Introducing...Menu Mondays!

My good friend Amanda had a great idea so if you enjoy my new Menu Mondays, you can thank her!  Being on a budget means cooking a lot more and the worst thing that can happen is getting into a rut, which leads to boredom and, at least in our case, leads to going out to eat just to change things up.  My husband and I have decided to try a new recipe at least once a week, so now I will start sharing those recipes with you!  Here is what I promise...I promise the recipes will be budget friendly, things you may already have in your fridge or meals that will go a long way!

To start out, I have to thank The Nest magazine.  Those of you who signed up for The Knot when you got engaged probably receive this seasonal magazine as well, full of great ideas and tips on everything from the kitchen to decorating to baby making.  The latest issue had 5 Meals Under $5 so the hubby and I decided to give one a try and we have to say, it was fabulous!  Below is the recipe and a few pictures of what part of the final product looked like.  We ate it with a bottle of wine we had already opened and had a really nice homemade meal that cost us very little and we still have enough for leftovers AND enough ingredients to make it again!  So without further ado - here is the first Menu Monday Recipe!

Apricot Glazed Pork Chops with Lime Cilantro Couscous

Ingredients:
1 Tbl. Olive Oil
1/2 Tbl. peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 Cup apricot marmalade or jam
2 bone in pork loin chops (each 8-10 oz and 1/2 in thick), trim fat (We used no bone chops and it still was wonderful!)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 Cup couscous
1 Tbl. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to broil, with the rack set 4-6 inches from the heat.
2. In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add ginger and cook until golden brown.  Add marmalade or jam, and reduce heat to medium.
3. Place pork on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; season generously with salt and pepper.  Brush both sides with the apricot glaze.
4. Broil until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork chop reads 155F.  (About 8-10 minutes. Ours took 10 minutes since we didn't have a thermometer)
5. While the pork chops are in the oven, begin the couscous by following the directions on the box.  After removing the couscous from heat, stir in cilantro, lime juice and zest.
6. Carefully remove pork chops from oven and brush again with marmalade.  Allow meat to rest 5 minutes before serving with the couscous.

 All the ingredients we had left over (plus some frozen pork).  Enough to definitely make it again without spending more than $2 at the store.

The meal was incredibly simple and was a lot of fun for the hubby and I to make together.  I am also pretty sure you could easily substitute chicken for the pork if you aren't a pork eater.  A couple of tips...we used the boneless pork chops which we bought at Sam's and got 9 pork chops!  They are extra thick so we cut them in half and were able to make twice as many pork chops, which led to yummy leftovers for lunch during the week.  Also, make sure the lime zest is chopped very small before you mix it in with the couscous.  We thought ours was chopped up enough but a couple of times we would get a heavy dose of lime zest in a bite!

So let me know how it is!   Have a recipe you use a lot that you think I should try and feature in Menu Mondays?  Let me know!  I'm always looking for inexpensive recipes that can be stretched.  Bon Appetite!