Monday

Stork Meal 12: Italian Pork Chops (grill, crock, or oven)

This is one of those go-to meals for me when I forget to defrost something but need to feed the natives. I always have the ingredients on hand and it's always a crowd pleaser.

Momma-to-be agrees! So in it goes to the Stork Meal vault.

And, of course, I forgot to take a picture before we'd gobbled, so I took one when I was packing away the leftovers for some lucky man's lunchbox. (Note, I made three cheese rellanos, smoked paprika brussel sprouts, and the kids favorite Rice-a-Roni... so that is in the picture too).

What you will need:
Pork Chops (bone in or boneless, whichever you prefer)
Dry Italian Seasoning (You will find this next to the dry ranch seasonings)
Oil
Water
Vinegar

If you are making this for a freezer meal, make sure you get fresh pork chops. They don't recommend you freeze and refreeze meat, so just don't do it.

Pork Chop Tip: Did you know that a Boneless Pork Loin Roast is just a really long pork chop? Most of the time, it's a fraction of the cost of already cut pork chops. Sometimes even cheaper then buying bone-in pork chops. And you get to decide how thin or thick you want your chops to be. Usually one boneless pork loin will give me 15-20 chops!

Directions for the chops: For the freezer: Put 4-6 pork chops in the freezer bag and add dry Italian seasoning. Massage into the pork well and then add the recommended vinegar, water, and oil to the bag. Press all the air out, then seal.

Write on the bag: Defrost. Grill, bake, or crockpot until internal temperature reaches 165.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Why not just use the bottled Italian dressing. For me it's easy. I can't have soy (which most dressings have), so this is a no brainer. Plus there are no additional additives I don't want (like high fructose corn syrup). AND I before I was allergic, I used a bottle of italian dressing and it surely wasn't the same. The mean wasn't as flavorful or tender. So trust me when I say this is the way to go, BUT, you can use a bottle of Italian dressing in a pinch.

All in one CrockPot Meal: A lot of times I throw raw potatoes and carrots in the bottom of my crockpot then the seasoned meat and dressing over the top.  If you want to make this an all in one crockpot meal, just dice red potatoes and carrots in large chunks and put it in a separate bag. Both freeze well and will hold up great in the crockpot. I also really like sprinkling fresh parmesan over the top of my veggies when they are done.

3 comments:

Mary EmDee said...

I'm so glad I found your site! This is awesome!

JWZ1978 said...

Do you use the amounts of oil, water and vinegar called for on the packet? Or what amounts?

Aunniemom said...

Wait, raw potatoes DO NOT freeze well. Perhaps add a step about cooking them first.