Mushroom Pork Chops

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – August 27, 2010

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Recipe originally published in AllRecipes daily e-zine “The Daily Dish”.

If you saw my post on February 14, 2011, you know that out of the blue, my husband announced that he would gladly eat pork chops after refusing for about, oh, 9 years.  In my scramble to make as much pork as possible, I found this delightful low-calorie recipe that incorporates two of my favorite foods, mushrooms and onions, into a great casserole-type dish.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

I’m sure I’m biased, but mine looks so much better than the published picture.  It just looks juicier.  They didn’t specify the type of pork chop to use in the recipe (don’t worry, I do in my version) but it looks like I probably picked the right one.

Assessment:

for more details about what my ratings mean, go to Gretchen’s Rating System

Mess:  EH – other than needing to clean up the cutting board, everything else is done in a single pan.  You don’t brown the chops in oil so the splatter is minimal.

Start-to-Finish Time: UNDER AN HOUR – The cooking time for this dish is about 20-30 minutes but they only give you 5 minutes to chop up the onions and mushrooms.  Granted, I bought sliced mushrooms so I only had to chop the onions, but that is really pushing the boundaries of fast chopping and hacking off fingers.

Prep Work: SLIGHT BLOOD LOSS – You just have to chop up the onions if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms.  You have to lightly season the pork chops, but you only have to do one side before putting them seasoned side down in the pan.

Ease of Recipe: COOK IT IN MY SLEEP – If you can chop vegetables and brown meat, you’ve got all the skills you need to make this dish.

Overall:  YUMMY – I usually have all the ingredients I need in my pantry, so if I’m looking for something quick and healthy to cook, just a quick stop to pick up some pork chops and I’m ready to go.

Recipe Information:

Time estimates are from the original publisher of the recipe, not the length of time it took me to create it.  Look for my comments below.  Nutritional Information is based on original recipe.  Any changes I make to reduce the caloric, fat, cholesterol or sodium content are not reflected in the Nutritional Information.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Nutritional Information

• Calories 210
• Total Fat 8.5g
• Cholesterol 65mg
• Sodium 924mg
• Total Carbohydrate 9.6g
• Fiber 1g
• Protein 23.6g

As I said before, 5 minutes of prep time is pushing it if you’re chopping the whole onion.  If you have to chop the mushrooms too, you should plan on at least 10-15 minutes.  There are 4 chops so unless you’re willing to split each chop, you’re locked into the number of servings.  Serve with a mashed potato and a large salad to complete your meal.

To lighten up the dish, I used a reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup and a pork loin cut.  Most reduced fat soups are also low sodium, which will definitely help the sodium count.

Ingredients:

Changes denoted by red text

4 pork chops, loin chop, boneless

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pinch garlic salt, or to taste

1 onion, chopped

½ pound fresh white mushrooms, sliced

1 can (10.75 ounce) reduced fat condensed cream of mushroom soup

Ingredient Notes:

Pork Chops – the loin is the leanest cut of pork.  That was one of the reasons it was selected.  If you choose a boneless cut, make sure you do not overcook it, since it tends to dry out faster than one with the bone.  Stay really close to the 160° internal temperature.  Of course, you can use a bone-in cut as well.

Mushrooms – By looking at the picture, I determined they used white mushrooms in the dish.  I used pre-sliced to speed up my prep work.  You could probably use a more flavorful mushroom for this dish as well, like a portabella or shitake.

Reduced Fat Cream of Mushroom Soup – To help reduce the calorie and fat content, I used a reduced fat version of the condensed cream of mushroom soup.  Still had great flavor and didn’t affect the thickness of the gravy.

Equipment Needed:

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Large skillet with lid or Dutch oven

Spatula

Plate

Large spoon

Equipment Notes:

Large Skillet/Dutch Oven – Make sure you have a large and deep skillet since you will have all four pork chops, a can of soup and all the veggies in at the same time.  If you don’t have a deep skillet, use your Dutch oven to make the dish.

Directions:

(1)  Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.

(2)  In a large skillet, brown the chops over medium-high heat. Remove temporarily and put on a plate.

(3)  Add the onion and mushrooms, and sauté for one minute.  Make room in the onion and mushroom mixture and return the pork chops to the pan.

(4)  Pour cream of mushroom soup over chops.

(5)  Cover skillet, and reduce temperature to medium-low. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, or until chops are cooked through.  According to the USDA, the recommended internal temperature of pork is 160°F.

This dish was quick and simple to make and tasted great.  I bought a very inexpensive digital meat thermometer, so if it is in your budget, I’d buy one as well to prevent your pork chops from drying out.  Definitely a keeper for my recipe book!