Baked Pork Chops with Apple Cranberry Sauce
A wonderful fruit sauce adds the perfect touch to these pork chops—try serving with a side of brown rice and steamed broccoli.
Makes
Serving size
Ingredients
For pork chops:
4 boneless pork chops (about 3 ounces each)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium orange, rinsed, for ¼ teaspoon zest (use a grater to take a thin layer of skin off the orange; save the orange for garnish)
½ tablespoon olive oil
For sauce:
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium apple, peeled and grated (about 1 cup) (use a grater to make thin layers of apple)
½ cinnamon stick (or ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 bay leaf
½ cup dried cranberries (or substitute raisins)
½ cup 100% orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Season pork chops with pepper and orange zest.
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork chops, and cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn over and brown the second side, an additional 2 minutes.
- Remove pork chops from the pan, place them on a nonstick baking sheet, and put in the oven to cook for an additional 10 minutes (to a minimum internal temperature of 160°F).
- Add chicken broth to the sauté pan and stir to loosen the flavorful brown bits. Set aside for later.
- Meanwhile, place grated apples, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the apples begin to soften.
- Add cranberries, orange juice, and saved broth with flavorful brown bits. Bring to a boil, and then lower to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer for up to 10 minutes, or until the cranberries are plump and the apples are tender. Remove the cinnamon stick.
- Peel the orange used for the zest and cut it into eight sections for garnish.
- Serve one pork chop with ¼ cup of sauce and two orange segments.
Cooking Tip
If your children would prefer it without the sauce on top, serve a plain pork chop with separate sides of unsweetened applesauce, dried cranberries, and orange segments.
Recipe Contributed by the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute; Deliciously Healthy Family Meals
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