SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS

Hi All!  I certainly hope this post finds you doing well today.  Can you believe that it has been 6 months since my last post?  I am appalled and embarrassed.  What kind of example am I setting for the home cooks out there?  Definitely not a good one but nevertheless, I'm back and will try my best to redeem myself.  

Before I continue, let me share some exciting news with you.  Taste of Home Magazine, for which I am the Volunteer Field Editor for the Birmingham/Bessemer area, will be conducting a cooking school expo at the Southern Women's Show on October 2nd and 3rd and guess who will be assisting the chefs back stage?  Yep!  It's yours truly!!! :-) Annie Rundle, the Field Editor Coordinator, extended the invitation and I graciously accepted.  I will be assisting with recipe preparation during the show and helping them break everything down and pack up afterwards. (Sounds a lot like a catering gig, right Mom?)  Anyway, I am so jazzed about this opportunity and I'm really looking forward to working with the Taste of Home chefs!!!!

Now, without further ado, what I have prepared for you today are some good, old fashioned, Smothered Pork Chops.  This is my "Look Mom, No Recipe" version.  Since I'm such a stickler for precise measurements when I am cooking for my blog, I sort of stepped outside my comfort zone on this one but this is the type of cooking that I do on a daily basis and I thought that it was important for you to see that side of me.

Special Notes:
I used 1/4" thick, center cut, boneless pork chops for this dish but any cut will do.

Final Thoughts:
#lovemyleftovers

Ingredients:
4 - center cut boneless pork chops
approx. 1 tbsp butter
approx. 2 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
approx. 2 heaping tbsp all purpose flour
approx. 1/4 cup of whole milk
approx. 1/2 cup of water
1/2 small onion chopped into strips
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Rinse off the pork chops with water and pat dry.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2.  Melt butter in a saute pan.

3.  Sear pork chops on both sides and then remove from pan.

4.  Add oil then flour to the pan and combine using a whisk until a paste is formed.  Once the paste has browned, add water and continue to whisk ensuring that no lumps are present.  

5.  Add milk, chopped onions, salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat and simmer until onions are slightly tender.

6.  Place pork chops in a casserole dish that has been greased or sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Pour gravy mixture on top of pork chops.  Cover with foil and bake at 350° for approximately 1 1/2 hours.  (Pork chops will be probably be done after about an hour but I have found that the longer they cook, the more tender they are so I always give it an extra 30 minutes.)

7.  Here is your finished product.  Enjoy!