Ironically enough, with Labor Day coming up, I haven’t felt like doing any work this week. I haven’t so much been in the mood for grocery shopping, cooking, and post-dinner kitchen clean-up.

If it had been up to me, I could have ordered pizza every night this week and been perfectly content. That’s how Mama and Sister and I roll. We love pizza and are always in the mood for a pizza party. My sister-in-law Casey is the same way. What is it about girls and pizza?

But as you know, healthy Hubba Bubba isn’t so into pizza.

So last night I was determined to pull together a homemade meal that — frankly — wasn’t very much work.

It was the ideal opportunity to recruit Mike for a little grilling, which is easy, healthy, and doesn’t get your kitchen messy.

And as luck would have it, pork chops were on sale at the store. The big, thick kind. Perfect for grilling. The chops would just need a little topper or sauce or something. That’s easy enough, even for a lazybones like me.

So while I started out utterly NOT in the mood for cooking, I managed to pull together grilled pork chops with  a caramelized onion, mushroom, and Madeira reduction; sauteed corn cut fresh off the cob; and a green salad with cranberries, bleu cheese, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette. I swear it was a snap.

Thanks, of course, to Hubba Bubba, who happily did the grilling. When we both do a little of the work, dinner feels a thousand times easier.

And to send you off into your glorious Labor Day weekend, here is a peek at another pork chop. This is what Baby Girl and I are looking like at SIX MONTHS!

CARAMELIZED ONION, MUSHROOM, AND MADEIRA REDUCTION
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 container of mushrooms, cleaned off and sliced
About 1 C Madeira wine (you can substitute Marsala, Sherry, or Port if you prefer)
2-3 T butter
Salt & pepper

Heat a saute pan over high heat. Add 2 T butter and allow to melt. When it is sizzling, add onions. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions start to caramelize. Add mushrooms. Salt & pepper to taste. Allow onions and mushrooms to cook down some, adding butter if the pan becomes dry. Keeping the heat high, add wine. Use a spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the pan, and allow the liquid to cook down for several minutes until it reduces and thickens. Add more wine if you want, and allow it to cook down again so that the alcohol cooks out.

Spoon over grilled pork chops, steak, chicken, or even store-bought roast chicken.

Enjoy your long weekend!