Zucchini Crisps & Pork Chops

These really easy menus (trust me) use basically the same ingredients with minor differences: mayo vs. olive oil. It's best to try these when the weather isn't TOO hot as the cooking oven temp is 425-450 degrees.

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

This is a no-fry recipe that uses very little oil; use a mix of zucchini and yellow squash.

• Cooking spray
• 1 lb zucchini (about 1 lb.)
• 1-2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch slices and toss with olive oil in a bowl.
3. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Dip slices into mixture to coat evenly on both sides. Press coating to stick, then place in single layer on prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake slices 25-30 minutes until browned and crisp. Remove with spatula and serve.

Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger, Food Network.

I paired the above recipe with this next one for a recent meal. Since the cooking temperature was a bit lower for the pork chops, I put them in 10 minutes after the zucchini slices were baking. Alternately, you could cook both at a lower temperature.

Magically Moist Pork Chops

An easy recipe with 4-5 ingredients, depending on your choice to add cheese or not.

• 4 pork chops, 1-inch think, patted dry
• 1/4 C Hellman's® Real Mayonnaise
• 1 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 C Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Brush pork chops with mayonnaise, then coat with bread crumbs and cheese mixed in, if using both. 
3. Arrange chops on baking pan and back 20 minutes or until chops are done, usually when internal temperature of chops reaches 145 degrees.

Recipe courtesy of Hellman's.com/Recipes

You can also serve these with a side salad, but we choose to just enjoy them together.

At the Frog & PenguINN, easy cooking is always good. 

Grenville gave both recipes his "stamp of approval" and declared them as "keepers."

That's very good to know for repeats.