Pork Chop, Stuffing and Mashed Potato Casserole

This dish is a combination of several of our traditional Thanksgiving dinner fixings married together in one casserole - with pork chops taking the place of turkey. It isn't anything fancy and it certainly won't win the award for "Most Beautiful Dish of The Year." However, it is a perfect all-in-one dish that is ultra comforting and one that will most-likely become a family favorite.

This dish is a blend of both store-bought shortcut items and from-scratch components. Of course, you could make stuffing and/or mushroom gravy from scratch if you'd prefer. {The preparation of the whole dish would, of course, require more of a time investment in doing so.}

The recipe may look complicated, but here's the overall gist:

Whip up some homemade mashed potatoes. {Keep them a little thicker than normal.}
Mix together some stuffing mix with water, butter and dried cranberries.
Sear off some pork chops.
Layer it all together in a casserole dish and top it all off with a mushroom soup sauce/gravy.

Simple. Uncomplicated. And, oh, so scrumptious.

Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients:

Non-stick spray

FOR THE POTATOES -

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 tablespoons butter
Splash milk
Kosher salt
Black pepper

FOR THE PORK CHOPS -

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 bone-in center cut pork chops
Kosher salt
Black pepper

FOR THE STUFFING -

1 - 6 oz. box chicken or pork stuffing mix
3 tablespoons melted butter
Water
1/4 cup dried cranberries

FOR THE GRAVY -

1 - 10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom condensed soup*
1/3 cup milk*

Directions:

Coat a 9 x 13-inch or similar baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Boil potatoes until tender over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Drain. Mash. Stir in butter and a small splash of milk. {They should remain thicker than traditional mashed potatoes.} Season with salt and paper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper pork chops, then brown in olive oil on both sides in large pan set over medium-high heat. {Do not fully cook pork at this point.} Remove from heat. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, moisten stuffing mix with a little water {not necessarily as much as called for on package, however} and stir in melted butter and cranberries. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together condensed soup and milk. Set aside.

Assemble casserole by spreading about 1/3 of the soup/milk mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. "Shingle"/layer pork chops, stuffing and potatoes across the baking dish in a bit of an overlapping pattern.

Pour the remaining soup mixture over the casserole.

Place dish onto baking sheet lined with foil to catch any drips and loosely cover with foil.

Bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes or until top begins to brown and casserole becomes bubbly. {Pork can be checked with a meat thermometer to ensure cooking to your preference, if desired.}

Serve immediately.

* NOTE:  An additional can of cream of mushroom condensed soup and double the amount of milk called for in the recipe can be utilized if you prefer a lot of gravy. Otherwise, the "gravy" will be present, but much does get absorbed into the stuffing and potatoes as the dish bakes.



09/26/17:  Updated photos and made clarifications to post/recipe.