My stepmother ate broccoli!

I have had a difficult week, and for some odd reason I thought it would be a good idea to invite my dad and stepmom over for dinner on Friday night. My parents have treated me to a lot of meals and it felt like time to return the favor.

I haven't slept much this week, and our finances and my gumption for heading to the grocery store are not promising. I had eight thin pork chops in the freezer and thought I'd make a variation of my pork with apples.

Pork with apples and berries

- 8 thin pork chops, lightly browned in the Le Creuset skillet and arranged nicely in a large Pyrex dish

In the skillet, make the sauce:
- one cup apple cider
- one 1/4 cup brown mustard
- two tablespoons Dijon mustard with lemon and dill
- less than 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon organic four color peppercorn, ground
- 1 teaspoon country herb mix, a blend of sea salt, Rosemary, parsley,
Oregano, basil, mint, sage and thyme (I found it in a grinder at Aldi.)
- 1 fresh sage leaf, chopped
- 1 gala apple, chopped
- 1 cup mixed berries (frozen and crumbled before added to the sauce) These were blackberries, raspberries and blueberries

Boil until well combined

Pour over pork chops and bake in the oven about 30 minutes at 350. If they dry out, add more apple cider 20 minutes in. I had run out so I used about 1/2 cup white grape raspberries juice instead.

The crowd loved it.

I served with corn, a boxed apple walnut rice stuffing, wheat brown and serve rolls, a Beaujolais Villages and an invented recipe: buffalo blue cheese broccoli with cheese curls.

Now, my stepmom HATES broccoli. She loved this. I'm still shocked and complimented.

Buffalo blue cheese broccoli with cheese curls

Start with about 10 large spears of broccoli, cooked a little less than done. I used frozen Giant brand broccoli florets and they were still kind of cold, but thawed in the microwave.

Arrange broccoli in the bottom of an oven proof dish in a single layer.

For the sauce:
In the bottom of a small saucepan, combine on low heat
- about 1/4 cup 2% milk
- about an ounce sharp cheddar, crumbled
- about two ounces Velveeta
- about two tablespoons Archer Farms buffalo blue cheese dip

Cook, stirring constantly until melted and combined.
Pour on broccoli.
In another dish, melt two tablespoons butter and mix with about 1/2 cup Cheetos crumbs

Sprinkle on top of broccoli and bake in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.