Welcome to October! Wow, September went by really fast, but I am ready for Fall to be in full swing. I am a firm believer that the crisp Fall air calls for warm and comforting meals to be served at the dinner table. There’s just something about this season that makes me want to get cozy every chance I get. From clothing to food, I am definitely in an Autumn mood! This past weekend my family and I visited our local Apple Farm and picked fresh apples. Using your freshly picked apples in tasty recipes like this Creamy One Pot Pork & Apple Wild RiceCasserole makes your meal extra special.
This delicious meal takes only a few minutes to prepare, but will have your family thinking you spent all day on it! For this one pot meal, I always get out my wonderful Dutch Oven! This cast iron pan locks in heat and always cooks everything to perfection, while never drying it out. It’s probably one of the best investments that I have made in my kitchen and we use it all of the time! It’s the secret to making a simple, flavorful meal taste like it’s been simmering away all day on your stove! 🙂
Thick, Bone In Center Cut Pork Chops are added to sauteed onion, garlic and freshly chopped apple and then baked in a brown and wild rice blend for a wonderful casserole that your family will love. The moist pork falls right off the bone and the rice is creamy with a slight sweetness from those fresh apples!
It’s hard to get dinner on the table sometimes, trust me I know. The last time I made this dish my children were running around outside and I had a billion things to catch up on around my house. I honestly didn’t really feel up to making a dinner, but I told myself that in just a few minutes I could continue on with my other chores if I just got this in the oven. After everything was combined, I put the casserole in the oven to bake for an hour and I caught up with my chores while not having to think about dinner at all. Well, I did think about it because it smelled so good!
I finished up my chores and when dinner was ready, I was able to sit at the table, relax and eat just like the rest of my family. If you are looking for a great meal that you can make even on a busy school night, give this tasty recipe a try! I think you’ll really like it!
Ingredients
- 4 large bone in center cut pork chops
- 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 large baking apples chopped into small pieces (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Brown & Wild Rice, uncooked (Do Not use instant rice)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup apple cider (if you don't have any you can substitute with more chicken stock)
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup dried parsley
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In your Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil on medium low heat and saute the onion, apples and garlic, just until the onions are translucent.
- Add the pork chops and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
- Add the chicken stock, apple cider, wild rice,bay leaves and 2 Tbsp. butter and give it a good stir.
- Cover the pot and let it come to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat, give it another stir, recover and place in the oven.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or when rice is cooked.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
- Serve with fresh steamed vegetables or a salad.
- Enjoy!
- Serves 4-6.
- *If you don't have a Dutch Oven, you can saute the onion, garlic and apples in a pan and then transfer them to a large casserole dish with a glass lid where you can add the pork and the rest of the ingredients.
Check Out These Other Simple Comforting Dinners:
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*Linking up at Buns In My Oven, Living Well Spending Less, Best Blog Recipes, Foodie Friends Friday, Diana Rambles, Skip To My Lou, Feeding Big, Savvy Southern Style
Karly says
This is my kind of dinner! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Karly recently posted…Homemade Pizza Rolls Recipe
Shannon says
Thanks Karly! It’s always such a great party with lots of inspiration! 🙂
Dalila G. says
What a great one pot dish, love it!
Basic ingredients which I have in my pantry, yay me, and putting apples in this dish makes it much better.
Lucky for me our apple tree is still filled with apples ready to pick.
Pinned!
Shannon says
Thanks Dalila! Apples and Pork really go great together, and how nice that you will be able to use your very own apples! Yum 🙂
Carole from Carole's Chatter says
Hi Shannon, just stopped by to let you know you’ve been featured today over at Carole’s Chatter. Cheers
Carole from Carole’s Chatter recently posted…Need Some Inspiration? Try Fish & Seafood!
JoAnne says
This looks so yummy especially on a cool fall day like today. I’ll definitely have to give this a try!
Shannon says
Thank you JoAnne! It’s great on a chilly Fall evening:)