Not Quite a Recipe for Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans

I’m always looking for ways to make a quick meal while limiting the number of dishes/pots/pans I’ll have to do once the clean up begins. In my fridge I found a few pork chops defrosting, and the veggies I had left from my CSA pick up from last week were potatoes and green beans. I had some time before picking the kids up from school at 4pm so I wanted to get my cooking done while they were out of the house.

While the baby napped, I started my meal. I parboiled my green beans for a few minutes until they were slightly soft, then threw them in a saute pan with some olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. I cooked them over med-high heat until they began to brown slightly. One thing I learned from visiting my husband’s family in Italy is that my mother in law sauteed all of her vegetables in lots of olive oil with just a dash of salt and pepper. That’s it….she doesn’t even use garlic. And everything is delicious. Luckily, we have the same olive oil that is made in my husband’s home town…..delizioso!

I typically make pork chops on the stove top in a pan, but I had limited time, and I wanted to roast some potatoes as well. So, I thought I’d just throw everything together in the same pan in the oven! I hadn’t done this before with a breaded meat, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I coated the pork chops in egg and plain bread crumbs and centered them in a glass pan. Then I peeled my potatoes and cut them into large bite sized pieces. I tossed them in olive oil (yes, the same oil from Italy), and threw in a pinch of kosher salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried parsley. I surrounded my pork chops with the potatoes, and cooked them in the oven for 1 hour on 375.

When I served dinner my older son devoured everything on his plate. He makes him mamma proud! But my younger son is a terribly picky eater. I told him he had to try at least one thing on his plate. I knew the green beans would be last on his list, so he agreed to try the pork. He closed his eyes and ate a miniscule piece, and announced “I like it!” with a smile. Not a bad evening.

Green Beans

Ingredients:
2 cups green beans (trimmed)
olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

1. In a medium saucepan boil 4 cups of water and add beans.
2. Boil for 3-5 minutes or until soft.
3. Drain and transfer to a skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat.
4. Cook until beans are starting to brown.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Pork Chops and Potatoes

Ingredients:
2-4 bone-in pork chops
1 egg lightly beaten
½ cup bread crumbs

5-6 potatoes
olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
kosher salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees.
2. In a shallow bowl lightly beat one egg.
3. In another shallow bowl or plate, add bread crumbs.
4. Dip each pork chop in egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs and transfer to large roasting pan.
5. Peel potatoes and cut into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces.
6. Toss with olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parley, salt and pepper and spread around pork chops in pan in a single layer.
7. Cook for 1 hour, stirring potatoes occasionally.
8. Serve immediately with green beans.