Pork Chops with Pineapple & BBQ Baked Beans

Dinner started out to be a new roast chicken recipe I saw.  I had my face all fixed for it, just imagining the wonderful honey and herb glaze....ymmmm....  And then, when I went to add the broth to the (hot) glass roasting dish, the glass shattered.  Right there, right in front of me, all over the oven, broth and fat dripping and sizzling and dancing down the sides of the oven and into the drawer below.  We won't talk about the little bits of purple Pyrex glass that went everywhere.Or the five cats who suddenly appeared and wanted to be a part of the excitement.

Ole Sweetie-Pi came to the rescue.  He sopped up the oven, vacuumed up all the glass he could find, and the next day took the oven apart  (after everything and everyone had cooled down) and cleaned it and the drawer and all the cookie sheets and trays stored below.  Nary a negative word was spoken.  That's how he got his name, Ole Sweetie-Pi.

Sigh..... Dinner Plan B went into effect.  Pizza. Out.

Refusing to be undone, the next night I decided to try baked pork chops.   This was a last minute decision as I had planned on leftover chicken, searched the internet for an easy pork chop recipe and found this delightful recipe using ingredients I had on hand. 

The verdict?  I think this has Mom's easy weeknight family  meal written all over it. This is hearty, slightly sweet from the pineapple, slightly spicy from the barbecue sauce and onion. The pork chops, while tender, did not absorb the flavors of the other ingredients, so perhaps baking them with the gussied up beans is more for a sense of dressing them up than for flavor.

We liked this.  I'll make it again.  After all, who am I to disagree with Mom.

Pork Chops with Pineapple and BBQ Baked Beans

1 onion, chopped1 tablespoon oil or butter or combination of the two
1 can baked beans (21-22 oz.)

4 to 6 pork chops

Good shake of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 375*F. Have ready a 12" x 8" pan or size appropriate to hold the number of chops you are baking.

In a frying pan (that will eventually be used to brown the pork chops) add the oil and saute the onions until they are a nice golden brown. Remove from pan and add to the mix into the beans. Spread the beans in the bottom of the baking dish.

Salt and pepper the chops and sprinkle with garlic. Add the pork chops in a single layer in the frying pan and brown chops on both sides but do not cook through. Layer chops in single layer on top of beans.

In a small bowl combine the drained, crushed pineapple and the barbecue sauce. Pour over pork chops and bean layers. 



Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and brown.  Serves 4-6.