I know, not the prettiest picture. I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product before it was totally consumed. So no staging to make it look pretty, sorry.
What to do with the Brussels sprouts from my CSA box? The recipe that was provided was for a slaw but I didn’t like the sound of that too much and was pretty sure my non sprout eating son wouldn’t like it. So did some looking around on Pinterest and got a few ideas. Bacon! Everything is better with bacon, right? I figured at least this way my son would try ’em. He did, he still isn’t a fan though. I thought they were pretty darned good and couldn’t stop eating them. I will definitely make them again and just make him some other veggie if necessary.
It’s been awhile since I’ve made my Pork Chops with Apples and thought they would go well with the Brussels sprouts. The pork chops are seasoned very simply with some salt, pepper and rubbed sage. Carrots, onions and apples help give the chops a really nice fall flavor and keep the chops moist, with a little bit of brown sugar to help sweeten the apples a bit.
Baked Pork Chops with Apples
1 pound carrots, sliced
2 large yellow onions, sliced
1 pound tart cooking apple, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
6 pork chops cut 1″ thick, use bone-in chops to help keep the chops moist
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the carrots and then slice diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place sliced carrots in the bottom of an ungreased 3-quart casserole or in a shallow baking dish. Love my stoneware for this.
Cut onions into thin slices and arrange half of them over the carrots in the casserole or baking dish. Trim and discard the excess fat from the pork chops (I like leaving some of the fat to help the chops from drying out too much). On waxed paper or in a large shallow dish, combine sage with salt and pepper. Dip both sides of pork chops into seasonings. Save any remaining seasoning mixture. Place seasoned pork chops on top of the carrots and onions in casserole, overlapping each chop slightly. Sprinkle chops with any remaining sage-salt-pepper seasoning mixture. Arrange the remaining sliced onion on top of the pork chops. Peel, core and cut each apple into quarters. Arrange apple quarters on top of pork chops and vegetables in casserole; sprinkle with brown sugar. Cover with aluminum foil; bake 1 1/2 hours. Uncover; baste with juices; bake 30 minute longer, or until chops are tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes; skim off and discard fat. Baste chops again. Arrange chops, apples and vegetables on platter.
Brussels Sprouts
1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
4 strips thick-cut bacon
1 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Chop bacon into 1 inch pieces. Cook in pan over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan. Pour off fat, reserving 1 tablespoon.
Prepare Brussels sprouts by peeling away outer layer of leaves and cutting in half. Add 1 tablespoon butter and bacon fat to same pan and heat until butter is melted. Add sprouts and onions to melted fat and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Until sprouts start browning a bit and onion is soft. Return bacon to pan and season with salt and pepper. Splash 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar in pan to taste and mix well. It should have a mild vinegar flavor.
A Little of This and a Little of That 