When my son was little, we’d have conversations that went like this:
“Which would you rather eat, black beans and rice or candy?”
“Black beans and rice.”
“How about black beans and rice or ice cream?”
“Black beans.”
“How about black beans and rice or apples?”
“Um….. both?”
As a result, we ate a lot of black beans and rice (my secret recipe: heat up a can of beans and dump over rice that’s been cooked in chicken broth), and we ate a lot of apples.
This, as you might suspect, is one of his favorite meals. I love it too:
- it’s fast. When I tell you this is a 20 minute recipe, start to finish, I’m not kidding. (Disclaimer: You may want to budget 30 minutes depending on your side dish, and if you want to peel the apples.)
- it’s easy. If you don’t include salt and pepper, it’s five ingredients, and I’ll bet you have three of them on hand most of the time.
- it’s delicious, and if you’re looking for painless ways to get more fruits and veggies into your diet, look no further.
A few other tips:
- If you’re trying to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet, be sure to look for “center cut” chops. Most of the fat is on the edge and you can cut it off easily.
- I call for boneless chops because they cook more rapidly than bone-in ones, but they cost more. To reduce costs, you can either buy bone-in chops and add a 2-3 minutes to the cooking time, or look for a boneless pork loin. (I sometimes see them on sale for $1.99 or $2.49 a pound.) Oftentimes the guy at the meat counter will slice it into chops for you, and you can freeze them for future meals.
- This time of year you’ll find a wonderful variety of apples in stores. I call for Gala or golden Delicious because they’re readily available year ‘round, but you can use pretty much anything except a McIntosh (too soft and mooshy; you’ll end up with applesauce) or Granny Smiths (too dry, unless you add a little butter or some more oil when you sauté them).
Recipe:
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a few grinds black pepper
- 4 boneless pork chops (about 3 or 4 ounces each)
- 2 apples (try Gala or golden Delicious)
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Combine the flour, thyme, salt and pepper in a large zip-close bag. Drop in the chops, one or two at a time, and shake to coat with the flour. Shake off the excess flour then slip the chops into the hot oil. Cook them for 5 minutes on one side, then turn over and cook 3 minutes longer.
- While the chops cook, peel the apples if you wish, then core them and cut them into thin slices (shoot for no more than ¼ inch thick).
- When the chops are done, transfer them to a platter. Add the apple slices to the skillet and let them cook, stirring a few times, for 2-3 minutes, until they’re lightly browned and have softened slightly.