Short on time for a homemade dinner. Try these ultimate apple and cheese pork chops.
This Sunday was an incredibly busy day for me, mainly because I was on call for my job in the Army. Usually the phone is quiet with some people saying that it never goes off. The duty entails some certain measures such as having to be within 90 minutes of my work just in case I am required to help with any specific military matters.
Well my phone has not stopped all weekend and has required me to resolve some situations that needed me to pop back to work then back home on several occasions.
This is where simplicity is the key when making dinner for the family, well just me and two of my kids. My wife was out at this time and my eldest was with her dad.
Looking in the fridge I could have made many concoctions to enthrall the little taste buds of my kids but I don’t want the usual freezer meal, although sometimes it is needed. Pork chops is what caught my eye. Now I do like a pork chop, succulent when cooked nicely and oh the crisp fat that covers one side, delicious.
On this occasion, I have to sell this to my kids as a plain pork chop is quite boring to the little minds. Apple and cheese, I say to them and their eyes light up like mini fireworks on the dusk of the 5th of November. I think it was the cheese to be honest as my kids are a bit like soldiers. Stick some cheese on top and they will eat it all day long.
The type of cheese you use is totally up to you and what is available in your fridge. This time I had some red Leicester slices for which was the obvious choice for my kids and for me some soft Castello blue cheese. I prefer a blue cheese for this dish as I like the saltiness against the sweetness of the apple sauce and pork chop.
As this was an easy dinner tonight I also opted to make my own chunky apple sauce which will always be better than the shop bought version, which can be used if you cannot make the apple sauce fresh. Homemade apple sauce allows me to have it as chunky as I feel and this occasion was pretty chunky to keep an element of softness from the apple and a little retention of bite as they have not turned to mush.
And there we have it simplicity at its finest and completely fresh and homemade. The whole dish can be made in twenty minutes with a little planning and to include your sides up to about half an hour which it was for us as I served the pork chop melts with creamy mashed potato and some green vegetables.
Ultimate Apple and Cheese Pork Chops
Ingredients
Apple sauce
- 10 g Butter
- 1 medium red onion cut into small dice
- 3 apples peeled, cored and cutto big chunks
- 2 tbsp. soft light brown sugar
For the Pork Chops
- olive oil for spraying
- 4 pork chops about 120g each
- 100 g cheese sliced *see note
Instructions
- To make the apple sauce melt the butter and cook the apple and onion over a medium heat until the onion and apple has softened. Add the brown sugar and increase the heat slightly and cook until the sauce becomes slightly caramel like. Season with a little salt and pepper and place to the side until required.
- Preheat the grill to high. Once the grill is hot enough place the pork chops on the grill pan spray or rub with a little olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook under the grill for about 5 minutes until golden brown and the fat has started to crisp. Dependent on the thickness of the pork chop cooking times may increase or decrease slightly.
- Turnover, spray with a little more olive oil and season then cook for a further 5 minutes or until cooked through. Once cooked place a tablespoon of the apple sauce on each pork chop top with your desired cheese and grill until the cheese has melted and bubbling nicely.
- Serve with your favourite sides such as some smooth mashed potato and green vegetables.
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