The Daily Mommy News Recipe-“Italian Dinosaurs a.k.a Pork chops.”

The Daily Mommy Recipe-“Italian Dinosaurs aka Pork chops.”

Let me start this recipe by saying I am not a fan of pork chops and let me tell you why. As a kid my mom would make pork chops one way and I can still taste them today even though I have not had her pork chops in over twenty years. Mom would buy the least expensive bone in pork chops that she could find and it did not matter how much fat or gristle was on them.  Then she would fry them and pour lots of salt and pepper and the answer to everything-cream of mushroom soup over them.  I still remember needing to chew her pork chops for what would seem like a lifetime to find that precious piece of meat among the fat, gristle and what seemed like a dinosaur bone in size instead of a pork bone.

Now as a mom and wife myself I decided to conquer the dinosaur a.k.a pork chop. I too have used the answer of cream of mushroom soup and although I do not fry my pork chops I bake them it still brought back childhood memories of pork chops and so I would find myself hiding the rest of the pork chops that we bought in a boneless, little fat large package at Costco in the very bottom of the freezer where they could be forgotten or avoided.  My enemy snuck out of that reservoir drawer in the freezer this week because with the economy the frightening way it is I have decided as a stay at home mom that I will not allow myself to but anything new to cook until my freezer is empty of all meats including the pork chops.  As chefs a.k.a moms this is often a difficult task because although the purchasing seemed like a good idea at the time you might crave a meal that is not in your freezer and do some additional stocking up.  Well I have promised myself and my husband I will not do that.  So this week I pulled out the last thing I felt like cooking and thought of a different way to cook my dinosaurs.  Much to my surprise my “dinosaurs” came out great and I didn’t use my cream of mushroom crutch! I used another staple Italian Dressing.

So if you love pork chops or you dread them if your pork chop childhood memories are the same as mine try this recipe and you might like them and your kids may not have childhood memories of dinosaurs too for dinner!

Italian Pork Chops

Ingredients:

Boneless Pork Chops

Italian Dressing

Garlic

Rosemary

Basil

Thyme

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Directions: In a large Ziploc Freezer bag place boneless pork chops. Pour enough Italian dressing in bag to completely cover pork.  Add 2-3 crushed cloves of garlic, sprinkle in bag dried rosemary, basil, thyme and cumin to taste-(about a 1/2 tsp of each or more if you prefer). Marinate pork chops in bag in refrigerator for as long as you can-a minimum of 30 minutes to overnight.  Once pork chops are marinated place them in glass Pyrex baking dish coated with cooking spray Pour remaining marinade from bag over pork chops and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes covered.  Remove from oven and keep covered and let rest for eight minutes.  Enjoy!