So today was my day off for the week so I decided to make dinner for both my parents and our friends Sand and Randy because Sandy just had back surgery a few days ago and I thought it would be nice to give them a good meal with out having to cook or go out

So I made them some pork chops with a pan pepper gravy, mash potatoes, and asparagus

I started by seasoning the pork chops with some salt, pepper, and garlic pepper

I then seared them in a large pan then I removed the chops and added a little extra olive oil and a few tablespoons of flower to make a roux

I then added about 2 cups of milk to the pan and brought it to a boil and allowed it to thicken

I then added the chops back to the pan and let them simmer in the gravy until they were cooked through

While I did all this I also chopped up a few potatoes and got them boiling until they were for tender then I drained them and added them back to the pan and added buttermilk, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic

Then I mashed away to make nice garlicky smashed potatoes

I also steamed a big bunch of asparagus until tender then I sauteed them quickly with some garlic, salt and pepper

It was a really good dinner and it was nice to get back into my own kitchen for once and Randy and Sandy really liked it as well

I also made them bread pudding finally since I forgot to make it for them last time

To make it I simply make a sort of custard of

5 eggs

2 1/2 cups of cream

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla

and finally my secret ingredient

1 can of apple pie filling (with the apples chopped up)

I then cube a large loaf of day old Italian bread

I also really like to use Challah but a lot of the time I can't find it so Italian works fine

I let the bread cubes soak in the custard for about 10 minutes then I pour it out onto a greases 9 x 13 pan and bake it in a 350 oven for 40-45 minutes

Now it is important that you let this dessert stand and cook so that is sets up and gets real dense and delicious

Mmm it is so so good

And to top it off I make a simple sauce made by boiling powdered sugar with some cream and amaretto liquor

You have got to try this one