Week 2, Monday: Pork Chops with Garlicky Broccoli

Oh, shopping was not fun this week. It downright sucked. I should have known better than to take all three kids on a challenge shopping trip, because half the things on the list I am unfamiliar with, so it takes complete concentration on looking for the items. Which is impossible when Max is "honking" the car shopping cart horn while crying with snot running down his face, Katie is hanging out the cab, singing, and Isaiah is sitting in the basket on top of the car taking up all my basket space, moaning "when are we going to be done?!" But to top it off I shopped at Lin's, which I generally prefer to Albertson's, but not only has less selection of "exotic" foods (like rice, apparently), it was also packed today.

The good thing was that I spent less on the groceries than last week, but it might not end up much less after I go back to the (other) store for the rotisserie chicken and goat cheese later in the week. It really did help that both the steak and the shrimp were on a good deal, though--I might actually go back for more frozen shrimp since I noticed tonight that I'll need shrimp again next week.

Now for our dinner recipe: Week 2, Monday: Pork Chops with Garlicky Broccoli

This meal was simple to prep (even for these easy dinners), but I didn't have a large enough oven-proof skillet for all the meat, so I came up with my own trick. I preheated the oven and put a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil into the oven while I browned the pork chops on the stove. Then when I transferred the meat to the pan, it was already hot and ready to go. Unfortunately, the cuts of meat were a bit tough, and I overcooked them just enough for them to be a bit dry. I think I'll stick to boneless chops in the future--they usually do good for me.

Here's Isaiah's tip for eating this meal: "If you mix the broccoli into the rice with the pork, it's really good!" (This is a huge breakthrough, Isaiah hates vegetables, especially broccoli, but he ate a good helping!) I have to agree; cut up your pork, and mix it all together--voila! Yummy!

Look how beautiful it is!

Conclusion:

I will make this again, but with boneless chops. Everyone ate it (even Max had some chopped up tiny), and the only complaint was how dry and bland the meat was. I might tenderize and/or marinate the meat to give it more flavor.