i love the weekend.
i love that the weekend has meaning for me again.

it's no longer the days that my husband is off work...
it's now *my* days off work.

i talked to my new boss on friday evening...
he said that for the first month in the shop, my hours will be monday-friday.
good news.

starting in march, we're going to work out a permanent schedule...
which i hope is monday - friday... but it could end up being tuesday - saturday.
which, is not so terrible.

this weekend, i made the most of it.

friday night we ended up with 4 guests...
and as much as i hardcore love everyone that was there... i was most excited to see the captain who was in from toronto.
our dear friend who lives so far away, only comes into town to play a few times a year.
so when we see him, it's a race to make up for lost time.

so we got wasted.
we drank until 5am.
in the morning, the carnage was clear.
empty 26ers littered the kitchen.
the body count was high.

somehow there was a new piece of furniture in my kitchen that came home with the boys when they went on a "mix & smokes run" at midnight.
my camera is filled with shirtless photos.
all men.

people slept on couches, air mattresses and floors.
carnage.
awesome awesome carnage.

my hangover woke me and so i got to work...
sticky buns were the first order of business.

rosemary mustard pork chops

- 2-4 pork chops
- 2 cups liquid (stock, apple juice etc)

marinade:
- sprig of fresh rosemary
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper

blend (magic bullet is perfect) or grind all ingredients for marinade in a mortar & pestle until it resembles a loose paste.
coat pork chops well, cover and leave to marinade in the fridge.

when you're ready to rock, heat a pan with a drizzle of olive oil in it.  brown pork chops on both sides (some of the marinade will stick to the pan, that's okay.)
add liquid to the pan, i used 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup apple juice because that's what i had handy... will work well with all juice or all stock.
cover and braise until cooked through.

remove chops from pan and let rest, covered.
meanwhile reduce down the sauce and add in a tbsp of cornstarch (dissolved in cold water) to thicken. 
optional, but delicious - add in a few tablespoons of sour cream.
taste and season as needed

serve sauce/gravy over pork chops and potatoes. 
nom nom nom