Growing up, my parents always did the same thing with leftovers: we ate them as leftovers. Once a week, my mom or dad would pull out all the leftovers and we'd (begrudgingly) eat them.
Once I moved away and had to cook for myself, I discovered a sneaky way to make leftovers a bit more palatable: make them into something else. This idea didn't have to be saved for Thanksgiving leftovers anymore, it could be done anytime for any meal.
Sometimes Robinson's office will make soups and since we had a ton of potatoes, we always signed up to bring those. One of these meals was scheduled for Wednesday and Robinson received a reminder on Monday saying to bring mushrooms.
"I thought you said you signed me up to bring potatoes," he said.
"I did!" I responded.
He went to the store to get mushrooms, only to discover that the person who'd handed out the slips accidentally put his name with the mushrooms.
So now we had an extra pound of mushrooms.
Oh, darn.
I love mushrooms, so it wasn't a big deal. What was a big deal was that we weren't going to be able to use them in a meal this week since none of our meals had mushrooms in them.
But I didn't want them to go bad...
...so I made this incredible mushroom gravy.
Browned Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
Serves 4
1 tbs. canola oil
4 pork chops
1 tbs. butter
1 lb. mushrooms (any kind)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbs. brandy or white wine
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy*
1/4 cup water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
1. Brown the pork chops in the 1 tbs. oil. Place on the bottom of a casserole dish.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet. Chop mushrooms and add them to the melted butter. Add thyme and garlic powder. When the butter gets absorbed by the mushrooms, add 1 tbs. brandy or white wine.
3. Once the mushrooms are completely sauteed, add the 1/2 cup gravy and stir to incorporate. The gravy should reconstitute into a sauce on its own. Once it does, add the 1/4 cup water and mushroom soup. Stir well and bring to a boil. Pour over the pork chops.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot with rice or noodles.
Blessed be.
* My Thanksgiving turkey makes the best gravy and thus the richest mushroom sauce. You can find the recipe here.
Once I moved away and had to cook for myself, I discovered a sneaky way to make leftovers a bit more palatable: make them into something else. This idea didn't have to be saved for Thanksgiving leftovers anymore, it could be done anytime for any meal.
Sometimes Robinson's office will make soups and since we had a ton of potatoes, we always signed up to bring those. One of these meals was scheduled for Wednesday and Robinson received a reminder on Monday saying to bring mushrooms.
"I thought you said you signed me up to bring potatoes," he said.
"I did!" I responded.
He went to the store to get mushrooms, only to discover that the person who'd handed out the slips accidentally put his name with the mushrooms.
So now we had an extra pound of mushrooms.
Oh, darn.
I love mushrooms, so it wasn't a big deal. What was a big deal was that we weren't going to be able to use them in a meal this week since none of our meals had mushrooms in them.
But I didn't want them to go bad...
...so I made this incredible mushroom gravy.
Browned Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
Serves 4
1 tbs. canola oil
4 pork chops
1 tbs. butter
1 lb. mushrooms (any kind)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbs. brandy or white wine
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy*
1/4 cup water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
1. Brown the pork chops in the 1 tbs. oil. Place on the bottom of a casserole dish.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet. Chop mushrooms and add them to the melted butter. Add thyme and garlic powder. When the butter gets absorbed by the mushrooms, add 1 tbs. brandy or white wine.
3. Once the mushrooms are completely sauteed, add the 1/2 cup gravy and stir to incorporate. The gravy should reconstitute into a sauce on its own. Once it does, add the 1/4 cup water and mushroom soup. Stir well and bring to a boil. Pour over the pork chops.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot with rice or noodles.
Blessed be.
* My Thanksgiving turkey makes the best gravy and thus the richest mushroom sauce. You can find the recipe here.
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