Baked Stuffed Pork Chops and Gravy

If you love good down-home cookin' I can virtually guarantee that you'll love this recipe.  Oh my stars, this was good!  Meat was fall apart tender and the thick country gravy was flavored from cooking with the pork.  It could easily become your signature dish, your Sunday dinner, or special occasion dish . You'll need a  hearty appetite  and a bit of time for this one.

Get ready to mess up some dishes, smiles. It'll be worth it!  This was enthusiastically approved by Ole Sweetie-Pi.

If you're going to try this, take a minute to read through the recipe as there are a number of steps, and some of the ingredients are divided.

Baked Stuffed Pork Chops with Gravy

For the stuffing

3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 tablespoon minced celery

pinch of dried sage (or a good pinch of Bell's Poultry Seasoning)

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons chicken broth

4 thick pork chops (about  1 1/2 inch thick)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 egg lightly beaten

2 1/4 cups milk, divided

1/4 - 1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups water

Preheat the oven to 325*F.

For the stuffing:  Mix the bread crumbs, onion, celery, sage (or Bell's Seasoning), salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Add only enough chicken broth to make the mixture moist, but not wet. 

Cut a slit into the fatty side of each chop to form a pocket. Evenly divide the stuffing between each chop and stuff the pockets with the bread mixture.

In a shallow dish, like a pie dish, mix 1 cup of  flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

In a second dish, make an egg wash by stirring together the egg, mustard, and 3/4 cup of the milk.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Dip each chop in the egg wash and then coat completely in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.  Place the chops in the skillet and cook, turning once, for 2 minutes on each side or until browned.  Transfer the chops to paper towels to drain, and then place them in a large, shallow baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

Pour all but 4 tablespoons of the drippings out of the skillet, leaving any browned bits on the bottom.  Return the pan to medium heat and scrape up the browned bits with a spatula.  Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup flour and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes until browned and smooth.  Remove the skillet from the heat and gradually whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and the water.  Return the skillet to medium-low heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.  Mixture should be well blended but will not be thickened as it will thicken during baking.

Pour the gravy over the chops, recover the dish with foil, and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Arrange the meat on plates with the gravy poured over.

MY NOTES:  LOL, I've made gravy a hundred times over the years and have never had a problem with lumps.  Can't say that this time; it was lump city.  I ended up removing the chops from the baking dish, scooping the gravy (lumps) into a sieve and forcing them through the sieve a couple of times. adding a bit of milk and rewhisking again.  It wasn't beautiful but it was delicious







Ham and Potato Au Gratin

Lawsy mercy this was good!  I had my doubts when I was putting this together, and fretted about it as it was cooking, but once Ole Sweetie-Pi and I took our first mouthfuls, it was love at first bite.  Creamy, cheesy, potato and ham goodness.  It's a old family favorite that needs to be enjoyed more often.  I know we'll be having this again and again. It reheated okay the next day, but some might need a small splash of milk to loosen the cheese.

A saucepan or saute pan that can go from stovetop to oven, without cracking or burning it would be perfect here to save a pan.  If you don't, prepare a separate, buttered casserole dish to put the mixture in before everything goes into the oven.

Ham and Potato Au Gratin
(adapted from http://articles.boston.com/2009-02-18/lifestyle/29258528_1_russet-potatoes-cream-mixture-ham)

Preheat over to 375*F.

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
a couple scrapes of a fresh nutmeg on a grater (or a pinch) of nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic from a jar (or 2 whole cloves garlic, minced)
pinch thyme (about 1/8th teaspoon)

3 or 4 Russet potatoes thinly sliced (about 1/8th inch thick)
1/4 onion thinly sliced

1/2 to 1 pound ham, diced
pepper to taste

8 ounces cheese (I used 4-Italian blend ~ mozzarella, provolone, Romano, Parmesan), divided

Start by putting the cream, milk, thyme, garlic and nutmeg in a medium sized saucepan or saute pan.  Bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes and onions and cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently for about 3 minutes.  Cover the pan, turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.**

Add the ham and pepper to taste. Add the cheese (reserving a small handful for top the casserole) and stir well.  If using a separate casserole dish, pour the mixture into the casserole.  Otherwise cover your saucepan/saute pan with a piece of tinfoil and put in your preheated 375*F oven.  Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes, or until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a thin, sharp knife.

Uncover the casserole and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the casserole and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese topping is a light golden brown.

**MY NOTES ~ When I saw the liquid to potato ratio in the pan, I panicked and thought I'd end up with potato soup, hence the fourth potato.  I probably could have added a fifth potato and it would have been okay.  The cheese and starchy potatoes thicken the sauce, so if it looks a little too milky at the end of cooking, I wouldn't hesitate to add a bit more cheese, grins.

I like ham, but I don't like a pound of ham in with 4 potatoes.

