I’m trying a new recipe tonight, from Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites.

pork chops, 1 per person

salt and pepper to taste

onion, 1 – 2 slices per chop

ketchup, 1 Tbs per chop

pickle juice, 1/2 cup per 4 chops

Put the chops in a baking dish that has a cover (or use aluminum foil to cover later) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place some onion slices on each chop, then squirt a bit of ketchup over each, then pour the pickle juice in. The recipe calls for sweet pickle juice. I’m using the juice from some bread and butter pickles. Then cover and bake for an hour at 350.

As an aside, I love the taste of these bread and butter pickles but never quite know what to do with them. I prefer dill pickles (the spicier the better) in sandwiches and hamburgers. I actually like to pull a grilled cheese sandwich apart and spread pickle relish inside of it, although I’ll have some bread and butter pickles on the side if I’m out of relish. There was a restaurant, an ice cream place, in Oakland that used to serve the best grilled crab sandwiches with bread and butter pickles on the side! Mmmmm! Maybe it’s just the memory of those sandwiches that makes me like bread and butter pickles. Even as a kid, I loved pickled anything. Beets. Carrot sticks. Cucumbers.

I’ve seen several recipes for things (usually pork) baked in pickle juice. I always add a little pickle juice to my potato salad. That’s how my Grandma used to make it.

I’ve also seen crockpot recipes for roasts cooked in a jar of pepperoncini and that sounds great too! I need to try that soon before the weather heats up too much. It rained last night here, pretty unusual for almost June. Makes me think of my last few winter dinners, rather than the barbecues I should be planning for Memorial Day weekend.