Pork chops marinated in a combination of orange marmalade and hot salsa makes a mouth watering meal. Serve with hot brown rice and grilled vegetables. Zucchini, yellow squash and small pieces of corn on the cob make a good combination. Pretty and flavorful.

INGREDIENTS

8 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
4 tblspns orange marmalade
1/2 cup thick and chunky hot salsa from a jar
4 tbspn water
Salt if desired

DIRECTIONS

Combine salsa, water, marmalade and salt; blend well. Place pork chops in plastic bag and add marinade; seal bag and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Prepare medium-hot fire in grill; remove chops from marinade (discarding any remaining marinade) and place directly over fire. Grill for about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Serve chops hot from grill. These chops can also be nicely broiled.

Serves 8.

*Hints:

*Orange marmalade and apple jelly are staples in my house. Orange marmalade makes a good peanut and jelly sandwich, just use marmalade instead of jelly. Of course, orange marmalade is excellent in pork, beef and chicken marinades. Orange marmalade mixed with a bit of tomato sauce is very good when spooned over meat loaf the last 10 minutes of baking.

*Orange marmalade is also delicious over vanilla ice cream. When using for a dessert, it can be served hot (put jar in microwave oven and heat for 30 seconds or so, or serve at room temperature spooned from the jar.

*Apple jelly makes a wonderful glaze for sweet pies and savory hams. Use apple jelly as a spread for your country brunch ham on biscuits sandwiches. I use Pillsbury frozen biscuits because they are a better brunch size than larger homemade biscuits. Serve ham biscuits with herbed scrambled eggs and broiled tomato halves. If serving alcohol, go for a retro drink such as a classic champagne cocktail or Mimosa, which is less sweet.