BEST Porkchops and Au Gratin Potatoes

I LOVE pork chops... but only if they're done really well.  They can turn dry so easily and go from delicious to chewy in about 3 minutes too many in the oven.  That said, if they're cooked well they are one of my FAVORITES!

I recently discovered the PERFECT pork chop  recipe  and am so excited to share.  It's pretty much homemade shake and bake :)  I paired them with a super simple and yummy au gratin potato recipe and the meal was a huge hit at my house.

Here's what you'll need...

- 1 1/4 cups Panko breadcrumbs

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

- kosher salt

- pepper

- 4 bone-in pork chops

Step 1 - Combine the panko, olive oil, dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder a bit of kosher salt and some pepper.  mix it all together.

Step 2 - sprinkle each pork chop with some kosher salt and then coat them with the bread crumb mixture.  (you can do this in a bag, shake and bake style if you prefer).  Lay the covered chops on a rack on a baking sheet.

Step 3 - Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, turn them over and then bake for 10 more minutes. 

Oh.  My.  Word.  These were SO SO SO GOOD!!!

  

I love to eat my pork chops with apple sauce, but Dave loves them with dijon mustard.  I don't love Dijon, so we're going to have to go with Dave's review of the sauce...  which was that it was awesome :)

Here's what you'll need...

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1 large shallot, minced

- 1 cup chicken broth

- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

- 2 tablespoons heavy cream

- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

- chopped parsley

Here's what you'll do...

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add shallot and saute about 3-4 minutes or until it's softened.  Turn the heat up a bit, add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.   Boil it for a minute then stir in the mustard, cream and lemon juice.  Cook it for about 3 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened.  I didn't think mine ever really thickened, so I mixed up some cornstarch with milk and mixed that in to do the trick.

The perfect side for pork chops???  Au Gratin potatoes!

For the Au Gratin Potatoes

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 3 tablespoons flour

- 1.5 teaspoons salt

- sprinkle of pepper

- 2 cups 2% milk (I only have skim milk so I used some of that along with some whipping cream)

- 1 cup cheddar cheese

- 5 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes

- 1/2 cup chopped onion

Step 1 - Peel and slice your potatoes

Step 2 - Melt your butter over low heat.  Stir in the flour, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.  Gradually add in the milk.  Bring it to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes (or until it starts to get kind of thick).  Remove it from the heat and stir in the cheese.  Add the potatoes and onion.

Step 3 - Transfer to a greased casserole dish (or if you're using a dutch oven like I was you can leave them in there!) and bake (COVERED!) at 350 degrees for an hour.  Uncover and bake for another 45 minutes (or until the potatoes are tender).   

Yes.  Ma'am.  These were SO GOOD!!! SO SO SO SO GOOD!  It made a TON - so you either need to love potatoes or be feeding a crowd :)

Ultimate comfort food!!!

Enjoy!!!