Hungarian Pork Chops, Scalloped Corn

Good evening!

I had a very rough afternoon today, and I wanted to make something I really love and experiment with something new. Cooking helps me relax somewhat. Hungarian pork chops are a recipe that I honor my grandmother with, though it is one she never made me herself. After she passed away in 2006, my father and I were at his house and we decided to make one of her recipes for dinner. We paged through her cookbook, which I had spent hours and hours copying for everyone in my family. She was famous for her pasta sauce, but we did not have time for that. We found the recipe for Hungarian pork chops, so we made that for dinner that night. It was a wonderful way to honor her memory.

Hungarian Pork Chops

1lb thin cut pork chops, trim off fat and bone
Salt, Pepper to taste
1 medium onion
2tbsp minced garlic (or, ya know, more)
1 can chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1c fat free sour cream
2tbsp paprika
Cooking spray
Egg nooodles

1. Prepare the pork chops by trimming the fat and bone, then put salt and pepper on them. Set aside.
2. Chop 1 medium onion (coursely), brown in a pan (use cooking spray, not butter or oil), and add garlic.
   
3. Once the onions are browned and soft, move to the sides of the pan or remove.
   
4. Brown pork chops for a few minutes on each side, but do not cook through (see picture):
5. Add can of chicken broth, bay leaf, and add back garlic/onion mixture if you took it out.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour, covered. This cooks the pork slowly and makes it very tender!
7. With 20 minutes left of the simmering, boil water for the egg noodles.
   
8. After the hour, remove the pork chops from the broth, cover to keep warm.
9. Mix sour cream and paprika together, then add to the broth. Increase heat and reduce the sauce by about 1/2. Add flour to thicken if necessary. Remove the bay leaf.
   
10. Add back pork chops, serve over the egg noodles!
    

Scalloped Corn - Bottom left of dinner plate shown above!
(based on idea from lovestonom.blogspot.com, altered with help of allrecipes.com)

2tbsp butter
2tbsp flour
1c milk
Salt/pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
3c corn kernels, fresh, frozen, or canned
1 green pepper, chopped finely (I used an orange pepper, because that is what I had)
1tsp sugar
1/2c bread crumbs mixed with melted butter
Paprika

1. Preheat oven to 400.
   
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, add flour and cook for 2 minutes, do not brown!
3. Stir in milk slowly, stir continuously.
4. Add a little bit of sauce to the egg and beat, add egg back to sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the corn and green pepper and sugar to the sauce mixture.
   
6. Put mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top. Top with a little paprika.
7. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the bread crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes.

Donald has approved this dish for future use! It is a little bit heavy for a side dish, but still very good.