Recipe #15 - Glazed Pork Chops with Apricot-Ginger Sauce

My father works in the pork industry.  (In fact, he was named 2012 Master of the Pork Industry.  True story!)  Growing up, we ate pork often -- pork chops, pork roast, bacon, sausage, you name it!  Therefore, it is safe to assume that I enjoy pork.  So today's recipe sounded yummy.  I'm not sure why I haven't tried it up to this point!

It is Glazed Pork Chops with Apricot-Ginger Sauce.  It is on page 145 of the cookbook, but its not listed online.  (By the way, I did ask for permission to post their recipes if they don't have them listed online.  I haven't heard back yet, so cross your fingers!)  The recipe is listed as "quick and easy", but my initial thought was, "Man, it sure has a lot of instructions to be quick and easy."  Luckily, multiple steps did not equal a time consuming dinner.  It was on the table in 20 minutes or so.

It does have quite a few ingredients though:

I had some trouble finding the apricot-pineapple preserves, and by "some trouble" I mean that my Target didn't have it and I had to go to another store.  Ugh, hate that!  Smuckers actually makes this kind, and although Target carries Smuckers, they didn't carry this variety.  So off to Macey's I went.  I'm not a huge Macey's fan, but I did find what I needed there.

The first step is to season the pork chops, and then cook them for 3 minutes on each side.

Then you sent them aside, covered in foil to keep warm, and make the sauce in the same skillet.  I love one dish meals!  First you saute the ginger and garlic for just 30 seconds.

Then you add in the chicken broth that helps to pull all the delicious brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Next you whisk in the preserves and bring the sauce to a simmer.  Once it is simmering, you return the pork chops to the pan.  They are cooked for another 2-3 minutes on each side.

And you're done!  It really was quick and easy.  We served this over brown rice, and my kids loved putting the sauce on their rice as well.

 
The recipe got two thumbs up from the entire family, including the 5 year-old who had 3 servings...well, 5 year-old sized servings...  Adding this one to the Make Again list. 

So while we were eating dinner, this conversation happened:

12 year-old:  Hey dad, don't you think we ought to tell the girls what kind of animal pork chops comes from?
Dad:  And why do you think this would be beneficial?
12 year-old: Um...so they can learn about the food cycle?  That animals become food?
Dad:  How about you just eat your dinner?
8 year-old:  Is a pork chop made of pig?
Me:  Yup, just like bacon or sausage.
5 year-old:  (Looks up to the "heavens")  THANK YOU, PIGS!!!