Apple Cider Pork Chops With Caramelized Apples

From GoodLife Eats. Nice take on the apple & pork chop combination for autumn. It's both sweet and savory at the same time. We were honestly a bit worried the first time about the combination of garlic and sage with the sweetness of the apples and cider, but it works well. Our kids preferred to eat the apples separate from the meat as dessert and actually ate so many of them that doubling the apple portion would have been appropriate for us. Recipe calls for 2 Land O Lakes Saute Express Garlic Herb cubes. We did happen to have some of those on hand but if they weren't available, an equal blend of butter & olive oil, plus garlic and herbs to your preference would be a good substitution.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  thick-cut  pork chops (boneless or bone-in both work but either way should be 3/4-1 inch thick)
• 2  tablespoons  garlic and herb butter or 2  Land O Lakes garlic and herb saute express squares
• 1 -2  tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1  lb apple, peeled cored and sliced thinly
• 3  tablespoons butter
• 4  tablespoons brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup apple cider
• 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
• 1  teaspoon salt, to taste (optional)
• 1⁄2-1  teaspoon black pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Melt Saute Express cubes (or combination of butter, olive oil, and herbs) in a large pan. Cast iron skillet works great.
2. Pat pork chops dry and then place in pan, browning for ~5 minutes per side.
3. In a separate skillet, melt 3 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and cook about 1 minute until melted. Add apples and and saute for 10-15 minutes until apples are nicely browned.
4. Add apple cider to the pork chops and cook over medium heat until liquid reduced by half (5-10 minutes). Flip chops once during this step.
5. Add the cream to the pork chops and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened to desired consistency and pork is adequately cooked.
6. Sprinkle sage over the pork chops.
7. Serve immediately, spooning a little apple over each chop and drizzling with sauce.