{"id":2400,"date":"2026-02-20T05:45:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:45:56","slug":"the-2-ingredient-dinner-i-cant-stop-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2400","title":{"rendered":"The 2-Ingredient Dinner I Can&#8217;t Stop Making"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> If you told me that cooking weeknight meals was an easy feat, I&#8217;d ask you to reveal your magic and secrets. What are you doing that equates to less time standing and cooking, to more time sitting and eating? I guess that you have a handful of recipes you rely on that don&#8217;t require much in the way of ingredients. And I bet you have something similar to one of my new favorite recipes, which requires just two ingredients and very little hands-on time, Perfect Simple Roasted Pork Chops.\n<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_3-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block allrecipes-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\"><figcaption id=\"mntl-figure-caption_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-figure-caption text-utility-100 figure-article-caption\"> <span class=\"figure-article-caption-owner\"><\/p>\n<p>Sara Haas<\/p>\n<p><\/span><br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"heading-toc\" id=\"toc-more-for-less\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block allrecipes-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading\"> <span class=\"mntl-sc-block-heading__text text-title-300\"> More, for Less <\/span> <\/h2>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_5-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> I&#8217;ll make you a promise right now. I promise that not all 2-ingredient recipes should be treated equally. While there are plenty of instances where this minimalistic approach works, there are also plenty that don&#8217;t. This easy pork chop recipe, though, delivers. I was skeptical at first, but I was so impressed after seasoning my chops with a bit of salt, pepper (staples, so we don&#8217;t include them in the ingredient count), and dried thyme, and then baking them for a short time. Somehow, just the littlest bit of seasoning was all they needed\u2014and I loved that I could cook them in the oven, which gave me extra time to prep my sides.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"heading-toc\" id=\"toc-tips-for-making-these-perfect-simple-roast-pork-chops\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block allrecipes-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading\"> <span class=\"mntl-sc-block-heading__text text-title-300\"> Tips for Making These Perfect Simple Roast Pork Chops <\/span> <\/h2>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_12-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> The recipe doesn&#8217;t need further explanation, but I do have some ideas for getting it right (and serving the dish):\n<\/p>\n<ul id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\n<li><strong>Use a <\/strong><strong>meat thermometer<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> It&#8217;s tough to tell when a pork chop is cooked properly, so I recommend using one. Insert the probe into the thickest part of your chop to get an accurate reading and aim for 145 degrees F (62 degrees C).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Let the pork chops rest: <\/strong>When you&#8217;re hungry, you want to eat immediately\u2014but resist the temptation to cut into your pork chops. They need about 5 minutes to sit and rest before you dig into them. Slicing too early will cause them to lose moisture, leaving you with a dry, chewy pork chop.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play with herbs and spices: <\/strong>Hear me out! I know we love the &#8220;2-ingredient&#8221; aspect of this recipe, but I&#8217;m guessing you have a spice cabinet full of fun, flavorful combinations. When you&#8217;ve got more time and want to experiment, try a spice or herb blend in place of the dried thyme. Stick with combos you know work, like chili powder and ground cumin or dried oregano and parsley.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Serve it with easy sides: <\/strong>The freezer aisle is your friend. So grab a bag of frozen rice or mashed potatoes, then follow the package directions for heating. Add a bagged salad for a complete, easy meal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block allrecipes-sc-block-spotlight--1-2-post mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight--1-2-post mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight mntl-block theme-1-2-post\">\n<h3 id=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight__heading_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight__heading mntl-text-block\">Get the recipe<\/h3>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight__articles_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block-universal-spotlight__articles mntl-document-spotlight mntl-document-card-list mntl-card-list mntl-block\" data-chunk=\"36\">\n<div class=\"card__content \" data-tag=\"Baked\">\n<p><span class=\"card__title\"><span class=\"card__title-text text-title-100-moderate\">Perfect Simple Roasted Pork Chops<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you told me that cooking weeknight meals was an easy feat, I&#8217;d ask you to reveal your magic and secrets. What are you doing that equates to less time standing and cooking, to more time sitting and eating? I guess that you have a handful of recipes you rely [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}