Dinner Fit For Winter

Every family has their list of favorite dinners. They are usually indulgent. They might require a bit of planning ahead and maybe even a little more effort in the preparation department. As I write this post I happen to be listening to The Shirelles' song "Mama Said" on repeat and thinking back to the January day my 19 year old self copied this recipe down into my recipe book.

The recipe I'm sharing today is for those winter days when you want comfort food, but need it to be quick and easy. I've been making it for years and I think it is responsible for helping my sister to come around when it comes to stuffing.

It's a weird combo, but you've got to try it at least once. Trust me.
 

You can go one of two ways with this recipe! You're going to need three things: 4-6 pork chops, one can OR one recipe of apple pie filling, one box OR one recipe of stuffing. That's it!!!

Whether you choose to go the easy route or the homemade route, you'll get no judgment from me because I've done both.

My Mom taught me everything I know about cooking. One important lesson I learned from the years I spent shadowing her in the kitchen is to pace yourself. If you need to take shortcuts, take the shortcuts. My Mom is one of those women who doesn't apologize for every little thing. She just goes for it. That's what this recipe is about: if you've got time, go for it. If not, go for the shortcut.

The first and most important step is to trim and debone your pork chops. Everything is layered and melds together as it cooks. Those bones will disappear into the stuffing and you DO NOT want to have to deal with that.

So, trim the fat and remove allll the bones from those chops. Then, lay them in the bottom of your crock pot so that they are touching.

Next, scoop your prepared stuffing out onto the pork chops. You want to keep as much of it ON the pork chops as you can. Easy, right???

Then, you'll scoop your apple pie filling out onto the stuffing, put the lid on the crock pot, and set the timer for 3 - 4 hours. My crock pot only has a low and high setting, so I end up cooking them for about 3 hours on high.

The key is making sure your pork is DONE, but not overcooked. If you do this recipe right, you will have the tenderest pork chops EVER.

Here you have it, your pork chop dinner alllll ready to dig into! I serve it straight from the crock pot so that everything stays nice and toasty, but you could separate each layer in individual serving bowls if you wanted to. By the time the food makes it onto my plate, I separate it out. My sister, on the other hand, likes hers to stay all piled together! 

The best family dinners include CHOICES. This is one of those from start to finish.  

 

When I made this a few weeks ago, I challenged my family to take pictures of their plates. ^ Here ^ is my sister's prize winning picture! I told you she likes hers in one big heap. :)

Special thanks to my brother for jumping up from his homework to take some pictures over my shoulder for me!

Ready for the recipe?

Crock Pot Pork Chop Dinner
adapted from cooks.com serves 6

4-6 pork chops, trimmed and bones removed
1 recipe stuffing, prepared
1 recipe apple pie filling, prepared


Layer pork chops in the bottom of the crock pot so that they are touching. Cover with stuffing. Top with apple pie filling.

Place lid on crock pot and set the timer for 3-4 hours, just until pork is cooked through and still tender. My crockpot only has high and low, so I end up cooking mine for about 3 hours on high. 

Remove lid and dig in!!!!

If you need stuffing and pie filling recipes, click HERE.

What are some of your family favorites?

What's one piece of cooking advice your Mom taught you?