Cooking times are approximate.  Depending on how thick or thin you slice your potatoes, you might not need to cook the potatoes on the stovetop for 15 minutes.  I used a mandolin to slice my potatoes, so they were pretty thin so I only needed  10 minutes cooking time before they were fork tender.  From there I put them in the oven and at the end of 35 minutes the dish was bubbly, hot, cheesy, and the potatoes were done.

Green Bean and Pork Chop Casserole

This recipe is a spinoff of the perenially popular green bean casserole.  For not a lot of money you can feed a family a meal that is filling and delicious.  I can't tell you how many times my own mother made this when the pantry was getting a little lean and the wallet a little thin. We thought we were dining like rich folk. 

Essentially, I just threw together ingredients for a green bean casserole, added sliced potatoes, and a couple of chops, a small can of mushrooms (fresh is so much better if you have them!), some sour cream, and baked.  For the two of us, I used only two chopsyou can easily add more chops. This made a generous amount of casserole, which we enjoyed as a leftover. 

Green Bean and Pork Chop Casserole

2 medium potatoes, washed, thinly sliced, skins left intact if desired

1 can cream of mushroom soup, plus one half can of water

1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained

a good-sized gob of sour cream, probably about 1/2 cup

2 cans green beans (also known as haricot verts)

2 thin boneless pork chops, browned

salt and pepper to taste

generous handful of French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Generously butter an 11 inch by 7 inch baking dish (or a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish if using more than 2 chops).

Wash and peel your potatoes, and then slice to about 1/8 inch thick.  To prevent browning,  put them in a bowl of fresh cold water. Set aside.  (Dry them off with a paper towel before using.)

In a separate bowl, combine the mushroom soup, water, mushrooms, and sour cream.  Add the green beans and mix to combine. Set aside.

Lightly salt and pepper the pork chops + and brown in a fry pan, about three minutes each side.

In your baking dish, layer the sliced potatoes.  Top with one half of the green bean mixture.  Add the browned pork chops, and top with the remaining green bean mixture.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350*F for about 50 minutes.  Remove from oven, peel back aluminum foil and insert the tip of a knife to the bottom of the casserole, testing that the potatoes pierce easily and are done. If not, cover and return to the oven and bake until done, probably another 10 minutes or so. When potatoes are done, completely remove the foil and sprinkle with the French fried onions and return the casserole to the oven.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes to brown the onions or until the onions are a deep golden color.

Remove casserole from oven.  Let rest a couple of minutes, serve hot.

Sausage Gravy on Biscuits

My brother Grant was telling me a while back that he had sausage gravy on biscuits and that they were "mighty fine groceries."  I had seen recipes around for this but never had it, thinking it was a little too hearty for our tastes, but curiosity and an extra large hunger pang this morning lead me to trying this.  Now I regret all those missed opportunities, but am heartened (can one be "heart"-ened by a sausage gravy breakfast, I wonder?) to know that we'll be enjoying this again.  Ole Sweetie-Pi loved it!

Sausage Gravy on Biscuits

(Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams)

1 pound bulk sausage, as lean as possible
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tobasco

Baking powder biscuits, recipe of your choice

Break up the sausage into a large saucepan and saute over medium-low heat.  Do not allow the meat to brown or to get crisp.  When the sausage is about three-quarters cooked, add the onion, and cook until the onion is transparent.

Drain of all but 2 tablespoons of the meat drippings (you don't have to be too precise about this). Stir in the flour with a whisk and cover over medium-low heat for about 6 to 7 minutes, or until the flour turns golden and bubbles up.

Pour in the milk all at once and add the seasonings.  Cook and whisk until the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes or so). Taste for salt and pepper and re-season of necessary.   Split open a nice hot biscuit and top with sausage gravy.

Pork Chops with Pineapple & BBQ Baked Beans

Dinner started out to be a new roast chicken recipe I saw.  I had my face all fixed for it, just imagining the wonderful honey and herb glaze....ymmmm....  And then, when I went to add the broth to the (hot) glass roasting dish, the glass shattered.  Right there, right in front of me, all over the oven, broth and fat dripping and sizzling and dancing down the sides of the oven and into the drawer below.  We won't talk about the little bits of purple Pyrex glass that went everywhere.Or the five cats who suddenly appeared and wanted to be a part of the excitement.

Ole Sweetie-Pi came to the rescue.  He sopped up the oven, vacuumed up all the glass he could find, and the next day took the oven apart  (after everything and everyone had cooled down) and cleaned it and the drawer and all the cookie sheets and trays stored below.  Nary a negative word was spoken.  That's how he got his name, Ole Sweetie-Pi.

Sigh..... Dinner Plan B went into effect.  Pizza. Out.

Refusing to be undone, the next night I decided to try baked pork chops.   This was a last minute decision as I had planned on leftover chicken, searched the internet for an easy pork chop recipe and found this delightful recipe using ingredients I had on hand. 

