Tangy Grilled Pork Chops

With Halloween only a few days away, I know you all must be frantically putting together awesome costumes for yourselves and your kiddaroos.  This year is the first year that Jack has been able to a decide himself what he wants to be.  So in typically little boy fashion, he’s decided that he wants to be a baseball player.  But by gracious, he’s going to be the coolest baseball player yet.   We almost always have a Halloween party and this year we surprised Laura and turned our annual event into her 30th birthday party.  We had a blast!  Heather and I went as Paula Deen and a big ol’ stick of butter.  I’ll let you decide who went as Paula…

Halloween was always such a fun holiday for me.  Going door to door for treats was always a highly anticipated event.  I hate that kids don’t do that much anymore.  It’s a shame really.  We can’t even trust our neighbors enough to allow our kids to get candy from them.  I feel like this generation is missing out on so much.  But, I refuse to totally give up the trick-or-treating ritual.  Now, we just load J-man up in the car and take him to family and friends’ houses.  I just want him to be able to have that experience like I did.  I applaud all the churches and cities for offering alternate, safe Halloween options.  But the truth is, it’s just not the same.  There was always this one house on my street when I was a kid that had the best candy.  The problem, of course, was that they also had the scariest house.  The long front porch was always pitch black dark and the walk from the street to the door seemed like an eternity.  All that lit the way was a spooky, dim-lit jack-o-lantern.  If you could brave the trip to the door, you would always be rewarded.  I miss those days – for me and for my little boy.

These pork chops are an easy, quick way to impart a LOT of flavor.  You can use any type of pork chop (boneless, bone-in) with this marinade, I would just avoid the wafer thin ones, as they will absorb too much of the marinade too quickly and become over powering.  I had every intention of putting these puppies on the outdoor grill (we’re still in the 80s during the day here in late October in Alabama) but after realizing I had run out of propane, I just did them on my cast iron grill pan on the stove top.  They were just as good.  I hope y’all enjoy them too!

Ingredients

• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (or 3 tablespoons from the bulk bottle)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• juice of 1 lemon
• pork chops (about 2 lbs)

Instructions

1. In a large zipper top bag, combine ranch dressing powder, soy sauce, and lemon juice.  Add pork chops.
2. Marinate 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Grill 6 to 8 minutes on each side until cooked through.  Per the new guidelines at by the FDA, the internal temp should reach 145 degrees F.