Honey And Garlic Pork Chops

Like everyone else, I am always searching for something new to put on the table, rather it is just for me or for my family. I've had this sweet tooth lately that I haven't been able to go away, when I saw a recipe like this I thought it might help.

I HAVE changed the recipe to fit what I wanted out of it, but in the end I loved it. It was just sweet enough to help with my sweet tooth, but not to sweet, and had the smallest bite to it with the Cayenne pepper.

This is a meal that I fully intend to enjoy over the years, and it made that much more special when my sister, who doesn't like spicy food, loved the taste of the meat too. New Memories were made here because she actually helped make it!

INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED

3/8 Cup Clove Honey 3 TBSP soy sauce 6 Cloves garlic, minced 1 TBSP cayenne Pepper (Optional) 6 Pork Loins/Pork Chops, trimmed of excess fat, 4oz each Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Trim most, if not all, access fat from the pork chops. I know I know, the fat adds extra flavor right? In this case it actually takes away from the flavor of the meat. If you don't want to take away all of the excess fat then only leave a little bit. It CAN actually melt completely off of the meat in the pan. Once you're done put the meat to the side.

Mince the garlic.

In a shallow dish, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and cayenne pepper.

Coat the pork chops in the mixture by dipping it in the bowl of sauce.

Reserve the left over honey mixture for basting.

Take out a large pan, I used cast iron, and spray it down generously with cooking spray. I did it this way so that the flavor of honey and garlic wasn't taken away by anything else, this was my first time cooking it.

Place the chops in a greased pan on the stove, I have an electric stove, on medium heat. This allows the pork to cook slowly and keep the meat tender while keeping the taste of the sauce on the meat.

Start turning the meat over when it starts to brown, make sure to keep an eye on it! On each turn of the meat use a cooking, basting, brush to apply more of the sauce to the meat.

Adding the sauce to the meat every time you turn it does two things:

1) It allows your meat to keep cooking with that flavor.

2) It mixes with the juices of the cooking meat, in the pan, and both keeps it cooking in the sauce, and stops it from sticking to the pan.

WARNING!: Don't worry if, while your meat is cooking, that it doesn't look like your meat is getting that glaze to it! As the juice starts to cook out of the pan, and the meat gets closer to being done, the sauce WILL glaze on the meat, this is why it is important to lightly brush the juice on the meat as you turn it.

Turn your oven onto WARM, spray a pan with cooking spray, and as your meat finishes put the meat in the pan and slip it into the oven to stay warm while you finish cooking the rest of your meal!

PAIRS WELL WITH

Honey flavored Carrots, Instant/Mashed Garlic potatoes.