A spur of the moment decision and a social post on Instagram, that is what inspired this meal. We were at an event that wasn’t going well. The event coordinator was pretty bad and the food didn’t look that good anyway. I pulled up the daily special at a local restaurant we frequent on Instagram and we decided to leave the event. The meal I had was memorable, so much so I decided to create my own version at home. I make pork chops, wilted spinach and cornbread often. I’d never made pinto beans from scratch, so I thought that would be fun.

You can make your own cornbread from scratch. If you would like to do that give this Sean Brock recipe a try (Black Eyed Peas and Cornbread Salad). I use Jiffy because my wife likes it. It does end up dry if you don’t tweak so adding an extra egg, some canola and sour cream makes for a much more moist cornbread.

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t make the apple butter. I happen to have some that was given to be by family. This whole meal, both the one I had at the restaurant and I made was fantastic. It all worked together. My wife asked, what do I put the apple butter on. I pointed to all of it. This will go on the regular rotation. The beans were great and you can freeze them if you don’t eat them all. Sweet, savory, crunch, creamy, this meal hit all my favorites. YUM!

Ingredients

• 2 thick cut bone-in pork chops
• Large bunch, spinach
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Pinto Beans

• 1 lbs dry pinto beans
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 4 strips of bacon, chopped and rendered
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups, chicken broth
• 1 Fresno chili (or Jalapeno), quartered
• Salt and pepper

Cornbread

• Jiffy cornbread mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (or milk)
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

Spiced Papitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

• 1 cup green papitas
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp canola oil

Directions

Pinto Beans

1. The night before, cover the pinto beans with 2-3 inches of water. Allow to soak overnight, rinse and disregard the soaking liquid.
2. Add all the ingredients listed above for the pinto beans into the slow cooker. Set to low and cook 5-6 hours or until the beans or to a consistency you like. I like the cooking liquid to be think and cream but the beans to to be too mushy.

Spiced Papitas

1. This can be done the night before. Heat oven to 275 degrees (F).
2. Mix all ingredients listed above, toss to coat and add to a sheet pan.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked.

Cornbread

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F) and grease 9×9 Pyrex baking dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, sour cream and canola. Fold in the Jiffy mix and season with salt and pepper. Don’t over mix. Add the mixture to the baking dish and allow to sit for a least 3 minutes.
3. Add the dish to the oven and cook until the top is slightly browned about 20 minutes.

Wilted Spinach

1. Heat a large pan or pot over medium high heat.
2. Coat the pan with olive oil and add the smashed garlic. Toss in the oil until fragrant.
3. Add spinach and toss until wilted. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Pork Chops

1. Pull the pork chops out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before.
2. Heat a large pan over high heat.
3. Season the pork with salt and pepper. and sear each side until golden, brown (and delicious). Add to the oven (should already be at 400 for the cornbread) and cook to desired temperature (I like them pink in the middle).