Smothered Pork Chops for Two
We headed south to Nashville for Spring break this week and I was relieved to find a basic, 
white Crock Pot in the pantry of our airbnb.
In an effort to sample ALL the food of The South in just 4 days I used the Crock Pot to check at least one recipe off the list. I headed to Kroger’s early one morning for the ingredients and had the smothered pork cooking by the time the family had surfaced from their vacation beds.
We headed into downtown Nashville to enjoy live country at the renowned Honkey Tonk Robert’s Western World on Broadway. Sweethearts John and Lois Shepherd hold the 11am slot there everyday. The pair have been part of Nashville’s Lower Broadway heritage and revival since the 1970’s. The bar, dark and atmospheric, lined with pictures, cowboy boots and country memorabilia was my girls’ first introduction to country proper and Taylor Swift was briefly consigned to memory.
After a long day soaking up the Nashville scene we came home for dinner. The pork chops were ready but I have to admit I underestimated the cooking time for collard greens. 45 minutes in boiling water with some garlic and salt to flavor and they were soft and tasty and allowed time to bake the potatoes for soaking up the delicious gravy the pork was cooked in.
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/4 tsp celery powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- large pinch cayenne
- 1 1/2lb pork chops, 1" thick bone in
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup / 1/2 medium onion, half moon slices
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup sodium free chicken broth
- 1/4 cup low fat sour cream
- mix the flour, celery, garlic, pepper, salt and cayenne in a shallow bowl and dredge the pork chops on both sides and set aside
- heat the oil over a medium heat in a skillet and soften the onions for 2 minutes
- transfer the onions to the slow cooker
- in the same skillet add the pork chops and brown on both sides over a high heat
- transfer the pork to the slow cooker
- add the remaining flour and spice mixture to the slow cooker
- stir in the Worcestershire sauce and broth
- cover and cook for 6 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH
- once cooked plate the pork and stir the sour cream into the gravy in the slow cooker
- spoon the gravy over the pork and serve with collard greens and baked potatoes
“You’ve got a song you’re singing from your gut, you want that audience to feel it in their gut. And you’ve got to make them think that you’re one of them sitting out there with them too. They’ve got to be able to relate to what you’re doing.”
-Johnny Cash
