Teriyaki Grilled Pork Chops

I think I have decided that I officially do not like pork.



I rarely like a pork dish that I prepare, yet I continue to make it. I think it's because I don't really like steak either, so I need SOME kind of other meat besides chicken. I mean, I'll totally go for the ground beef/sirloin in burgers or meatloaf or whatever, but otherwise? I think I have finally accepted that I should stop cooking pig.


Anyway. Pork aside, I really enjoyed the flavors of Sweet Savory Southern's Teriyaki Grilled Pork Chops, and would probably make them again using chicken instead of the pork.




Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and chopped fine (or 1 ½ tsp. dried ginger)
• 4-6 pork chops

For the marinade, combine all ingredients except pork chops in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool the marinade completely. Put the pork chops in a large resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over them. Seal the bag, pressing out excess air. Allow chops to marinate, turning bag once or twice, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

Pour the marinade into a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Grill chops on an oiled rack, approximately 7-8 minutes per side, or until just cooked through, basting with marinade during last 5 minutes of cooking.

Pork Chops Marsala

I was kind of disappointed with this recipe from Cooking Light. I think much of it was my own fault, though; I shouldn't have used PAM to coat my pan like the recipe said. Also, I think I overcooked it, as it was rather tough. The flavor was good, though, so I'd like to try this again sometime.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
• Cooking spray 1/3 cup minced shallots (about 2)
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup Marsala wine or dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove pork from pan.

Add shallots, garlic, and mushrooms to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Add remaining 2 tablespoons flour and thyme to pan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring well. Combine chicken broth and Marsala, stirring until smooth. Gradually add broth mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Return pork to pan; cook 2 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1/2 cup sauce)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 242(25% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 2.5g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.6g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 44mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.4g; SODIUM 299mg; PROTEIN 27g; FIBER 1.1g

Michele Powers
Cooking Light, APRIL 2007

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Oh, this dish by Kristy's Recipes is goooood. And perhaps the best part is that the house smelled like apple pie while it was cooking! (And nothing is cooler than making a dish where you already have all of the required ingredients.)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless pork chops
• 3 tablespoons Splenda brown sugar blend, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup reduced sugar apple juice
• 3 tablespoons almonds (I omitted.)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a casserole dish with foil.Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons Spelnda Brown Sugar Blend. Add apples. Cook 5-6 minutes; turning often.

Place pork chops in prepared pan. Pour apple mixture evenly on top of pork chops. Pour apple juice over pork chops and apples. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes.Remove foil sprinkle remaining brown sugar blend and almonds on top. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

MY 100TH POST!! French Onion Pork Chops

WAHOO!! When I first started this blog, I feared it would be something that I did three times and then never touched again. Yet, 100 posts later...

*throws confetti*

Okay, onto the dinner. Can you tell I adore French Onion anything?? I mean, FO Mac and Cheese, FO Meatloaf... maybe I should create a FO label here... I just love my mom's soup so much, so when I see a dish influenced by this yummy Thanksgiving staple (at my house, anyway...), I am so psyched to try it out.

Angie from Adventures in Home Cooking recently posted her second attempt at French Onion Pork Chops, and I am SO glad she did - I loved everything she did and didn't alter a thing (that's a lie - I used mozz instead of provolone. Call me a weirdo, but to me, provolone smells like feet and I can't get past that enough to actually taste it).

I have said many times that I am NOT a big pork person, but I actually ate TWO chops! This was dee-lish.

(Don't judge this meal by the pics; try as I may, I just could not get a shot that did this dish any justice at all.)

I took note of her notes and incorporated them into the actual recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 pork chops (I used a package of 6 but they were pretty thin.)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 pckg. Lipton onion soup mix
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 to 2/3 stick butter, melted
• 2 T. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chops with some s&p.

Saute the onion in a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil.

Combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg and then in bread crumb/onion mixture, coating well. Place in a shallow pan; cover with onions.

Mix melted butter and olive oil in a small bowl and drizzle onto pork chops. Bake covered 1 hour, turning once. Makes four servings.

