Slow Cooked Cherry Pork Chops -- The Recipe Documentation That Almost Didn't Happen

Two weeks to Kristin wedding and I am thirty-one weeks pregnant and big in a way that has surpassed my previous understanding of the word big. I say this without complaint — I know what big means and I know what it is producing. But I want to document the specific experience of being thirty-one weeks pregnant with twins, which is: very present in your own body, all the time, in a way you are not in any other state I can think of. The twins are distinct now. I know which one is on which side. I have names for them in my head that I am not sharing yet, because names are private until they are said out loud in a specific context.

I have been making the recipes this week. The ones I said I would document before they come. The bolognese went up on Tuesday — the real version, three hours, the technique that took two years to develop. The potato pancakes are done. The pierogi recipe, my version, is written and scheduled for November. Ryan proofreads the recipes by making them and reporting back, which is the most useful form of recipe testing I have ever had and also the most efficient way to get him to cook things.

School is going well, all things considered. My substitute has been selected and I have been briefing her since September: each student individually, their preferences and needs and the specific things that work and do not work. I told her about P and the pictures and the beanbag chair. I told her about the visual schedule for transitions and why it matters. I am handing these children to someone I trust and I am going to keep trusting that until the spring, when I come back and they are still okay and they are slightly bigger than they were in the fall and we will pick up where we left off.

The bolognese made the list first because it had to — it’s the one that took two years and I wasn’t going to let it live only in my head. But this slow-cooked cherry pork chop recipe was right behind it, because it is the kind of dish that does the work while you sit down, and at thirty-one weeks with twins, sitting down has become a form of self-preservation. It’s the recipe I make when I need something generous and slow and real, and right now everything I am reaching for has to be all three of those things.

Slow Cooked Cherry Pork Chops

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours | Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in pork loin chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

1. Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry and season both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Sear for color (optional but recommended). In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sear the chops 2 minutes per side until lightly browned. This step builds depth — skip it if you need to, the dish will still deliver.
3. Make the cherry sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together the cherry pie filling, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, and cloves until evenly combined.
4. Layer and pour. Arrange the seared pork chops in the slow cooker, overlapping slightly if needed. Pour the cherry sauce evenly over the top.
5. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, until the pork is tender and cooked through to an internal temperature of 145°F.
6. Rest and serve. Let the chops rest in the cooker with the lid off for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the cherry sauce generously over each chop. Serve alongside mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or roasted vegetables.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 520mg