Pork Chops with Garlic and Lemon Sauce

You guys, I made an awesome dinner the other night. Seriously, we were both super satisfied with these amazing pork chops. Oodles of flavor and on the table in about 20 minutes.Seriously, what more could you ask for? The pork chops are delicious and tender, and the sauce has a good balance of lemon and garlic to offer something a little different and bright. What I enjoy of these stove top pork chops is how easy it is to keep them juicy and moist, which can sometimes be tricky when you're working with them on the grill--they can get dry so quickly. So in addition to a delicious chop, you also get a lovely sauce with this recipe. By the way, that sauce was pretty tasty when it made it's way to my baked potato, too.

Twisted Cheesy Breadsticks

We're a pasta kind of household. I make a mean marinara sauce in the crock pot and it makes a ton, so we have spaghetti or some other fun pasta shape, sometimes with meatballs even, at least once a month or more. Sometimes I'll pick up a crusty bread, sometimes I'll make my own, but recently I wanted something different. Enter these fun, cheesy breadsticks. Simple to make and delicious to boot, I'm excited to have another option for extra dinner carbs. Occasionally, a bread basket is warranted and these breadsticks will be in mine. A sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and a garlic butter kick make these breadsticks more than your ordinary slice of white bread.

Mashed Potato Gratin

Oh, potatoes, how I love thee.  Seriously, I'm Irish so I'm in love with potatoes just about anyway I can get them.  Fried, baked, boiled, roasted and mashed.  And mashed with loads of flavor.  And a crunchy topping.  Yes and please.  These potatoes are a perfect side dish.  A bit more complicated than regular mashed because of the step of baking them afterward, but absolutely worth it for that deep and delicious garlicky and slightly cheesy flavor.  Every time I make these, it's a struggle to restrain myself from finishing half the dish.  These potatoes are fancy enough for Sunday dinner or to serve for company, but simple enough that your whole family will love them.

Searching for fun new side dishes, I stumbled upon this recipe from Betty Crocker last year and have made in many times.  I cut the butter in half from the original, as well as the bread crumbs.  I use less bread crumbs because I tend to make this in a square baking dish, so there's less surface area for the topping.  If you make this in an oblong baking dish, you may want to up the bread crumbs to a full 1/2 cup.  While you might be tempted to try this recipe by adding in shredded cheddar or more of some other cheese, trust me on this--an Irish girl who loves her potatoes loaded with cheese and other tastiness: the yumminess is in the simplicity.