Pork Chops, Green Beans & Mashed Potato & Cauliflower

I have an obsession with potatoes.  There, I admitted it.  I just love them.  Fried, baked, mashed, in a soup, steamed...that starchy goodness does me in every time.  So last night's meal started with the fact that I wanted mashed potatoes.  Funny, or sad?  Don't judge me.

YET - I remembered an experiment I did once that turned out fantastically: mashed potatoes and cauliflower.  Sounds a little odd, but the result is delicious.  You get the starchy potato-ness and some great flavor from the cauliflower.  If you like cauliflower, that is.  So from there it was easy to complete a meal - I wanted a green vegetable (green beans were everywhere) and some protein (pork chops called my name like Sirens on the sea).

Green Beans - I used about a pound (snipped off the ends).  I also got a small bunch of spring onions thinking I'd jazz up the green beans.  I sliced the entire bunch of spring onions along with two cloves of garlic (sliced).  I softened them up in some olive oil & salt, and then tossed in the green beans and a big handful of sliced almonds.  Great side dish!

The pork chops were really nice - and so simple.  First I pulled them out of the fridge and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, cumin (I call it the sweaty spice - come on, it smells a little like sweat), and paprika.  I heated up a touch of olive oil in a pan, and dropped in the chops.  They cooked for about 6-8 minutes each side until cooked through.  They were seared on the outside and moist in the middle - perfect.

And the mash - 2-3 potatoes (chopped) and 1 small head of cauliflower (chopped) into a pot of boiling water.  Cook until the potatoes are really tender.  Drain, and put back into the pot.  I added about 3 Tbl. butter, and maybe 1/3 cup milk - as well as a good amount of salt and some white pepper.  Mash the crap out of them and serve.