The Noise & Thyme Pork Chops With Pan Gravy

We can choose to wake up and grumble all day and be bitter and angry and judge others and find satisfaction in others doing bad instead of good. Or we can we wake up with optimism and love and say, ‘Just what is this beautiful day going to bring me?’

Margaret Trudeau

How many poems are there out there about someone deliriously in love? Now think about how many poems are out there describing heartbreak and unrequited love.

How many books about a peaceful and happy life become best sellers? Now think about how many best sellers are about the journey and struggles of a hard life full of tragedy?

Are your favourite love songs really about love? Or are they about the painful fight to keep a romance going or even a “love song” about an epic break up?

I have a theory… When people are happy, they’re too happy to write about it. When people are content and satisfied they don’t feel the need to shout it out to everybody they meet. They just don’t have the time to do the opposite of complain about their happiness, they’re too busy enjoying their lives.

On the other hand, when people are unhappy they tend to take up a lot of space. They write, tweet, sing, yell, and post about their anger. They are loud.

I noticed this a LOT during our federal election this week. I saw all the anger and vitriol on social media. I saw the signs and the rallies and I was worried. I got lost in the noise.

And then the election that nobody wanted, happened and the truth came out. It just seems like the popular sentiment is anti science, anger, and mistrust. It’s not.

And for that I am grateful.

Proving twice within 2 years that our Canadian identity is NOT the newly emerged Conservative party or the very loud fringe parties reminded me that we are going to be ok. There is more of us. We are just quieter.

Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #242: Fall Is In The Air HERE! This week, we are feeling the changing weather. Topics: poutine, Wise Acre Farms, pumpkin spice, Would You Rather, trip planning, A Year of Us, Federal election, SOW, the return of live music & lack of sex.

Fall is in the air! This week I made the PERFECT fall dish! I had some boneless pork chops in the freezer so I pulled them out and at first I thought “oh I’ll make BBQ pork chops with a veggie/potato packet.” It’s a go-to in our house. Then I looked out the window and saw the leaves blowing, the grey skies and the cool drizzle of rain falling and thought, “nope!” Although I love BBQing in any and all seasons, I really really wanted fall comfort food. Like mashed potatoes, carrots, pork and GRAVY type comfort food! I mean let’s be real, can you call something a comfort food without having gravy???? I think not! I suck at gravy. To be honest, it is one of the few things that I make out of a package. Until now! Now I know just how easy it is to make pan gravy and we were literally licking our plates clean! This recipe is so freaking easy and tastes so freaking good I feel like I should have known about it years ago! I’m actually upset that I didn’t know how to make pan gravy before now! I may never use packet gravy again! For reals! In the time it took for the potatoes to cook and be mashed, my pork, gravy and veggies were done! A delicious Sunday comfort dinner in under 30 minutes! You’re welcome 😉.

Thyme Pork Chops With Pan Gravy
Adapted from Family Food on the Table

3-4 boneless pork chops, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
2 teaspoons thyme, chopped & divided

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sour cream

Season pork chops on both sides with half the salt, half the pepper and half the thyme.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil.

Add pork chops to the pan and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side, until well browned. Remove the pork chops from the pan and cover to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the butter to the skillet.

Add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook the flour mixture for 1 minute, whisking occasionally.

Add chicken broth to the pan slowly and whisk continuously to combine until the mixture is smooth, without any lumps.

Sprinkle in the rest of the thyme, salt and pepper.

Let the gravy cook over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.

Return the pork chops to the pan and turn to coat them in the gravy. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, until pork chops reach an internal temperature of 135-140.

Remove from heat. Add the sour cream to the gravy and stir to combine.

Serve the pork chops with plenty of gravy over top.

This was a better week than the last one. The sun was out, the Girls made it through their first full week of school, I won the summer reading challenge but decided to split my winnings with the Girls who did a fantastic job keeping up to me, and I lost almost 2 hours of my life watching the new Cinderella movie. Seriously. It’s bad. Ninja and I tried to work on the fence in between rain delays and Sis and her family met us for a beautiful hike up Munson Mountain. My BIL’s Aunt is in town from New Brunswick and it was so nice to see her and show her our little Ticky Town. after our hike we went to Tickleberrys for ice cream and then went for a little walk on the beach. SBean was SO excited to have her first vote in the student polls this year and was even picked as the election worker who ran the table! She had a tough time choosing her candidate and after a long conversation decided that even though the NDP was her 1st choice, she really wanted to vote for a woman so she changed her vote last minute to our Green Party representative. Her main reasons were voting for a woman, wanting to get vaccinations for kids under 12 going ASAP and climate change. I’m with you Kiddo as those are my main points too! We all voted on Monday and it was my pleasure to do my part for Democracy!