Sauce Packet Pork Chops and Veggies

 

I’m excited to bring you another sheet pan meal idea. This time, it’s pork chops that I got in the reduced section. Usually, I pay a little less than this for pork chops. Since I only have beef and chicken in my freezer right now, I decided to get these to switch things up a bit.

I am putting a package of frozen broccoli and cauliflower with these, and some petite baby carrots. You could certainly use other types of carrots and spend even less money for this meal. The small size of these, ensures that they will be done the same time as the fast-cooking pork and veggies. Also, since there is basically no prep, it’s makes things even easier☺️.

When cooking sheet pan meals, it’s important to consider that some veggies take a lot longer to cook, like potatoes, for instance. I use potatoes, too, but I usually dice them and cook them with a meat that would take longer to cook, like bone-in chicken. Don’t be afraid to try a sheet pan meal because of this. If your meat gets done too quickly, you could always remove the meat from the pan, and finish cooking the veggies😉.

Here is my..um..”unique” sauce blend. A Sweet and sour sauce packet from Burger King, a clover honey packet from Chick-fil-a, the last spoonful of jarred pesto from Aldi, and a spoonful of sugar-free apricot jam that no one in my house will eat.

I frequently put things together that you may not traditionally think of blending. I taste it after I mix it up and if it tastes pretty good, usually when it cooks, it taste great! The oven has a way of melding unique flavors and turning them into something wonderful. I have had many cooking fails over the years, but the sheet pans meals are always delicious.

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Arranged meat and veggies on the sheet pan. Sprinkled salt on meat and veggies, pour 1/2 the sauce mixture on the pork chops, then drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Pour remaining mixture over the chops and veggies(I added a couple tsp of water to help it pour on a bit easier since there isn’t much sauce left ☺️).

This meal is healthy because a small amount of sauce used for a whole pan of food. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. In 25 minutes, a healthy meal of meat and veggies is on the table with minimal fuss and clean up.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sauce packets-free!
Pesto, olive oil, salt, apricot jam, spices-$.25 cents, maybe
Carrots-$1.20
Cauliflower/broccoli mix$1.30
Pork chops-$4.65

Total=$7.40 for 4 people….

-with leftovers for tomorrow. My kids are still pretty young, so they don’t eat a lot.

So $1.85 per person…..not too shabby☺️.

This turned meal turned out great! The carrots are caramelized, sweet, and soft. The broccoli tastes almost buttery and has taken up some of the pork and sauce flavor. The pork chops are tender, flavorful, and glazy ..is that a word??. They have a delicious flavor of sweet, slightly salty, herbs. I wish you could try some.

 

I hope you will try a sheet pan meal for yourself, if you haven’t already. If you have a larger family, make two, it’s just as easy! I love to make summer vegetable, sheet pans meals with fresh veggies. I hope you will follow along as we see what comes up☺️.