Pork Chops with Apples and Cheesy Bacon Grits

I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's blog a while ago and finally decided to try it. We usually don't eat a lot of pork but this recipe looked especially yummy and I was intrigued a bit by the ingredients. It turned out pretty well! The husband wasn't a huge fan of the apples (I think it was a texture thing) but he said the pork was good and the grits were fantastic! I think next time I'll omit the white wine and use apple juice instead of cider vinegar. I wouldn't change anything about the grits though...they were the favorite in this recipe! Enjoy!

What you need

The grits:

- 4 pieces bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

- 1 small onion, diced

- 1 C grits (not the quick cooking kind)

- 4 C chicken broth

- 1/2 C heavy cream

- 1 C grated cheddar cheese

- Dash of cayenne pepper

- Salt and pepper to taste

The pork:

- 4 boneless skinless pork chops

- 1 T butter

- 1 T olive oil

- 2 gala apples, diced

- 1/4 C white wine

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

- 1/2 C maple syrup

- Salt and pepper

Directions
- You'll want to start on the grits first

- In a heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat for a couple minutes to render the fat

- Add the onions and cook for a few minutes, until bacon is chewy and onions are golden brown

- Add the grits and chicken broth and stir together. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover until the grits soak up the broth. If they get too dry add a little water.

- Once the liquid has reduced by about half, you can start on the pork chops. First, heat butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet.

- Salt and pepper both sides of each pork chop and place in skillet to brown

- Once the edges get nice and golden, flip and cook other side. Remove and set aside.

- In the same skillet, add your diced apples and stir to combine with the oil and butter

- Add the wine and vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan

- Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. (Check on your grits!)

- Pour in the maple syrup and a dash of salt and pepper

- Stir together and return the pork chops to the pan

- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

- At this point, add the heavy cream to your grits and cover and let simmer until the pork chops are done and the grits have soaked up the liquid.

- When the pork chops are done, add 1 C of shredded cheddar cheese to the grits and stir well. Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne.

- Serve up and enjoy!

Like I said before, we weren't crazy about the flavor and texture of the apples so I'll play around with that next time. The pork was really good though and the grits were heavenly!