Smothered pork chops with a fun summery salad

So last night I was hungry for something good, and this is a recipe that I know will always turn out. A friend of S's (my husband) visited us last fall and he made this dish for us. It was amazing then, and is amazing now - smothered pork chops.
It is pretty easy to make and has always turned out amazing - the pork is super tender, and the mushrooms and onions make a lovely gravy that just is divine. The picture doesn't do this one justice.

First things first, preheat the oven to 350. Then I take a good sized onion, cutting it in half, then slicing up a bunch of nice halves, giving me long strips. Then I slice up the mushrooms - last night I used Portobello's, but when the season is right and I can get a hold of them, I love using Chanterelle's. You heat up a medium sized pan over medium-low heat with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and toss in the onions. Add some salt and pepper, and let them go for a bit. Then I toss in the mushrooms, and let them do their thing over a low heat while I get the chops ready.

Next I get the chops ready. I try to get the bone in pork chops, I've been told the bone helps add extra flavor, and it seems to do the trick. First I season both sides with seasoning salt and pepper.

Next, I get a pan ready for browning these lovely pork chops. Turn the heat up to medium, toss in some olive oil, and get it hot. I take a plate and cover it with flour, then dredge the chops, one at a time in the flour before browning in the pan.

The flour really adds a nice flavor and lets the chops brown up good, so don't be shy. Then brown lightly on each side, it took me a couple of minutes a side, it really just depends on your stove and heat level.

Once they are done browning, you can neatly stack them in a 9 x 13 baking dish, so they are leaning up on one another. By now the onions and mushrooms should be nicely married, so you can cover/smother the chops with the mushrooms and onions before covering the dish with aluminum foil and putting in the oven.

Now is the hard part - waiting. Let them bake for at least an hour, they will be fork tender when done and fall apart and just absolutely amazing. This is one of my favorite ways to have pork chops. Never dry, super tender, with an awesome natural made gravy to have with it.

While these were baking I tried out a new dish, Watermelon Salad with a Balsalmic reduction, recipe from Chung-Ah over at Damn Delicious. It was really pretty simple to put together and was just amazing, fresh, crisp, and a nice palate cleanser in between bites.  First I chopped up the watermelon into cubes.

Next I added the olive oil, fresh mint, and feta cheese and mixed it all together.

Then you can add the balsamic reduction, which just takes a couple of minutes on the stove top, and you have this fresh, delicious salad that goes great with dinner.

Ingredients -

Smothered Pork Chops

• 4 bone in pork chops
• Seasoning salt and pepper
• flour
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4-5 portobello mushrooms, sliced

Instructions -
Preheat oven to 350. Slice onion and mushrooms and saute over medium low heat. Prepare pork chops by adding seasoning salt and pepper, then flouring before browning in a pan over medium heat with olive oil. Once browned, add to a 9 x 13 pan, cover with mushrooms and onions then cover with foil tightly. Bake in the oven for at least one hour until the chops are fork tender. Enjoy!

Watermelon Salad with Balsamic Reduction

• 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 1 small seedless watermelon
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 4 ounces feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions -
Over a low heat in a small sauce pan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil. Boil for 4-5 minutes, until it thickens.

Cut watermelon into cubes and add to a medium/large bowl. Add feta, mint leaves and olive oil. Toss until well mixed. Once the BV has reduced and thickened, drizzle over the mix and enjoy!