Delicious Thyme & Lemon Pork Loin Chops with a Tomato & Balsamic Reduction

This is just a simply fresh and delicious recipe.  I kinda came up with this on the fly, and it turned out very yummy!  You can definitely substitute skinless, boneless chicken breasts if you have that.  I am still using that huge pkg. of discounted thin pork loin chops that I bought and froze a couple of weeks ago.   It begins with a simple "marinade" if you want to call rubbing a few things on the pork and allowing it to sit for 30 min.- 1 hr.  Pan searing the meat to get all crispy on the edges and removing it, only to add grape tomatoes, thyme, a bit of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and all the pan juices that followed the meat to the aluminum foil.  Pour this balsamic tomato sauce over the pork and Voila!-- easy, gorgeous, and so good to eat!  The marriage of the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar balance each other well in taste and color!  This was a fun dish to make.

I think I actually began to make this just for an excuse for me to use my brand new, beautifully shiny, All-Clad French Skillet!!  It was fun to cook with such a nice piece of cookware (this is my first All-Clad) and I must say that it definitely served me well-- I'm hooked!  I got the recent deal at William's Sonoma for the 9 and 11 in. French Skillet.  Well, actually Mr. Cozy is the one who told me I should get it--yes, he knows that kitchen treasures are my favorite!

I served this with just whatever I had on hand.  (You have to realize that I made this meal right after getting back from vacation, and I wanted the challenge to use whatever ingredients I already happened to have!)  Fresh roasted corn and hot whole wheat rolls rounded out the meal.  A salad would be perfect here, too! So here I go explaining in "Leslie's terms" this easy recipe. --I do not have an organized recipe here...just to warn you--

Thyme & Lemon Pork Loin Chops with Tomato & Balsamic Reduction

Lay out your pork loins and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper, fresh thyme, lemon juice and a little extra virgin olive oil.  I let this set for about 30 minutes or so.

Get about 2 Tbsp. olive oil hot at med high heat and throw in a couple bunches of thyme sprigs.  Let them fry for about a minute, turning a couple of times.  Take out, place on a paper towel to drain, and set aside.

Now that your oil is delightfully seasoned with thyme, pat your pork to get the excess liquid off and place the pork in the pan to cook for only about 2-3 minutes on each side.  (This cutlets are quite thin.)  Try to only turn them once, to allow the edges to get nice and crispy!

Take pork out of the pan and place in aluminum foil to rest.

Back to the pan:  add a little more oil if necessary, the tomatoes, more thyme leaves, and balsamic vinegar.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all of those tasty bits in the sauce.

This will cook down for about 5 minutes or until tomatoes get soft and the balsamic vinegar reduces down a bit and gets thicker and sweet.  Add a touch of minced garlic and all the juices that have pooled  in the bottom of the foil your pork is in; cook for a couple minutes longer.  (If you can continue to add the vinegar until it looks like there is enough for your pork.  Taste along the way.)

Plate your pork and pour the balsamic tomato goodness err..I mean, reduction all over the pork.  Garnish with the fried thyme leaves!

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