San Francisco Chops

Since I've been married and had the responsibility of cooking dinner every day I have become very bored with many of my recipes so I started searching online for good recipes to try. I have come across websites and blogs of people I don't know that have delicious recipes. This is one of those recipes I found from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. This link takes you to her recipe which is also below (with a few of my own tweeks).

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick (I like to use boneless, but you can use bone-in)
Salt and pepper for seasoning (I only season with pepper since I don't use the reduced sodium soy sauce)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I don't use reduced sodium since I use the regular for everything else I cook with soy sauce)
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Directions:
1 - In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is simmering and hot. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side in the hot oil until golden. Transfer the chops to the slow cooker.

2 - Add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and stir constantly over medium heat until the garlic is aromatic and golden (but not burned or it will turn bitter!). Stir in the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.

3 - Pour over chops. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours until the meat is tender.

4 - If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones from the slow cooker. Remove the chops from the slow cooker to a shallow pan or plate – they will most likely be falling apart in tenderness at this point.

5 - In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker.

6 - Return the chops to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker heat to high and cook for 30 minutes to an hour longer, until the sauce is slightly thickened (I cook it for 30 minutes or so while my rice is cooking). If you want a super duper thick sauce, once you remove the chops from the slow cooker, pour the sauce into a pan and place it over medium heat on the stove. Add the cornstarch slurry and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is thick. Add the pork and heat through.

7 - Serve the tender chops over rice and garnish with green onions, if desired.

Helpful Hints:

My crockpot cooks really hot so I usually add about 1/3 cup of chicken broth instead of 1/4 cup and I also add about 1/4 cup of water and there is still not usually much sauce left, but there is still plenty of flavor!

When I take my chops out to mix in the cornstarch I usually shred the meat because then it's easier to get a little in every bite. Plus it makes great shredded pork tacos!