The longest wait for this meal to be done is for the water to boil. Growing up with a gas stove, our last house was also gas and now this house has an electric. I am always shocked at how long it takes to boil water. Pork chops in the oven do not take much time and warming the sauce is a quick process also.

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Published October 11, 2021
Updated March 27, 2022
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Frenchie’s Breaded Pork Chops

To switch up this meal, at any time, you can alter the flavors of the breading that goes on the Pork Chops. This night I used plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and Frenchie’s Fried Onions. In this blog I will give steps on how to get a crispy skin on your chops, resulting in a meal packed with flavor, and beautifully cooked. I also served this meal with cheese-filled Tortellini, spaghetti sauce and steamed sweet peas.

On Monday, I typically go grocery shopping, and any other chores I need to get done are usually done on this day. Because my day is so filled with errands and chores, I like to do a simpler meal for dinner. I say “simpler” because it is not making bread or tortillas or a longer recipe.

Making this recipe is honestly mixing the dry breadcrumbs, boiling water, warming sauce and peas in the microwave, and baking pork chops in the oven. Start to finish, the total time I took to cook this meal was under 45-minutes; including waiting for the water to boil on our unbelievably slow electric stovetop.

Cost breakdown for this meal

Since 2018, we have had a strict budget, which includes a weekly grocery budget of $170 for the six of us. Back in 2014, Tyler started a new job, and it has helped us become so much more financially stable. As a result, we were able to finally start saving, paying off debt and making better financial choices.

As of spring 2021, we became debt free except for our house. We are both so grateful to God for allowing Tyler to have a fantastic job, and also to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University class. In 2018, while pregnant with our daughter Elliana, we completed this class and made the choice to cut our credit cards and get on a debt pay-off plan.

After weeks and months of learning, we set up a budget that works for our family. When we considered what our grocery budget would be for a week, we looked back at recipes and meals and their costs. As a result, our findings showed an average dinner cost of $20. This was my new baseline for each dinner and getting meals at or under that cost has become my goal weekly.

Understandably, food costs are different in all of the areas of not only the United States, but the world. The prices in my area of Wisconsin, USA, are going to be listed in most of my blogs. These are not a reflection of nationwide costs, or sometimes updated costs, but rather a snapshot of that week in time.

Traditional Spaghetti Sauce $0.99
Assorted Pork Chops $8.88
Gourmet Pasta $1.99
Sweet Peas $0.75
French Fried Onions $0.92
Breadcrumbs $0.49
Stuffed Tortellini $6.45

Total cost for this meal was $20.47
That is a cost of $2.55 per serving with Tyler and I getting a large lunch the next day!

Breaded Pork Chops Recipe

Ingredients

Assorted Pork Chops
Plain Breadcrumbs
Italian Seasoning
French Fried Onions
Salt, Pepper

One main reason I use PANKO breadcrumbs that are plain, is because they give a crispier finish to the baked chops. I do not care very much for pre-seasoned breadcrumbs because you can have more for your money by buying plain and having the option to flavoring them whatever you want. I use plain breadcrumbs in homemade hamburgers, meatloaf, meatballs, frying sushi (yes, it is amazing), and so many more ways. Plain breadcrumbs have always been a staple in my pantry!

Pork Chops Directions

1. In a shallow bowl, like a pie plate for example, pour half of the container of French-Fried Onions. After that, using a measuring cup, smash the onions to little bits. A pie plate is perfect to mix the breading and is big enough for an entire chop to fit.

2. Firstly, add 1 cup PANKO breadcrumbs to the smashed Fried Onions.
3. Secondly, add 1 tsp Italian seasoning to the breadcrumbs and mix.
4. Thirdly, add 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and mix well.
5. Then, using a fork, pick up and place one pork chop in the dry mix and cover completely with breadcrumbs. Flip and repeat with each pork chop until they are all breaded. Make sure to carefully smash the dry mixture into the chops to get that PANKO breadcrumbs really on the skin!
6. When covered, lay pork chop onto a baking sheet sprayed with a non-stick spray. You could also lay the chops on top of aluminum foil and spray it with a non-stick spray for a much easier clean up! I typically use foil with these newer pans, but by the time I was ready to lay the chops down all seasoned and breaded I had completely forgot to do so. Oh well! It was Matthew’s day to do the dishes. I will just have to hide the steel wool.

7. Finish breading each pork chop and then lay each onto the baking sheet.
8. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
9. Bake pork chops until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees, making sure to flip at least once. Make sure you check the temperature, as pork has specific temperature guidelines, and check it often while baking.

Make the Tortellini

To make tortellini, bring a pot of water to boil. Boil tortellini pasta according to package directions; typically, 2-3 minutes. Drain cooked pasta in a sink colander and serve with pork chops.

Make Spaghetti Sauce

Warm your spaghetti sauce in a saucepan and then serve with tortellini. For this meal, we used a Traditional Sauce. To get the rest of the sauce out of the jar, use a clean coffee cup to collect pasta water before the pasta is drained; around 1/4 cup, and carefully pour it into the empty pasta jar. Swoosh it around carefully and pour it into the saucepan with the rest of the sauce and warm. Using pasta water added to the spaghetti sauce helps the sauce stick to the pasta. DO NOT close the lid and shake the jar with the boiling hot water as that can cause it to explode.

This meal was finished with a bag of sweet peas that were steamed in the microwave. The peas are fresh, not salty or flavored weird, and our kids love them.

These pork chops had such an amazing flavor! The PANKO breadcrumbs with the French-Fried Onion pieces provided a crispy layer while preserving the juiciness of the chops. It was packed with flavor and texture with the onion. By adding my own seasonings in the Italian seasoning and garlic powder, I was able to personalize how I wanted them to taste. Feel free to try any type of seasonings and flavors with the breadcrumbs.

Halfway through finishing this meal I realized the three packages of Tortellini would not be enough to feed our family of six. In addition to the three packages of Tortellini, I added a package of a fun multi-colored pasta that was swirly. Serve and enjoy!
~Monica

Recipe for Pork Chops with Tortellini

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