Pork Loin Chops with Curried Peaches

October 24, 2015October 26, 2015 | Megan

Perfect for the end of peach season, perfect for fall, this flavorful recipe is sure to please your palate this time of year! Plus, I couldn’t help but post another delightful skillet recipe (sorry Michelle for the cooked peaches!!!).

This recipe comes from *The Scramble. They have incorporated several one dish skillet meals into their menu this fall, and I have enjoyed each and ever one of them!!!

I cannot believe how fast October has flown by. I intended to post this same recipe last week and simply could not pull the trigger! I have another delicious recipe coming your way on Wednesday so it’ll be a dinner two-fer this week.

What are your Halloween plans? We’ve already had a Fall Festival for school– so much fun. A Trunk or Treat at the church, with another at school this week all BEFORE we even go Trick-or-Treating Saturday!!!

We also have our annual soup, salad, and pumpkin carving party here at my house on Friday. It’s sure to be a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having!

Have a WONDERFUL MONDAY, friends!

XX, Megan

(A note, this meal is spicy if you use the cayenne pepper. For a more mild option you might add 1/3 tsp. chili powder.)

4 large pork chops (2-3 lbs.) or use 1 whole chicken, cut up (3 – 4 lbs.)
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 peaches, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/3 tsp. cayenne pepper, or use a pinch of chili flakes

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Season the pork chops with a little salt and pepper.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the oil and spread it around the pan. Add the pork, and cook it for about 4 minutes on one side until it is starting to get browned and crispy.

While the pork is cooking, in a medium bowl, toss the peaches and onions with the curry powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and 1/4 tsp. salt. Flip the pork, gently stir the onions and peaches into the skillet, cook it for another 4 minutes and then transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook it for 30 minutes, flipping and stirring it once, or until the pork is cooked through

1. Start the pork, cooking 4 minutes each side over medium-high heat.

2. Cut the peaches and onions. Toss with curry powder, paprika, cayenne, and salt.

3. Flip the pork, add the peaches and onions.

4. Transfer the skillet to the oven to cook for 30 more minutes.

5. ENJOY!!!

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 8 weekly meals which means 8 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts.

PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.

Alice the Camel

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 | Megan

Casual camel is a brilliant fall option. I wore this outfit last week to run errands, volunteer at my son’s school, and do “the mom thing” generally.

This blazer is really indispensable both for it’s shape and color, and it’s actually warm enough to pull on for an evening fall layer if your weather hasn’t dropped into the 30s or 40s yet. From date night, to casual daily look I plan on wearing it again and again this season.

Let’s not forget Tuesday shoe-day! These leopard d’orsay flats have been so much fun! Leopard is truly a neutral ladies, and I linked several similar options below. I hope your week is wonderful! A delicious Pork Loin and Spicy Peaches is live in a day. See you tomorrow!

XX, Megan

Blazer: J.Crew (similar), Shirt: J.Crew, Pants: Lucky, Shoes: Madewell (sold out, similar, save, save, splurge), Clutch: J.Crew Factory (similar), Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper, Lips: MAC Russian Red

Outtakes: Saying Goodbye to Summer

October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 | Megan

This summer was not AT ALL what I expected it to be. We had plans to hit up Glacier National Park (still on the list for a future summer adventure!). We had intentions of making it to California to see my sisters which has been a summer ritual for a few years. My boys both love the seeing their cousins and LOVE spending time at the beach.

We had plans to head back to my husband’s home state– Oregon– to see friends there and maybe catch a Ducks game. None of these things happened.

Instead, the Great Middle American Road Trip happened. You can read about it here. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. Thousands of miles spent crossing America’s breadbasket and back was a really incredible feat. I will never forget seeing my boys smile and laugh with my Grandfather, or listening for the hum of Cicadas, or watching the sun set over the endless fields.

My Very Merry Unbirthday happened. An epic surprise party thrown by my husband where all these amazing people showed up in my backyard. We talked, and laughed, and listened to great music. We ate, and laughed some more. The children played on around us. It got late. It was SUCH a wonderful time, moment, party!!!

