Maggie Monday: Tangy Lemon Pork Chops

I am a huge fan of lemons. I know that I’ve done damage to the enamel on my teeth by eating lemon after lemon like they were oranges. I don’t think I’ve ever used them the way Maggie does below. I’ll have to try this out! Here she is…

My mom used to make these pork chops for us as kids. I can remember loving the way the lemon made the sauce taste- tart and sweet. And the house smelled great while this was in the oven. I had completely forgotten about this dish, then last week I was walking by a restaurant and the fragrance took me right back to our orange and yellow flowered wall paper in the dining room. So, I called mom and asked if she remembered the recipe. She did.

I added the cayenne, and used boneless chops instead of the boned ones I remember having as child.

You gotta love any recipe that has just 5 ingredients, right? Super easy, and tasty. It’s not gourmet- not fancy or amazing, but perfect for a weeknight family dinner. You could easily make this ahead and stick it in the frig then bake it when you get home from work. Dinner. Done.

Tangy Lemon Pork Chops

 

What you need:

6 boneless pork chops

1 lemon

¾ cup ketchup

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp white wine vinegar

 

What you do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brown pork chops on each side in a skillet on the stove top. Remove chops and place them in a baking dish. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and cayenne. Spread the sauce evenly over the chops. Cut 6 thin slices from the lemon, laying one slice on top of each chop. If you have lemon left, squeeze the juice over the chops in the pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 425 degrees, remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the lemons brown a bit and the sauce begins to thicken.

Serve over rice.