The making of old school goodness.

When I was a latchkey kid in the 1980s, my Mom would prep my meals before heading to work. Early on, she would pre-make this dish, which I called Pork Chop Surprise. It was better than Shake & Bake pork chops. As I got older, I prepared the dish myself. I was feeling nostalgic this week. Fall had arrived, and the cooler temps lingered. It reminded me somewhat of my school days, so I thought I would share this childhood memory with Carter. I sent him to Don & Joe’s Butcher in the Pike Place Market to find some good, meaty pork chops with the rib bone intact. This dish is best prepared with a bone-in chop. It is surprisingly easy to make —only three ingredients —and oh-so-satisfying.

Ingredients

8-10 Yukon Gold Potatoes

4 -6 pork chops with rib bone

4 cans Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup

Preparation

Using your handy Jumbo Japanese-made Benriner mandoline, slice the potatoes to 1/8 inch.

Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan.

Brown the pork chops.

Mix four cans of the cream of mushroom soup and one can of water in a bowl to dilute the soup.

Add the browned pork chops to the pan, and cover with the remaining potatoes.

Pour soup mix over the potatoes.

Cover with foil, and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes until potatoes are soft and fully cooked.

Cook for 10 more minutes with the foil removed to get a crisp on the dish.

Brown your pork chops

Slice and layer the potatoes

Cover the initial layer with soup mix. Note this is before diluting with water.

Layer in the pork chops

Cover chops with soup

Cover the shops with the remaining potatoes, cover with the remaining soup mix, salt, and pepper.

Bake.

Enjoy with Mom. Love you Mom. Topo too!