Spooned over my slow cooker mashed potatoes, it satisfies my every comfort food longing. The foolproof gravy is thick and flavorful. With 15 minutes of prep time and a half hour of stove-top simmering, these oh-so-tender pork chops are ready to eat. Happily, I've found that I can make even better pork chops smothered in an amazingly rich and savory mushroom gravy while using simple, good-for-you ingredients with no butter and NO CANNED SOUP! All I have to do is read the mystery ingredients on the soup can label to scare me away.

However I have a 'no canned soup' rule in my kitchen in pursuit of healthier, unprocessed ingredients. I loved the savory gravy it made, and boy was it easy! I grew up eating something similar, except my Mom always prepared pork chops by browning them and cooking them in a can of Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup.

This recipe represents the ultimate comfort food for me. Skip the photo tutorial - Jump straight to the recipe High in selenium, thiamin, vitamin B6, iron. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (for 1 pork chop with 1/2 cup gravy): 342 calories, 19.8g fat, 274mg sodium, 8.4g carbs, 1.2g fiber, 1.7g sugars, 20.9g protein. (Recipe makes almost 3 cups gravy.) Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Extra gravy may be served in a bowl on the side. If sauce is too thick, stir in additional chicken broth or water. If sauce in skillet is too thin, increase heat to medium-high and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens into gravy consistency, 5-10 min. Remove pork chops to platter and cover with foil. until pork is tender (a paring knife can be easily inserted with little resistence). Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30-40 min. Add browned pork chops back in along with any drippings. Stir in chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf. Sprinkle flour, garlic, and oregano over onion/mushroom mixture, stir and continue to cook for 1 minute. Stir occasionally until onions & mushrooms are soft. As liquid is released, use spatula to loosen browned bits from bottom of pan. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to skillet, add onions and mushrooms.

Cook until brown on first side, flip and brown on second side. Use paper towel to pat pork chops dry, season with salt and pepper, and arrange in hot skillet in single layer. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat bottom of hot skillet. Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Use a skillet that is large enough to arrange pork chops in a single layer.

Smothered pork chops with mushroom soup