Bustin' chops

I'm not a fan of pork chops.  They tend to be dry and flavorless.  Like a lot of things, I made up my mind long ago and it never occurred to me to investigate further.

For instance, when I was in college I over heard a conversation in which a chest of drawers was being discussed.  It took my mind a moment decode "chest of drawers" as I've always called it "chester drawers."  Now, I'm an educated woman with a decent vocabulary.  Somewhere around the age of three chester drawers got stuck in my head and it never occurred to me to investigate further.

Back to the chops.  This past weekend we spent time at Lake LBJ with my sweet in-laws.  I mean that.  They are really sweet.  I've hit the jackpot where in-laws are concerned!!  On Sunday, before the long drive home, we had lunch in Marble Falls.  As I'm trying to lose some of this just-had-a-baby belly, I decided to order a pork chops and fresh green beans.  Eating healthy isn't supposed to taste good.  Well, it did!  The pork chops were thick and juicy, not dry and tough.  I ate the whole thing and considered gnawing on the bone, but decided against it.

Today, in an effort to eat at home and lose some more of this just-had-a-baby belly (and kick some butt in TBL/BFPW 2010), I made oven-fried pork chops.  Seriously good! 

What can we take away from these pork chop adventures? Sometimes we make up our mind prematurely or based on misinformation.  Sometimes we draw a conclusion based on a traumatic experience - like the time I had to eat cold pork chops smothered with ketchup left over from the night before because I mouthed off to my mother.  It's important to examine the things we believe. Age, information, experience and knowledge can change our perceptions.  Holding on to "chester drawers" is only cute when you understand that the truth is "chest of drawers."