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm not a huge pork fan, so I'm always on the lookout for something interesting and exciting to spice things up. When I saw this recipe on Cakes to Bake, I figured I'd have a new one to add to the pork rotation.





Mine didn't look as good as hers, although that could be because I used white vinegar instead of cider vinegar - whoops. I'll be curious to try it the real way...

It wasn't too bad, but nothing fabulous. Pat liked it, though... so maybe it's just me and my weird thing with pork...

Ingredients:

• 1 package of boneless pork chops
• 3/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons of cold water

Sprinkle the pork chops with the pepper.

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the pork chops over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and keep warm.

Add the water, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Stir to loosen the bits on the bottom of the pan.


Bring to a boil.


Combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir into the skillet.


Return the pork chops to the pan.


Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Herb Roasted Pork with Honey Dijon Mustard

This recipe from Sandra Lee was pretty easy. I know I have said this a billion times, but I ADORE meals that take two seconds to prepare because the oven does the work. This one was not only a snap to whip up, but it was pretty good too. Not my favorite pork recipe (hmm, do I even have a favorite?) but it did the job.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup honey Dijon mustard, divided (recommended: French's)
• 3 tablespoons fines herbs (recommended: Spice Islands) (I didn't have this, nor did I have ALL of the ingredients to make my own. So I just sprinkled on parsley, chives, basil, tarragon, and sage and called it a day.)
• 1/2 cup organic chicken broth (recommended: Swanson)
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions (recommended: C and W)
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil cooking spray; set aside. Rinse tenderloin under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 4 servings. Use a pastry brush to brush 1/4 cup mustard on pork loin. Sprinkle tenderloin pieces with 2 tablespoons of the herbs. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine chicken broth and pearl onions. Reduce liquid by half and add remaining 1/4 cup mustard and 1 tablespoon fines herbs. Heat thoroughly. Serve roasted tenderloins hot with onions and sauce.

Apricot Pork Chops

I was perusing the Cooking Light website when I came across this recipe for Apricot Pork Chops. It looked pretty good (and super easy) so I figured I'd add it to the menu.

This WAS fast!! It was done before I could catch up on my Google Reader posts for the day. :) I can't attest to its quality, however; I was so hungry when I got home that I snacked during cooking - so then I wasn't hungry when it was ready. Whoops! Pat said it was good, though...

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless loin pork chops
• 1/4 cup prechopped onion
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add prechopped onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in preserves, soy sauce, garlic, and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add pork to pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1 tablespoon sauce)

CALORIES 231 (32% from fat); FAT 8.3g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 23.9g; CHOLESTEROL 73mg; CALCIUM 24mg; SODIUM 345mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.2g

Cooking Light, JULY 2005

Pork Milanese with Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce

I saved this in my "Recipe Box" on the Food Network's website because it looked pretty easy, light, and yummy. Coincidentally, this episode aired the day before I was planning to make it. I TiVo'ed and was blown away by how simple and FAST this really was to make.


I thought that the sauce tasted a bit too lemony; next time, I probably won't use a whole lemon. Also, there was WAY too much sauce; I will for sure halve the recipe or even make only a quarter of it. There was a TON left!

We both really liked this. Even Ryan, who I don't think has EVER eaten more than a bite or two of a pork chop, ate almost a whole one! Look:


Source: Giada diLaurentiis, foodtv.com

Ingredients:

Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce:

• 2/3 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup capers, drained and chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pork Milanese:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 thin-cut pork chops

For the Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce: Combine the mascarpone and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Slowly add the milk, stirring as you go, until all the milk is incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Set aside.

For the Pork Milanese: Combine the flour and the 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a shallow dish and stir together. Crack the eggs into another shallow dish and beat until combined. In a third shallow bowl, place the breadcrumbs. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Dip the pork, 1at a time first in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs. Warm the vegetable in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot place the breaded pork in the pan. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a serving platter and serve with the sauce alongside.

