Mark’s Quick & Easy Baked BBQ Pork Chops

During the winter months it’s not really fun to grill outside. So every once in a while you have to bring the BBQ into the house. Here’s an easy and tasty way to BBQ pork chops during the winter. I just love it when I come home and dinner is ready, especially when Mark has cooked it.

Ingredients:

• Pork Chops, bone-in, 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick
• All purpose meat seasoning
• 1 Tb Olive Oil
• Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce

Preheat oven to 425.

Rub the all-purpose meat seasoning all over the entire pork chop. Heat a heavy bottom skillet over high heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is very hot, add the pork chops and quickly sear on both sides and remove. Place in a baking dish sprayed with Pam Spray, cover with foil and bake for  15 minutes. Brush both side with BBQ sauce, replace foil and bake for another 10 minutes. (Mark lightly brushes on the BBQ sauce but I love mine with a heavy amount) Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing the foil and serving.

Suggestions: These Baked BBQ Pork Chops are wonderful with “Sweet Potato Chips” and “Boston Baked Beans”, see my recipes for both.

 

Winter Tomato Sauce

I call this my Winter Tomato Sauce because in the summer our tomatoes are in season which means I have full flavored and utterly delicious tomatoes to make my Summer Fresh Tomato Sauce (recipe to come Summer) Unfortunately I have yet to understand the whole canning process so I have no fresh tomatoes to use during our Winter and Spring months….also unfortunate our markets have terrible tomatoes during this season, a definite sign I am no long in sunny Southern California.

Winter Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 Tb Butter
• 1 Tb Olive Oil
• 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, minced
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 @ 24oz jar of premium spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 small can of RoTel diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, crushed
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 Tb grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the butter and Olive Oil, stir constantly until the butter is melted. Add the onions, carrots, green and red bell peppers, saute until they are softened.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the red wine, spaghetti sauce, RoTel tomatoes, parsley, garlic and oregano, stir well and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the sugar, basil and Parmesan cheese and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Suggestions: I use this sauce in my “Meatballs in Winter Tomato Sauce” recipe. Try it in all of your pasta dishes, you will love it.

 

Basic Tomato Sauce

Basic Tomato Sauce Ingredients:  yields about 1 1/2 cups of sauce

• 1 Tb Olive Oil
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 @ 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, slightly drained (Paleo or anyone you can substitute for canned tomatoes by using about 7 peeled garden tomatoes)
• 2 Tb fresh basil, chopped
• 2 Tb fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt (Paleo followers omit this ingredient or substitute with unrefined sea salt)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

In a large stock pot, heat the Olive Oil over medium heat, add the garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes. While these are sauteing pour the slightly drained canned tomatoes in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the puree tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to the pot with the garlic and onion mixture and stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes. Use immediately, refrigerate up to 12 hours or cool and freeze for future use.

Suggestions: Use in my “Eggplant Parmesan” recipe, with Chicken or Veal Parmesan, or as a pasta sauce.