Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

This is my absolute favorite way to have pork chops, & so it is what I'm making tonight. I love the sauce so much that I double or triple it (the sauce, not the apples) & serve it with rice. Yum!

Ingredients:
4 pork chops (3/4 in. thick)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
2 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons pecans (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chops in skillet & cook (turning occasionally) until done.

2. While chops are cooking, melt butter in another skillet or saucepan. Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, & apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender.

3. Uncover sauce & continue to cook until slightly thickened. Pour over pork chops, sprinkle with pecans, & serve.

I season the pork chops in the skillet, and I like to cook the sauce in the pan with the pork chops--even easier as a one pan dish & the chops get a really good flavor. I also and extra brown sugar to the sauce & sprinkle in extra cinnamon & nutmeg. I sometimes skip the apples, and I never use pecans because David hates nuts in his food. This works well in the crock pot, but I add extra water to it because the sauce cooks down quite a bit. And I promise that this doesn't taste like you've covered your meal in actual caramel. :)


**Just a note: If you cook the sauce without apples, add a little bit of water. If you only use butter & brown sugar, the sauce doesn't mix well, and you end up with oil on top of it.

2 comments:

The Lawn Ranger's Woman said...

I bought chops yesterday, so I could try my hand at this famous meal...Nick swears it's delicious!

Melissa said...

We had this for dinner last night, and I loved it... especially over rice. Brian is not a rice eater, but he loved the chops and apples.