Pork Chops and Apples is one of my favorite combinations and a variation of this dish was one of the first things that I cooked on my own without a recipe.  So it seemed a fitting choice for my first post with a recipe attached.  

It was rainy and miserable most of the day here in Calgary, which to anyone who knows the weather in this city is no surprise I'm sure. The point is, is it seemed like the perfect day for some comfort food, which to me includes some form of mashed potatoes. 

The whole meal takes about a half hour to make.  The pork chops will take about a half hour if they are nice and thick like the ones in the photos below.  If not, they mat only take 10 or 15 minutes, so you can adjust accordingly.  You may be thinking you can't afford such pretty pork chops, but don't be discouraged!  I cut these two from a roast that I found on sale for about $10.  (These are about 1/3 of the original roast, I used the other 2/3 to make pulled pork).  So for that price I think each pork chop cost about $1.65? Pretty good right? I also always buy the cheapest apples in the store, and this recipe works with ANY kind of apple.  Trust me, I think I've made it with every kind you can find.  

The mashed potatoes are pretty standard.  I used russet potatoes which are really cheap, especially in bulk.  I like to add butter, milk and cream cheese (or sour cream) to my mashies.  Additionally, I leave the skins on because I like the flavour  and texture that they give.  If you've never made mashed potatoes before they are pretty easy!  Just scrub the skins to get all the dirt off and cut them into even size chunks and cover them with cold water.  Then just boil them until tender, so about 20 minutes.  *please note, if you are really hungry the smaller the size of your chunks the faster they cook, just don't make them so small that they disintegrate in the water.*  The best way to test to see if your potatoes are done is to stick a fork in them.  If the fork goes in easily and comes out all on it's own they're done! Then you can toss them in a bowl with butter (maybe a tsp per potato?) and some milk and of course salt.  Potatoes always take more salt than I expect, so taste as you go until they're to your liking. If you want to fancy them up you can add cream cheese, sour cream, cheese, caramelized onions, browned butter, etc. 

Asparagus is probably the most expensive thing in this meal since my boyfriend bought them out of season.  But since I had to use them up I figured they would be nice with this meal.  Asparagus is super easy to make too.  I just like to throw mine in a frying pan with a little water, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chicken bullion.  Then they steam themselves and don't get overcooked.  I cook them on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness so they stay a bit crunchy, because overcooked asparagus is not good eats at all.