Italian-ish Pork Chops

The other night, I was wondering what to make for dinner. I had thawed some pork chops, but didn't have anything particular in mind. I began to pull ingredients from the pantry, heading in the direction of some Mexican flavors...but as I began to assemble, it became much more Italian. The green chiles went back in the pantry in favor of garlic and tomatoes, and this is what came out of it! It turned out a little bit similar in flavor to the breading on Chicken Parmesan, but without the cheese and tomato sauce. I served it over noodles and a tomato sauce (included below) and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top.

Italian-ish Pork Chops
4 medium boneless pork chops
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 T basil
2 t thyme
2 t rosemary
1/2 T parsley

Italian-ish Tomato Sauce
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 t onion powder
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat large skillet with 2 T olive oil.

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan, and add pasta of your choice, cooking per package instructions.

Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients. Coat pork chops completely with dry mix. Place coated chops in hot skillet, and cook 4 minutes each side, covered, or until pork centers reach 170 degrees.

While pork is cooking, make tomato sauce. Combine in medium skillet all ingredients. Simmer until pork is ready.

Serve by covering noodles in tomato sauce and placing pork chop on top. If desired, sprinkle shredded cheese of your choice on top.

Pork Fried Rice

What does one do when they have some boneless pork chops thawed and ready, but they also have some eggs to use up? That was the question last night...my answer was pork fried rice. I looked at a couple of recipes online just to get an idea of the process, then went to work. After a couple of mishaps with exploding oil, I think it went smoothly and turned out to be a delicious meal! The proportion of meat to rice was different than the recipes I looked at, but we decided we liked it that way...some pork and some rice in each bite! (I would have had to double the rice otherwise!)

Pork Fried Rice

1/2 c oil (I used a mix of sesame and olive oil)
3 boneless, skinless pork chops, cooked, finely diced (I used about 1/4 inch squares)
4 cups cooked rice, cooled
1 c frozen mixed vegetables
2 T soy sauce
1 t onion powder
2 eggs, beaten

Heat the oil to smoking in a thick skillet or a wok. You can use a cover to prevent major oil splatter. Add the cooked rice, and stir fry for 6 minutes. Add the pork and frozen vegetables, and heat for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add the soy sauce and onion powder. Turn heat to high, and slowly pour in eggs. Stir to be sure eggs are distributed throughout the rice. Cook until egg whites turn white.