Oddly, I had several recipes for sheet pan dinners show up in my email feed this past week. They prompted me to create a delicious one pan dinner using pork. This one was originally written for chicken, but pork is frequently interchangeable with the bird.  The attraction with a single pan dinner is that it’s easy to get your dinner on the table at one time and the seasonings used enhance all the components. This one has a lovely sweet and lightly spiced sauce that works beautifully with the apples and squash. It uses pecans, but if you prefer, you can substitute walnuts or omit them.

Most of my recipes are 10 net carbs or below, but this ones comes in a little higher, depending on whether you want a large serving or a smaller one.  It will make four large servings or 6 smaller ones. You decide.

Apple and Butternut Pork Sheet Pan Dinner

8 slices of Pork Roast or 6 boneless Pork Chops, about 1/2″ thick
2 Apples, cored and cubed
2 cups Butternut Squash, cubed
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Sugar-free Honey
1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees( F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easier. Spray with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, add olive oil, sugar-free honey, Dijon mustard, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.

Place pork slices or chops in the center of the baking sheet and season to your preference with salt and pepper.

If you’re cooking about 1″-sized cubes of butternut squash, precook them in the microwave for about five minutes. Smaller cubes will probably get done in the allotted cooking time, but the larger ones won’t. Alternately, you can cook them for about five minutes in boiling water, drain, then add them to the baking pan. Place them on one side of the pork.

Toss apple pieces and pecans together and arrange them on the other side of the pork. Brush or pour the seasoned honey and oil syrup over everything.

Place the baking sheet in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork is done. Let rest about 5 minutes, then spoon the squash and apples on the place and top with a pork chop.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.