Pork with a side of bacon...

When I was thinking about what to make for dinner, I really wanted to use things we already had in the house so I didn't have to go too crazy on groceries.  They get so expensive! Luckily, we've been buying all this meat at Costco in bulk so we already had porkchops in the freezer.  We also had some bacon in the fridge that probably had to be made so I figured why not?  It didn't occur to me until later that we were basically eating pork with a side of pork.  YUM! To add some health to the meal, I bought some green beans that were on sale as well as some mushrooms so it worked out well.  So the ingredients for dinner were:

porkchops

bacon

green beans

mushrooms

garlic

brown sugar

paprika

onion powder

italian seasoning

cocoa powder

garlic powder

salt

pepper

cumin

crushed red pepper

I mixed all the seasonings together and made a dry rub for the pork.  They were coated on all sides.  The green beans were washed and snapped.  

So to start cooking, I added the bacon to a pan and let it cook for a bit, not completely though.  Once there was some fat in the pan, I added the onions and let them cook for about 2 minutes or so.  Then the green beans were added and everything was tossed to combine.  The mushrooms went in last.  Once everything was in the pan, I put a lid on it and let em cook, giving them a turn every now and then.  

While those were cooking down, I heated the oil in a frying pan until it was super hot.  Then I added the pork chops and cooked them for about 3 minutes on each side, just to make a crust and brown them.  

So once they were browned on each side, I stuck the in the oven for about 20 minutes, covered in foil.  

They came out done and ready to go.  They were a little overcooked for me but not well done so it was ok.  They were still pretty good and they weren't dried out which is what I always worry about with pork.

 I was surprised at the kick they got from the crushed red pepper.  It wasn't too spicy but definitely spicier than expected.  The rub mixture sounds questionable with the cocoa powder and all but it was a good mixture of sweet and spicy.  I was worried about the green beans being too soft and overcooked but they were actually quite perfect.  This meal was so easy to make and was pretty much close to effortless.