Vietnamese Veal Chops with Citrus Bok Choy Salad

I really do love my red meat.  You would never know by the amount of vegetarian meals I post here, but if you've been following me from the beginning you can vouch for my love of cow.  Or lamb.  Or the goat...I love meat!  We all do in my family, so lately it has become a rare treat to indulge in such carnivorous temptations.

This recipe actually called for lamb, but I didn't have any on hand, so I used a few of the succulent veal chops I had purchased from a recent Wagjag deal. 

I'm sorry that I don't have the origins of this recipe, since I always give credit where it's due, but it is a fantastic one with bold flavors.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I did!


Vietnamese Lamb (or Veal!) Chops
15 lamb chops (I used 4 x 6ox veal chops)
2 garlic cloves sliced (I left this out by accident)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch chili powder
2 T sugar
pepper
1 T lime juice
1 T soy sauce
2 T EVOO
1/4 c chopped cilantro (also left this out)
2 lime wedges
2 lemon wedges
(I left both wedges out)

Place lamb (or veal) chops in a roasting pan and season evenly with the first 5 ingredients.  Drizzle with lime juice, soy sauce and EVOO.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (I marinated these for about 4 hours.)  Preheat oven to 400.  Allow chops to stand at room temperature while oven is preheating.  Roast uncovered until desired doneness - 20 minutes for medium (for the lamb.  For the veal you are good with 30 minutes.)  Garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro and squeeze lemon and lime on before serving (if using.  The kids find lemon & lime to be too strong of a flavor in their food so I try to minimize them where possible.)

A little tip if you would like some gravy - after removing the pan from the oven, put drippings into a saucepan and add 2 cloves of garlic.  Let cook for 1 minute then add 1/4 c balsamic, and 3/4 c chicken broth.  Let simmer 2 minutes.  Stir in 2 T cornstarch to thicken.  Add chops to the sauce and turn once to coat.  Serve chops with the gravy on the side.

Alongside the chops, I served an interesting salad courtesy of Martha Stewart that uses the dried noodles in a Mr. Noodles package.  I'm always amazed with the various ways to incorporate convenience foods into our home-made meals to enhance the experience.  Mr. Noodles are so inexpensive, and can be used in many different dishes.  Stay tuned for more recipes.

   

Citrus Bok Choy Salad With Crisp Ramen
1 package Mr. Noodles broken in to small pieces (save the broth seasoning for another use)
2 T veg oil
2 oranges
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha
1/4 tsp honey
salt & pepper
1 head bok choy thinly sliced (I used 3 medium sized heads)

Preheat oven to 400.  On a baking sheet toss ramen w/2 tsp veg oil (I used cooking spray for this part.)  Bake 5-7 minutes.  Meanwhile peel oranges and working over a bowl, cut out wedges, squeezing juice into bowl.  I discarded the actual wedges once I had squeezed them out, but you might want to keep them in your salad.  Whisk in next 4 ingredients.  Add ramen and bok choy and toss.

That's it for now!

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