Maple-Mustard Pork Chops

If there were an Olympic competition for displays of disorganization, my preparation of this recipe would probably qualify me.

It all started with 4 boneless pork chops that I was going to cook for dinner.  I was totally uninspired and couldn't come up with a way to cook them.

First, I thought I would put together a honey-mustard-ginger-soy marinade.......but I was out of soy sauce and the fresh ginger that I was so sure was in my refrigerator was playing hide and seek with me.  I know I will find it tomorrow.

I decided to pare it down a bit, forget about the heavy Asian influence.  And then the honey wouldn't cooperate!  There were at least 12 ounces left in the (warehouse-size) container, but it was starting to crystallize and refused to pour.

At this point my patience was really stretched so I decided I'd go with maple syrup instead of honey.  So here we have it--Maple Mustard Pork Chops.  Not what I set out to make, but I think this is one of those times that I ended up with something better than I had planned!

Today's Playlist

• "Ain't To Proud To Beg"......The Temptations
• "All Of Me".....Frank Sinatra
• "I Wonder Why".......Dion
• "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay"....Otis Redding
• "Mambo Italiano"....Rosemary Clooney
• "Stand By Me".....Ben E. King
• 
  

Maple Mustard Pork Chops (4 Servings)

• 4 boneless pork chops (about 3/4 to 1 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 cup maple syrup (only use pure maple syrup!)
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Gather your ingredients.

You will notice that there are no pork chops or olive oil in this picture.  My original picture of ingredients did have the pork chops and olive oil in it, but it had honey (which I had not yet realized was unpourable) in it.

In keeping with our theme of disorganization, it wasn't until I was already cooking the pork chops that I realized that I wouldn't be able to take a picture with all of the correct ingredients.  I took another picture, because I figure that a picture with missing ingredients is still better than a picture with wrong ingredients, don't you agree?

And that smiley snowman in the picture is my pepper grinder, in case you are wondering.  

In a small bowl, combine your sauce ingredients.

The dijon mustard,

maple syrup,

(Please, I'm begging you, use real maple syrup.  No maple-flavored pancake topping or whatever it is that they call the fake stuff.  That's not a real food and I can't imagine how this sauce would turn out if you tried to use it instead of the real stuff.)

chicken broth,

rice wine vinegar,

and the garlic.  Crush it directly into the bowl.

Whisk to combine, and set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.

Lightly season the pork chops with salt and pepper.

Add the pork chops to the skillet.  Cook them for about 3 minutes.......

then flip them and cook for 3 minutes on the other side.

After you have seared the pork chops on both sides, pour the sauce over them.

Place them in your preheated 425-degree oven.

Cook them for about 15 minutes, until done.

 When they have finished cooking, remove the skillet from the oven and serve immediately.

Enjoy!