Pork Chops and Applesauce… OK, What Other Options Do We Have?

I loved the Brady Bunch episode where Peter kept saying
“Pork chops and applesauce” in a funny voice but I don’t feel the same
excitement about having that for my dinner tonight as Peter may have.  I bought 4 boneless pork chops that were about an inch thick and wanted to have them last night.  I have a great recipe for panko crusted pork chops that is very easy so I decided that’s the route I was going to take.  If you slice the pork chops in half horizontally, they not only takes less time to cook, but you get double the
chops.  Panko bread crumbs are more expensive than regular ones so when a recipe calls for them, I usually put 2/3 panko and 1/3 regular bread crumbs.  I have found that this will still give a crunchy texture to the outside of your meat but you won’t have to spend as much money or use as much.  As I peered into my pantry, I realized I only had about a quarter cup of panko bread crumbs; not enough for 8 chops.  Ok let the creativity start flowing.  I noticed I had regular bread crumbs as well as some quick oats.   I put equal parts of all three into a pie plate and that’s what I used to bread my pork chops.  Success!!  The oats and the panko gave the pork chops a lot of crunch and flavor.  Adding some regular bread crumbs helped to stretch the amount.  My husband and kids loved them.  We ate 4 out of the 8.  I don’t want to serve these again tonight as is so I need to come up with a different spin on breaded pork chops…..

How does Pork Fried Rice with Egg Rolls sound?  I have a great recipe for egg rolls that calls for a small amount of ground pork.  I will use a portion of my leftover pork chops, finely chopped.  The rest I will put in the fried rice.  Done and done…..except I don’t have egg roll wrappers.  What can I use instead?  Tortillas would work, but I currently don’t have those in my pantry.  Now my French
upbringing is going to come in handy.  My mom made crepes for us every Saturday morning for breakfast when I was growing up.  We loved them and my mother loved how easy they were to make from scratch.  Wisk flour, water, and egg together and spread thinly into a circle on a greased frying pan.  Flip after a minute and put on a covered plate to keep warm while making the others.  I could make a batch and roll the pork filling in those as a substitute for egg roll wrappers.  I think I may bake them in the oven once they are filled, to get them a little crispy on the outside.  We shall see how this unfolds and if the troops agree that this was a successful meal.