Marinated Pork Chops with Chimichurri Sauce

We recently went out to dinner at a new restaurant (to us) and I found myself ordering a flank steak with a chimichurri sauce that was just wonderful. It reminded me of a recipe I had from years ago that came from Cooking Light. It was a great summer time barbecue recipe. In those days I would cut the recipe out of the magazine and paste them in a book I had entitled Recipe Collection which had the photo album pages behind a set of pocket files for clipped recipes.

I found the recipe this past weekend when I took on the roll of chef for Saturday night dinner. At the top of the page I had written “Excellent- Rave Reviews”. I remember making this just after we moved into our house and we had our old neighbors over for dinner. We generally liked to make comments on recipes to remind us how it came out or if it was “foodie friends” worthy.

This did not disappoint. It was excellent and quite tasty. The pork chop marinade at first looked like it wouldn’t provide the flavor it did. The chimichurri sauce was a great compliment. I have to start reviewing the old recipes again to remind my self of how much we liked them and to get back to the joy I find when making a great meal.

Ingredients

3/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

4 (6-ounce) center-cut pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick) chimichurri Sauce:

1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup minced fresh onion

Cooking spray

To prepare pork chops, combine 3/4 cup chicken broth and chipotle chile in a blender; process until smooth. Combine chile mixture and pork chops in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours. Remove chops from bag; discard marinade.

To prepare Chimichurri Sauce, combine parsley and next 7 ingredients (parsley through garlic) in a blender; process until smooth. Pour into a bowl; stir in carrot and onion. Set aside.

Prepare grill. Place the chops on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with Chimichurri Sauce.