Pork Chops with Craisin Couscous

As is usually the case, our new issue of Cooking Light arrived and we both read through it and ripped out a pile of recipes that we want to try. That is where the inspiration for tonight’s dinner came from. I am a sucker for Whole Foods and of course headed there to buy the bone-in pork chops for tonight. It must have been my lucky day because they were actually on sale; that almost never happens when I go there to purchase a specific item. This turned out to be an inexpensive, quick and easy recipe with a lot of flavor. I would definitely make it again or even for company.

I like recipes that have a component on the grill because that way Jason can help out. I leave most of the grilling to him since I can never tell when they are done or get the nice grill marks like him. We prepped the pork chops and sent him outside after the rain let up to put them on the grill.

Meanwhile, I stayed inside to put together the couscous salad. One of the things I love about couscous is that it is ready in 5 minutes and is a fluffy and delicious side! The original recipe calls for cherries but I like craisins since they are a bit sweeter and it’s something I have in the house. I also decreased the amount of scallions for next time since the original recipe had a lot and it was an over powering flavor. I did like the chopped almonds for a bit of crunch.

Pork Chops with Craisin Couscous

4 servings

Total Time: 39 minutes

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops

1 teaspoon salt, divided

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

¾ cup uncooked couscous

1 cup boiling water

½ cup coarsely chopped craisins

3 sliced green onions

1/3 cup dry-roasted almonds, chopped

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat

2. Brush 1 Tablespoon olive oil evenly over both sides of pork, and sprinkle evenly with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let pork stand for 5 minutes.

3. Place couscous in a large bowl. Add ¾ cup boiling water; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Stir in remaining 2 Tablespoons oil, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, craisins, and remaining ingredients. Serve with pork.

Adapted from: Cooking Light