Almond Verde Pork Chops

Week nights can be a little rough. There’s only so much time between getting home and putting dinner on the table. And there’s a lot to do. That’s the idea behind quick easy recipes. Almond Verde pork chops is one of those, and packs some good flavor.

There’s a reason the frozen food aisle has grown over the past few decades. Quick dinners. Throw something in the oven, or drop a packet of something in a saucepan for 20 mins, and there’s dinner. Simple eh? what if a dinner can be put together in 30 mins or less, with minimal mess? A good home cooked dinner can beat any frozen block of whatever. And taste way better. We all need to eat a little more healthy, but big lifestyle changes usually don’t last, little ones do. We can make the change one delicious dinner at a time

The story

Almond Verde pork chops is based on the classic Mexican dish Chile Verde. Braised pork in a spicy green chili sauce. The idea of braising came from the need to tenderize tough meat during the cooking process. We are going to take a short cut, and, we can without losing the flavor. The salsa Verde is the key. How do you like your spice level? Low, medium or high, they are all available on the grocery shelf. The almond butter will add a little creaminess. Browning the pork chops in a skillet is a great way to add flavor

The ingredients

This recipe can use a few different cuts of pork. Basic tenderloin, pork chops, either bone in or boneless. That addresses the other goal of a weeknight meal. It has to be economical. Some cut of pork is usually on sale. So there are choices. The thickness of the cut has to be taken into consideration when cooking. A thicker cuts just take a little longer. Just remember that as good as pork is, it does become tough when overcooked. The thicker cuts tend to be juicier. So for this recipe well use pork chops. Remember when handling raw meat to wash up, please read my post on safe food prep.

With the pork comes the rice. There has to be a bed to rest the meat on. There’s a lot of quick cook rice out there. Another one of those “empty the contents of the package onto a pot of boiling water” quick sides. Plain white rice takes 20 mins to cook. That’s well within our 30 minutes goal. Remember to rinse the rice. Grab a bell pepper, any color. Cut it into strips, then, cut those into little pieces. Add to the rice when it’s done, for a little texture and color

The method

The method is relatively simple. Place the almond butter and salsa Verde in a food processor and turn it into a paste. In a pan over a medium medium high heat, place the pork chops, about 3-4 mins on each side. Let them brown a bit. Now, remove them to a plate, turn the heat down to medium, add the salsa Verde mix and stir well. There’s bits stuck to the pan that will come off now and add flavor. Do this for a few minutes, then add the stock, mix well and bring to a boil. Now put the chops back in, lower heat, cover and cook till pork is done, 145 degrees.

That’s it, plate the rice and put a chop on top, cover with the sauce. Dinner is served, and, all within 30 mins. Yes, a little more work than hitting the button on the microwave, and a bit more than boiling water. But the taste is great, the food isn’t processed, so is healthier, and everyone will tell you what a great chef you are. Enjoy and thank you.