We eat a lot of chicken…like a ridiculous amount of chicken…in our house.  I buy chicken breasts in bulk so that I always have them around.  This past week, I wanted to break out of our chicken routine.  So, on our weekly trip to Costco (yes, weekly), I decided to pick up a package of their pork chops along with my usual fruit, water, chicken and milk.  I don’t think a week goes by that something at Costco doesn’t tempt me to go off of my shopping list!

At the time, I had no idea what to make with the pork chops but my Thursday night stop at Walmart during gymnastics solved that problem too.  The oranges they had looked so delicious that I knew I had to buy some.  The combination of citrus and pork is amazing so I decided to create a recipe for citrus pork chops with an apple, orange and fennel salad.

If you have the time, toss the pork chops in a plastic bag with a 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1 Tbsp of olive oil for a quick marinade while you prepare all the other ingredients. It really helps intensify the citrus flavor!  Combined with the freshness of the fennel salad, the citrus pork makes an amazing warm weather dinner.  I knew I wanted a slightly richer flavor in my dressing for the salad so I decided to try the Star Butter flavored Olive Oil (tip: you can only get it at Walmart) to get that extra boost of flavor. 

What You’ll Need:
2 Tbsp Star Butter flavored Olive Oil 
4-6 pork chops {I grabbed the boneless variety}
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp cold water
Salad
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Star Butter flavored Olive Oil
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 cup mandarin  or regular orange slices
1 fennel bulb, sliced

Let’s Make It:
1) In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup orange juice and 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard over medium heat.  In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water.  Once the orange juice comes to a boil, whisk in cornstarch mixture and remove from heat.

2)  Heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove from heat and drizzle with orange juice mixture.

3)  In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp orange juice, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, and 1 Tbsp oil.  Toss fennel and apples in dressing.  Add to serving plate and top with mandarin orange slices.  Serve with pork chops.

This recipe was definitely a hit with the family! Mathlete liked the orange flavor of the pork.  I was just impressed I got him to eat fennel without much of a complaint. I have a few more pork chops left from my Costco package so I am excited to try something else with them.

What are some of your favorite pork dishes?  Do you buy recipe ingredients without actually having any recipe in mind to make?  You can search for #CollectiveBias to find other recipe ideas!

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Citrus Pork Chops with Apple, Orange and Fennel Salad

Author: Shannah @ Just Us Four

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Star Butter Olive Oil
• 4-6 pork chops {I grabbed the boneless variety}
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp mustard
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp cold water

Salad

• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp Star Butter Olive Oil
• 1 apple cored and chopped
• 1 cup mandarin orange slices
• 1 fennel bulb sliced

Instructions

Let's Make It

1. In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup orange juice and 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water. Once the orange juice comes to a boil, whisk in cornstarch mixture and remove from heat.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat. Season pork with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from heat and drizzle with orange juice mixture.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp orange juice, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, and 1 Tbsp oil. Toss fennel and apples in dressing. Add to serving plate and top with mandarin orange slices. Serve with pork chops.

Recipe Notes

For added flavor, whisk together 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1 Tbsp of the Butter olive oil and marinate the pork chops in it while you prepare the salad ingredients.