Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Chops, Cheddar Grits and a Cucumber-Red Onion Salad |

Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Chops, Cheddar Grits and a Cucumber-Red Onion Salad

Filed under Main Dishes - Pork, Side Dish - Other, Side Dish - Vegetable

Mar 19
**Don’t forget to enter the March giveaway! If you haven’t already, you can read about it here.**

It’s 3 recipes today!! This meal was actually made back in December, but I am just now getting around to posting about it – so much to post, so little time…

One of my favorite things that they do in the Cooking Light magazine sometimes is layout a full meal plan. They give you the main dish, plus a side or two, and give you the timing – or a “Game Plan.” Why do I love this so much? Well, if you have been reading my blog, you know that I have a hard time coming up with side dishes, so this takes the guessing game away for that. Plus, I am horrible at meal timing. I’m sure I could make dinner faster and more efficient most days, but I’m bad about knowing when to start one thing, or what I should be doing while another thing cooks. This game plan lays it all out for you, and you end up with a quick and effortless meal!!

I was especially excited to try this meal because I had never had grits before. Growing up, I was never a fan of hot cereal for breakfast. I could do without oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. Even today I’m not a big fan. So needless to say, I had never made grits with dinner. Well, my husband was on a grits kick for breakfast, so we had some at home, and when I saw this meal plan, I decided to give it them a try!

The pork chops don’t get much easier. The recipe calls for bone-in chops, but I think I had some boneless chops in my freezer, so I used those and they worked just fine. A rub is made from spices I already have in my spice cabinet, and the the chops are grilled. Since it was December, I just used my grill pan, but I bet these would be great on the bbq grill.

Not only were the grits easy to prepare, but I couldn’t believe how much I really liked them!! Maybe it was the cheese, because if you put enough cheese on something, I’m sure I’ll like it, but I really fell in love with the whole dish! I’m thinking that I need to re-visit the idea of grits for breakfast now…

On the menu, it lists a cucumber-red onion salad, but a recipe is not given. I couldn’t see us eating just cucumbers and red onions mixed together, so I did a quick online search and came up with this salad. I was a little unsure about it at first, but it was very refreshing and delicious!! In fact, my husband liked it so much that there was nothing left!

Overall, this was a delicious and satisfying meal. I can’t wait to try it again this summer when we have the grill out and I can use fresh cucumbers from the garden!

Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Chops
from Cooking Light April 2007

1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 (6-oz) bone-in center-cut loin chops, trimmed (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking Spray

Combine first 9 ingredients; rub over both sides of pork. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook for 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 8 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Remove from pan; let stand 5 minutes.

Cheddar Grits
from Cooking Light April 2007

2 cups fat-free milk
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup quick cooking grits
1 cup reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Bring milk and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Slowly add the grits, stirring well with a whisk. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add cheese, butter, salt and pepper; stir until the cheese melts.

Cucumber and Red Onion Salad*
from P. Allen Smith Garden Home

3 large cucumbers**
1 red onion
1/3 cup dill**
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup white vinegar

Peel and quarter the cucumbers and then cut them into half-inch cubes. Place the cucumber cubes in a large serving bowl and set aside.

Julienne the red onion and toss the slices with the cucumbers. Finely chop the dill and add it in with the cucumbers and onion.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream and vinegar and pour it over vegetables just prior to serving. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*This is the full recipe as listed. I halved this for 2 of us, and we ate it all!
**I used an English cucumber, so I didn’t peel it.

GAME PLAN

1 – While milk mixture comes to a boil, prepare pork chop rub.
2 – Grill pork chops.
3 – While grits simmer, assemble salad.

See who else made these recipes:

Culinary in the Country
Family Friends and Food
24 Comments

24 Responses to “Barbecue-Rubbed Pork Chops, Cheddar Grits and a Cucumber-Red Onion Salad”

Cakespy said on March 19th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

I am a huge sucker for grits. Ever since my first trip to visit an aunt in the south I have been hooked. This looks like a wonderful pairing with the pork chops and onion salad–rich and lovely. MMMM.

[Reply]
Katie B. said on March 19th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Grits are much loved in our household, too – and your trio looks perfect together!! I never would have thought to put it together like that, but this is what makes meal plans and recipes such a live-saver!

[Reply]
Sarah said on March 19th, 2008 at 3:28 pm

That looks like an awesome dinner! Perfect for company in the summer…I will be sure to try this out. Glad you realized you like grits…they are delicious!

[Reply]
Kelly-Jane said on March 19th, 2008 at 3:39 pm

I’ve never eaten grits! Lovely dinner =)

[Reply]
Katy said on March 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm

cheddar grits – yum! i bet that recipe would be great with polenta too.

[Reply]
Patsyk said on March 19th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

The cucumber and red onion salad looks exactly like what my mom makes in the summertime… I’m going to mark your recipe so I can come back to it when the warmer weather gets here, eventually!

[Reply]
Jenny said on March 19th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

Ooooh, I love the looks of this recipe! A great dinner for sure! And that salad, mmm!

[Reply]
breadchick said on March 19th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

Ok, maybe I could like grits if I had them this way….

[Reply]
Christine said on March 19th, 2008 at 6:05 pm

I love grits and the cucumber salad looks delicious! Looking forward to grilling when the weather gets better. Will definitely give this a try!

[Reply]
Patricia Scarpin said on March 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Deb, I don’t think I have eaten grits. I’m curious!

[Reply]
ruthEbabes said on March 19th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

I love pork chops…. don’t get to have them often though and I’ve never had a BBQ rubbed one before. I’ll have to remember this for next time.

[Reply]
eatingplum said on March 19th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

I love pork and grits! What a great combo.

Thank you for visiting my site today! =)

[Reply]
Cynthia said on March 19th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

Darn girl! You’ve made me hungry.

[Reply]
Kevin said on March 20th, 2008 at 12:27 am

That meal does look good. Especially the cheesy grits. I will have to try grits.

[Reply]
Abby said on March 20th, 2008 at 3:50 am

Those are some Cooking Light recipes I can handle! Sometimes they have SO MANY ingredients that I get too bogged down, but these look great.

Yummy meal!

[Reply]
Shandy said on March 20th, 2008 at 5:44 am

What a fantastic meal! I love Cooking Light =D. The grits side dish looks perfect and I know my family would really enjoy all of the dishes!

[Reply]
April said on March 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

This looks really yummy!!

[Reply]
noble pig said on March 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

This looks absolutely delish. God, I do love grits.

[Reply]
Catherine Wilkinson said on March 20th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

Grits are an often overlooked side dish…they really can take a multitude of additions, but cheese is the best! Great “game plan” dinner!

[Reply]
Katerina said on March 20th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

These look good! I just made pork chops for the first time in my life and I really liked them, so I will have to try this out. Thanks.

[Reply]
Kristina said on March 21st, 2008 at 5:53 pm

This looks delish! I’m from South Georgia, so grits are pretty much a diet staple lol and I love cheese grits! They’re especially good with seafood imo.
If you want to try some more souther cuisine with grits, I have an awesome traditional shrimp n grits recipe. It’s one of my favorite comfort meals

[Reply]
Wendi said on March 21st, 2008 at 6:35 pm

i made this whole menu for dinner last night. It was fabulous. thanks so much for posting it and for such an inspirational website. I love it!

[Reply]
Bellini Valli said on March 21st, 2008 at 8:39 pm

Can you believe I have never had grits. The pork and salad look flavourful and I’m sure were complimented by the cheesy grits:D

[Reply]
Anonymous said on January 9th, 2010 at 10:08 pm

good design

[Reply]