Smothered Pork Chops

This has been a lazy month for me. Both blog-wise and life-wise. I spent all August (and really July too) planning E's first birthday and now that it's over I just can't seem to get back in a routine. I am cooking regularly but not dieting so much. I am getting chores done, don't get me wrong. It just seems to be a focus issue. I think I am going to blame the heat. 100 degree and above temperatures have been the norm here in Houston for the last 6 weeks or so and it is exhausting. I just want to lay about in air conditioning as much as possible. I have TONS of pictures out there of her party and I can't wait to get them organized so I can make party posts. But, for now, I am going to post about last night's dinner.

It was really good. It is not low calorie, but I've put that on hold for the moment. Lately dinner's been about what food is in the pantry as it's too hot and too time consuming to do any big grocery shopping. I have been cooking a lot with condensed soup. Cream of Mushroom and Golden Mushroom are awesome! I added them to a pot roast with vegetables in the crock pot last Sunday and it was delicious and practically NO work. I have also used them to make a crock pot smothered chicken which I will probably post about sometime in the future. This pork dish, however, turned out the best! Maybe it's because I did not use the crock pot but cooked them on the stove. Or maybe it's because I fried the chops in butter before cooking with the soups. One will never know.

Smothered Pork Chops

Pork Chops - I actually used Pork Shoulder Steaks. I got 3 huge ones for about $4 on sale at Kroger.
2 Onions
Mushrooms
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Golden Mushroom Soup
Flour to dredge
Seasonings of your choice
1/2 C White Cooking Wine
2 TB butter

First I melted some butter in a dutch oven on med-high heat. Then, I salted and peppered both sides of my steaks (chops) then seasoned some flour with seasoned salt and paprika. I am not happy with how these pictures turned out. I really have some lighting issues in my kitchen! Anyway, then cover both sides of your meat with the flour mixture and place directly in your melted butter.

Seasoned flour.

One at a time, fry your chops. You may have to add more butter in between.



Melty butter. Careful, don't let it overcook before you get your meat in!

This golden brown color is perfect!

I only fried each side for about 1-2 minutes since they were a thin cut.

Prep your veggies while frying.

Slice yellow onions into rings. Mix your two soups. Half the mushrooms.

After the chops are done and set aside, deglaze your pot with the white cooking wine. Turn the heat off and carefully pour it into your pot and stir with a wisk to pick up and drippings and mix in any flour. Watch out for steam as you pour it into the hot pot. Turn the burner to medium. Once the wine is bubbling nicely, add everything back in the pot.

Place onions on the bottom.



Pile on your fried pork.



Pour on your soup mixture.



Finally, add the mushrooms.


Cover and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Since my Pork Steaks were so big that they were just piled on top of each other, I rearranged them every 10 minutes to make sure they cooked evenly. I kept the heat on a low simmer the entire time, so that the liquid was just bubbling.

Serve with white rice.

This dish turned out exactly as I'd imagined it in my head, which is rare, especially for something I do not cook often. My husband is not a huge fan of pork chops so of course, it's not something I make too much. I love fried pork chops with gravy and this is very similar to that. I am positive that the dish can be made without pre-frying, but you would need to adjust the cooking time. I also think that it would be a great crock pot dish. With either of these adjustments, however, I would not leave out the white wine, as it added a lot of the flavor I was looking for.