16. D’s Crockpot Parmesan Pork Chops

If the recipe that D gave me could speak, it would tell me “calm down – everything in your house has a purpose. Everything in your kitchen will contribute to this meal, and it will be easy and delicious.” I felt hypnotized by these pork chops.

I don’t know much about pork, or chops, or meat in general – it’s the first time that I haven’t wordlessly let Husband select the meat he wanted in his meals and instead made a beeline for the on-sale styrofoam-and-shrink-wrapped pork. I found some (to my eyes) good looking chops that were at half their “original” price and I decided resolutely not to overthink it. If part of this project is trying things I wouldn’t normally try, this was one of them. My tendency toward lazy vegetarianism and my husband’s preference to cook one of his major meat groups (ground chuck, chicken breasts, bacon) meant that we weren’t usually a pork chop family. I remember once, well before we got engaged, Husband rustled up some pork chops from his grandmother’s fridge and gave them a thick coating of dried herbs before frying them – delicious. Still, the feat hasn’t been repeated lately, so I thought this recipe both appropriate for a party (it feeds so many people!) and appropriate for our home.

The ingredients all piled on top of each other didn’t look like much in the crock-pot, which was first christened with this dish (my writing skills sometimes lag behind my cooking, in that I’ve already posted about the breakfast scramble I made after this dinner party dish!). Hours later, however, the pork chops were so tender that they broke apart on their own, and fell into pieces in the perfect, creamy-thick broth. While there was a substantial quantity of calories in the sauce, it really wasn’t made of anything unwholesome – no secret quantities of butter went into the making of this. The cream of mushroom soup did what so many sauce starters do, providing the roux-like base and allowing the flavor of the meat to permeate through it.

We had way too much food at the party, so these lasted for a very long time in our house, being packed into tupperware for lunches – so good. So comforting. 🙂

Crockpot Parmesan Pork Chops

6 – 8 whole pork chops bone-in
21 ounces canned cream of mushroom soup
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons ground paprika

-In a bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, McCormick Seasoning Pack and Paprika.
-Spray crock-pot with Pam.
-Lay the first layer of Pork chops (you only want 2 layers so squish those in as needed).
-Spread one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup over the chops.
-Shake half the dry ingredients that are in your bowl.
-Lay your next layer of Pork chops.
-Spread the other can of Cream of Mushroom soup over the chops.
-Cover the rest of the mixture with your dry ingredients.
-Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Possibly originally from: http://crockpotladies.com/recipe/crockpot-parmesan-pork-chops/