Old Fashioned Pork Chop and Thyme Apple Bake

This is my mom's recipe.  Having moved across the country from her last month, I was craving some comfort food from my childhood.  And I came across this recipe she gave me.

This is one of my favorite things she made. 

It's a wonderful recipe to incorporate those beautiful apples that are so in season right now.  

Pork does exceptionally well with almost any kind of fruit- oranges, apples, apricots, etc.  Often pork is marinated in apple juice or cider, or orange juice.  In this recipe, I didn't have time to marinate, and I'm not sure the pork needed a marinade.  The chops really soak up some of the flavor and moistness of both the apples and the baked beans.

And pork and beans is just a combination you don't question!  

For the beans, I added a few ingredients to spice them up a bit.  If short on time, you could definitely just use a can of beans without any additions (in fact my mom's original recipe used a can of beans with no additions and it was so so good).  

The bean recipe comes loosely from my future mother-in-law.  The Boyfriend loves her baked beans, and I've never been able to replicate her recipe to his approval.  Some things your mother makes, no one else can make the same, you know?  

But I tried to replicate here again today, only I didn't really remember exactly what she adds, of course.  These may not be Debbie's beans, but they turned out pretty darn good.  

So this recipe is a merging of mothers.  Home-cooked comfort food at it's finest. 

The best part is you can make this ahead of time, refrigerate, and pop it in the oven.