Quick Pork Chop Meal for 4 for less than $10

Happy Monday! 

Another fresh week ahead…

What's on your to-do list?

I'm fairly certain that these warmer, spring-like temps

that are forecasted for southern Wisconsin will 

start to bring people out of the woodwork! 

Sunshine and fresh air

always seem to unearth the motivation that has been 

hidden somewhere in the frigid temperatures. 

I know I'm excited about spring 

(and taking down the Christmas lights that have been frozen to the trees),

how about you?

So if we are eagerly tackling some spring projects,

a fast and frugal meal is a must!

This pork chop meal is quick, easy, healthy, delicious and easy on the wallet!

Not sure it gets any better than that!

Start by preheating the oven to 450 F. 

Then, all you need is some thin-cut boneless pork chops,

these were $5.37 at Aldi

along with a packet of Ranch Dressing Seasoning,

$0.49 also at Aldi. 

Just sprinkle the seasoning on the chops and

bake for 10 minutes. 

That is all it took for 

these delicious pork chops!  

Pretty easy, eh?

They were paired up with a romaine salad

($1.99 at Aldi)

and some fresh strawberries,

which doubled as our carb for the evening.

I've been seeing great prices on great strawberries recently. 

$0.99/lb at Woodman's

was the best deal I saw last week.

The good news is that strawberry season is right around the corner!

RECIPE:

Bake Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Thin-cut boneless Pork Chops ($5.37 at Aldi)

Packet of Ranch Dressing Seasoning ($0.49 at Aldi)

Romaine lettuce ($1.99 for 3 heads at Aldi)

Strawberries ($0.99 at Woodman's)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 F. 
• Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with ranch seasoning. 
• Bake for 10 minutes or until fully cooked. 
• Serve with strawberries and salad. 

Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Chops

Tuesday night, we had an unexpected empty nest for dinner, all of the kids had other places to go, so it was just Jerry and I...and I'm pretty sure that Jerry wasn't disappointed, as that meant there were more Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Chops for us!

This meal was incredibly quick and easy and one of the best dinners I've made in a long time, if I do say so myself.

Just started with 4 center cut pork chops and on Prosciutto Mozzarella roll. 

The pork chops were seasoned with coarsely ground garlic, sea salt and black pepper. 

Added to a skillet with oil over medium heat to brown the chops. 

Do yourself a favor and slice a pocket for stuffing into them before browning…

(Aren't you glad I make these crazy mistakes first!?!?)

After about 3 minutes on each side, 

they had some nice color and texture and were ready for the next steps.  

Cut up the prosciutto and mozzarella roll into thin slices. 

Fill the pockets with the sliced cheese and meat, arranging on a foil-lined pan for ease of clean up. 

Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until the chops are fully cooked. 

No need to worry about a little cheese melting out, 

we just scooped it up and put it right back on top! 

Served it up on a bed of spinach, 

because that surely negates anything remotely unhealthy about the rest of the meal!  

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

Center Cut Pork Chops

Prosciutto

Mozzarella

Coarsely ground Garlic

Coarsely ground Sea Salt

Coarsely ground Black Pepper

Cooking oil

DIRECTIONS:

Slice a nice deep pocket into the pork chops, much easier to do earlier rather than later. 

Season pork chops with garlic, salt and pepper to prepare for some initial browning in a skillet over medium heat. 

Brown the chops on each side for 2-3 minutes. 

Stuff the pork chops with the Prosciutto and Mozzarella. 

Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, or until the pork chops are fully cooked. 

Feel free to spoon any melted cheese back over the pork chops.  

We are sure glad we did!  

Italian Pork Chop Skillet

Happy Monday….and back to a week of meals for the family.

I've recently been quite thankful for the fact that I do enjoy cooking and I've thought about those of you who could come up with a million other things to do other than cook, because putting a week's worth of healthy meals on the table is quite time consuming.

As much as I'd love to explore more type of recipes, I find myself dedicating so much time to just getting my family fed that I don't get to dabble in as much variety as I'd hope.

Many of the meals that I make are planned and pre-mediated, but this Italian Pork Chop Skillet was completely just a last minute dish using a variety of things I had on hand.

I was trying to figure out how to cook the pork in the kitchen, as opposed to the grill, since it was a stormy week last week, without using the oven and heating up the whole house.

Also, I didn't know what I was serve it with…but I had corn and zucchini and I thought if I just throw that together with some tomatoes and cream cheese, I'd have a decent skillet meal.

Let me tell you, my guys were thrilled!  And while Jerry and Ryker often have seconds, Landon even got into the mix, fighting over the leftovers.

I love a dish like this where the protein, vegetables and carbs are all wrapped up into one pan, keeps the clean up to a minimum as well!

It was quick and easy and family-pleasing.

Just start by sautéing some thin cut pork chops sprinkled generously with Italian seasoning which provided a little texture as well as flavor, in a pre-heated pan with your preferred vegetable oil.

After flipping and finishing on the second side, the pork chops were set aside.

I always use my microwave as a little warming box, as it holds heat very well and keeps food warm while it waits for the next step.  

Next, into the skillet (add a bit more oil if necessary), chopped onion, zucchini and thawed corn were added to cook and soften up a bit.

For the sauce, 8 oz of low fat cream cheese and one jar of marinara were poured in and heated up.

Simmer for a few minutes to all all of the delicious flavors to combine. 

If the sauce is too sweet, this can always be balanced by salt, or in this instance some parmesan was the perfect solution.  

Add the pork back to the skillet for one last shot of heat before serving.

It was so easy and delicious, I might be making it again this week!  

Ingredients:

Thin cut Pork Chops 

Italian seasoning

1 Onion - chopped

3 Zucchini - chopped

1 Bag of frozen Corn - thawed

8 oz of low fat Cream Cheese

1 jar of Marinara

Parmesan cheese - grated, to taste

Directions:

Sautee seasoned pork in pre-heated pan with oil, flip and set aside when fully cooked. 

To the pan, add onion, zucchini and corn, sautee until softened.

Next, add the marinara sauce and cream cheese, cook until sauce is smooth. 

Add parmesan, to taste, to round out flavors. 

Return pork to pan. 

Serve it up and let your family devour.