Healthy Meal of the Week

Hey all!  I know it’s been a few weeks but I’m back with a new “Healthy Meal of the Week”!  This week I made “Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions” with some haricots verts and mustard vinaigrette for the side all from the September 2012 issue of CookingLight.  It turned out very yummy and was a hit with Scarlett.  Try it out for yourself!

Ingredients:

2 ½ teaspoons canola oil, divided

1 ½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed

2 cups Gala apple wedges

1 tablespoon butter, divided

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided

4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about ½ inch thick)

½ cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

½ teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vinegar

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400°.

2.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Pat onions dry with a paper towel.  Add onions to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.  Add apple to pan; place in oven  Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until onions and apple are tender.  Stir in 2 teaspoons butter, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle pork with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Add remaining 1 ½ teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove pork from pan; keep warm.  Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cook 1 minute or until reduced to ¼ cup.  Stir in vinegar and remaining 1 teaspoon butter.  Serve sauce with pork and apple mixture.

Serves 4 (serving size:  1 chop, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and ¾ cup apple mixture)

Nutritional information:  240 calories; 10g total fat (3.3g saturated fat; 4.1g mono.; 1.4g poly); 24.9g protein; 11g carbohydrates; 1.5g fiber; 84mg cholesterol; 1mg iron; 379mg sodium; 28mg calcium

For Haricots Verts and Mustard Vinaigrette:

Cook 2 (8-ounce) packages microwave-in-a-bag fresh haricots verts according to package directions.  Combine 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl.  Add beans; toss well to coat.

Serves 4

Nutritional information:  51 calories; 1.8g total fat (0.3g saturated fat); 143mg sodium