Bug hunting happened. Camping commenced. A large overgrown bush at the end of our street became the club house, the science lab, the play place. Bike rides rolled out. Lotoja was conquered. Sunsets were ogled. Farmer’s Market was a favorite.

The other miracle of this summer was spending time with our two sweet little girl friends weekly. There was something so precious in that time spent together. Partially because my life is so saturated with the boy kingdom, partially because it brought the perfect change of pace, partially because we got to spend time with them riding horses and soaking in farm vibes with their grandparents. I hope that I NEVER forget those sweet moments.

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There are some things I simply can’t put a finger on in the goodness that was this summer. For me, it was learning an added measure of patience when life does not go the way you had planned. Patience when things seem to be left hanging and changing and then hanging again.

I’m the first to admit that I struggle with change. I like stasis. I like familiarity. I like routine. Maybe many or most of us do like those things, but I have family and friends who seem aptly equipped to change and refresh and morph whenever life requires it!

Routine can be stifling. Familiarity can be dull. Stasis can deaden. This summer required ME to reexamine some of those long-held beliefs, values, and security blankets. It was fresh, and it was sustaining all at once.

It required me to take a look inward and ask myself to let time pass, let questions go unanswered. I was able allow life to unfold before me without pushing and prodding it to give up its mysteries. And while this summer we spent most of our time at home, which is a change from some of our previous summers. In the end after all was said and done, it was ever. so. good.

So let this be my goodbye to summer. To the slip-n-slide days and the Science Fridays. To the horseback rides, and the flies dancing over the trampoline.

Goodbye to the long sunlight that seemed to glance forever at our life. That gave us every opportunity to suck down popsicles, shaved ice, and milk shake after milk shake. Goodbye to the evening barbecues that stretched until the bubble of the day’s heat popped, and the cool mountain air descended for the night.

Goodbye to nights spent stargazing and ogling the moon’s surface with our little telescope. Goodbye to sticky skin and sugar stained smiles. Goodbye to gauzy dresses and swimsuits. Goodbye to temperate bike rides and mountain bike races. I will miss you.

Goodbye!!

XX, Megan

Evening Attire

October 15, 2015October 14, 2015 | Megan

I cannot get enough of the golden light in these shots! Warm, buttery, and alluring. Plus the fact that the view was just as perfect and golden. Love.

This LBD has been in my wardrobe for a long, long time. It is an investment piece, for sure. But I’ve worn it for everything from weddings, to a state dinner, to a fancy date-night out. It just won’t quit! The four season Italian wool has an incredible feel, and always lays perfectly– no tugging or shimmying required. (Please tell me you’ve all been there.)

I paired it with another wardrobe staple– the camel blazer. I hope you’re not tired of blazers this season because they are one of my favorite layering staples. Add some leopard pumps and a red lip, and you can trot from the theater to court with the Queen of England, in my opinion!

Have a fantastic Thursday!

XX, Megan

Blazer: J.Crew, Dress: J.Crew (this season), Heels: Nine West, Sunglasses: Oakley, Clutch: Target, Necklace: Kenneth Jay Lane, Earrings: Banana Republic, Lips: MAC Russian Red

Tripple Layer Midnight Chocolate Cake

October 14, 2015 | Megan

Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m giving you the run down on this AMAZING chocolate cake. Sure to be a crowd pleaser (and it can feed a crowd, too, with 16 servings.)

Truth be told, this is only the second cake I’ve made from scratch EVER. I bake all kinds of things from scratch–bread, muffins, cupcakes, pie. Never cake.

I also found this recipe to be very straightforward, easy to follow. There weren’t an overabundance of ingredients, and I really REALLY enjoyed the finished product!

Moist, weighty but not too heavy, sweet but not too sweet, chocolatey but not too chocolatey. I saw the recipe on a friend’s Facebook page, the original recipe is here on the Taste of Home site. I flagged it, and made it the moment I got the chance!

XX, Megan

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

3 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/3 cups sour cream

1-1/3 cup boiling water

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

5 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Yield: 16 servings

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans.

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in water until blended.

Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. (Frosting directions below)

For frosting, in a metal bowl over simmering water, melt butter and chocolates; stir until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture; beat until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate leftovers.