Smothered Pork Chops

Today was one of those days when I finished cooking and thought, "I totally nailed it."And then I took I bite...and I was right!

I actually used a recipe and followed it relatively closely. You can find the original here, by Aaron McCargo Jr. We haven't had cable since we moved a couple years ago. I swear the only thing I miss is the Food Network. Down Home with the Neely's, Big Daddy's House, my favorite used to be Ask Aida. She always made something interesting. Anyway. Smothered pork chops.

Here's what I did different. I didn't have 1 inch thick pork chops. I'd guess they were about 1/2 an inch. Since they were smaller I decided I would do more than 2. I prepared 3. I didn't bother dredging them in flour. It just dirties another dish. I sprinkle each side liberally, pat them down, and repeat on the other side. I only have whole wheat flour in the house, so that's what I used. This may have been why my sauce didn't thicken as much as I expected, but honestly I don't think it matters. It was still delicious.

Olive oil works just fine if you don't have grapeseed oil. I think grapeseed oil has a higher smoke content...I'm not really sure what that means but I always have olive oil so that's usually my go to choice.

I used my cast iron pan. Turns out 3 good sized pork chops won't fit! Luckily, I have another small cast iron that was perfect for one more chop. I just cut the remaining ingredients in thirds and divided them appropriately.

Now, I'm sure there's a difference between yellow onion and vidalia, but I had yellow on hand so that's what I used. I chopped half of a pretty large one. I also didn't measure the garlic. I buy minced garlic packed in water. It's just easier and if you pay attention to ingredients you can find some that's not packed with preservatives.

And the last change I made, I only used chicken broth. It's what I had, so it's what was used. Again, I don't think it did much difference to the flavor. It was quite tasty. I paired it with some lightly seasoned brown rice and green beans! Oh, and garlic rolls. Can I just tell you that the best part was probably dipping the garlic roll in the sauce. So good. Enjoy!