RR, I know several people who lost weight on Weight Watchers but I'm not one of them. I also stayed the same on the first two weeks of that South Beach atrocity that Amanda wanted me to try with her. As someone who lost a LOT of weight and has managed to keep it off so far, the only way I found to lose weight and keep it off was to eat anything I want. I just eat half of it. Since our American portions are so over-sized, it got me into the habit of just eating less. At Christmas I baked cookies with the grandkids. I ate them too, but just one that day they were freshly baked with a cup of tea and I kept a couple for snacks the next couple of days. I still eat anything I want, including pancakes or bread or dessert, but I only eat half. I have one of those contentious personalities that require me to always want what I'm told I CANNOT have. If I can have anything I want, I can practice enough restraint to just eat enough to satisfy me. I also have to point out that we take in a lot of calories in drinks. Wine has about 100 calories per 5 ounce glass, that's not very much wine. Beer is about the same and a 3 ounce margarita has 170. Have one glass of wine every day and you'll gain a pound a month without doing anything else differently. Fortunately I like vegetables and I love beans, so I eat a lot of those. I eat whole grain bread and pasta occasionally. I don't care much for fruit, so I'll eat apples, pears, occasionally oranges and tangerines, sometimes grapes, but I can't count on those as an afternoon snack, it's more likely hummus and celery for dipping. Eating out adds a LOT of calories, but I'm sure you knew that! Here's one of my favorite recipes, from Cooking Light (who has a great website with lots of recipes, BTW). The same brine works well for chicken too: APPLE CIDER BRINED PORK ROAST 3 cups apple cider 3 cups water 1 bay leaf ¼ cup salt 1 tbls black peppercorns 1 tbls coriander seeds 1 2 lb. Pork loin, trimmed 2 cups cider 1 ½ tsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 ½ tsp chopped fresh sage 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat, cool, and pour into a Ziploc bag or container big enough to hold the pork loin. Add pork, seal and let marinate 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350, bring 2 cups cider to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until cider is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Remove pork from bag or container and discard brine. Place pork on broiler pan or baking dish and lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and bake about 1 hour, until pork is done, basting twice with the reduced cider in the last 20 minutes of baking. Remove from oven, baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 8 200 calories per 4 oz. Serving, 6 grams fat Good luck, I want to lose a couple of pounds in the next 6 weeks too, I'll have to wear shorts in Texas.... Annie

RE: Frying pork chops. clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by terri_pacnw (My Page) on Wed, Feb 6, 08 at 18:51 Depending on the thickness of the chops...they can be done in mere minutes. I'd bet you are over cooking. I cook pork chops two ways the most. 1) season with my favorite seasoning salt and let sit to nearly room temp.(meanwhile preheating oven to 400F) Add EVOO to hot frying pan. Sear side 1 until it's got a nice crust...2-3 minutes. Flip over and pop into the oven. Let cook about 5-6 minutes more or to desired doneness. (will also depend on the thickness.) I do this with center cut boneless loin or center cut bone in. (I don't like blade(sirloin) chops much myself.)~going for a hue of pink in the center. 2) Dip chops in seasoned flour. ~flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper or whatever you like.~again let chops come to room temp or close to it. Again hot pan, EVOO. Fry until a crust forms. Flip over and continue until the crust is formed. Pour in some chicken broth to about half way up. Cover and let simmer on low about 20 minutes. Take chops out, set aside. Carefully mix in flour to avoid lumps. Thin with milk or more broth. Put chops back in cover and let simmer until you are ready to serve..sometimes for me this another hour. (This will not be over cooked because of simmering in the broth and then the "gravy". This is a method that I have never heard of. It really sounds unique and in the right direction for some great chops! It doesn't answer my question but it is something I am DEFINITELY going to give a go, thank you! To everyone else I understand not to overcook the chops as they will become hard! I also realize that a lot of people like those center cut chops and have a lot of ways to cook them, but I just don't care for them. However my love of pork chops is in the "end/blade chops" not the center cut chops! I realize that most ladies like the C cut because of the lower calorie content and I can understand that, but I don't have a problem in that area. It's the technique with the super crust and tender interior that I need to learn. I had a great instructor, but at the time I just didn't pay attention!

This the one I have made for years and everyone loves it. So easy to do and tastes so good. Marinated Pork Roast ½ cup soy sauce ½ cup sherry 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp dry mustard 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp dried thyme 1 4 to 5 pound pork loin roast, boned, rolled and tied Cherry sauce Blend first 6 ingredients. Pour over meat in a plastic bag; set in deep bowl. Marinate in closed bag 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Occasionally press gab against meat to distribute marinade. Remove meat from marinade; place on rack in shallow roasting pan. Roast, uncovered at 325º for 2 ½ to 3 hours or till meat thermometer reaches 170º Baste with marinade during last hour. Serve with Cherry sauce. Serves 10 - 12 people. Cherry sauce 10 ounce jar cherry preserves 2 tbsp sherry 1 tbsp soy sauce Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat till preserves are melted. Serve over meat. I double the sauce recipe since it is so good and everyone puts it on their meat and rice. I serve this with steamed rice

I made this last weekend and we loved it too. I had homemade applesauce with it. Yum! The best part was that the package of pork had a label on it showing pink pork and a little note indicating that you could now eat pink pork as long as it is cooked to 150. I had to make my Mom read that because she refuses to eat any pork if she sees the slightest hint of pink. This was sooooo tender cooked medium. I loved it. She would only eat the end pieces though. Old habits die hard I guess. The funny thing is that she will only eat her beef very rare so it is strictly a pork thing. And then she always complains that the pork chops I make are too tough. I try to tell her to eat them medium, but noooooo. LOL