What's for dinner? Well, the planning started with the potatoes, because I had a lot on hand and they needed to be eaten. Then I went to the freezer and asked it, "What goes with mashed potatoes?" My freezer said pork chops, which was perfect, because I also had some apples that were a little beyond crisp, but would work well in a skillet dish.
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| Apples and onions in a blueberry vinegar reduction with breaded pork chops and mashed taters |
I had a recipe all bookmarked on Pinterest that paired breaded pork chops with onions, apples and spinach. I was fresh out of spinach, but I did have some curly kale to add to the dish. Perfect! The recipe also called for apple cider vinegar, spicy brown mustard and honey for the sauce, and I am all out of apple cider vinegar, too. However, a friend gifted us a bottle of some spicy blueberry vinegar from her recent travels to New York, so I figured that would be even better. No honey required because the vinegar is already sweet, another deviation from the recipe. Making it my own, I am!
So I peeled and boiled eight potatoes until they were soft and easy to smash, then I let my husband mash them up with some butter and salt and a dab of cream cheese thrown in for a rich creaminess. Meanwhile, I took four pork loin chops and dipped them in egg, then dredged them in a seasoned breadcrumb mixture. I had made my own breadcrumbs using some leftover french bread that I chopped in the blender. The breadcrumb mixture was seasoned with a couple of teaspoons of an onion soup mix that I put together myself and had in the pantry, and I added some garlic, salt and pepper mix to it as well. The chops were then pan fried in canola oil until the crumb coating was browned and crispy. 
I removed the steaks to a serving dish, then proceeded to saute some onion slices in the same skillet I had fried the chops in, adding more canola oil to it. When the onions had wilted slightly, I added two peeled and sliced apples and sauteed them for about two minutes. Next, I mixed together 1/2 cup of the blueberry vinegar with two tablespoons of deli mustard and stirred that into the onion and apple skillet. Then I added two cups of chopped kale leaves. At this point, I added about a half cup of water gave it all a stir, and put the lid on the pan until the kale had wilted. I think this could all work by putting the mashed potatoes in a pasta bowl, topping it with the onion and apple saute, then the pork chops right on top. But I let everyone plate their own food, so it looked more like the picture at top, with everything separated.Pork Chops with apples, onions and kale
4 pork loin chops
2 eggs, scrambled
1 cup bread crumbs, with added seasonings, such as onion soup mix, garlic, salt and pepper
canola oil
1/2 a large yellow onion, sliced
2 small apples, peeled and sliced
2 cups curly kale, chopped
1/2 cup Blueberry vinegar
2 Tbs Deli mustard
1/2 cup water
Dip the pork chops in the egg, then into the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides well. Fry on both sides in a skillet with some canola oil, until the outside crumbs are browned and crispy. Place chops on a platter. Using the same skillet with more oil added, saute the onions until soft. Add the apple slices and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sauce ingredients and stir well. Add the kale and water, put the lid on the skillet and cook until the kale is wilted. Serve with mashed potatoes.
