Orange- Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

I am always on the lookout for new recipes, especially for comfort food. Our winter has been relentless, and we have been eating a lot of comfort food, I mean a lot.  When I saw this recipe in Cooking Light, we knew we had to make it. Over the holidays, we made a ham with with a similar glaze, and it was wonderful.  In fact we still had a jar of orange marmalade in the fridge.  There is just something about an orange-mustard combination with pork, that makes it a lively dish, the sweet marmalade and orange juice, with the zing of the mustard on top of thick-cut pork chops.  This dish also has Rosemary in it, and we had dried Rosemary from our herb pots last summer.

This dish is perfect for a weeknight supper or a company dinner, and comes together about 40 minutes. First the glaze ingredients are reduced to a syrupy wonder.  Then the chops are browned on the stove top and finished in the oven, topped with glaze , red onion, and Rosemary. Add a squeeze of lime juice for brightness, and that's it.  Our chops were tender, and topped with perfect balance of  tangy and sweet glaze, mmm! As you can see in the picture, I only cooked two chops, because there are just the two of us. However, I  made the full recipe of glaze and onion. I would double the glaze recipe, if I were cooking four chops, because we liked the glaze so much.  We'll be making this dish again for company.  If you have chops in the freezer, you can make this tonight.  If you don't, run out and buy some, unless you are snowed in and live in Atlanta!

 Orange-Mustard Glazed Pork Chops from Cooking Light

           Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)  I used Simply Orange juice
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 (6-ounce) bone-in pork loin chops (1 inch thick)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°

2. Combine juice, marmalade, and mustard in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until syrupy. *** I would double the glaze ingredients for four chops.

3. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn pork; add rosemary and onion to pan. Pour juice mixture over pork; bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140°. Place onion and rosemary on a platter. Return pan to medium-high heat; add lime juice. Cook 4 minutes or until liquid is syrupy. Add pork to platter; drizzle with sauce.