I should plan my shopping better.  I find myself at the grocery store way too often, at least three times a week.  Anyway, yesterday afternoon when I was at the store to pick up some pork chops, for dinner, I spotted a nice sale item, and picked up 4 meals in one shot, at a great price. I bought a 9 1/4 lb pork loin for $16.50, that's $1.79 per lb. So, that comes to 18.5 - 1/2  lb servings for 89 cents each.  That loin is now 8 chops (1/2 lb each)  and 2 small (~2 1/4 lb each) roasts. Since there are four of us living at home, we ate half of those chops last night.  One of the little roasts will later be made into a Cuban meal for 4, and the other will be part of an authentic Tuscan dinner. But for now they await  their turns in my freezer.

I know that we are supposed to cut down on our consumption of animal protein, but, nope... not going to do it. I really like meat and what I really like even more is meat that is a bargain. The best are the cryovac packages of whole cuts of meat, like the  pork loin I got yesterday. And, you have to love those big sides of Ribeye or NewYork strip that you can cut to your own liking.  It used to be that you could only get these at the big box stores, (Costco or Sam's Club,) but now and then you can find them at the grocery store, like I did yesterday. 

What I cooked yesterday:

Tender Pork Chops Rustica with Savory Braised Vegetables

4 center cut pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick

1 large onion, sliced, not too thin

3 cloves garlic, chopped into about 9 pieces

1/2 cup mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup flour for dredging the chops

1/4 cup or more olive oil

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees 

Season chops with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour and brown them (about 4 minutes on each side,) in olive oil, in an oven proof saute pan on medium high heat. When you turn the chops to brown.the second side, add the onions and garlic to the pan. When the onions have cooked for about 4 minutes add the mushrooms and cook another 2 minutes. Add the herbs, olives, 1/2 cup each of the wine and chicken broth, in that order and season with a little more salt & pepper. The braising liquids should come up about half-way up the side of the chops. Cover with foil and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, put meat and veggies on serving platter and cover loosely with foil,  reserve the juices in the frying pan and turn up heat on stove-top to high,.when juices begin to boil add the remaining 1/4 cup of wine, when it boils again add the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and turn the heat to low. Remove from heat and whisk in the pat of butter. Taste the sauce and if needed, adjust seasoning.pour over chops and serve. 

A nice crusty French baguette and a tossed salad go nicely with this dish. 

Since this blogging thing is so new to me, of course I goofed up last night. As I took the last bite of this delicious meal,  I realized that I forgot to take pictures for this blog entry. So take it from me it looked as good as it tasted and tasted as good as it sounds. This is my basic, rustic pork chop recipe that can vary with whatever herbs or veggies that you have on hand. If you don't have the olives or the dried coriander, that's okay it will work without either. Or add a little nutmeg. If you have a bell pepper on hand, you can use that too, or you could quarter a tomato. and add that as well  Or a seeded and rough chopped  jalapeno pepper could be a good variation. I always cut the veggies in a "rustic" manner, big enough  that if someone, like my son Mike, does not  want the mushrooms,  he can avoid them.

I cook these pork chops at least once a month and we don't get tired of them because you can add or subtract ingredients and the flavors can change with the different herbs. The chops are always nice and tender when cooked this way.

Here is my version of Paula Dean's recipe for Baked Sweet Potato Fries that we also had last night:

Combine:

1/4 cup salt 

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon hot paprika

Prepare:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch long slices, then 1/4-wide inch strips

olive oil for coating the fries

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.


Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with seasoning. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

I have two ovens so these recipes can be made at the same time. If you only have one oven, you can cook the  covered pork on the stove-top at a low simmer for 20 minutes, while you cook the fries in the oven at 450.

Better yet, the sweet potatoes were okay, but I think mashed potatoes would have gone better with the tasty pan-reduction sauce.

If anyone is out there and tries any of these recipes, let me know how it went..