I’ll be completely honest and tell you right off the bat that I am not a gourmet cook. I frequently make dinners that consist of baked something and side dishes that come from boxes or cans. I have found, however, a few “shortcuts” to seasoning and adding flavor to meals that would otherwise be bland variations on the same theme.

Enter: Onion Soup Mix.

Dry onion soup mix has to be one of the best innovations of all time—especially for lazy, time/energy crunched cooks like me. Usually all you need is to place the meat (or vegetables) in a baking dish, sprinkle dry onion soup mix over everything, add some butter (or healthy variant), and bake. Viola! Instant fantastic dinner!

Here is a recipe that quickly has become a favorite in my house:

You will need:

• Boneless Pork chops
• Potatoes
• Butter (or some healthy variant)
• Onion soup mix
• Baking dish large enough to hold everything
• Tin foil

The amounts of ingredients you use depend on how many people for whom you are cooking. When I am cooking for just my significant other and I, we get by with two pork chops and one large baking potato.

Cut up the potatoes into either small chunks or thin slices, and put them in the bottom of your baking dish.

Place the boneless pork chops on top of the potatoes.

Sprinkle the onion soup mix over everything.

Add a few tablespoons of butter

Cover your baking dish with tinfoil, and bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the pork chops are cooked thoroughly and the potatoes are soft and easy to bite into. Usually this takes anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to tell you when the pork chops are done.