about...

NRF released its holiday forecast today. This is my ninth holiday season at NRF and our announcement is exhilarating every year. (I almost played Christmas music at work today, that's how excited I am...) I like my job for the first nine months of the year, but I love my job for the last three months.

I've actually been so focused on getting all the little puzzle pieces together for this big day of ours that it just hit me yesterday I won't make it through the entire holiday season: Buster will make his grand arrival before Christmas - if I'm lucky, right after Cyber Monday. As the date gets closer, the idea of having a baby strangely seems much farther away. I need to get out of this mindset soon because, as my doctor reminded me on Monday, Buster could come into this world anytime. (There is no indication that he will, but technically he could.) Eiks!