Pork Chop Finale

A year ago or so - it's been so long neither B nor I can remember exactly when - we bought a HUGE package of pork chops at Costco. Not only was it a Costco-size package of pork chops, they were incredibly thick. So we sliced them in half to make them a little thinner. And that meant we have had pork chops in our freezer for at least a year. We think. It could be longer. I'm pretty sure at least half of them were moved from B's apartment to my condo after we got married.

I have been on a several-month boycott of pork chops because I just got so SICK of them. But on Sunday night, we were at the end. There were only FOUR chops left: two for Sunday night dinner, two for Monday's lunch. We could do it. We could get over the hump.

In a sweet marital gesture (or perhaps just persuasion to get me to EAT the @#$% things), B said he would cook them. He would make his grandmother's pork chop recipe. I agreed (and made the Bloody Mary green bean salad). It's a pretty easy recipe with only a handful of ingredients that even the pickiest kid couldn't find anything to argue about. Brown, bake, and eat - that was our motto.

This was the first time I'd had this pork chop recipe, and it was really good. B said he put too much water in the pan, and that it would be a little more flavorful otherwise. I thought it was good regardless. Whenever I get over my aversion to pork chops, I'll totally make them again.

Bottom line? I highly recommend this recipe. I DO NOT highly recommend Costco pork chops for a family of two. Do with that what you will.

Grandma Stevenson's Pork Chops

Ingredients:
Pork chops
Brown sugar
Ketchup
1 onion, sliced into rings (I did about 1/2 inch thick)
Flour
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil (we used olive oil)

Directions:
Mix flour, salt and pepper. Coat both sides of each pork chop and brown in an ovenproof skillet with oil.
(if you don't have an ovenproof skillet, transfer browned chops to an ovenproof baking dish)
Squeeze a generous blob of ketchup on each pork chop, topped by a blob of brown sugar.
Top chops with the sliced onion rings.
Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the pan.
Cook in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes (longer if you have really thick pork chops).
If done correctly, these are super-tender.
Enjoy!