Pork Chops - Slow Cooker/Crockpot Pork Chops with Mushrooms (crock pot)

 With the fall weather hitting, I've really been into comfort food the past couple of weeks. On top of that, I've been under that same weather myself, nursing myself out of what I think is the plague, and therefore wanting quick, fast, easy and healthy.

Enter the crockpot! Recently I acquired what might possibly be my favorite ever Kitchen Thingy - it's a triple crockpot. This means I can load up to three dishes in the morning and do something else the rest of the day. I can also use it as a buffet type server - which is awesome given the number of people I tend to feed on any given day.

So the crockpot has been my best bud the past couple of weeks, and it's been my means of cooking some of my old favorites - soups, stews, braises and casseroles. And enter my old friend the pork chop - I've found it on sale several times recently, and while I love it with a quick sear and as simple pan sauce, I've been exploring other options.

I recently threw this together one morning when I knew that the kids activities would have me scrambling all day. I had about a pound and a half of center cut loin chops, a bunch of mushrooms, that perennial kitchen miracle - cream of mushroom soup - and some onion. That's just about it. The one key to the flavor here is to take a few minutes to sear the chops and saute the onion - the payoff in flavor in the final dish is well worth it. It's still a super easy, quick and healthy dish that can easily be adapted to feed either two or a crowd of twenty, and was gobbled up by my diners of all ages. Give this one a try on your next busy day, or when you want some serious comfort food!

You'll need:

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 ounces button or crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup (feel free to use reduced sodium or low fat versions)
• 4 to 6 pork chops, boneless or bone-in (see note below for bone in)
• salt and pepper to taste
• a sprig of fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth or water - deglaze the pan
• 2 Tbl fresh parsley - to garnish at the end
• 1 tbl olive oil
• 1 tbl butter
• 1 pound of egg noodles, cooked according to package directions OR 6 cups of cooked rice

1. Start crockpot heating on the highest setting.
2. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, melt butter together with olive oil.
3. Sprinke both sides of the chops with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Once skillet is hot, add chops to the skillet and sear on both sides, about three minutes, just to acheive some color. Remove the chops from the skillet and place them in the bottom of the crockpot.
4. Add onions to the hot skillet, and cook for about three minutes, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add mushrooms, and saute another three to four minutes. Scrape onion and mushroom mixture into the crockpot on top of the pork chops.
5. Add chicken broth or water to the pan, to deglaze any remaining brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add cream of mushroom soup to the skillet, stir well to incorporate, then add soup mixture to the crockpot.
6. Place sprig of thyme into pot, pace on the the lid, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 6-8 hours. Taste for salt and pepper, and reseason if necessary. Serve chops and the sauce that develops over egg noodles or rice, sprinking with the chopped fresh parsley.l

One note - you can use boneless chops, although bone in chops will provide more flavor. If you do use bone in chops though - be very careful that there are no small bones 'lost' in the sauce. End cut loin chops are bad about this. You may also find that by the end of cooking time, the chops have 'shredded'. That's fine - they're delicious, and meltingly tender this way, and the noodels or rice soak up even more of that luscious sauce. Add a quick green veggie and whole grain bread, and you've got a terriffic meal with very little effort.