Pork Chops With Squash and Apple Bake

I know Fall has left, especially here in Michigan (it snowed today!), but I couldn’t resist making a squash and apple bake last night with the remaining acorn squash at the grocery store. While I will happily eat the leftover bake by itself for quick dinners this week, my boyfriend needs some meat in his meal. I prepared the squash and apples as a side to bone-in pork chops, which I love making because they are so easy and always delicious.

The squash and apple bake is usually made with butternut squash, but my store was all out so I used the acorn. It is not easy to peel so I ended up with only partially peeled squash. Don’t worry, after cooking the peel is easy to eat and you hardly notice it.

Squash and Apple Bake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pounds squash - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 large apples - cored, and cut into 1/2 inch slices

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Arrange squash in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with slices of apple, then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until squash is tender.

After you begin baking the squash, prepare your pork chops. I dip mine in egg, then in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, paprika and pepper. I place them on a greased sheet, and I added them in the oven with the squash when there was 40 minutes left on the timer. They turned out great!

I served the meal with Zingerman's farm bread, which is some of the best bread I've ever had. Disclaimer: I currently work for Zingerman's, but I thought the bread was awesome before I worked there so you can trust me!