Monday: Pork Chops with Raspberry-Vinaigrette Sweet Potato Salad

 

 My favorite thing about this Rachel Ray recipe? You use the same vinaigrette for both the pork chops and the salad, so it makes for an effortless dinner and less dishes. The Pork Chops are super flavorful, and will be especially a favorite to garlic lovers. Be sure to find a pan that you can use both on the stove top and is ovenproof like cast iron to make your cooking easier. 

Vinaigrette Recipe
4 servings

  3 TB red wine vinegar
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 TB raspberry jam
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive-oil
1/2 tsp salt

1. Whisk all ingredients except oil in a small bowl. Slowly add oil in a steady stream while whisking. Use on pork chops and sweet potato salad. 

Pork Chops Recipe

. 4 1-inch thick center-cut bone-in pork chops (about 2 lbs)
1 TB olive oil
2 TB salt
2 cups cold water


1. In a large bowl, dissolve salt in the 2 cups of cold water. Add pork chops and let brine in fridge for 20 minutes. 
2. Preheat broiler, and place a large, heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Take pork chops out of fridge, pat dry and brush olive oil over chops. Sear them for 3 minutes on each side, then baste/brush on one quarter of the raspberry vinaigrette. 
3. Broil, basting once, for 2 minutes on each side. (These would probably be good on the BBQ as well. Give it a try!)

Sweet Potato Salad Recipe  

3 sweet potatoes (1 1/2 lbs)peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped (I used a little bit of each for color)
1/2 bunch of scallions (green parts only)


1. Place potatoes in a medium pot of water and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.  Drain.
2. Toss potaotes, bell pepper and scallions with remaining vinaigrette. Season with salt. Serve with Pork Chops. YUM!

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Plan and Prep Ahead

Here are some helpful techniques to make life a little easier once dinner time hits. These tips will especially help those that work full-time and don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.

~Make vinaigrette ahead of time and refrigerate. Leave on counter top 15 minutes before using.

~Cut up potatoes and scallions ahead of time, refrigerate. 

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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP?

~Try this recipe with chicken cutlets or beef. YUM!
~Replace sweet potatoes with pasta or regular potatoes. 
~Use apricot preserves instead of raspberry jam.

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