WFMW: Five Ingredients or Less

I thought this week’s WFMW challenge—to post recipe(s) that have five ingredients or less—would be easy for me! I love to cook, but I’m all about simple and easy—and simple and easy are not so easy when you have an ingredients list a mile long. For one thing, I’d probably forget half of the things at the store. (Does that happen to anyone else? You start to cook and realize you’re out of spaghetti or sour cream or what have you? Argh, that drives me crazy!) But it turns out most of my recipes have more than five ingredients, unless we’re talking something grilled. And my chicken pot pie doesn’t sound good in this heat. However, I did come up with a few things.

Glazed Pork Chops

Okay, so I’m kind of cheating here, because I add a couple of extra ingredients (if cooking spray is even an ingredient). But the original recipe was in Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking in the “Give Me Five Or Fewer” section. And I’m betting you have most of these in your cupboard already.

• 4 boneless pork chops
• Cooking spray or a little olive oil
• 1/3 c. plus 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, divided
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. honey or to taste

In a nonstick skillet coated with spray over medium heat, brown pork chops on both sides. In a bowl, combine 1/3 c. vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic and pour over chops. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the chops are no longer pink. Add honey to taste. In a bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. vinegar; stir until smooth. Add to skillet and bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.

Cucumber Salad

I serve this with down-home food like meatloaf, or hamburger steaks with gravy. Why? Because my mother does, and she’s a Southern cook extraordinaire. Hush up and eat it.

(And I just realized this has six ingredients. Can I NOT cook with less than six? We’ll just pretend salt and pepper don’t count.)

• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced
• 1/3 c. onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 c. white vinegar
• 2/3 c. water
• 3 packets Splenda or Equal, or sugar to taste if you don’t like chemicals ;-)
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lemonade Pie

This is one of my favorite summer desserts. It tastes refreshing and rich at the same time. Mmmm, I wish I had some now.

• 1 graham cracker pie crust
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
• 8 oz. Cool Whip (the light kind is fine)
• Yellow food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl, mix lemonade concentrate and sweetened condensed milk. Add Cool Whip and food coloring, if desired, and mix thoroughly. Spread into pie crust and chill several hours before serving.

There you have it: three simple, yummy recipes. Now, don’t try to serve them all at the same meal. They don’t really go together, and I think they might be a little tart combined (I guess you know what flavor I like!) Let me know if you enjoy them!

For more 5-ingredients-or-less recipes, check out Rocks In My Dryer.