BRAISED PORK CHOPS

I did not like eating pork chops before, esp pork loins, they are too lean for my taste, hard to swallow :) I like the fatty part of pork meat. But last weekend when we were at store I saw some pork chops on sale, it was on a really good price, about $6 for 4 thick cut of pork loin chops, so I grabbed them though I had no idea what to do with them.

Today I knew I was going to sit for a few hours on my couch to watch my new found favorite shows, Castle, started at 2 pm, so I thought about cooking something easy for our supper meal, a meal that I could let it simmer while I was glued in front of my TV... and I chose to do my pork chops, I saw I had some onions, celery, carrots and lots of tomatoes,  I remember I saw a cooking show showing how to braise pork chop, so I decided to give it a try, it turned out so good, tangy and the pork was fork tender, it changes my mind about pork chops.. well a bit, it'd be much better if I used country style pork ribs with more fat on the meat.

Here is the recipe:
- 4 pork chops, pat dry, season with salt on the both sides
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 big carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 big tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup of wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
- 2 cup of water or broth
- black pepper and salt (if needed)
- 1 tsp of sugar

How:
- heat a deep pan with 2 tbsp of oil, sear the chops on both sides, until all brown, set aside
- discard some of the oil, add in onion, saute for 1 minute, add garlic, carrots and celery, stir for 2 minutes, then add in tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, tomato ketchup, black pepper, cook until fragrant, add in water or broth, bring it to boil, then add the chops back, cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stir and flip the chops occasionally, take off the lid, give it a taste, add salt if needed, add sugar, cook uncovered with medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce reduced, take out the chops with the veggies and sauce, leave some sauce in the pan

- meanwhile, chop 1/4 head of cabbage in thin strips, add into the pan with sauce, saute until cabbage wilted, add in 1 cup of cooked orzo or rice ( I have cooked orzo from making my soup the the day before), stir until all well blended

ready to eat... we ate on a coffee table in front of our TV while enjoying our show... Castle