Dinner Tonight!

OK, so you may have noticed on my meal planning board that we eat at home most every night.  And I cook about 90% of the time.  So last night I made Balsamic-glazed Pork Chops with Polenta, and Blasted Broccoli.  I found the recipe in the "budget cooking" section of Cooking Light.  Pete could not stop talking about this food!  Apparently this is the tastiest meal I've made in quite some time.  And it was really easy and inexpensive, so I thought I'd share it with you!  Not to mention, I took a picture of the finished product on a bit of a whim, and it actually turned out decent.  Enjoy!

Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops with Polenta and Blasted Broccoli
adapated from Cooking Light.  Broccoli inspired by Black Bottle

Ingredients

• 2  cups  whole milk  (I used 2%)
• 1  cup  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth  (I used "Better than Bouillon")
• 3/4  cup  uncooked polenta
• 3  ounces  1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 6  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  large garlic cloves, minced
• 4  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork chops, trimmed

Preparation

1. Bring 2 cups milk and broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add polenta. Cook for 20 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring frequently with a whisk; remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese. Keep warm.

2. Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half (about 5 minutes).

3. Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Combine rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic; rub mixture over pork. Place pork in pan; cook for 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness, basting with vinegar. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with polenta.  I used the leftover balsamic sauce to decorate our plates.  

Blasted Broccoli

Preheat oven to 450.  Cut broccoli into large-ish bite size pieces.  Toss with olive oil and salt.  If you have a little leftover rosemary from the Pork, that would probably be a nice addition.  Roast in hot oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the broccoli starts to char.