Barbecued Pork Chops and Sauteed Apples

We love this Cooking Light recipe and so do all the guests we've served it to. It's super easy and can be cooked on the grill in the summer or under the broiler in the fall and winter. We love to serve it with baked sweet potatoes.

Barbecued Pork Chops

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

Sauce:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Remaining ingredients:
6 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Prepare grill or broiler.

To prepare sauce, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Place 1/4 cup sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

Trim fat from pork. Combine the thyme, garlic salt, and pepper; sprinkle over pork. Place pork on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 6 minutes on each side, basting with remaining sauce. Serve pork chops with reserved 1/4 cup sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories:244 (42% from fat)
Fat:11.3g (sat 3.9g,mono 5g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:24.6g
Carbohydrate:9.9g
Fiber:0.2g
Cholesterol:77mg
Iron:1.5mg
Sodium:649mg
Calcium:22mg

Sauteed Apples

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sauté 6 minutes or until apples are just tender. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute or until sugar melts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:137 (30% from fat)
Fat:4.6g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:0.2g
Carbohydrate:25.7g
Fiber:1.6g
Cholesterol:12mg

Spinach Salad with Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Nectarines

(photo courtesy of Oxmoor House)

Feast your eyes on the easiest, tastiest salad ever! :o) This salad has become a favorite of mine this summer as it is super easy to make, tastes delicious, and almost has zero clean-up. I got it from CookingLight.com (don't I always post their recipes?)

One thing on the nutritional value. I make this salad as my main course and I'm a big eater so I eat more than their serving size for the nutritional info and if you have a healthy appetite like me and want to feel satisfied, yours will be more than the 169 calories too. Because, I mean really, I want more than 2oz of pork in my meal!

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Prep Time: 16 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

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Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups spinach salad, 1/2 nectarine, about 2 ounces pork, and 2 teaspoons cheese)
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Ingredients
1 (1-pound) peppercorn-flavored pork tenderloin, trimmed
3 nectarines, halved
Cooking spray
2 (6-ounce) packages fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette (I use a white balsamic and LOVE it)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

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Preparation
1. Prepare grill.

2. Cut pork horizontally through center of meat, cutting to, but not through, other side using a sharp knife; open flat as you would a book. Place pork and nectarine halves, cut sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill pork 5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 160°. Grill nectarine halves 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until thoroughly heated. Remove pork and nectarine halves from grill. Let pork rest 10 minutes.

3. Peel off nectarine skin (it will come off easily after being cooked). Cut nectarine halves into slices. Thinly slice pork. Combine spinach and vinaigrette in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.

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4. Divide spinach mixture evenly on each plate. Top each serving evenly with nectarine slices and pork slices. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle evenly with pepper, if desired.
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Nutritional Information
Calories: 169 (31% from fat)
Fat: 6g (sat 2g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrate: 15.8g
Fiber: 3.9g
Cholesterol: 41mg
Iron: 2.9mg
Sodium: 766mg
Calcium: 86mg

Pork Marsala

I tried this for the first time last week and thought it was too awesome not to share, mostly because it is SO easy. I got the receipe off of Shine by Yahoo. They have a lot of great quick meal ideas on their website.

ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, quartered, halved, or sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 4 teaspoons margarine or butter
• 8 ounces medium slices pork tenderloins
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup dry Marsala or dry sherry
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

directions

1. In a 12-inch skillet cook mushrooms and green onion in 2 teaspoons of the hot margarine or butter for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from skillet; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cut veal into 2 serving-size pieces. Place one piece of veal or one chicken breast between 2 sheets of clear plastic wrap. Working from center to edges, pound lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet to about 1/8-inch thickness. Remove plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining veal or chicken.
3. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. In the same skillet cook veal or chicken in the remaining hot margarine or butter over medium-high heat about 1 minute on each side or until light brown. Transfer to warm dinner plates; keep warm.
4. Add Marsala or sherry and chicken broth to drippings in skillet. Bring to boiling; boil gently, uncovered, about 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits. Return mushroom mixture to skillet; add parsley. Heat through.
5. To serve, spoon the mushroom mixture over meat. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings

I also made sliced potatoes and cooked them over medium heat with a little bit of butter for about 15 minutes. I used a vegetable mix for the other side. It was super tasty!