Mediterranean Pork Chops Sheet Pan Dinner

Mediterranean Pork Chops Sheet Pan Dinner

Hallooo my friends, I have an easy sheet pan dinner recipe for you today as well as another update on my food cart, Austin Street Tacos.

First things first, let’s get to the recipe. Sheet pan dinners are great as you just have one pan to clean up after. The slight downside to this one is you have to remove the pan a couple of times, at least I have to with my bottom broiler. I mistimed my broiling time a tad too, so the potatoes are a bit “crisp” however I got no complaints from the hubby on that, he loves crispy potatoes! I used baby red and Yukon gold potatoes and asparagus as my green veggie, but you could use any other potatoes or veggies you want. Potatoes should be even sized about 1 inch or so, and most veggies will cook along with the pork. Adjust timing as necessary.

Here’s how you do this:

Mediterranean Pork Chops Sheet Pan Dinner

3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from one large lemon
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano (2 teaspoons dried)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3 to 4 thick pork chops, any kind
1 pound baby potatoes (cut any large ones in half)
1/2 pound asparagus
Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, pepper, and salt. Place pork chops in zip-top bag, then pour all but a couple tablespoons of marinade over chops. Reserve the rest. Seal the bag and squish around to coat. Refrigerate for one to four hours.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine the potatoes and vegetables in the reserved marinade. Add the potatoes to a lightly oil-sprayed sheet pan. You can line the pan with foil but I’m working on developing a lovely patina on mine. I think I did the trick with that part this time around. 🙂

Place potatoes in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and add the pork chops and vegetables then return to oven. Cook for another 25 minutes, or until pork registers 140 degrees in the thickest part of a chop. Bump the oven to broil. Since I have a bottom broiler, I have to remove the pan so at this point I decided to grate some Parmesan cheese over everything, but that’s optional. Broil for a few minutes, remove from oven and serve!

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Now for an update on my cart. With summer and tourists now in Bend, business is doing great at my little cart, yay! I also added a Saturday Farmer’s Market to my venue, which is doing outstanding. The first Saturday I sold out about 45 minutes before the market ended. This past Saturday, I cooked a bunch more meats and had enough, whew!

Northwest Crossing Farmer’s Market

Here I am at the very tail end of the market, serving my last customer. Pay no mind to my messy salsa bar at that point!

And looky, I got Instagrammed! I prep my salsa/condiment bar fresh each morning, and customers certainly love that it seems. Thank you bendfoodie, whoever you are!

Fresh Salsa Bar!

Oh, and here’s the handy-dandy printable for my recipe:

 

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Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

This has all the makings to be an elegant meal, but somehow I just did not quite pull it off. Now don’t get me wrong, you can keep reading as I’ll still share the recipe. But let me ask you this. How on earth can onions be tough after cooking them for almost 20 minutes? Somehow I managed to do that. But the sauce was still good, and not all the onions were hard. I can only guess that I should have peeled the onion down one more layer after taking off the skin. Anyways, I plan on making this again some day and will cross my fingers for softer onions.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced thin and cut in half
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend
Black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour, divided
2 thin-cut pork loin chops
1 cup homemade or low sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Pinch of dried basil

Caramelizing the Onions and Mushrooms

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until starting to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and cook until onions and mushrooms have caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes total. Turn heat down if needed if they start to burn.  Once caramelized, remove to a bowl and set aside.

Season the pork chops with Mrs. Dash and ground black pepper, to taste. Lightly dust each side of the pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and cook each side of the pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Remove to a plate and tent with foil.

Add a tablespoon of flour to the oil left in the pan, adding a touch more oil, if needed. Mix until a paste forms. Slowly whisk in the cup of beef broth and balsamic vinegar. Mix in the honey and herbs, then turn down heat to a simmer. Add the onions and mushrooms back to the skillet and mix into the sauce. Last, add the pork chops back to the skillet, cover, and cook for a few minutes more to heat them through. We served this with fresh Trader Joe’s Haricot Verts and Harvest Grains cooked in beef broth. If you have good luck with caramelizing onions, then this is an easy dinner for any night of the week.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Pork Chop, Spinach, and Hash Brown Casserole ~ Redux

Pork Chop, Spinach, and Hash Brown Casserole

I posted this recipe well over a year ago, and decided to brush it off and make it again, this time remembering to write down the steps to make it. Plus it gave me an opportunity to update the photos for it. I made quite a few changes to it, one being we had no mushrooms so made a homemade cream of celery soup for the sauce, and the second being my husband seared the chops on the grill instead of me searing them in a pan on the stove top. And I used shredded hash browns instead of the country style and tweaked some spices.  AND I only had boneless pork chops. Lastly, I used Swiss cheese instead of mozzarella. Just a typical dinner-making exercise in this household. Lots of subbing going on. And you can too! I swear we’d never eat in this household if I needed the exact ingredients for a recipe. Although this recipe calls for three pork chops, since I used boneless it will handily feed four or more.

Pork Chop Spinach Casserole, Ready for Oven

Pork Chop, Spinach, and Hash Brown Casserole

3 boneless pork chops, or pork loin
Mrs. Dash Table Blend
Black pepper
4 cups of frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
Hungarian Paprika
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend
Homemade “cream of”  soup, any kind. Recipe here: http://bit.ly/AnHON3
5 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Shredded Swiss Cheese

First, make your “cream of” soup according to recipe above and set aside, or if in a pinch, you can use a can of it. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season the pork chops with the Mrs. Dash Table Blend (or salt, if you prefer) and black pepper. Sear the pork over a medium-hot grill for a few minutes on each side, tent with foil, and set aside. (Or you can sear in a pan with a bit of olive oil over high heat.)

In a large bowl, mix the hash browns and onions with half the cream soup, and season to taste with paprika, Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb blend (or garlic powder), and black pepper, to taste. Lightly spray a casserole dish with oil, and add the hash brown mixture evenly to the bottom. Layer the spinach over the hash browns and sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes and lemon juice over it. Place the pork chops on top, and pour the rest of the cream soup over them. Bake covered for 40 minutes, uncover, then grate some Swiss cheese over the top. Return to oven, and cook 10 or 15 more minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat, until the pork chops register at least 165 with a meat thermometer. Plate up and dig in!

Pork Chop Spinach Casserole with Melted Cheese