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As our eyes and hearts have turned towards home over the past few months, our love of shopping and supporting locally grown businesses has become even more firmly rooted. From R & G Farms tender lettuce to new farm market, Dexter Produce to Dexter Meat Company‘s tender chops, we have found new ways to stock our fridges while keeping Laurens County’s (and Georgia’s) tax revenue growing.

Here’s one of my family’s favorite one pot meals that’s easy to toss together on a busy Wednesday night. Served with whole roasted baby red potatoes grown by my father-in-law, it’s a quick meal I can prep, cook, & serve in under 45 minutes all from locally grown eats.

Locally Grown Eats

2 apples chopped (any kind works, so see what Dexter Produce has on hand)

1 head cabbage, sliced thin (I love the cabbage at Dexter Produce & The Common Market boxes from R & G Farm)

1 onion, sliced thin

3 tablespoons olive oil – thanks to a friend, I discovered the olive oil by Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. Amazing!

6 bone-in pork chops, about 1.5 lbs. from Dexter Meat Company (center cut or regular chops work equally well. Adjust your cooking time if using thick, center cut chops.)

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Salt & pepper chops to taste. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in large oven safe skillet or pot. I love my enameled cast iron dutch oven for this recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly sear the chops in the oil. I do this in three parts, two chops at a time. Remove to plate.

Add last tablespoon of oil and heat over medium heat. Add garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and cabbage to pot, cooking until veggies are tender, yet crisp (about 10 minutes).

Add apples and fennel seeds to pot, lightly tossing with veggies, and cook until tender about 5 minutes.

Return chops and any juices to pot, placing them atop the cabbage & apples. Cover and bake for 10-15 minutes in oven until chops are cooked through.

The fennel seeds make this dish! If you don’t have fennel seeds, caraway seeds or celery seeds are also good.

We’re counting the hours til the Market on Madison farmers market opens on Saturday, May 16th from 7:30 AM to 12:30 PM. We will be loading up the little red wagon and filling it with lots of goodies for next Friday’s locally grown eats recipe!