Pork chops with dijon herb sauce

Tonight's dinner was another one I found on the Skinnytaste website here. I already had pork chops earlier in the week, but this recipe was quick and easy and I like pork chops so I didn't mind having them twice in one week. This is definitely another recipe I will make often.

Review: This was a quick and easy meal to make. I'm not a big mustard fan but this wasn't too bad. It didn't have an overpowering mustard taste, but you could taste the mustard a bit. I also was surprised about how little of the onion I could taste even though that's basically all the sauce is as far as "hearty" ingredients. I do know, though, that I let it cook a little too long because it reduced a little too much and got too thick. From the picture on the Skinnytaste website, the sauce is supposed to be a liquid but mine was more of a solid. Again, though, that was just because I cooked it a tad bit too long. I think next time too I might add some green peppers to it. I like the flavor of cooked green peppers and I think it would go nicely with the meal. You also could add mushrooms if you like them but I don't so I won't add them. Basically, I just followed the recipe as was written. You could use boneless pork chops and most times I do but I went ahead and got bone-in chops this time like the recipe suggested. I also used a whole white onion instead of just the 3 tablespoons the recipe called for. It didn't make a difference and honestly based on what there was with a whole onion I would think 3 tablespoons wouldn't be enough. Another thing you could change is instead of 1 tsp butter you could use olive oil. I used butter this time but next time I'll use olive oil. It won't make a huge difference in the healthiness of it because it wasn't a lot of butter that was used but olive oil would still be better than even just a little bit of butter. Finally, I had brown rice as a side but you could have anything you want and next time I will either have steamed vegetables or the oven-roasted garlic green beans I cook often.

Recipe:

• 1 tsp butter (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 4 pork chops (22 oz. with bone, fat removed), 1 inch thick, trim all visible fat (or boneless)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 3 tbsp chopped onion (I used a whole white onion and it was fine)
• 3/4 cup fat free chicken stock (chicken broth is basically the same thing)
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp chopped, fresh herbs like parsley and chives

In a large frying pan heat the butter over moderately low heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper then raise the heat to medium and add the chops to the pan and saute for 7 minutes. Turn and cook until the pork chops are browned and done to medium, about 7-8 minutes longer. Remove the chops and put in a warm spot. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and boil until it reduces to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard, herbs and 1/8 tsp pepper. Put the chops on a platter and pour the sauce over the meat.

AUTHOR'S NOTE (from the website):
Food and Wines says it is OK if the pork chops are pink in the center. Trichinosis is killed at the relatively low temperature of 150 degrees. I use a thermometer to check the center and usually leave it until it hits 160 degrees. Don't overcook or they will become dry.