Balsamic and Cream Pork Chops with Mushrooms for Two

Every Friday night is date night for my husband and I. Most of the time we go out, but occasionally I make a special dinner and we stay in.

Can we talk about date nights for a second? I love date nights, but sometimes they can get expensive and mundane. So…one night I decided we were going to try something new. I had seen a post on Facebook about taking a penny and flipping it multiple times to determine which direction you should go at each stoplight. For example, heads would mean you go right, tails would mean you would go left. Before you leave the house you decide how many times you want to flip the penny. The goal is to find a new place to eat or hangout. We thought this would be so exciting and maybe we’d end up somewhere new. It didn’t quite turn out that way. After more than 30 minutes of flipping the penny and driving around we ended driving in a large circle and being a block from our house. So we ended up going to our old standby, Buffalo Wild Wings. We got a big laugh out of the situation and even tried it a second time and ended up in the same place again…our house. We are either cursed to hangout in our neighborhood or we don’t know how to play the game.

Anyhoo…a couple of weeks ago I decide we needed a date night in and  I made this balsamic and cream pork chops. Oh boy, was this good. I’m pretty sure my husband and I wanted to face plant into our plates and lick them clean. The sauce is the best part of this dish. The sauce is creamy with a bit of tartness from the balsamic vinegar and a hint of garlic. Delicious!

This dish is perfect for not only date night but an anniversary or even Valentine’s Day. It’s elegant, delicious and simple to make. You can have this done in under 30 minutes which is perfect for date night. You don’t want to spend the whole night in the kitchen. I served this over mashed potatoes, but you could do rice. Add a nice salad, some rolls and a dessert and you have a great date night dinner.

Enjoy!

~J

Balsamic and Cream Pork Chops with Mushrooms for Two

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 thin-cut, boneless pork chops
• Pepper, plus 1 tsp. for the sauce
• Salt, plus 1 tsp. for the sauce
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup white wine or chicken broth
• 1½ tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Sprinkle of Parsley

Instructions

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook for 3-4 minutes per side depending on how thick the chops are.
3. Take the chops out of the skillet and place on a plate.
4. Turn down the heat to medium and add the butter. Add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely brown. Takes around 5 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and shallot. Cook until the shallots become clear.
6. Add the flour and heat for an additional minute stirring the flour into the mixture during the whole minute.
7. Turn the heat back up to medium-high heat and add the wine/chicken stock and allow to come to a boil.
8. Add in the balsamic vinegar and heavy cream and stir.Season with salt and pepper.
9. Allow to cook for 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
10. Add the pork chops back into the skillet and allow it to absorb some liquid and become warm. Sprinkle the dish with some Parsley.
11. Serve over mashed potatoes.

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