I made this the other night and even though it’s not from the weight watchers cookbook, it’s definitely low fat (the pork is anyway) and it’s quite flavorful. I have some other WW recipes I need to post, but I’m having some technical issues, mainly that I’m having trouble getting good pictures in my horribly lit new kitchen (as you can see from the pic above, which I wouldn’t normally post, but it’s the best I had)*. I’m thinking about getting one of those table top lighting systems, possibly this one (mostly because it’s under $100, and I’m cheap) . Anyone have experiences with these things like this? Recommendations? It really takes the fun out of it when I make something really good that I want to share and all my pics look like monkeyass (™ Fabio from Top Chef).
*Update: Made this again and got some much better pics to replace bad ones on here before. I wound up getting the lamp mentioned above and I like it a lot. Definitely recommended if you have a windowless/badly lit kitchen or can’t always shoot in daylight. A commenter recommended this DIY lightbox, which I will definitely be making so I can have even more control over the light.
Anyway. Back to the pork chops. I’m kind of fascinated with pork because back when I only cooked sporadically, the only meat I ever used was chicken and ground beef. This is possibly why 20-year-olds should not be allowed to live on their own because they are stupid and afraid of things like meat. These days I try to get a variety of meats at the grocery store and pork is one of my favorites (and after almost 10 years of eating only chicken and ground beef, I am TIRED of them).
As always, I love a recipe that is simple, which this one is. You have to plan ahead a bit because the pork needs to be marinated for at least 2 hours, but you can also just let it marinate overnight, which is my recommendation. When you’re ready for dinner, take them out and grill them up. I grilled these on my little George Foreman Grill, which worked out fine. If you don’t have a grill (indoor or outdoor), you can just broil them in your oven.
Grilled Lemon Herb Pork Chops
adapted from All Recipes
Dinner | Servings: 4 to 6
Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 10 min | Total time: 2 hour 15 min
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 4 to 6 boneless pork loin chops
Process
- In a large, resealable bag, combine all ingredients except pork. Shake gently to mix well. Add in the pork, seal the bag and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Remember to turn the bag a bunch of times to distribute the marinade.
- When you are ready to cook dinner, remove pork from bag and transfer remaining marinade to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.
-
If Grilling: Preheat your grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grate. Grill pork chops for 5-7 minutes per side, basting frequently with boiled marinade, until done.
If Broiling: Set oven rack to closest position to broiler. Preheat the broiler. Broil 5-7 minutes per side, basting frequently with boiled marinade, until done.
Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
adapted from Real Simple Magazine
Side Dish | Servings: 4 to 6
Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 50 min | Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. salt (kosher or sea is best)
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
Process
- Heat oven to 400 degrees (F).
- In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients, transfer to a roasting pan or 13×9-inch baking dish.
- Roast, stirring/flipping once, until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes. Serve hot.
That’s a nice meal to sit down to. As kids pork chops were the only way we got the pig for dinner…unless you count a hot dog every now and then. This would be a nice variation on the everyday chop.
I think you could also marinate in orange juice beside lemon. Those Parmesan roasted potatoes sound really tasty!
Do you normally take pics in the kitchen, or on some other table with better lighting? Couldn’t you just upgrade the lighting in your kitchen?
I’m definitely going to have to try that with orange juice, that’s sounds good!
I try to take pics during the day (usually in front of a window or on my porch), but that’s not usually possible for dinner. Our old kitchen had a fluorescent light, which I didn’t especially like, but it spanned the whole kitchen, which made it pretty well lit. My new kitchen just has one incandescent fixture and light in hood over the oven, so it’s pretty dark. But you’re right, I’m going to check the light bulb as I could probably put in a higher wattage.
Or maybe I just need to make enough so I’ll have leftovers that I can heat up and take pics of the next day. Daylight always looks so much better.
I Love that you marinated the pork chops. They sound delicious and flavorful. The potatoes are a nice simple side. Adding a bit of mustard or garlic would also go well with the parmesean.
Looks great. I got hungry just looking at this recipe. I love the title of you blog as well.
Yum! THAT LOOKS SO GOOD!
I was wondering– what font did you use for the title? Thanks 😀
This looks good and you are right, it’s relatively low in fat including quarter cup of parmesan per serving. I like your blog style, both illustrations and font.
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Yum, that looks so good!!! thanks for sharing. I might be trying this for next weekend.
K.
Karoline’s last blog post..Your Neighborhood Friendly Office Girl 😀
i’m 21 and certainly not scared of meat, i’d be willing to bet you a $100 light set i’ve tackled far more exotic dishes than you have. watch the generalizations, you just lost a reader and got a thumbs down
Uh…ok. I was actually only referring to myself when I said I was scared of meat. I wasn’t talking about anyone else, but umm…good for you.
Please don’t spend $100 on a light setup when you can build your own for ~$15-20 with parts from Home Depot and Target. Start with this guide: https://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
The main modification that I made for mine was using PVC pipe instead of a cardboard box and a $3 white t-shirt instead of tissue paper to make it more durable. Most of the pics on my site were shot in this lightbox and it makes it look like I know what I’m doing. 🙂
Thanks for the tip, Judah! I actually did wind up buying that lamp, but I’ve been finding the lighting to be uneven/one-sided since it’s only one light. I will definitely be building one of these boxes so I can get better reflection.
All the pics on your site look great and it’s great seeing another Fiestaware user. I LOVE my Fiestaware!
Oh my God, those potatoes are to die for. I cooked this for my girlfriend last night and it was sensational. Thanks!
YUM! This looks so delicious, especially the parmesan roasted potatoes. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for the amazing recipe.
This is a fantastic recipe! Very simple, very cheap, and veeerrryy tasty. The only problem I ran into was using aluminum foil when baking the potatoes. Everything got all stuck to the bottom, which wasn’t too big of a problem, but they didn’t look as polished when they were finished. I guess the reynolds wrap was a rookie mistake, but maybe worth a mention in the recipe.
I just made this!!! Wow unbelievably wonderful. My husband was in heaven. I am having so much fun with your recipes. I was so getting sick of the same crap every week for food. I’m making your moms spaghetti sause tomorrow. Thank you….