Pork Chops and Pumpkin Pie

Justin was having a pretty rough day yesterday, so I decided to cheer him up with a big dinner full of meat.  We rarely eat meat as a main course unless we're at a restaurant or a friend's house.  I typically use meat to flavor soups and stews, or in a sauce or gravy.

I found pork chops for $1.99/lb at Target last week and bought some to save for a special occasion.  Justin loves meat (what man doesn't?), so I decided to pull them out and see if that would improve his mood.

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

(Original recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Breaded-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx)

• 2 pork chops
• Handful bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
• Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tbl parsley
• 1 tbl garlic
• 1 egg
• Dash of milk
• 1 tbl butter or oil

Heat an oiled/buttered skillet on medium. (I used my cast iron skillet with about a tablespoon of butter.) Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, and spices on one dinner plate.  Beat the egg and milk on another.  First, dip the pork chops in the egg mixture and then coat them in the bread crumb mixture.  Place in pan.  You want the outside to be a little crispy and the meat should be white all the way through (like cooked chicken) when it's done.

Justin's absolute favorite dessert in the whole entire world is pumpkin pie.  I followed this recipe (http://catelinden.com/recipes/perfect-pumpkin-pie/) and oh my goodness.  It was awesome - quite possibly the best pumpkin pie I've ever had!  Justin kept raving about it.  I used a homemade crust and very store-bought, very chemical lite whipped topping.

Grandma's Pie Crust

Recipe from my paternal grandmother, who generally uses lard or butter in place of the Crisco.  Either way is wonderful!

• 2 c. white flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. Crisco
• 5 1/2 tbl cold water

Combine the flour, salt, and Crisco with a fork until it's the consistency of corn bread.  Add the cold water and stir as little as possible - just enough to barely combine!  Roll out 1/2 for the bottom crust and 1/2 for the top.  If it tears, just patch it with a little cold water once it's in the pie plate.