Recipe Box: Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while now, and this week I finally did. I was not disappointed! While I wouldn't label it the best pork chop meal I've ever tried it's got a great flavor and the chops are tender and not dry. I found it on Real Mom Kitchen by Laura on Mar, 10, 2009. She said:

I always love a good crock pot recipe and let me tell you this one is excellent. This recipe comes from Jenny at Picky Plate. Thanks Jenny for sharing this one, it was FABULOUS! My husband is not a huge fan of pork because it’s usually too chewy for him. I knew that cooking this in the crock pot would give you tender meat. Plus my husband is a big fan of garlic mashed potatoes so I knew the potatoes would be a hit. This dish was simple to make, but impressive enough you could serve it to company. The only thing I would change for next time is to double the cream of chicken soup and ranch seasoning. My family is big gravy eaters and were asking for more. The ranch dressing in the gravy and the Parmesan and garlic in the potatoes complemented each other well. Delicious!

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tablespoons real butter
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves roasted garlic (directions are below)
1- 1 1/2 Cups warm skim milk (any milk will do, I used skim)
1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.
Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, Parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consistency.
Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. I put a little parsley on top to serve.

Roasted Garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bulb of garlic with skins on, wrap lightly in tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from foil and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove garlic from skins, place in a bowl and mash with a fork until completely mashed. Set aside. One garlic bulb will have around 12 cloves.

It's well worth it and surprisingly easy to make! So if you're looking for dinner ideas look no further!