Honey Wheat Pork Chops and Cheddar

So not only was last weekend wonderfully spring because of the Twins games, but we also kicked the weekend off on Friday night by pulling out our grill. Nothing is better in than a meal hot off the grill--much like the brats we had last night! Of course, Mother Nature still hasn't quite been able to shrug off Old Man Winter, and there are cold temperatures and possibly snow in the forecast for Friday, so it looks like we'll have to take a brief hiatus from our grilling frenzy. 

Friday night we turned to an old favorite in these pork chops; we found this recipe sometime last summer and must have done it at least every other week after that. It's just that good. And even my husband, who isn't a big "cheese" person, really enjoys the flavor of the smoked white cheddar. So delicious--and of course, so perfect for the grill (we tried it stovetop once over the winter in our grill pan and it wasn't quite the same--plus it nearly set the smoke alarms off!) Without further ado: 

Honey Wheat Pork Chops and Cheddar


4 pork chops
12 oz honey wheat beer (we used Boulevard this time)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz smoked white cheddar, shredded
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp walnuts, toasted and chopped


Combine beer, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour into a bag with the pork. Marinade at least four hours. Drain and discard marinade. Cook pork on the grill over a drip pan (as you can see we just throw ours right on the grates). Stir together cheese, green onions, and nuts. Spoon mixture over chops. Cover and grill two to three minutes more or until cheese is melted. 


The other thing I love about grill recipes? They're so simple. Seriously. No complicated directions, no dirtying lots of dishes, just simple, good, food. 


And lest you think we are raving carnivores, we did serve a nice side of greens beans on the side, steamed (where else?) on the grill.

We've been on a little bit of an Asian kick lately with our green beans, so we tossed these with some dark sesame oil, a little garlic, and red pepper flakes, wrapped them up in foil, and tossed them on the grill. Ten minutes to perfection, and not a single dirty dish in the kitchen. Glorious.


I should warn you know that if you aren't a grill person, you probably should ignore the majority of my food posts for the next, oh, five months. Because we put our grill to good work in the nice weather. Now if it will just get warm enough for us to be able to sit outside and enjoy our meal as well... Life would be perfect (take the hint Old Man Winter and get the heck out of dodge!)