The verdict?  I think this has Mom's easy weeknight family  meal written all over it. This is hearty, slightly sweet from the pineapple, slightly spicy from the barbecue sauce and onion. The pork chops, while tender, did not absorb the flavors of the other ingredients, so perhaps baking them with the gussied up beans is more for a sense of dressing them up than for flavor.

We liked this.  I'll make it again.  After all, who am I to disagree with Mom.

Pork Chops with Pineapple and BBQ Baked Beans

1 onion, chopped1 tablespoon oil or butter or combination of the two
1 can baked beans (21-22 oz.)

4 to 6 pork chops

Good shake of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 375*F. Have ready a 12" x 8" pan or size appropriate to hold the number of chops you are baking.

In a frying pan (that will eventually be used to brown the pork chops) add the oil and saute the onions until they are a nice golden brown. Remove from pan and add to the mix into the beans. Spread the beans in the bottom of the baking dish.

Salt and pepper the chops and sprinkle with garlic. Add the pork chops in a single layer in the frying pan and brown chops on both sides but do not cook through. Layer chops in single layer on top of beans.

In a small bowl combine the drained, crushed pineapple and the barbecue sauce. Pour over pork chops and bean layers. 



Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and brown.  Serves 4-6.

Cranberry Pork Chops

Cranberries seem to be in real abundance this year and when they're available fresh, this is a nice little autumn dish that I look forward to making. It's pretty simple, straightforward, no unusual ingredients, subtly flavored in spite of the presence of cranberries, but with a hint of a sweet-tart flavor that I enjoy.

I'm going to give you the recipe as it was presented and then I'll share my thoughts.

Cranberry Pork Chops
(from the Cape Cod Cookbook by Jean Childress)

6 center cut pork chops
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup fresh cranberries
salt and pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup water
1 orange, sliced thin, for garnish, optional

In a skillet or fry pan large enough to hold the pork chops without crowding, melt the butter and add the oil. Add the pork chops and brown on both sides. After browned, remove pork chops to a separate dish and drain the excess fat. Return the pork chops to the skillet and add the salt and pepper and brown sugar, cranberries, and water. Cover and simmer for one hour. Make a slurry by combining the flour with a little water, stirring out any lumps, and then gradually adding to the pan, stirring to combine. Continue stirring until thickened. Garnish with the orange slices.

OK, my thoughts. One hour simmering is much, much too long. I had chops that were a good 3/4 inch thick and they were done in 30 minutes or so (it took a bit for the cranberries to cook and burst). I'm pretty sure that if I let them go for an hour, I could've made a silk purse out of the chops. My only other thought is that there's really not a whole lot of sauce so if you'd like more than a couple of tablespoonfuls, I'd suggest doubling the sauce ingredients.

Easy Baked Stuffed Pork Chops and Carmelized Apples

Now this is a recipe I made way back when, maybe 30 years ago or so. It used to be on the back of the Pepperidge Farm Herbed Stuffing bag, has since been removed, but I still make this from time to time, and it's still a favorite. It makes a nice presentation and one that I prepare when I was something just a little extra special for the family.

I've pretty much used the stuffing recipe that's on the Pepperidge Farm website with a couple of changes indicated in parenthesis.

Easy Baked Stuffed Pork Chops

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 inch x 5 inch loaf pan, set aside.

Lightly brown 6 pork chops (bone in, boneless, loin, center cut, your choice), in butter or oil, not cooking all the way through. You're looking just to give it some color. Place chops in prepared loaf pan, standing the pork chops in a rows down the length of the loaf pan.

Prepare stuffing mix.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) chicken broth (you may not need the entire amount)
4 cups herb seasoned stuffing
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
A good pinch of Bell's Seasoning (optional)

Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet or a deep sauce pan over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the broth and heat to a boil. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the stuffing mix and apples, stirring until well combined. Taste for seasoning. I like to add a little extra Bell's Seasoning because I like the flavor of sage, and I think the pork chops can use the little added flavor. The other note I'd like to make here is that you may not not need all that broth. The last time I did this, the stuffing was way too wet; I would go with half the amount, but that's personal preference.



Now, with a spoon (and probably your hands), lightly pack the stuffing in between the rows of pork chops, so that you'll have stuffing, pork chop, stuffing, pork chop, stuffing, etc. The stuffing will expand so don't pack it in too firmly.

Bake at 350F for one hour or until done, depending on how thick your chops are. When ready to serve, scoop out a pork chop with the stuffing.

I often serve pork with apples; the two flavors just seem to go together so well. This time I made a simple caramelized apple.

Caramelized Apple

Really, this is just too easy, not a recipe per se, but a method. A friend of mine from Kentucky shared her family's recipe with me.

Four apples, peeled, cored, and sliced as if for a pie. (Granny Smiths are good for this as they stand up to cooking.) Add a quarter cup of brown sugar, two tablespoons of butter. Put all into a frying pan and heat through over medium heat. The butter and the brown sugar will melt, making a wonderful caramel coating for the apples. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon if you want. It's really that simple. This makes a nice change from applesauce and a delicious way to use up apples.