Dixie Pork Chops

Several years ago, I ate a chicken dish that was cooked in apple juice, and it was so amazing, that I have been pining for the recipe. So when my husband and I attended a dinner at Sundance, and they served this AMAZING pork that was cooked with apples and sweet potatoes, I knew I had to find a recipe to replicate it, at least to some degree. Thanks to allrecipes.com's ability to do a recipe search with certain ingredients, I found this pork chop recipe called "Dixie Pork Chops":


       1 tablespoon vegetable oil
       4 pork chops, 1 1/2 to 2-inches thick
       1/2 teaspoon salt
       *1/2 teaspoon sage (optional)
       *2 tart apples, cored and sliced
       1/4 cup brown sugar
       2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
       1 cup hot water
       1 tablespoon white vinegar
       *1/2 cup raisins


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry pork chops on each side until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking dish, reserving the drippings in the skillet. Cover pork chops with apple slices and sprinkle with sugar.

Stir the flour into the fat in the skillet until smooth. Whisk in the water and vinegar. Simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Add raisins and pour over the pork chops. Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Remove the aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

*I made these with the sage and without the raisins, since we hate raisins. We really liked these chops--including my three-year-old who rarely eats meat. The sweetness of the apples really compliment the pork. However, it seemed to be missing a little something. (Maybe the raisins? Ha ha.) Next time I make these, I will probably add a little more sage. We may even try craisins in place of the raisins, but all in all, it is a very good starting point if you're feeling like having something that tastes a little gourmet without a lot of work.