Pesto Green Beans & Spice Rubbed Pork Chops

Last week Mr. Buck and I took advantage of a sunny Seattle day to fire up the grill. I also was super excited that Trader Joe's has brought back their $2.99 basil plants - and ours had tons of leaves ready to be used up - so pesto it is! Now, green beans are debatable as far as their compliance with the stricter tennets of the Paleo diet - but I'm not going to debate that here. I'm just going to say this...we eat them occasionally.  If you prefer not to eat green beans, this pest would be great on just about anything so  use it as you see fit.

Pesto with Green Bean Ingredients:
(this recipe makes enough for one meal, I'd recommend doubling to have some on hand for dipping veggies or sauce for spaghetti squash later in the week)

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 4 medium sized garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lbs green beans

Place it all (except the green beans) in your food processor or blender (both will work) & blend to combine.



Then get your greenbeans ready. Yes, we used frozen, but fresh would be great as well.



I microwaved them to steam as the bag suggested & then threw them in a pan with the pesto sauce to finish them off.




Spice Rubbed Pork Chops Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 pork chops

Mix all spices together & rub on all sides of your pork chops. Rub all that spicy goodness in real good!



Then get your husband to grill them up - he prescribes 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other, then 5 minutes on the first side again but turn the chop 45degrees and repeat for 5 more minutes on the second side. That should do it, but of course check them to make sure the juices run clear and they're cooked all the way through.



Plate & enjoy!