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For the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe. We’re pretty relaxed over here, and stories and photos are as welcome as menus and recipes.When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (sorry for the delay on the promised button battle…more later on that) to paste at the top of your post. It ties us together visually.Then fill in the boxes of this linky tool to join the fun!
Food on Fridays with Ann
When the kids were little, I’d been a sale-seeking, coupon-clipping mama, rooting out the cheapest peanut butter and oatmeal in town. I turned to the Frugal Zealot, Amy Dacyczyn, author of The Tightwad Gazette, for ideas and instruction on how to live frugally.After a few years our budget wasn’t quite so tight, so we loosened up a little. But the squeeze everyone is feeling these days is squeezing us, as well, and so we’re cutting back in several areas, including groceries.I don’t know if I’ll renew that intensely zealous approach right away, but we happily ate a meat-free meal yesterday (it’s healthy and saves money), and I found pork chops and chicken on sale at Kroger.I haven’t made pork chops in ages, but there they were, offered at a ridiculously low price. So I bought them.An Internet search for “pork chop recipe” turned up several interesting prospects, which I cut-and-pasted into Evernote until I decided which one to try.After consulting with the kids, I settled on a slow cooker recipe, but I’ll tell you what—my pictures don’t look as dreamy as the Taste of Home glamor shot. Mine show you the results of an average cook trying something for the first time.The recipe says you have to coat each pork chop in a flour mixture, then brown each side before placing in the crock pot.
The first were fine, but as I progressed, I went from “browning” the chops to almost “blackening” the chops, at least in spots.
But they worked out fine. I layered them and then poured a flour-broth mixture over them that would create a sauce or gravy as they cooked the rest of the way through in the crock pot.
They cooked a long time, longer than expected, but turned out really lovely, forming a sauce that we ladled over brown rice.A lettuce salad served with the meal included a hearty helping of homegrown tomatoes from the garden topped with a homemade dressing.A simple, tasty, affordable meal.Here’s the recipe, which I doubled:Slow Cooker Pork Chops(source: Taste of Home)Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper blend
- 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick and 4 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
Directions
- In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 1/2 cup flour, mustard, pepper blend and seasoned salt. Add chops, one at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil on each side.
- Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Place remaining flour in a small bowl; whisk in broth until smooth. Pour over chops. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
- Remove pork to a serving plate and keep warm. Whisk pan juices until smooth; serve with pork. Yield: 4 servings.
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Photos by Ann Kroeker.
This recipe would be straight-cash-money as breakfast… served with eggs and biscuits, of course.
I suppose I’ll stick with granola today, though. Arg…
Oh, man, you’re planting dangerous ideas in my breakfast-lovin’ head. I love a big southern breakfast, and there’s pork chop leftovers in the fridge…
I love recipes like this – delicious, easy and frugal! And I love the idea of the leftovers for breakfast too! Thank you for hosting, Ann. I’ve shared another one of my lovely cousin’s recipes- this time for mouthwatering blueberry squares. They are amazing!
Blueberry squares! I have some blueberries stashed in my freezer at the moment from our late-summer blueberry-picking outing to Michigan. Thanks for the great recipe–and for linking up!
I seem to make a circle around the grocery store buying the exact same things and making the same dishes till the family is exhausted. I have made quesadillas one too many times lately….Todd thanks you Ann! We are have slow-cooked chops this weekend! I’m going to open the crock and announce whaaa laaa …just like they do at Carlos’ in Highwood.
I hope they love it!! Be sure to take the chops out and whisk up the gravy. Maybe serve with mashed potatoes?
Oh how I wish I hadn’t seen Seth’s comment. My in-laws often make fried pork chops and biscuits for breakfast… mmmm… it’s been a long time since I’ve had pork chops at all. This sounds easy and lovely to eat.
I feel kind of bad, as I know we have vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free folks who follow Food on Fridays, and here I’ve offered a flour-coated pork chop recipe! But if someone is open to those, it really is easy and tasty. The only thing I don’t like it messing up a skillet AND the crock pot.
This pork chops for breakfast idea is growing. Anyone have a good biscuit recipe to try?
NO JOKE… Amber has a killer biscuit recipe. It’s somewhere on her blog. Hmmm… maybe I’ll try to find it.
Growing up I never had biscuits and gravy, unless it was with smothered quail or pork chops. You can imagine how this post reminded me of home.
Okay, you can’t say that and expect me to just sit around waiting for someone else to do the search. Surely this is it?
http://therunamuck.com/2008/08/27/daughter-of-a-biscuit-eater/
I can’t stop thinking about Seth’s comment either! This looks delicious, Ann. I might have to try this now that the school year is started up again. Seems like that old slow cooker always gets a work out in the fall.
I agree. The slow cooker and fall/winter just go together.
When the air gets crisp, I start thinking about soups and stews, both of which go nicely in a crock pot.
Did you slip by to see what Jeff Goins. Writer. had up at his blog?
My goodness – that looks delicious! Another super easy crock-pot pork chop recipe calls for placing layers of sliced potatoes, carrots, onions and pork chops in the crock pot. Add 1 or 2 peeled and halved garlic cloves and about a cup of water. Add a salad or fruit (apples would be great with pork)and it’s a ready-to-eat meal.
I can tell I’ve been missing some great posts and good eating.
Thanks, Ann.
That sounds really good, Patricia! Thanks for the instructions, so next time pork chops are on sale, I can toss it all in. I think I have all those things on hand most of the time.
I like to share the few things I learn in the kitchen and learn from everyone else who links up!
Your pork chop recipe looks delicious! A must try! Thanks for hosting Ann!
Thanks, Patty! I’m loving all the other posts, too, in the linky. It’s fun to gather at the table, so to speak, and tell stories about food. 🙂
Pork chops is something we haven’t had in a while. I bet they are on sale at our local Food Max too. Thank you for the recipe too, the can of broth will help with the gravy and yes, we will have mashed potatoes with this one. I can’t believe it is Friday already and I haven’t even written up a recipe. Better get to it!
Don’t forget to serve up a story with your recipe, Hazel! We love your enticing food, but we love your enticing stories even better. 🙂