Pork Chops with Glazed Apples and Vegetables – Pan seared, thick cut pork chops oven roasted with apples, leeks, fennel, and butternut squash glazed in a herb brown sugar sauce.
This is my favorite time of year. The mornings and nights are cool, warranting an extra layer of clothing and the afternoons scorch, practically melting your face off. The leaves are in various hues between green, yellow, orange, and red, but not quite to brown though. And this is when all the best holidays occur. We have Halloween (love the whimsical witches), Thanksgiving (OMG the food), and the most important holiday of all, my birthday.
Yes, in my world, my birthday is a holiday. We should all get the day off and celebrate. For reasons probably best left to a therapist to deal with, my birthday was always one day I felt utterly special. More than likely it was due to the extra positive attention I received.
As I am writing this (Saturday, 10 PM), my birthday is in 6 days and this is the first year I am not excited. Usually, at this point in my countdown, I am willing the days and hours away to get to it. But not this year. This year I can’t hold the sands back in the hourglass. I know it is mental thing and next year I will be back to reminding everyone my birthday is coming, being excited, and such.
What makes this year different? This year I turn 40. I cannot get my mind around the number to save my life. I don’t remotely feel what I thought 40 was supposed to feel like. I still feel 27, and somedays, probably act 16. But this 40, what is this?
The thing is, I really don’t have too much to complain about.
I have a great life. I have an adorable daughter whom I love more than anything and most days, she loves me more than anything. I have a wonderful family, and even though I don’t see eye to eye with all of them, in the end, I know they love me. I have friends who offer such love and support. One friend particularly, who is like a sister, is going through a family crisis that no one should ever have to deal with, yet still finds time to encourage me and help me out. I have an amazing career that just two years ago I hadn’t even begun to envision and a fantastic network of other bloggers I greatly enjoy “working” with. I have my health. I have a roof over my head. And it’s obvious I have plenty of food. I have a DVR with an episode of Scandal waiting for me to watch. I downloaded a new book. I have a freshly detailed car, I mean seriously, what in the world do I have to complain about? Nothing. So why does 40 feel so….so….Blah?
To help get over this Blah feeling (please, someone, give me a word, not a sound, that describes how I am feeling), I did what I always do to ‘cheer’ myself up; I went into the kitchen to cook.
You regular readers are probably shocked to see this isn’t a post with some kind of red sauce, since that is my normal comfort food. But I love (or to use my friend Matt’s word-adore) pork. It’s true too, I do adore pork. 
This is what I came up with to comfort myself for the big 4-0. Pork and the quintessential autumn produce of butternut squash and apples, with some fennel and leeks in a glaze made of brown sugar, cinnamon, herbs, and butter! It doesn’t get much more fall on a plate than that. The restraint I had to exercise to get through the photography session was incredible. I did eat quite a bit of the veggies, but the pork just taunted me while I was behind the camera.
But when I finally got to cut it up, pour some of the juice from the pan over it and the veggies (and apples), man alive, I was transported to heaven. Succulent pork, sweet yet highly herbaceous apples and veggies, the words fail.
So while this dish didn’t cure me of my ‘turning 40 blues’, it did make me utterly excited to continue cooking more of these wonderful fall flavors. Oh and I totally cheated where the squash was concerned: I purchased a package of freshly chopped butternut to save me the work of dealing with it.
Pork Chops with Glazed Apples and Vegetables #SundaySupper
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Author: Michelle De La Cerda
Ingredients
4 thick cut pork chops
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
1 leek; cleaned, halved, and sliced
2 medium apples; cored and cubed
12 oz butternut squash; cubed
2 tbsp melted buter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; divided 1:1
¼ cup dark brown sugar plus 1 tbsp
½ tsp cinnamon (preferably Saigon/Vietnamese)
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp sage
½ tsp salt plus more for seasoning the pork
⅓ tsp black pepper plus more for seasoning the pork
¼ tsp granulated garlic plus more for seasoning the pork
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350°.
