Baked Pork Chops over Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

Ahhh...the simple tastes of fall!!! We enjoyed a meal of delicious fall tastes tonight using some of the fresh produce from our co-op...it was delicious and even my daughter loved the sweet potatoes (that normally she won't touch!!!) You could even substitute another fall squash in the place of the sweet potatoes, if you have them on hand. I hope you enjoy it!!!

Baked Pork Chops over Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

4 boneless loin chops (approx. 1/2 inch thick)
2 sweet potatoes (or 4 small sweet potatoes)
4-5 apples (we used Honey Crisp because we had them fresh from our co-op, but you could use any apple you have on hand)
2 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (we use brown sugar Splenda blend)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and chop sweet potatoes and apples into approximately 1 inch cubes each (if you keep the size of the items about the same, they will cook more evenly); saute them in the butter/olive oil on medium-low heat. (The reason for using both olive oil and butter is that olive oil will preven the butter from burning because olive oil's burning temperature is much higher than butter).

Saute the potatoes and apples for about 5-10 minutes until they are tender, but not mushy. Transfer the potato and apple mixture to a baking dish (you could use oblong or rectangular - approximately 9 x 13 will be fine.

Raise the heat on your pan to medium and put your pork chops in for a quick sear to seal in the juices - about 3 minutes per side, just long enough to give it a bit of golden brown color on each side - but they will not be fully cooked at this point.

Place the pork chops on top of the potato/apple hash, then cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. The pork chops should be nice and moist and have some of the flavors of the cinnamon and apples infused into them - delish!!! Enjoy!!!