Apricot Pork Chops AND Butternut Squash Gratin with Blue Cheese and Sage

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make (and maybe one of the cheapest too)!  All we have to do for this recipe is buy pork chops and (depending on our fridge stock) some green onions.  Great for those who need weeknight meals fast, this is super easy and super delicious.  Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that this makes a MESS in your pan and it's not too pretty in the picture (who wants to eat that black looking pork thing) but the pan comes clean and that's just the soy sauce making it tasty. :)

While this is probably better with steamed veggies and rice (it has an Asian influence), we tend to make this at the same time we make Butternut Squash, Blue cheese and sage gratin. It's not planned and I don't know why, but we always plan to make these together. 

For the pork chops, 17 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5. It's definitely a 5 people.

Now as far as the Butternut Squash gratin goes, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this recipe. It's such a great way to get some of those fall veggies in and the flavor combination is so awesome.  I would eat this everyday if I could. Talk about healthy comfort food.

We do make some changes to this recipe.  Adding more onions and sage is a must.  I would also recommend you steam the squash until it's really really (read: fall apart on the fork) tender. It just makes everything taste better.

For the gratin, 31 people gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5.

Apricot Pork Chops
Recipe by Michele Powers, Cooking Light, July 2005

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4  (4-ounce) boneless loin pork chops
• 1/4  cup  prechopped onion
• 1/4  cup  apricot preserves
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  sliced green onions

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
Add prechopped onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in preserves, soy sauce, garlic, and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add pork to pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 231 (32% from fat)

Fat: 8.3g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.2g)

Protein: 23.9g

Carbohydrate: 15.2g

Fiber: 0.5g

Cholesterol: 73mg

Iron: 1.2mg

Sodium: 345mg

Calcium: 24mg

 

Butternut Squash Gratin with Blue Cheese and Sage

Recipe by Jackie Mills, Cooking Light, December 2008

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 5  cups  (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
• 1  (1 1/2-ounce) slice white bread
• 4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
• 2  cups  thinly sliced onion
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh sage
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Steam butternut squash, covered, 10 minutes or until tender.
3. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 12 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Transfer to a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons oil, and toss with a fork to combine.
4. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion to pan; saute 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add butternut squash, chopped sage, salt, and black pepper to bowl, and toss gently to combine. Spoon squash mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese evenly over squash mixture, and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crumbs are golden brown.

Nutritional Information

Calories:186 (31% from fat)

Fat: 6.4g (sat 2.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 5.1g

Carbohydrate: 30.9g

Fiber: 4.8g

Cholesterol:  7mg

Iron:1.7mg

Sodium: 379mg

Calcium: 173mg