In a large (12") skillet or pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, and granulated garlic over both sides of the chops.
Sear each side of the pork chops, giving them a deep brown color; remove from heat.
Prepare the apples and vegetables, toss them together in a bowl, then arrange them under and around the pork.
In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, 1 tbsp oil, brown sugar, herbs and spices.
Spoon the mixture over the pork and veggies.
Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the cover and sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp brown sugar over the pan contents and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, or until the pork is cooked through to 160°.
Plate and spoon the juice over both the meat and veggies; serve and enjoy.
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This recipe also marks my first contribution to the Sunday Supper Movement, a collection of bloggers dedicated to bringing families back together, around the table for Sunday Dinner. As a kid, we ate dinner together at the table every night, and Sunday’s were always an extra special meal. Times are different. Families are busy, but this wonderful group seek to inspire people to gather together around the table once again. I am honored to be associated with this fantastic group of food bloggers and to be part of their mission to bring families closer together, one meal at a time.
Check out A Guide to Apples plus Best Fall Recipes Ideas for #SundaySupper and this week’s recipe collection:
Breakfast
Apple-Currant Dutch Baby Pancake by The Weekend Gourmet
Apple Swirled Pumpkin Yeast Bread by What Smells So Good?
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread by Party Food and Entertaining
Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart by Pies and Plots
Sweet Potato Buttermilk Biscuits by Tara’s Multicultural Table
Appetizers and Sides
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins by Pancake Warriors
Pumpkin Spice Roasted Sweet Potatoes by Love and Confections
Roasted Veggie Tart by Books n’ Cooks
Main Dishes
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Roasted Veggies & Couscous by Momma’s Meals
Apple Cider Glazed Salmon by Seduction in the Kitchen
Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Cabbage Soup with Lentils by Monica’s Table
Butternut Squash Lentil Curry Soup by Food Done Light
Curry Beef Pies by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Fantasy Rice by The Petit Gourmet
King Prawns in Red Sauce – Mauritian Style Creole Sauce by Peachy Tales
Pasta with Creamy Butternut & Bacon by Cooking Chat
Pork Chops with Apple Dijon Sauce and Arugula Salad by Crazy Foodie Stunts
Pork Chops with Glazed Apples and Vegetables by The Complete Savorist
Quinoa and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash by Feeding Big and More
Roasted Tomato Soup with Bacon/Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich by A Gouda Life
Salt Roasted Salmon over Roasted Butternut & Yam Soup by Lifestyle Food Artistry
Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken, Delicata Squash and Olives by Foodie Tots
Sweet Potato French Bean Lentil Salad by Food Lust People Love
Sweet Potato Alfredo Sauce by Sew You Think You Can Cook
Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup by Eating in Instead
Whole Roasted Chicken with Vegetables by Life Tastes Good
Desserts and Cocktails
Apfelkuchen by Curious Cuisiniere
Applesauce Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Swirls by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Apple Gingersnap Refrigerator Dessert by Recipes Food and Cooking
Autumn Bellini by An Appealing Plan
Autumn Spice Cookies by Desserts Required
Caramel Apple Napoleons by The Crumby Cupcake
Caramel Apple Pie Bundles by The Freshman Cook
Caramel Apple Streusel Muffins by The Redhead Baker
Caramel Apple Swirl Cheesecake No-Churn Ice Cream by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Cheesecake Swirl Pumpkin Muffins by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Chestnut and Pear Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream by Caroline’s Cooking
Chocolate and Pear Scones by From Gate to Plate
Dark Chocolate-Espresso Pumpkin Tiramisu by Brunch with Joy
Dutch Apple Pie by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins by Gluten Free Crumbley
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Butterscotch Drizzle by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Pumpkin Crisp by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake by Flour On My Face
Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies by Palatable Pastime
Roasted Maple Pears by Amee’s Savory Dish
Spiced Pear Cake by Simply Healthy Family
Spiced Pumpkin Bread by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
Sweet Apple Skillet Cake by Nosh My Way
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.