Breaded Pork Chops on a bed of Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions

INGREDIENTS: 

1/4 Tablespoon Parsley

1/4 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 Packet Onion Soup Mix

6 Boneless Pork Chops

6-8 Whole Mushrooms (white or brown)

1/2 Red Onion

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

1.) Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat

2.) In a quart sized zip baggie combine Breadcrumbs, Parmesan Cheese, Parsley, Garlic Powder & Onion Soup Mix Packet-Shake to combine

3.) Saute* boneless pork chops one at a time into bag, coat in breadcrumb mixture completely and add to skillet until cooked through, shaking often. If you have a meat thermometer you want the pork to reach an internal temperature of a least 140 degrees to ensure that it is cooked completely to kill any bacteria and it is also a good tool to make sure the meat doesn't become overcooked and dry.

4.) Add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat

5.) Thinly slice red onion in strips and add to hot oil

6.) After onions have started caramelizing**, slice mushrooms uniformly and add to oil shaking pan to ensure even cooking.

7.) When mushrooms have cooked down remove pan from heat and allow to cool 1-2 minutes.

8.) Add small pile to plate and top with breaded pork chop

9.) Enjoy!

*Saute: The process of cooking food in fat on high heat while stirring or shaking the pan. This option is similar to frying, but is actually much healthier because smaller amounts of fat are used to cook the food.

One reason that sauteing is a great way of preparing food is because the food cooks quickly, it is also good because the fat or oil used to cook in brings out the natural flavors that are already in the food you are preparing.

A key point to remember when sauteing is to not let the oil become too hot. If the oil has reached the point of smoking it has became too heated and actually burnt therefore needed to be discarded. Properly heated oil should look as if it is rippled and is ready to be used.

**Caramelizing: In this case, caramelizing onions is the process of cooking them down in an oil or fat until they turn a light brown color. The process of caramelizing pulls the sugars that are naturally in onions and turns them into a light caramel color and flavor. This works well with onions because it gives them a slightly sweet and browned flavoring.