Apricot Orange Pork Chops

Yes, it’s 80+ degrees outside and I am using my CrockPot. I can make dinner during nap time, have dishes done before dinner is served and enjoy the afternoon frolicking in the sunshine with my tater tots.  Or fold laundry. Or practice making balloon animals.

Enter Apricot Orange Pork Chops. This is a favorite of ours thanks to A Year Of Slow Cooking blog by Stephanie O’Dea. It’s crazy tasty and ridiculously easy.

I love recipes that I am reminded of and have everything on hand to make that day. This go round I only had 1/4 of a jar of apricot preserves so I added some hot water and shook the jar well. It worked beautifully.

My family gobbled up their portions over rice with a side of veggies while I was sweating my balls off at hot yoga. When I got home, I forked the tender meat over a bed of fresh spinach and spooned some of the cooking liquid over the top as dressing. Doooooood.

Note To You: Use bone-in, thick cut chops if you can. While boneless chops do work, they tend to cook quickly and can dry out. Check after 4 hours to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot.

You will need:

Pork chops
1 cup apricot jam
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can mandarin oranges, with juice (11 or 15 oz)

You are supposed to place your chops in the CrockPot and then mix the ingredients before pouring them over the top. If you are me, you forget this detail and throw things in as you go. Either way, they turn out perfectly. You can leave out any offensive spices. Resist the urge to add more than listed above. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Serve over a bed of rice to soak up the juices or over fresh spinach. YUM.