Favorite Pork Chops and Au Gratin Potatoes

That's actually the name of the recipe. Favorite Pork Chops. And they were my favorite...last year. Most of the recipes that I use on this blog are tried and true. I use words like "delicious" and "yummy" to describe them. Not so tonight. Last year when I was pregnant, I made this pork chop recipe and I loved it. It really was finger lickin' good. I was excited to make it again tonight. And then it turned out mediocre. My husband actually rated it less than mediocre. "I'd give this a 4 out of 10," he pointed out as we were having our Sunday dinner. At first I was defensive. But, if I have to be honest, I'd only give it a 5. I can't figure out where I went wrong. Was it something I did or had the pregnancy hormones just fooled me into believing that these were the best pork chops ever? I still don't know. Part of me wants to blame it on the soy sauce. I opened a new bottle of soy sauce a few days ago. It's a new brand for me and I think it stinks. Literally. And it tastes different than the brand that I am used to. I don't know. I'll still show you how it came together. If you want to try it at your own risk, go ahead. Let me know if it turned out awesome. At least then I'll know that it was the soy sauce.

I began by making the marinade. I combined the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and molasses together and brought it to a boil.


After cooling the marinade to room temperature, I pour it over the chops in a resealable plastic bag. I put the bag into the fridge to marinate for about 4 hours.


After marinating, I put the chops into a baking dish and covered and baked them for 30 minutes.


While the chops are baking I make my sauce. It's ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, water, and ground mustard. If you've never used chili sauce, I've included a picture. You'll find it in the condiment aisle. It's tricky because if you ask a store employee for chili sauce, from time to time they direct you to canned chili or chili dog sauce. This stuff is different.




When 30 minutes is up, pull those chops out, uncover them, and smother with the sauce.


Now bake, uncovered for another 30 minutes.


I served them with the Au Gratin Potatoes (next post) and some Green Giant Brussels Sprouts from my freezer.

Favorite Pork Chops

4-6 Pork Chops
2 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. molasses

Bring the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and molasses to a boil. Cool to room temperature. Pour into a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Add chops and marinate 3-6 hours. Discard marinade. Place the chops into a greased 13 X 9 in. baking dish and cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauce:
3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. ground mustard
2/3 c. chili sauce
2 T. water

Combine sauce ingredients and pour over the chops. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes longer or until chop juices run clear.