What's Cooking: Pork Chops

I remember when I was younger we would sometimes have pork chops paired with applesauce. Pork and apples just go together. That's why this particular recipe caught my eye a few months back. I thought I'd give it a second try this week. So now I present to you Golden Pork with Cinnamon Sugar Apples. I first found this recipe using my Crock Pot Slow Cooker Recipe Finder, a free App for my iPod Touch.

Modifications/Substitutions: This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of cinnamon-I thought that sounded like a little much, so I only used 1 tablespoon. Also, I mixed my apples, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl instead of a resealable plastic bag. And here's a funny story: I didn't really know what "Golden Mushroom" soup was, so I used cream of mushroom soup instead not knowing there was a difference. I think it still turned out fine.

Ease: This is a slow cooker recipe, so it is super easy. I love "set-it-and-forget-it" meals. Though you do need to add apples an hour before you are ready to serve. Five stars for ease.

Affordability: Like with the meatballs, pork was on sale ($1.99/pound). Apples and cream of mushroom soup are inexpensive and the other ingredients are regular pantry staples. This recipe gets 5 stars for affordability.

Taste: Jonathan loved this meal. I enjoyed it too, though it is a little on the sweet side for me. Abigail loved the apples but shied away from the pork. We'll go with a 4.5 for taste.

Family Friendly: Like I said already, Abigail loved the apples, but didn't eat the pork (though she did taste it, I'll give her credit for that). Sarah touched the apples and gave them a taste, but didn't end up eating them (I think it was a texture thing). Sarah did have some of the pork, but didn't go crazy with it. She stuck mainly with rice and veggies tonight. I have a feeling a lot of these recipes with meat in them will have lower Family Friendly scores, but not because they aren't family friendly in general, they're just not Kapaldo Family friendly (at this stage in our family life anyway). With that said, I'll go with 2.5 stars based on our experience.

What's Cooking Rating: 4.25 stars (rounding to the nearest .25)