Easy Marinated Pork Chops

Our family aren't huge fans of pork chops - but these were very moist and we liked the flavor. These are part of the recipes I chose for the August 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My team member is Taste Tester from Orlando, Florida. Did I mention these were easy to put together?

Easy Marinated Pork Chops

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup lime juice

4 tsp balsamic vinegar - **I didn't have this so used cider vinegar instead

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 garlic clove, minced

6 boneless pork loin chops (mine did have bones - I only go with what's on sale.)

In a large ziploc bag - combine first 8 ingredients. Add chops. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat 4-5 minutes per side - or until they are no longer pink.

Parmesan Crumbed Chicken

This recipe is part of my choices for the April 2010 recipe swap on recipezaar. My team mate for the recipe is Kiwi Kathy from Whangarei, New Zealand! This is fairly quick to assemble - provided you don't have to wait for the chicken to thaw. I think next time I make this though I will add some salt and pepper to the bread crumb mixture.

Parmesan Crumbed Chicken
6 chicken breasts, trimmed and flattened
2 1/4 cups dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 TBSP dry parsley
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley. Add in some salt and pepper if desired.
Place yogurt in a medium bowl. Dip chicken in yogurt then coat in crumbs. Place on plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes. Brown chicken in oil over medium heat turning once. Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Oven Baked, Best Ever Chicken

This recipe comes from Chef TraceyMae in CA. She is on my team for the June 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. This recipe does need to start the night before. I did take the liberty to change measurements on the rub as the original measurements would have been too much in my opinion.

Oven Baked, Best Ever Chicken

10 cups cold water

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 tsp regular salt OR 1 TBSP coarse salt like sea salt

3 1/2 - 4 lbs chicken pieces

Dry Seasoning Rub

1 TBSP fresh coarse ground black pepper

1 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Favorite bbq sauce

Mix water, brown sugar and salt in large stock pot. Add chicken pieces. Add more water if necessary to make sure chicken is covered. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix dry seasoning rub ingredients together and set aside.

Drain and pat chicken dry. Line a rimmed cookie sheet (one with sides) with two layers of aluminum foil. Spray with vegetable spray. Place chicken pieces on foil. Brush with a little bbq sauce. (about 1 TBSP per piece) Sprinkle rub over chicken pieces. Turn pieces and repeat with bbq sauce and rub.

Baste chicken pieces every 20 minutes with pan juices (IMPORTANT) for about 1 hour 20 minutes. You won't be disappointed.

Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenders

These are super moist, have lots of flavor and even taste awesome cold! I found the recipe on recipezaar.com. The poster is Parkers Mom. I have never had Cracker Barrel chicken tenders but I will be making these many times over the course of my life!

Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenders
1 lb chicken tenders OR cut chicken breasts into strips (This is what I did)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp honey

Mix dressing, lime juice and honey. Pour over chicken tenders. Marinate for 1 hour or longer. Cook tenders in a non stick pan or grill until golden in color - but not dried out.

This amount says it serves 2. So....I quadrupled the amounts for a family of 6. We had this with onion rings, green salad and rolls. A very fast meal to pull together.