Chipotle Peaches with Pork Chops

I didn't think I'd be doing another post today, but tonight's dinner was worthy of one.

I made pork chops with chipotle peaches.  I only took a photo of the peaches.  I love the little bowl that they're in!  I got six of these little bowls at the Goodwill for only $1!

I used a recipe for the peaches from my new Weight Watchers' cookbook; but it seemed like it needed cinnamon, so I added some.

     Mix together:
     1/2 cup peach preserves


     1 tsp. Dijon mustard (I used spicy brown)
     1 Tbsp. tequila lime vinegar - OR apple cider vinegar
     1 tsp. minced chipotle en adobo (for mild/medium) - 
               OR 2 tsp. for extra zingy
     1 tsp. cinnamon


Mix up the sauce and put it in the bottom of a small skillet.  Place fresh, pitted peach halves cut-side down in the sauce.  Heat the peaches in the sauce over medium high heat until the sauce begins to bubble; then turn down the heat and simmer the peaches, uncovered, until the sauce thickens and sticks to the peaches.  The sauce will sort of "brown" or "caramelize".  Pretty yummy, and not as spicy as straight chipotle en adobo sauce!  Believe me.  I tasted the chipotle/adobo straight out of the can - just a tad on the end of my fingertip.  Aiyiyiyiyi!

Looking for chipotle en adobo?  It comes in a little 7 oz. can in the Mexican food section at the grocery store.  I actually only used mostly the sauce part of what came in the can.  There are about six chiles in the can - about 2-3" long each, which could be minced or processed in a food processor, I think, to make it more useful in recipes.  I cannot imagine anyone actually eating anything like that straight out  of the can, but maybe someone does.

We did a Google to see what we could make with the rest of the can, since I used such a little teeny bit out of the whole thing.  We obviously weren't the only ones who ever needed to find out what to do with so much leftover.  It was the #2 item in the list of searches that popped up on Google automatically, and Phil had only entered one word - chipotle!

We've already decided - and these weren't even on other peoples' lists of suggestions that we found - that mixing the leftover peach sauce stuff would be excellent in a mango or peach (or mango AND peach) salsa!  We're going to try it on Sunday when the guys come over to celebrate Phil's birthday here with us.  

I'm also making Pollo Poblano on Sunday (which I've never made before), which should be interesting.  Neither of the grocery stores here had any poblano chiles for sale.  They told me I could use "pasilla" peppers.  So, I ended up buying as many pasilla peppers as the recipe called for using poblanos.  Turns out that pasilla peppers are probably about four times larger than poblanos!  I guess I'll be Googling "pasilla" next!  I wonder if I can just fill them with cream cheese, bread them, and bake them or "fry" them to make giant poppers out of them.  Wikipedia said they are mild-to-medium hot.  Poblanos are supposed to be mild.  Like I said, this should be interesting.

So.  What about the pork chops?  I actually used leftover pork chops that had a tiny bit of Penzey's sate seasoning on them, steaming them in a skillet with a little bit of water, lid on top.  I sprinkled the seasoning on them called for in the original recipe, but I did NOT add the chipotle stuff to them because I think it would have been way too spicy.  They were very good.  You can use the same recipe for the rub that I made at Christmas time, or use the following ingredients:

     Mix together:

     2 tsp. chili powder

     2 tsp. brown sugar

     3/4 tsp. cumin

     1/2 tsp. garlic powder

     1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

Sprinkle on the pork chops and grill, or use leftover pork chops and simmer in a little water, covered, over a low heat until heated through.

Oh.  Another thing we discovered tonight.  If you end up with too much  "HOT" on your lips, tongue and/or esophagus, eat some watermelon.  It seems to help.

c@