Lemon Fennel Pork Chops

When I saw this recipe on Apple A Day, I knew I had to try it! I am iffy about pork chops, but Pat likes them... plus, how many days in a row can I really eat chicken? So I like to include a pork chop recipe once a week or so. This recipe is an adaption from Giada diLaurentiis.


Anyway, this was good. Perhaps a TAD too "herb-y," but that can easily be controlled next time. I did kind of sort of forget that it needed time to marinate, so it barely got the minimum 30 minutes in the fridge...

Ingredients:

• 2 large or 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs. pork chops

1. Put garlic and all herbs in a small bowl.

2. Squeeze lemon juice over garlic and herbs.

3. Add olive oil in a constant stream while whisking.

4. Put pork chops and marinade in a plastic zip-top bag. Give the chops a rub to ensure that herbs stick.

5. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight. Turn bag over halfway through the time.

6. You can really cook this however you'd like - I cooked it on the stove top in a little bit of olive oil. I'd like to try grilling it next time...

Pork Chops and Golden Apple/Raisin Sauce

I'm not really much of a pork fan, but I try to cook it once a week or so; otherwise, we'd be eating chicken every night!

This is a Rachael Ray dish (surprise...) and wasn't bad. Ryan, as usual, wouldn't touch the pork, but he did gobble up the apples like nobody's business.

I thought that using 4 apples was WAY too much; I was initially wary of chopping up so much and I wish I had followed my instinct. I have a plastic container in my fridge FULL of the stuff... I also wasn't super crazy about the mustard/syrup thing at the end.

Not my favorite meal, but it was edible...



Pork Chops, Golden Apple and Raisin Sauce, and Whole Wheat Pasta Mac-and-Cheddar
(I didn't do the mac-and-cheese thing.)

Salt
1/2 pound whole wheat shells or penne pasta
4 golden apples, cored and chopped
1 cup cloudy apple cider
3 tablespoons brown sugar
A handful golden raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large center cut pork loin chops, 1 1/2-inch thick
Black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 pound extra-sharp white cheddar
A few grates nutmeg, to taste
Dash hot sauce
2 cups broccoli tops, cut into small florets
2 tablespoons spicy brown or grainy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrupHeat a large pot of water for pasta. Season water with salt and cook pasta to al dente.

Add apples to a medium pot and stir in cider, sugar, raisins, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Place pot over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 12 minutes.

Season chops with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook 6 to 7 minutes on each side.

While chops cook, heat 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook a minute then whisk in milk and season with salt and pepper. Grate cheese and stir into sauce and season with nutmeg, to taste, and a dash of hot sauce. Reduce heat to low.

Add broccoli to pasta last 2 minutes of cook time. Drain and return to pasta pot. Add cheese sauce and stir to coat.

Add mustard and syrup to chops and glaze, 1 minute.

Serve pork with apple sauce, macaroni and cheddar with broccoli along side.

Pork Chops

First, welcome to the new site. Why the change, you might ask? Well, to save myself from a LOT of embarrassment, let's just say that you shouldn't always trust free online translators. Always ask your mother. Your mother is ALWAYS right (Hi, Mom! xo).



Anyway, tonight's dinner is courtesy of Melissa, who found this one on allrecipes.com. If you look at her blog entry for this dinner, you'll see that her sauce is MUCH thinner than mine... I don't know why. Hers looks so much better. I don't know what I did wrong...



This was a good dinner, but I do wish the sauce hadn't been so clumpy and thick and jelly-like.

Pineapple Pork Chops

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless pork chops
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup pineapple juice

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the pork chops about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chops from the skillet, and set aside.

Mix the chicken broth, soy sauce and vinegar into the skillet, and bring to a boil. Return the pork chops to the skillet, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F . Remove chops from the skillet, reserving broth mixture, and set aside.

In a bowl, blend the brown sugar, cornstarch, and pineapple juice. Mix into the skillet with the chicken broth mixture. Bring to a boil. Serve with the cooked pork chops.