Thursday, May 03, 2007

Plan B
--Honey-Mustard Pork Chops



Honey-Mustard Pork Chops
Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook Copyright 2006

4 teaspoons honey
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cider or wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 (6-ounce) bone-in loin chops, 1-inch thick I used boneless loin chops

1. To prepare the marinade, in a small saucepan over low heat, heat the honey until it liquefies. Stir in the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper; cool to room temperature.
2. Place the pork chops in a gallon-size zip-close plastic bag; add the marinade. Seal the bag, squeezing out the air; turn to coat the chops. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove the chops from the refrigerator 30 minutes before broiling.
3. Preheat the broiler. Discard the marinade. Place the chops on the broiler rack and broil 3-4 inches from the heat until cooked through, 6-7 minutes on each side.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 178 cal, 3g fat, 10mg chol, 124mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber, 26g pro, 27mg calcium
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I had originally planned on making a slow-cooked pork chop recipe with these pork chops but I chickened out. Boneless pork loin is as tricky as boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. You'll find plenty of recipes for boneless chicken breasts to be cooked in a slow cooker but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

I have a sick kidlet this week so I didn't have much time or energy to search for a replacement recipe. I grabbed this simple one. It was very good - the chops were moist and flavorful yet they didn't really taste like honey-mustard. It's not necessarily a bad thing when a marinade only gives meat a mild flavor but if you're looking for a strong honey-mustard flavor, you won't find it here.

The recipe I decided not to use was from a library cookbook. When I checked it out, the librarian told me that the book was a favorite with the ladies who worked there - they all take turns checking it out. And not one of them has made anything from it! I laughed, because it was at least the second time I checked out that book (a 5-ingredient slow cooker cookbook, from BHG, I think) and I hadn't made anything from it either. I still haven't, even though I was pretty determined to do it, just so I could tell the librarian that I made one of the recipes. It's a pictureless book but there's an appeal to the simple recipes. I can't quite figure out why the recipes aren't getting used. For me personally, although the recipes are 5 ingredients or less, it seemed that most of the ingredients were things I didn't keep on hand - canned soups, frozen vegetables, cuts of meat outside my usual repetoire.

I'm not finding a lot of recipes to make from this Weight Watchers cookbook. I'm not sure what makes it 'complete'. Most of the recipes are a bit fancy for my house. There are probably some gems in there, I just need to find them.

I'm going to do the April cookbook drawing later today. I didn't forget.

Blast From The Past: Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze from September 2005. I bought salmon at Costco last week, in an attempt to add more fish to our diet.

Question of the Day: How often to you cook fish at home? What types of fish do you make?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I love making fish! My favorite is tilapia but I also like catfish, flounder, and salmon. It's so easy and good for ya!

Anonymous said...

I love to have fish for dinner. We usually have tilapia, catfish or salmon, since they're the most economical (not always the salmon, but can't resist it.) Baked or pan grilled - yummm.

Jan

DancesInGarden said...

We try to have it once per week. In the summer, grilled whole fish on the BBQ (Dh and DD love to see the head, fins, and eyeballs. It makes me queasy, really but I deal ROFL). I am not a huge fan, ever since I was pregnant with DD. Turned me off and I haven't quite gotten over it yet. Maybe by the time she is married?

Anonymous said...

Hi. I mainly make salmon and tilapia. Orange roughy is so good, but tends to be expensive.
I also make shrimp and scallops; delicous and they thaw super-fast.
I would guess that I make seafood 2-3 times per week.

Brilynn said...

At least every Friday, but I try to do fish Tuesdays as well. I like it pretty much anyway you can do it, but grilled on a bed of lemons is popular for me.