After eighty-plus-degree weather late last week, we're back to winter in northern Virginia. It's damp and chilly with a wind gusting some 40 miles per hour. So, comfort food seems like it's in order. For my husband, that's pork chops in a creamy mushroom sauce. This isn't a complicated dish, and it doesn't take long, making it perfect for a week night. The pork browns first in the pan. Then the mushrooms form the basis for a simple sour cream sauce. The pork goes back in the pan to finish cooking for a few minutes, and the main dish is ready to serve. Mashed potatoes or noodles are great to soak up the sauce, but grits, polenta, or rice also work just fine. A green vegetable and salad--perhaps with some sourdough bread?--would round out the meal.
Easy Pork Chops with Mushroom Sauce -- Serves 4
2-3 tablespoons of canola oil
4 pork chops about 1 inch thick
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 ounces of white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth (or 2 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of reduced sodium chicken "Better Than Bullion")
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/2 cup of white wine (Chardonnay is fine, or use water)
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 - 1 cup of sour cream
Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. While the oil is heating add the pork chops, flour, lemon pepper, and salt to a large plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake it to coat the pork chops with the flour and seasonings. When the oil is hot, add the chops to the pan and brown them for 4-5 minutes. Flip the chops to brown them for 4-5 minutes on their other sides. Add a little more oil if necessary. Remove the pork chops to a plate and tent them with aluminum foil. Add the remaining oil to the skillet along with the mushrooms and any of the flour left over in the plastic bag from the pork chops. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes until they begin to soften, blending in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and the flour. Stir in the chicken broth, onion powder, parsley flakes, paprika, and wine. Turn down the heat to medium low and let the broth/mushroom mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. In a measuring cup whisk together the 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of flour until smooth. Stir the water/flour mixture into the skillet until the sauce thickens. Add the pork chops back to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Let the chops cook a few minutes in the sauce until their completely cooked (145 degrees). Turn off the heat, stir in the sour cream, a little at a time, until blended and the sauce is as thick as you like, and serve the pork chops with the sauce.
