Today I spent a little time in the garden getting some much needed maintenance done. With the weather being cooler and me being busy, I’ve been neglecting the garden lately. There’s a lot of picking to be done out there and I plan to get to it in the next couple days. While I worked in the garden, Miley did some picking and got a nice little bunch of goodies, perfect for supper.

With thawed pork chops in the fridge, I decided to try to come up with something a little more creative than just the usual. Cooking isn’t one of my most favorite things. Since cutting out a lot of processed foods, it’s become even more of a challenge for me to enjoy it. Cooking with real, unprocessed food takes a lot more time and planning, plus it leads to a lot more dirty dishes and well, just extra work. I’ve found the benefits my family has experienced makes all the extra work worth it, so that’s what keeps me cooking and scrubbing those dishes. I usually don’t cook a lot of fancy stuff and just stick to more basic meals.

As I searched the internet trying to come up with something new and different to make with pork chops and the goodies Miley picked from the garden, I ran onto an easy chicken one dish meal and decided to change it up a bit and use pork chops instead. Here is what I came up with:

Season pork chops with your choice of seasoning. We were all out of seasonings so I asked Dylan if he could pick up some on his way home from work. I told him to just pick out something that sounded good to him and here is what he brought home…

He decided to go for something new and different to us, so he chose McCormick Perfect Pinch Sweet Onion and Herb. It was a very good choice; everyone liked it so it will be added to our favorites on the spice rack.

Once you get the chops seasoned, brown them in a couple tablespoons of oil. I use and recommend coconut oil because of the health benefits, but any oil will work.

 Once you are done browning the pork chops, grease a 9X13 baking dish. Peel and slice 4 large potatoes and places them down one side of the dish. Next, place 5 cups of freshly picked and snapped green beans down the other side, adding more or less depending on how much your family eats. If you don’t have fresh green beans, canned will work just fine too. Use 2 or 3 cans and drain before putting in the dish. Once you get the vegetables added, place the pork chops down the middle and sprinkle all with seasoning according to your taste. I added several thin pads of butter on the beans and potatoes.  Now it’s ready to go in the oven. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 45 minutes.

Out of the oven and ready to eat…

We added fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden to complete the meal. It was a big hit with the kids; they thought the best part was the green beans. After going back for seconds and cleaning them up, they wished there was more. Next time I make this will be sure to add more green beans.

Best part of all, not only was this meal quick and easy, but all I had to dirty up was one skillet and a baking dish which means less dishes and more time for fun.

Shared with  The Homestead Barn Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Also shared on From the Archives Friday