Good Eats: Southwestern Smothered Chops

I know, I know...I haven't posted a Good Eats recipe in weeks. I apologize. Do you forgive me? No? Well, I'm going to post three today to make up for the weeks that I missed. Perhaps then you'll get over it. The funny thing is that we haven't stopped cooking or trying new recipes - I just haven't made it to the computer to write about what we've eaten!

This first recipe comes as a recommendation from my sister, and is cooking in the crock pot as I type. I don't know yet how the meal will taste, but it looks and smells good so far! Sue promised that we would enjoy these chops. They were certainly easy to prep - season the chops, combine a few ingredients in the slow cooker, put the chops in, smother the pork with soup and salsa, and you've got yourself a meal! The only problem that I had (and have previously encountered with Sandra Lee recipes) is that the recipe calls for two ingredients that are no longer available in stores. Both Campbell's Chicken Verde soup and Pace Salsa with Cilantro have been discontinued. With a few substitutions, however, I believe that I stayed as true to the original recipe as possible. You can find my substitutions following the recipe below.

Sue promised the meal would be to our liking. She usually has good taste when it comes to suggesting recipes. Movie recommendations, on the other hand, are a different story. She once insisted that we rent and watch White Chicks. I hope that these chops aren't the waste of our time and money that White Chicks was.

Recipe for: Southwestern Smothered Chops
From: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes

Ingredients:
4 center-cut pork chops, cut 1 inch thick
2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning, McCormick *
1 can (15 oz.) low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package (10 oz.) frozen whole-kernel corn
1/2 cup frozen chopped onion, Ore-Ida
1 can (10 oz.) condensed creamy chicken verde soup, Campbell's **
3/4 cup salsa with cilantro, Pace ***
Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions:
1. Sprinkle chops with Mexican seasoning; set aside.
2. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine beans, corn, and onion. Place chops on top of vegetables.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together soup and salsa. Pour over chops.
4. Cover and cook on LOW heat setting for 5 to 7 hours.
5. Serve with cilantro (optional).

*Neither Sue nor I could find "Mexican" seasoning in the grocery store. I used Southwest Chipotle seasoning made by Mrs. Dash in substitution.
**Campbell's suggests the following substitution for their condensed creamy chicken verde soup:
1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles.
***I used Pace chunky salsa an added 2 teaspoons of chopped cilantro.