Keeping it Simple

Since I began a new job about 16 months ago, I haven't been cooking dinner as much at home. And when that happens I usually end up eating much less healthy food for dinner...if anything at all. I'm away from home for at least 12 to 14 hours a day (and that's on days when I go straight to and from work and home). By the time I get home I'm tired and quite frankly I'm not in the mood to spend a great deal of time cooking for just me, since I live alone.

That being said, I'm on the hunt for simple, healthy, tasty recipes that I can quickly throw together and that don't leave tons of leftovers. I thought that others out there may be interested on the hunt for the same so I decided to share my progress on my blog...the good, the bad, and the ugly. But mostly...the TASTY!!!

This week I tried a recipe that was absolutely delicious and so simple it's ridiculous! As I nearly always do, I modified the recipe so below is how I made Lemon Parsley Pork Chops:

Ingredients:
1 lemon, zested
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used dried, but added water to soften)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (it might also be good to try lemon pepper)
~2 Tbsp olive oil
4 boneless loin pork chops

Directions:

1. Mince lemon zest and combine in a bowl with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Put olive oil and about half of the lemon-parsley mixture in a large skillet over high heat. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper and put in skillet. Cook in skillet until browned (2-3 minutes per side).
3. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer gently until pork is cooked through (8-10 minutes).
4. Transfer pork chops to platter or plate; drizzle with pan juices as desired and sprinkle additional lemon-parsley mixture to garnish.

Want to amp it up and simplify even more? At step 3, I set some zucchini spears in the water and simmered along with the meat. They were perfectly done at the same time as the pork and they tasted delicious! You could probably do this with green beans, instant rice, carrots, etc. Prep time took me about 5 minutes and a little over 10 minutes cooking time.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think. Stay tuned next week for another Keeping it Simple recipe.

Oh, I almost forgot the nutritional information, per serving (minus the zucchini): 271 calories; 3g carbs; 1g fiber; <16g>