Two Pork Chop Recipes

We had 12 pork chops from our shopping trip today, and they became 4 meals out of 2 recipes. Three of the same in the freezer and something different for tonight.

First, the freezer recipe:

Pork Chops with "Good Stuff"

I call it "Good Stuff" because of this one time when my friend Maggie came over for dinner. I asked her if she wanted pork chops with applesauce or baked with tomatoes, peppers, and onions. She said, "yeah! Make it with the Good stuff!" Here is my recipe, which makes 3 freezer meals. You can add or subtract pork chops to divide it well for your family.

9 thin pork chops

2 large peppers (I used one yellow and one red but whatever you have), Chopped into chunks

1 very large onion, sliced 

2 cans of diced tomatoes with the liquid

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning

Season pork chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Brown on both sides in a large frying pan (I use a cast iron and it works really well). Once they are browned remove them to a plate. In the same pan, add the onion, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes with their liquid. Add additional salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Heat through so that flavors mingle well.

To freeze, divide pork chops into freezer bags, and divide the mix into the freezer bags with the pork chops. Be sure to use all of the liquid. We made 3 bags. Freeze flat. 

To finish, defrost a bag of pork chops with good stuff, transfer into a baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  It goes really well with rice or pasta. 

So I spent some time making that, and had 3 pork chops left over.  So here's that recipe

Oven baked breaded pork chops

I don't usually make breaded anything because it generally involves deep frying, which isn't so terribly good for you. I had a brain storm tonight and tried it, and it worked! 

3 thin pork chops

1 egg + some milk to thin it, mixed well

unseasoned bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, all mixed

1 cast iron pan

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place cast iron pan on burner on medium heat and spray with cooking spray

Prepare pork chops by dipping into the egg mix and then into the bread crumb mix. When the pan is hot, add breaded pork chops to the pan. Pan fry for about 5 minutes and flip. Spray the tops with additional cooking spray and transfer to the oven.

After about 2o minutes, flip the pork chops again and return to the oven. Bake another 10 minutes. 

We served this with instant mashed potatoes (yes, I was lazy after all that cooking!) and sauerkraut and olive salad (just take fresh sauerkraut, add chopped black olives and a bit of olive oil, and mix). I had to tell my husband that the pork chops were not deep fried. He never would have known!