Pork Chops with Country Gravy

PORK CHOPS with COUNTRY GRAVY
adapted from Cooking Light
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When I want to try something different than the meals we usually eat I like to look at Cooking Light magazines or their website, cookinglight.com. I had been planning on cooking chicken but when I found this recipe I knew that the chicken would have to wait. The recipe sounded very easy to make and we both love pork chops and best of all, gravy! I love gravy! We already had some green beans that we bought from a roadside stand on our way back from visiting our favorite winery, Sugar Creek. So when I went to the store to get the pork chops I also picked up some new potatoes. I boiled the potatoes until they were soft and placed them in a serving dish. Then I tossed the green beans into the water for a few minutes to soften them a little bit. It was quite a tasty meal. And, yes, I put the gravy on the pork chops, potatoes and the green beans!

PORK CHOPS with COUNTRY GRAVY
adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, salt, marjoram, thyme and sage in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture, turning to coat; shake off excess. Reserve remaining flour mixture.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat, and cook for 10 minutes or until done, turning pork once. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Combine reserved flour mixture and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add milk mixture to pan; place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Serve with chops.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and 1/2 cup gravy)

CALORIES 252 (34% from fat; FAT 9.6g (sat 4.4g,mono3.6g,poly0.8g); IRON 1.5 mg; CHOLESTEROL 83mg; CALCIUM 142mg; CARBOHYDRATE10.6g; SODIUM 584mg; PROTEIN 28g; FIBER 0.3g

Cooking Light, June 2006