Pork Chops with Peppers and Green Beans

The May 2010 issue of Everyday Food offers a recipe for Pork Chops with Peppers and Green Beans that is simple and tasty. I'm always looking for ways to sneak more vegetables into our meals, and this is a good one. You simply grill bone-in pork chops with some salt and pepper, and make the veggies separately to pile on top of the cooked chops.

I substituted garlic for the ginger because I forgot to buy fresh ginger, and I left out the jalapeño because I was feeding a 3 year old. The green bean and roasted pepper combination was unexpectedly good. I love roasted peppers, and fresh green beans are welcome on my plate any time.

This was one of the dishes I knew my husband would complain about, so I served him a plain pork chop and made some Rice-A-Roni wild rice pilaf on the side, which he likes. I'd prefer to ditch boxed sides altogether, but we compromise with rice and I often make my own with onion, garlic, parsley, and chicken broth instead of the plethora of unpronounceable crap that goes into a box of rice mix.

Day Sixteen: Breaded Pork Chops and Wild Rice with Mushrooms

Day sixteen of Operation: Expand Horizons seemed like it would be a very picky-husband-friendly meal. It wasn't his favorite, but he didn't hate it. The March 2010 issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food brought both new recipes for this dinner- Breaded Pork Chops and Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Parsley.

The pork recipe makes 8 chops and is actually a freezer batch. I made 3 chops and skipped the freezing. I don't know if this made a difference, but the crust didn't seem to adhere well to the chops. The recipe indicates that any other herb can be substituted for the fresh sage. I never have sage, but I have thyme in a pot on my back patio, so that's what I used. It usually matches well with Dijon mustard, and this was no exception. The chops were a little too mustardy for our tastes. They also took longer to cook than the recipe indicates, but I also don't broil meat on the top rack for fear of burning the outside and having a raw middle.

The mushrooms and wild rice was a good basic side that I will make again. It's a simple mixture of cooked wild rice blend, sautéed mushrooms, garlic, and fresh parsley. The recipe called for some fresh lemon juice at the end, but I didn't think it needed any so I omitted it.

I have a trusty container of Rice Select rice blend that I use frequently. It contains white, brown, wild, and red rices, and has a mild, nutty flavor that I really enjoy.

The EDF recipe calls for making the rice according to package directions. I find that packages vary, and Martha's people often use less water than I do. My way of making rice is very simple and no-fail.

In a straight-sided sauce or sauté pan, combine 1 part rice with two parts water, a drizzle of olive oil, a good sprinkling of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the top of the rice is no longer submerged and there are holes throughout the surface. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 5-10 minutes before fluffing with a fork and seasoning to taste.

You can also make a simple pilaf by heating some olive oil in the pan and sauteing some chopped onion and minced garlic before adding the rice, water, and a bouillon cube for extra flavor.

Day Two: Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Crunchy Bok Choy and Rice

Day two of Operation: Expand Horizons brings us a quick and easy dinner from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Bok Choy and Rice.

My husband said the pork chops were good- a high compliment from the man who had previously threatened that I'd better not ruin a good pork chop with some silly glaze. He didn't mind the bok choy, except that some of the stalks were too thick and therefore didn't cook all the way through, and he said they tasted too cabbage-y.

The problem with this is that I had to use regular bok choy instead of baby bok choy as the recipe calls for. My grocery store has carried the babies before but I haven't seen them recently, so I bought a head of regular. We've had it in stir-fry before and liked it, so it wasn't entirely new to us. I tasted the raw bok choy after it was drizzled with sesame oil and salted and peppered, and it was delicious. It would make a great base for an Asian salad or slaw.

He was also not enthused by the rice, which is cooked plain and dressed at the end with rice vinegar and red pepper flakes. Martha's people at EDF seem to have a hard-on for vinegar. It must be an East coast thing.

I'm easy with food, though, and I thought that all in all, it was pretty good. I only made two pork chops, so I had some leftover rice and bok choy that I'll probably use for lunch this week with some other things.

And now, the recipe.

Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Crunchy Bok Choy

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, June 2008

Serves 4

vegetable oil, for grill grates

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (I forgot to buy fresh so I used some dried ground ginger and it was fine)

4 bone-in pork rib chops (8 to 10 ounces each)

4 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise

1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

Preheat grill to high; lightly oil grates. (I didn't oil my grill. I usually don't have to.) Cook rice according to package instructions. (I use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, double the amount of water to the amount of rice, mixing them together before heating over medium to a simmer until done. The rice will have small holes in the surface and will still steam lightly when it's done. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.) With a fork, stir in vinegar and red pepper flakes; season with salt. Cover and set aside.

Combine honey, soy sauce, and ginger in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Grill until opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes per side (The thick chops I bought took a little longer.). Brush pork with glaze, and grill 30 seconds more per side. Transfer pork to a plate to rest.

In a bowl, drizzle halved bok choy heads with sesame oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Grill until lightly charred on both sides, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate with chops. Serve chops and bok choy with rice.