Orange Juice Pork Chops and Roasted Red Potatoes

While living in a Muslim culture, it’s hard to find pork products off base, so I try to “splurge” and cook pork chops once a month.  Since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d try something a little different.  I emailed my mom to get her special orange juice pork chop recipe.  I remember her standing at the stove and the kitchen filling with the smell of orange juice.  I also cooked my dad’s red potatoes as a veggie.

Here’s what I did with the pork chops:
I  dredged the thawed pork chops in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper while about 4 tablespoons of oil was preheating in the skillet.

Once the oil was preheated, I cooked the pork chops until the internal temperature was 165*F which is hot enough to kill the bacteria. While the pork chops were cooking, I mixed 1 1/2 cups of orange juice and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar together in a bowl.

After the chops were fully cooked, I lowered the heat and added the orange juice mixture to the skillet and covered it with a lid.  Let the juice simmer in the skillet until it is thickened.

Keith waiting patiently for his dinner to be ready.

Here’s what I did with the potatoes:
I washed 3 medium red potatoes and cut them into small pieces.  I layered them in a single layer in a casserole dish and sprinkled the potatoes with salt and pepper.  I dotted them with about 6 tablespoons of butter.

Next, I popped the dish in a 350*F (175*) oven and let them cook til they were tender on the inside and crispy on the outside edges.