The other night, I had the chance to make these deliciously juicy pork chops for the 2nd time. I found this recipe for the pork chops on inspiredtaste.net and they were so good that I had to try them for a 2nd time. This recipe combines a spiced rub pan seared pork (from the website) with my homemade potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. What I like about this dish is that it does not require much prep to prepare and is a nice healthy meal. Here are the ingredients and the steps I took to prepare this dish:

Ingredients For The Pork Chops:

• 3-4 bone in pork chops— or one for each person you have
• 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon each of the following spices- chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• salt+ pepper— to taste and to rub on the pork chops
• Olive Oil– to coat the pan

Preparing The Pork– Recipe Courtesy of Inspired Taste

• Take the pork chops out of the fridge and pat them dry. Rub some salt and pepper over each side of them and let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes is up, pat the pork dry with a paper towel again to get rid of any excess moisture.
• While the pork is sitting, combine the flour, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

  

• After the 30 minutes is up, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive in a deep bottom pan with a lid. While the pan is heating, pour the spice rub over both sides of the pork chops and let sit for a few minutes.
• Once the oil is hot, stick the pork chops in the pan and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Once 2-3 minutes is up, if there is a fattier side to the  pork, stick it to the pan for 30 seconds to let it render a bit. After cooking the fatty side, flip the pork chop over and lower the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook for 7-8 minutes.

• Once 7-8 minutes is up, use a thermometer to check the pork’s temperature. The thermometer should be inserted into the thickest part of the chop and the temperature should read 145˚. If it has reached that temperature then it is done and you should pull it out of the pan. If it has not reached that temperature, then let it cook for another 1-2 minutes. If you do not own a thermometer then pull the pork out of the pan and cut it with a knife to check for doneness. Once you think the meat is done, cover it with tinfoil and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with the potatoes and Brussels Sprouts as side dishes.

Ingredients For The Brussels Sprouts And Smashed Potatoes– My Own Recipe!

• 1 bag of red new potatoes– or any small size potatoes
• 1 pound of fresh Brussels Sprouts–  add more or less depending on how many people you are serving
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• sheet pan lined with tinfoil

How to Prepare The Brussels Sprouts And Potatoes:

• preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Boil a pot of water with salt over high heat.
• While you are waiting for the water to boil, wash and dry the potatoes as well as the Brussel Sprouts. Once the produce has been washed and dried, cut the stems off of the Brussels Sprouts and half them. Leave the potatoes as they are with the skin on as they are going to be boiled in the water.

Once the water is boiling, put the potatoes into the water and let cook for 10 minutes ish or until the potatoes are slightly soft when poked with a fork. You do not want to cook the potatoes all the way as if you do then you will not be able to smash them afterwards.

• While the potatoes are cooking, put the cut Brussels Sprouts into a bowl and combine them with salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix to combine and pour them onto the sheet pan lined with tinfoil.
• Once the potatoes are mostly cooked but still slightly hard, drain them into a strainer into the sink and let them cool for a few minutes– they don’t need to be completely cool, just cool enough for you to work with. Once they are cool, smash them by pressing a fork into them and pushing down. Put the smashed potatoes onto the same sheet pan as the Brussels Sprouts. Repeat this process for all of the potatoes.

• Once all of the potatoes are on the sheet pan and smashed, season them with salt and pepper. After seasoning them, drizzle with olive oil on top.

  

• Put the sheet pan into the hot oven and let bake for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown.

  

   

• Once you think they are done, pull the sheet pan out of the oven and serve as a side dish to the pork.

Enjoy!!!

Overall:

• I love how this dish combines a juicy pan seared pork chop with vegetables and potatoes. This dish is very easy to make and I highly recommend making it sometime as it does not take very much time to make and is fairly healthy.  This was my 2nd time making pork chops using this recipe from Inspired Taste and I will definitely continue to use this recipe as these are some of the juiciest pork chops I have ever had. I would like to say thank you to Inspired Taste for providing this wonderful recipe for the pork chops and I hope you enjoy making this dish as much as I did!