Jimmie makes this dish often because she can make it ahead and then reheat it. Also, she says, she has cooked this many times over the years and everybody likes it.
We are talking about Jimmie McCullough Keller, a member of First Baptist Church, North Augusta, and her recipe for Cranberry Pork Chops.
Jimmie and her husband Fred have been members of North Augusta First Baptist, where Gary Redding is pastor, since Fred retired from North American missions. The church is a member of Aiken Association.
Both Jimmie and Fred are from Birmingham, and his first South Carolina church was at Heights Baptist, a small congregation on Beech Island. From there, he went on to what a lot of us long-timers call “home missions.” He served in South Dakota and in California before retiring several years ago due to declining health.
Jimmie Keller
Jimmie teaches a Sunday school class, a job she has held in churches ever since Fred had his first pastorate. Fred served as a student preacher every two weeks at a small rural church in Alabama while he was in school. Jimmie was asked to teach the ladies class. She was quite apprehensive, and even more so when she discovered the first lesson was on adultery! She must have survived all right, though, because she has been teaching Sunday school ever since.
The Kellers have two daughters. Julie and her husband Tim Cox, and their children Mark and Rachel, live in Greenwood, Ind. Mark, who will be married soon, is a youth minister. The Kellers’ daughter Marsha is married to Bobby Huguley, who is the minister of music at Ocean View Baptist in Myrtle Beach. They have two children, Andrea and Paul.
Jimmie found the Cranberry Pork Chops recipe many years ago in a little booklet published by (you guessed it) the Ocean Spray Cranberry people. The recipe requires eight chops to make eight servings, but when I made it I discovered one could easily add a couple more chops for 10 servings and still have adequate sauce. You may use bone-in or boneless chops – whatever is on sale, Jimmie says.
With the chops, she has served various things over the years, but mostly green beans and red potatoes.
This is the way she does the potatoes: In a bake-and-serve dish, melt butter (maybe a couple of tablespoons) and sprinkle over this garlic salt to your taste. Cut medium-sized red potatoes into halves and lay these on top of the salt. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tender.
When she is serving the chops to dinner guests, she likes to make the dish early, refrigerate it, then reheat it for 15 minutes or so until warm. We thank Jimmie for sharing her recipe with us, and I know you’ll enjoy it for … Sunday Dinner.
Cranberry Pork Chops
8 bone-in pork chops (½- to ¾-inch thick)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
½ cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
Season pork chops on each side with salt and pepper. In the oil in a large skillet, brown chops on both sides. Drain oil.
Return all the chops to the skillet and pour the cranberry sauce and barbecue sauce over them. Cover and simmer 35-40 minutes until the juices run clear.
Remove the chops and keep warm, leaving the cranberry-barbecue sauce in pan.
Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth, then add to the skillet. Bring to a boil, cooking and stirring for 2 minutes until sauce thickens. Spoon over the chops. Serves 8.