Easy Pork Chop Pizzaiola w/Sauce..YUM!

Looking for an easy recipe which will wow your family / guests (and yep, blow their socks off too!)? Well, here you go...

I'm not sure, but I think this may be one of the first entree dishes I learned how to cook as a kid way back almost 45 years ago. It's really easy, pretty fun to do and I think it's one of my favorite Italian dishes to this day (although Buttered Angel Hair pasta and Mizithra cheese and/or Linguine w/ White Clam sauce rank way up there too!). The fun part of this recipe is the flexibility.

Here's the ingredients
- 'Meat' (whatchagot)
- Tomatoes
- Garlic, finely chopped
- Maybe some wine (if ya got it)
- Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 an onion, sliced
- 1 sweet bell pepper, sliced into ribs.
- salt and pepper
- some parm

That's it! Now, at the Caveman Cooking Level you could just throw all this in a slow cooker / dutch oven, cook it for a while and it's going to come out fantastic, but I put a little more structure to it and it's even better still. So my way goes like this...

- 4 decent sized bone-in pork chops (can be blade or loin, blade is usually cheaper). The bone-in part is important (don't use boneless).
- (1) 14.5oz can of Italian stewed tomatoes (you can add more if you like)
- Tomato paste (I'll get to the amount in a bit)
- (1/2) Large Vidallia sweet onion, sliced
- (1) Sweet green bell pepper
- (3-4) Decent sized cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of dry red wine
- Italian seasoning spice
- Salt and pepper
- Sugar

- Thin spaghetti
- Parm


You can make this in a dutch oven or a large skillet (I usually use a DO). This is really easy, and it's almost impossible to screw up.

1. Season the chops with pepper on both sides (I use Lawry's Seasoned Pepper, but black pepper works fine). Squirt some regular olive oil in a dutch oven over med-hi heat. Warm up the DO and brown the chops for a couple minutes on both sides. Remove the chops and set aside.

2. Finely chop the garlic, and slice half of the sweet onion. Add the garlic and onion to the DO to soften a bit (watch the garlic, not the onion). Add in the stewed tomatoes. Reduce heat to med. (Note - Now depending on how many you're serving you can consider adding more tomatoes here, but if you do, add more garlic too). Slice the sweet green pepper vertically, and cut out the pith on the ribs. The rib slices should be thin (I usually cut a section rib to rib and then slice it thinner flat on the cutting board, then cut the pith out of the ribs separately). Add the sliced sweet pepper to the pot.

3. Add the wine, mash the stewed tomatoes a bit and stir. Cover the pot and simmer for a few minutes. After a few minutes taste the sauce. If it has that tomato-ey tang, then add some salt. The sauce will be pretty watery, so this is where you add some tomato paste. (I buy the tubes of tomato paste so you don't waste a whole can). A tablespoon or so should be good. Mix again. Your sauce should have a thin but consistent look to it (if it still looks too thin, just add more tomato paste). Psssst...now for the SECRET ingredient...add 1 Tsp of regular sugar to the sauce.

4. Add the pork chops back in, stir, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes (you can also put your DO, covered, in the oven at about 325F for the same time). While the chops are cooking heat a pot of water for the pasta, and add some olive oil. About 15 minutes before the chops are done, add the thin spaghetti pasta to the hot water and cook.

5. When the chops are done, plate them one per plate. Plate some of the pasta to the side of the chop. Spoon a some sauce over both. (Note - If you want a really artistic flair here you can chop some basil or parsley and sprinkle over the top for a fresh garnish). Sprinkle some good parm over the top of the chop and the pasta.

6. Devour some of the best pork chops you ever made!!



ETA - This recipe can be used with chicken (which is also excellent) and even beef. You can do it with about anything, including sausage even (but then it really becomes a different dish). Cooking times will vary though. If you use a low cut of beef you'll need to double the cooking time to break down the connective tissue.

OOPS! Sorry everyone, I posted this in the wrong forum by accident.

Meant for it to be in 'Food and Cooking'.

DOH!!!

P.S. I guess we could 'worship' the pork chops though! LOL!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I've made a habit of saving your recipes and will sure give this a shot when I get home!

An unrelated question... why is this in the Religion forum?

Don't get me wrong, your cooking could be a religion all by itself...

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

No! No! Don't move it. Perfect right here.

It reminds me of a very important European Folktale. The first I ever read.


Here is another (updated) version. See! Religion changes with the times, the people, the location, and the circumstances, much like cooking.


ETA:

Ah, you moved it. Yours was better than the laundromat theme I was thinking of. I'm not going to do the laundromat now; no old folktale to go with the theme.

a reply to: Lumenari

I, uhhhhh, clicked the wrong forum and didn't notice. (Careless me)

Thanks though!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
You were right to move it. In the original context, it looked like an attack on Judaism and Islam, and their counter-attacks could really spoil a meal.

a reply to: DISRAELI

ATS members are sophisticated enough to read the full post rather than react to the title alone.

Here's the ingredients
- 'Meat' (whatchagot)
…
- Maybe some wine (if ya got it)

The parentheses cover the majority of food restrictions. Obviously, people who don't touch the forbidden won't have them close to hand.

On the other hand:

Caveman Cooking Level

Whoa, I didn't mean this recipe to be a social statement.

It's just something good to eat.

It might be simple, but it's good.

Make it with chicken for cripes sakes, if it upsets everyone so much!

**sigh** I don't know.

It's just funs and kind of good.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think I'm actually going to try this.
I like pork, better than chicken, TBH.
But I cannot make a tender, juicy chop to save my soul!!!

Sounds foolproof!!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

for cripes sakes, if it upsets everyone so much!

No, just messing with you.
What I wanted to do was show a picture of the casserole dish my mother used for doing wonders. I looked all over ebay with no luck. Then I checked CorningWear. There it was! 60th Anniversary 3 qt. remade available for its greatness no doubt.

Back in the day we used to dry our own bread; never heard of croutons back then.

Mom would whip up a big casserole with pasta noodles,
thin sliced potatoes,
white sauce,
cheddar cheese mixed in,
then topped with dry bread crumbs and more cheese.

Baked long enough for the top cheese to toast nice and dark.

My favorite part was the bread cooked against the side saturated with the cheese run-off topped with the toasted cheese.

a reply to: pthena

My mom has one of those too, now the one I have is a clear glass....but still does the job.
That recipe sounds really carby-good!!!!

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

That recipe sounds really carby-good!!!!

And cheesy!
The best part was what had to be scraped off the sides.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I cannot make a tender, juicy chop to save my soul!!

I could never make a juicy roast chicken. Last week I soaked it in a brine soy marinade for about 3 hours - the whole family couldn't believe such a simple trick kept it moist.

Pork Chops:
www.inspiredtaste.net...

Sear on one side, flip then cover with a lid. We use this trick a lot, in fact, it’s one of the only ways we cook chicken breasts so that they are juicy. First, we sear one side of the pork chops until browned then we flip them, turn down the heat to low and cover the skillet with a lid. The second side will slowly turn golden brown, and since we added the lid, the heat from the pan will gently cook the middle. By gently cooking the chops this way, they remain juicy and become tender.

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Thanks!
Worth a try!!

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

You're welcome

Sounds like a good recipe. I might try it.