Last night at Rouses I got thick cut bone in pork chops, freshly harvested Louisiana sweet potatoes, tart Granny Smith apples, Vidalia onions, and green beans for an incredible, easy dinner.

I put the sweet potatoes in a 375ºF oven—they were pretty fat, so I gave them just over an hour to bake.

I pulled out my Lodge cast iron dutch oven and heated up some olive oil over medium heat. I liberally salted and peppered the chops on both sides, browned them off, and removed them to a platter. I sliced one onion into thin rings and sautéed it in the pan behind the chops, scraping up the browned bits. 

When they were soft and traslucent, I cored two of the apples, sliced them into eighths, and added them to the pan. I nestled the pork chops down into the apples and onions, added a little chicken stock, clapped a lid on the pan and lowered the heat to medium low. (Check the pan every 15 minutes or so for liquid.)

Twenty minutes later, I put another covered pan over medium heat with some olive oil and two slices of thick bacon cut into 1" pieces. I diced an onion and added it to the pan and sautéed it until it was translucent. I added one pound of green beans, a tablespoon of black pepper (I love the stuff), a teaspoon of onion powder, and enough chicken stock to cover. I clapped a lid on that, lowered the heat to low, and let the beans cook down with the bacon.

We like to peel the sweet potatoes and mash them with butter, salt, and pepper. 

The chops were fork tender after about an hour, as were the beans. 

It was all delicious, and I have to say, the leftovers were even tastier for brunch this morning!