Maple Glazed Pork Chops courtesy of Paula Deen

I have started a little Friday afternoon ritual (apparently). The last 2 Friday's I found myself watching The Food Network while waiting for Josh to get home from work. I have never really watched much of The Food Network because I always figured I couldn't keep up. Turns out it isn't that intimidating. I picked up 2 recipes to try. The first is this one (below) and the second is for mini beef wellingtons that I hope to give a try soon.

Here is Paula's recipe for Maple Glazed Pork Chops (with some modifications)

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons ancho chili powder (I used spicy Mrs Dash because I couldn't find my chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 (10-ounce) center cut bone-in pork chops, about 1-inch thick (I did not have bone-in chops)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup butter maple syrup (I found a sugar free maple syrup which made for a different consistency than Paula's)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Pecans, toasted and chopped, optional garnish (I did not do this part)

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder and salt and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the pork chops.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until desired doneness, about for 4 to 6 minutes.

In a small skillet, over medium-high heat, add the balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced by half. Stir in the maple syrup and chicken stock. Cook over medium heat until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter and serve with the maple syrup. Garnish with toasted pecans, if desired.

Paula served this with mashed sweet potatoes the difference being she said "Well, it calls for a 1/4 cup of butter but let's go ahead and use a 1/2 cup" and I said "Let's eye ball this, skip all the spices, and use a lot less butter." It seemed a lot healthier. I made sweet potatoes and regular mashed potatoes since Josh doesn't care for sweet ones. Both worked well. I'd give this recipe an A. Smelled great, tasted good, reasonable prep time, re-heated really well.  I give my attempt at this recipe a B.