Basil Ginger Pork Chops

This is a recipe I whipped up a while back when I was out of fresh ingredients. I tried using dry ginger powder and dried basil and it actually turned out really well. The rub leaves a really flavorful, almost-crust-like coating on the pork that is super yummy.

Ingredients:

• 4 6oz. pork chops
• 2 tsp of powdered ginger
• 1 tsp of dried basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Drizzle of olive oil

Making the Basil Ginger Pork chops:

Turn on grill and allow to heat up (I use medium heat on mine).

Spread the 4 pork chops out on a plate: 

In a small bowl, mix the ginger, basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the pork chops with a little olive oil. Take the ginger mix and rub it into the pork chops really well on all sides.

 I let them sit for ten minutes to let the rub sink in a little while I prepare a side dish. Here I wrapped some sweet peas in aluminum foil and drizzled them with dressing and a tiny bit of salt. Green beans, bell peppers, broccoli and a many other veggie sides are really tasty prepared this way.

The perfect dressing to go with the pork chops is Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing. It is my all time favorite dressing.

Here is a random little trick I picked up I think from Rachel Ray. She may be obnoxiously perky, but this trick is a really good one. If your grill is dirty, instead of just using a grill brush, use half an onion to get the grime off. It works well plus it seasons the grating with oniony deliciousness.

 Once you're done cleaning, cut the dirty surface off the onion and save the rest for a different meal:

Throw the pork chops on the hot grill and allow them to cook so that they are charred on both sides. The timing will depend on the heat of your grill and the thickness of your chops. For mine it took about 7 minutes on each side. Make sure the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches around 150 degrees if you are unsure of done-ness (that's a word right?). I throw the sweet pea packet on the side without being directly over a burner.

 Take the chops off once they are done and put them on a clean plate. Allow the chops to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or else they dry out easily. Leave the veggies on the grill on indirect heat while the pork chops rest. After ten minutes turn off the grill and grab the veggies.

I like to serve this meal with some brown rice too:

So flavorful!