Saucy Pork Chops Inspired by Julia Child (Paleo)

I'm literally in the car on my way home from my vaca, but I thought I'd post this recipe for you guys while I'm on the road! We are in southern TN close to the GA border and this is what it look like outside my window:

It's a beautiful view, but it's been beautiful for a few hours so I am getting bored which made me hungry which made me think about my blog.

Oh, ADHD, how I love your tricky ways!

Being hungry made me think about how much I love, love, love French cooking. It's so rich and buttery! Mmmm!! Delicious! Did I mention I love french cooking?! I hate to admit it but I like to talk like Julia Child when I'm cooking, especially about anything that has to do with butter, bacon or wine.

How? Well, it's easy. You say something like "If you're afraid of butter, use cream" while waving a wooden spoon around wildly in one hand while you have a glass of wine in the other.

"Always cook with wine and sometimes put it in the food"!

 That Julia was one smart lady.

One of my favorite Julia dishes is her classic Beef Bourguignon. The meat melts in your mouth with a wonderful tang from the tomatoes, the sweetness from the wine and the delicious fresh herbs! It's hearty and rich and it makes you feel like your participating in something special by simply eating it.

But there are a lot of steps and it can take an afternoon to make. Don't get me wrong-- it's totally worth it, but ain't nobody got time for dat.

So I took inspiration for Julia's Beef Bourguignon and I decided to make a dish with a lot of the same flavor base, but with only about an hour of cook time, plus it's paleo friendly! I hope you like it!
What You Need

• 4 Boneless Pork Chops (1.5 to 2 lbs)
• Herbes de Provence 
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
• 1 15 oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 2 TBSP tomato paste
• 4 Carrots, chopped
• 2 Celery stalks, chopped
• 1 cup of Mushrooms, chopped
• 1 TBSP of dijon mustard (optional)
• Fresh Rosemary
• 1 cup Red Wine, dry is best
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced 

In a dutch oven, add the chopped vegetables with diced tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, garlic and dijon mustard (optional). Heat the dutch oven on the stove top until it starts to simmer, then cover and lower the heat.

In the meantime, heat a skillet (cast iron is best) on medium high heat with a bit of olive oil in the pan.

Wash and pat dry the pork chops. Seriously, dry them.

Season with salt and pepper and go crazy with the Herbs de Provence. More is generally better.

Add them to the hot skillet and let them sear for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove them from the heat and add them to the simmer pot of vegetables. Push them down a bit so they are cradled into the veggie tomato mixture.

Toss in a stem or two of rosemary, and pour in that wine!

Cover the dutch oven and let them cook for 45 minutes to an hour. The pork chops should be very tender, but not quite at that fall apart stage. Let's just say that there should be no need for a knife. ;)

I like to serve this dish with mashed sweet potatoes so you have something to mop up all those yummy juices. Mmmm! Delicious!

Be sure to check out these Dinner Basics from Running On Good