Recipe(tried): Pork Chops and Mushrooms -

Hi Nocole - How is your hubby when it comes to "fungus" - I mean mushrooms?!

We've had many discussions on how to make today's lean-bred pork chops taste like Grandma's used to, easily cut and falling off the bone.

Here's the one and only way I've come up with to accomplish that. I know you asked for a stuffed chop recipe, but after the recipe below, I will make a suggestion.

4-6 med. to large loin cut pork chops
Flour
salt/pepper/garlic powder
Veg. oil
Mushrooms, sliced
Large Onion, sliced
Water/beef soup paste (like you find at Costco's)

Cut off excessive fat, leaving some on for flavor.
Dredge the pork chops in mixture of flour, a LITTLE salt/pepper and garlic powder to taste. (I just mix it up in a Zip-loc and then shake the chops one or two at a time.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet and brown chops both sides until light or medium brown (not necessary to cook thru)
Place chops into a glass or metal baking pan that will fit the number of chops you are using. Top with sliced mushrooms and onions. Don't skimp!

Deglaze the skillet with a good quantity of water, perhaps as much as two or more cups - into which you have mixed a heaping tsp of the beef soup base paste. This is to taste, and it's also why I suggested just a little salt in the dredging process since this base paste is very salty.

When the flavored water comes to a boil, pour over the chops (chops not covered, but ALMOST covered)

Bake, covered with foil or pan cover in a 350 oven for at least an hour and a half, and if they're big thick chops even two hours! Check for liquid level after about an hour - you may need to add just a little more plain water if it's getting too dry.

When you remove these from the oven, you can thicken the juice if necessary, but I've found that the flour naturally thickens the juice as it cooks. This recipe sounds very simple but the flavors are wonderful after the long slow cooking.

serve it with garlic smashed red potatoes! Yumm

Now, for a suggestion re: stuffed. I think that if your hubby likes mushrooms, that you could do a stuffing of dry bread crumbs, some of the chopped mushrooms, and onions, & garlic. Just sautee some onions, mushrooms and garlic in a pan with a very small amount of butter or oil, season to taste - the mushrooms will put out their own liquid. Then add some day old bread crumbs until it holds together. Make a slit and stuff the pork chops with this, and proceed with the recipe as above without using quite so much liquid (since you don't want the stuffing to float out into the liquid.) Just a suggestion.

I'd love to find a pork chop or a pork roast like my mother used to make - moist, chewy, crunchy - but they just don't breed them that way anymore.

Enjoy, June

Seeing as how you're a veg - do you have a nice recipe for a black bean soup? I love garlic, so anything with garlic, onions, etc is good.