Basil Pork Chops

This is going to be short and sweet because both my kids are napping, and I want to take full advantage of that!!! My friend Danielle told me recently she had tried a really good pork chop recipe. I'm always on the lookout for something new to do with pork chops, so I thought I'd give it a go. She found it on allrecipes.com.

Basil Pork Chops
SUBMITTED BY: Lisa Gilliland

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, basil, salt and chili powder. Gradually stir in 1 tablespoon oil until crumbly. Rub over both sides of pork chops.
In a large skillet, cook pork in remaining oil over medium heat for 7-8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

*****

Danielle emailed me last night that she had made them again and this time added some mushrooms into the pan and it turned out really good. I had to run to the store this morning for a couple things I forgot to buy on my regular shopping trip, so I picked up some to add in. I'm excited to try this. I'm going to make wild rice pilaf (recipe from Food Network website) to go with it and either some glazed carrots or steamed broccoli, not sure which yet.

*****

Wow. This was REALLY good. I couldn't find my chili powder, but I had some chipotle chili powder that I used instead. It has a lot more kick to it than regular chili powder, so I only used 1/8 tsp. The mushrooms added in were really good, too. I put them on top of the pork chops when I plated everything. I will definitely make these again, especially since all the ingredients are things I normally have on hand. We all really liked it--the boy ate every last bite of pork on his plate!

The rice was super tasty, too. Just don't let your three year old son get a juice box out of the pantry while the pine nuts and garlic are browning because he may knock over a stack of tuna cans in the process which may cause your pine nuts and garlic to almost get too dark. Just pay attention is all I'm saying. The recipe for the rice did not say to cover the pan after the water came to a boil, but I figured since it was rice I'd need to. The boy didn't eat any of it, the husband only had a few bites, but I loved it.

I remembered to take a picture of my plate, but of course the camera is downstairs, so I can't upload the picture. Once I do I'll come back and add it in here.