Pork chop recipes are among the special dishes I enjoy cooking quite frequently. Nonetheless, pork meals can become boring if there’s no alternation of flavors and “auxiliary” ingredients. A touch of creativity is always needed, be it in the kitchen or in other areas of life. Please notice I said “a touch”. If you get too creative, people around you might get scared. It’s up to each of us to decide how far we can push our creativity in order not to trouble the fragile balance of our little personal world.
What I’m suggesting today is an unusual main dish recipe. It’s unusual because it brings together pork chops with cranberries and with orange marmalade in the same dish, in a sweet and sour surprise for your gustatory system and eventually for your brain.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup fresh cranberries, chopped (frozen ones are also fine, but the real taste and aroma are always in fresh foods)
- 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pork chops (bone-in, about 1 inch thick)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Oil an average size baking dish (cover is not needed, so don’t worry if your dish doesn’t have a lid).
In a bowl, mix the cranberries with the orange marmalade and with the ground cloves. With a meat knife, carefully cut a pocket in each pork chop by cutting into it toward the bone; spoon the cranberry mixture into these pockets.
Place the pork chops in the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour one tablespoon of honey over each chop, trying to cover as much as you can of its surface. Bake the food uncovered for about 50 minutes. The honey will create a sweet glaze over the chops, which will combine with the sourness of the cranberries into an exotic taste you’ll either love or hate (there’s no middle way here).
Pork Chops Yum-yum
2-4 pork chops, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
Brown chops on both sides.
Place in greased casserole dish.
Mix all remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for one hour.
Funnily enough we had this tonight. I just baked them at a medium heat, and then poured a mushroom sauce over. The sauce is dead easy. Put a knob of butter in a frying pan, and saute mushrooms and chopped onion in it, until the onion is just transparent. Then add just enough flour to coat everything, and stir it well while cooking for a few minutes. Now add milk, gradually, stirring constantly until you get a nice sauce thickness. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
Old fashioned slow cooked pork chops are awesome. My grandmother used to cook them in jug. Try it in the crock pot, real slow for several hours. Just a little salt and pepper.
I use “Shake n Bake” for pork chops. They always come out of the oven perfect and delicious.
Breaded Pork Chops
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
4 (1/2-inch thick) bone-in pork loin chops
1 (8 ounce) container spreadable chive and onion cream cheese
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS
In a shallow bowl, beat the egg. Place the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip pork chops into egg, then coat with crumbs. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, combine the cream cheese, broth and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until smooth and blended. Serve with pork chops.