Double whammy recipe post because this was such an easy and delicious dinner. A cheesy casserole full of squash and zucchini, and a crunchy, juicy cornmeal crusted pork chop. Match made in heaven.
This should definitely make it’s way into your weeknight dinner rotation. The pork chops are crispy, and so flavorful. Plus, they’d go great with an endless array of side dishes to mix things up (tomato salad… mac and cheese… sautéed collard greens… the list goes on).
I paired them up with whimsical, dump and bake casserole that I whipped up using the zucchini and squash I had in my fridge. 45 minutes in the oven resulted in a gooey cheesy delicious side dish that you wouldn’t even know was mostly vegetables! And of course, this low-carb side could go with so many things (roasted chicken… Meatloaf… BBB shrimp… you get the idea).
As you can see below, even my Pearl was clamoring to get her paws on this dinner!
Herbed Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 6 boneless pork chops
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the pork chops and rub in to coat.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients except the butter in a shallow dish.
- Melt butter in a pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
- One at a time, place a pork chop in the mixture and coat both sides.
- Immediately transfer to hot pan and cook for at least 3-4 minutes on the first side.
- Flip each pork chop and cook another 3-4 minutes on the other side. Use your tongs to hold up the pork chop and get the sides. Basically, you want your pork chop to be browned well all over.
- Transfer pan to the oven and cook pork chops another 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest before serving.
Cheesy Zucchini & Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis diced
- 2 small to medium squash diced
- 2 stalks green onions finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shreddded cheddar cheese
- 3 eggs beaten
- 4 tbsp melted butter divided
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (or crushed up crackers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, squash, onion, shredded cheese, eggs, 2 tbsp of the butter, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ground mustard and salt and pepper (a generous pinch of each). Stir to combine well.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top to coat. Drizzle the remaining butter over the breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 45 minutes until the top is golden brown.
