News Taffy

I like to think I am the queen of fast, easy recipes. I get excited every time I find a tasty new recipe that is trouble free but gets rave reviews from the family. One appliance I don’t use often enough is the slow cooker because I haven’t found very many recipes for it that I really like. Slow cookers are the best for shortening your cooking time and effort so finding some good recipes is worthwhile. You can usually throw a few ingredients in the cooker before leaving for work and come home to a great meal. I use mine when I know I need a meal ready earlier than usual so someone can make a school event or meeting.

Anyway, I was searching for something to do with pork chops and came up with a winner. The pork chops could have cooked in a shorter time as they just fell apart after 7 hours but believe me, they were great. When I make this recipe again, I plan to add some mushrooms for extra flavor. You could serve this over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes like I did. The recipe calls for sour cream. I use either reduced fat or I substitute non fat plain yogurt for almost all recipes. I think the taste of non fat sour cream is awful but non fat plain yogurt is tangy and creamy and works just as well. That way you can enjoy the taste without the fat. I think this recipe would work just as well for some chicken legs or thighs.

Sour Cream Pork Chops

INGREDIENTS:
*4 to 6 pork chops
*salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
*1/2 cup flour
*1 large onion, sliced
*2 cubes chicken bouillon
*2 cups water
*2 Tbsp. flour
*1 8 oz. container sour cream or non fat plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS:
Mix flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow dish and dredge the pork chops. Heat 2 or 3 Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat to brown the pork chops. Lightly spray a slow cooker with cooking spray and place the browned pork chops in the bottom. Top with sliced onions. Stir the bouillon into the water and pour over the chops. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until done. Mix 2 Tbsp. flour into the sour cream. Remove pork chops and keep warm or push them to one side. Blend sour cream into the broth, cover and let cook about 15 minutes until thickened. Serve over your choice of starch.

I’d also like to invite everyone to the 5th annual HMG Health and Fitness Expo at the ASU Convocation Center April 21-22. As usual, there will be a 5k run in the morning, health screenings, fitness and health tips, cooking demonstrations and lots of activities for the kids. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about good health so come on out. I will be making healthy snacks at 9:45 so come by and try one!

Until next week,
Lisa