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I seem to go in spurts with my menu planning. One week it will be all about the chicken. The next week, I find myself buying pounds of beef. I haven’t had a seafood spurt in quite some time (I really need to change that), but lately, I keep finding pork on my menu plan. I feel like I went quite a few months there without ever really buying pork (except bacon. You must always have bacon.) But lately, I have been going crazy.
Most of the recipes I’ve been making have been from my archives, but a time or two a new recipe has made the cut. And today is one of those days.
This is a spin off of a popular slow cooker recipe that most our moms have probably made. But instead of cans of condensed soup, a from scratch sauce is made. I’m not a food snob – I promise – but making your own sauce not only tastes 100x better, but it really is super simple. It takes a little bit longer than opening up a can, but believe me – it’s worth it!!
And since I love it when the side dish comes with the main dish, this one is cooked with some potatoes. The sauce not only coats the pork chops, but the potatoes as well, making for a delicious meal. Throw some easy fresh veggies on the side, and dinner is done!!
Now, let’s talk slow cookers. If you have been reading Taste and Tell, you’ll know that I haven’t always been the biggest slow cooker fan. And I’m now starting to wonder if one reason is because I haven’t had a good one. My friends at KitchenAid recently sent me this 6-quart Slow Cooker with the Easy Serve Lid, and let me tell you. I didn’t think these words would ever leave my lips, but – I’m in love with my slow cooker. My old slow cooker cooked really hot, so things were always done too quickly. This one cooked perfectly. Some other things I love about this slow cooker? It has 4 temperature settings – warm, low, medium and high. I love that it has a medium setting – I’ve never seen that before! I also love the hinged lid design. This way, if you take it somewhere or if you are entertaining with it, you don’t have to take the lid off. The sides lift up for easy serving. And this may seem like something little or insignificant, but I love that you can wind the cord on the bottom for easy storage. Seriously – I don’t know if you could find a better slow cooker!
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Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs baby potatoes scrubbed and cut into halves or fourths
- 2 lbs bone-in pork chops
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups milk
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dry ranch seasoning
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. Lay the pork chops on top of the potatoes.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Slowly whisk in the broth, followed by the milk. Cook, stirring, until the mixture starts to thicken. Stir in the ranch seasoning and cook for a few more minutes, until the mixture is thick like gravy.
- Pour the sauce over the pork chops. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley before serving.
- **If your sauce isn't as thick as you would like it for serving, remove the lid and turn the slow cooker to high. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
**KitchenAid provided me with the slow cooker for review purposes, but no compensation was given. All views, thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Jaclyn says
This looks delicious! I love slow cooker meals, definitely need to try this!
Bree says
How creative! Love it!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Oh I love a good slow cooker recipe and this one sounds delcious. Love KitchenAid and all their fancy stuff too!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
This sounds like some perfect comfort food!
Joanne says
I can’t be down with condensed anything either! making your own is definitely the way to go.
Leslie Moore says
These look so delicious! I am always looking for a good pork chop recipe. Every time I cook pork chops they end up dry.
Chels R. says
Oh, my! That is a gorgeous crockpot! I must get one in my arsenal. I’m obsessed with them. I have 3, lol! Except one doesn’t count because the knob needs to be glued back on. And I am going to make this meal. Looks delicious!
carrian says
That’s one pretty slow cooker! And saucy looking pork!
Judy says
When you say ranch seasoning do you mean ranch dressing mix? I don’t think I’ve ever seen ranch seasoning around here.
Elaine says
@Judy,
I have the same question andhave not seen a reply. Does anyone know the answer because I would like to try this.
Deborah says
@Elaine, it is the dry ranch dressing mix.
Deborah says
@Judy, yep – same as ranch dressing mix – the dry mix.
Cheryl illinois says
I thought I was the only one who found slow cookers to not be so slow. I have a large one that was not real cheap and if the recipe says cook 6 hours on low I know it will be done in about 4 1/2 hours. What gives? I wish I had not given away my old smaller one.
Eolra says
I have found with the larger models that the problem is that they are more difficult to fill up with enough stuff to have them cook properly. If they are only 1/2 full, they will cook hotter/faster. The larger ones seem to be designed only for cooking for a crowd, and not regular cooking for a family under 10-12 people. For regular 4 person cooking, you can’t just half or quarter the recipes and expect it to cook at the same rate. Learned this the hard way haha.
Kathy says
Sounds delicious! I am always looking for new ways to use my slow cooker!
Marie says
I so understand your frustration with slow cookers. Companies who make them have changed their designs and yes they cook way to hot and fast. I had an older model crockpot version with the glass lid and it cooked great. Then I dropped the lid one day and it was history. I could have bought close to 3 new slow cookers for what they wanted to ship me a new lid. So I settled for a newer version made by the same company. I hate it. I have burned so many recipes. Thanks for your honest review and I just might look for a sale and keep the kitchenaid in mind.
Tieghan says
That is a nice slowcooker!! Mine is a cheap little target one that over cooks things!
These pork chops look perfect. I love the creamy ranch flavors!
Tracey says
My husband is always asking me to make pork chops, but I so rarely do. This is a recipe I definitely need to try for him, it sounds awesome! Plus, gotta love the slow cooker – I use mine year round 🙂
Colleen @ What's Baking in the Barbershop?! says
Sounds wonderful to me! Slow cookers are a gal’s best friend. 🙂
Rosa says
A lovely meal!
Cheers,
Rosa