Herbes de Provence Pork Chops

Whether you are serving family or dinner guests, Herbs de Provence Pork Chops will always be welcomed.

We are going with the "other white meat" for this evenings meal. Pork is a favorite protein. Done correctly it's got lots of flavor and there are many ways to cook it. Grilled, braised, rotisserie, cooked slow in a crock pot or oven roasted you can't beat the versatility of pork. I've done a lot of it here at Cooking On A Budget. Pork has it's own category in the list of pages you find at the right hand side of the blog.

As a blogger we are always trying to come up with new recipes to keep our blogs fresh. I've done it forever now. But it's really been my time to slow it up a bit and savor what's already on the blog. Lots of it from the early years had horrid photos or no photos at all. I am taking this opportunity to go back to recipes we loved but because of trying to blog something new haven't made in quite some time.These Herbes de Provence Pork Chops are one of those older posts.

If you don't know about Herbs de Provence it's a blend of spices and there are different combinations out there. Mine happens to be a blend of sea salt, lemon peel, garlic and rosemary. My label isn't clear what all is in it. Some have lavender as well. I just know that the spice blend is full-bodied and smells earthy and absolutely wonderful.

It's a great addition for chicken, turkey, potatoes and even fish dishes. You probably no longer need to shop in a gourmet store as it should be in most any grocery store.

• 4 - 1/2 inch pork chops (bone in or boneless)
• 1 - 10 oz. package porcini mushrooms
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 heaping tbsp. Herbes de Provence
• 1 tsp. salt - for the flour mixture
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper - for the flour mixture
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 3-4 tbsp. water
• 1/2 tsp. Gravy Master®
• salt and black pepper - to taste (for the pork)

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops to taste.
2. Clean your mushrooms off with a paper towel, remove the stems and slice them all and put the mushrooms in a bowl or on a plate.
3. In a shallow dish combine the flour, herbes de Provence, salt and black pepper. Mix well.
4. Dredge the pork chops in the flour to coat and shake off excess and place on a plate.
5. In a skillet that has a lid and over medium high heat, melt the butter and olive oil. When it starts to bubble add in the floured pork chops and lightly brown them on both sides for about 2 minutes a side, adjusting the heat down to medium so they don't burn. When they are lightly browned on both sides, remove them to a waiting plate.
6. Add the mushrooms to the pan and if necessary a drizzle more olive oil (not to much), and saute them for just a couple of minutes, stirring as needed.
7. De glaze the pan with the chicken and beef broth and 1/3 cup of water. Stir and get up all the good bits from the pan.
8. Add in the Gravy Master and stir.
9. Then add the pork chops back to the pan. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover and braise the chops, turning once or twice for at least 45 minutes to an hour or longer if you have time until they are nice and tender.
10. Remove the chops from the pan to a waiting plate and cover with foil.
11. Make the slurry with the cornstarch and water.
12. Turn the heat up to high and when the liquid starts to bubble, slowly pour in the slurry whisking constantly over high heat until the sauce thickens to your liking.
13. Turn the heat back down and add in the chops. Using a large spoon, spoon the thickened sauce over the chops, cook for a minute until they are hot enough to serve.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 servings
Cost: approximately $9.99, feeding 4 for $2.49 each
Dinner with vegetable and noodles: approximately $13.28, feeding 4 for $3.32 each



Romance the man (or woman) with a beautiful and scrumptious meal ~ for a great date night dinner.