For the record, I DID make a brand new recipe last night and it was awesome.  It involves ravioli and a sundried tomato cream sauce.  And it’s LIGHT!  But I’m not sharing that here today.  Tune in next time ravioli go on sale, LOL.

Take advantage of both the great price on boneless pork chops ($2.49 per pound!)  and the gorgeous grilling weather and try these chops sometime this week! 

SOUTHEAST ASIAN PORK CHOPS
Serves:  5
Source:  Adapted from foodandwine.com

2 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. Asian fish sauce (find this on the top shelf in the Asian aisle)
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
¼ c. minced yellow onion (the original recipe called for shallots, but I forgot them – and yellow onions are on sale!)
2 t. ground black pepper
6 boneless pork chops (on sale), pounded to about ¼ to ½” thick

Jasmine Rice and Carrot Relish, recipe follows

In a large glass measuring cup, combine the oil, honey, fish sauce, garlic, onion, and pepper.  Place the pounded pork chops in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade into the bag.  Press out the air and refrigerate overnight (I only had 7 hours and they still turned out great).

Fire up your grill.  Brush the grill with oil and cook the pork chops over high heat until nicely charred and just cooked through, about three minutes on the first side and two on the second.  Serve immediately with the rice and the carrot slaw.

JASMINE RICE AND CARROT SLAW

1 1/3 c. jasmine rice
2 1/3 c. water
2 T. lime juice (please use fresh lime juice and pass on the green bottle, blech)
1 T. vegetable oil
1 ½ t. honey
1 T. chopped fresh mint, plus additional for garnish if desired
1 clove garlic, minced
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

In a saucepan, combine the rice and water and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook over low heat for 12 minutes.  Quickly remove the lid and wipe off any water that clings to it.  Immediately recover the rice and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes.  Fluff the rice with a fork and cover.

In a bowl, combine the lime juice with the vegetable oil, fish sauce, mint, garlic, and chili.  Add the carrots and toss to coat with the sauce.  Serve the carrot slaw over the rice.

Worked like a charm, as I expected it would.  We’re all out of propane again (dang!), so I had to broil them inside, but they still turned out tender, juicy, and delicious.

Look closely at this week’s ad and you’ll see that (gasp!) all Spice Hunter Spices are 1.00 off this week!  Yes, I’m all about the little things in life - like being able to stock up on cumin, curry powder, and coriander at a dollar off – so I’m going to take a serious inventory of my spice cupboard and stock up for spontaneous summer spice rubs like the one we have here today.

Because really, when have you ever looked in your spice cabinet and been sorry you had too much dry mustard on hand?

Hope you’re having a great week. 

SPICE RUBBED PORK CHOPS
Serves:  Howevah’ many you like, but roughly 5 -6
Source:  adapted from finecooking.com

6 T. brown sugar, divided (C&H Brand is on sale)
1 T. chili powder (Spice Hunter Spices are on sale)
2 t. dry mustard
Kosher salt
6 boneless pork chops (Sendik’s Brand are on sale)
3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. Tabasco sauce, or more to taste

Heat a grill to medium / medium high.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar with the chili powder, dry mustard, and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.  Spread the pork chops on a baking sheet and rub the spice mixture all over them.

In a small saucepan, whisk the remaining 4 tablespoons brown sugar with the ketchup, soy sauce, cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard; bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar and blend the flavors.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed.  Stir in the Tabasco, adding more to taste.

Place the chops on the grill.  Cover and cook on the first side for 3 - 4 minutes.  Turn; cook on the second side for 3 minutes.  Turn, brush with some of the sauce, cook 1 minute.  Turn again, brush with sauce, and cook another minute.   Remove chops from grill, tent with foil, and allow them to rest five minutes before serving.

So listen, I will say this right from the get-go:  this is NOT the most exciting dish you will ever eat.  There’s no glitz and glamour in pork chops and gravy, but hey - we can’t pull off a fancy pants dinner every night, can we?  Sometimes the simplest things are the best.  This dinner is a total kid pleaser, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice (movie line, anyone?).

The entire time I was making this meal I was thinking about my college days in South Carolina, where our cafeteria was notorious (rather, infamous) for ladeling country gravy over anything that was sitting still – white rice, biscuits, chicken fried steak, and of course potatoes.  It’s really no great wonder my button-fly GUESS jeans didn’t fit after freshman year, but this gravy is much lighter than Winthrop’s version – so fitting into your jeans after this meal shouldn’t be a problem.

Hope you like it.  Have a great week! 

PORK CHOPS WITH COUNTRY GRAVY & MASHED POTATOES
Serves:  4
Source:  cookinglight.com

3/4 t. salt, divided
4 (4 oz.) boneless center-cut pork loin chops, about 1″ thick (Sendik’s Boneless Chops are on sale this week, 5/18/11 to 5/24/11)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 T. butter
1 1/3 c. 1% milk
3 T. flour
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 t. black pepper

Creamy Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle  1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper evenly over both sides of pork chops.  Add the butter to the pan, stirring until butter is melted.  Add the pork to the pan and cook UNDISTURBED for three minutes on each side.  Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.

Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk.  Add the milk mixture to the pan, stirring with a whisk.  Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, and black pepper.  Return pork to pan.  Cover; reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes or until gravy is thick and pork is done.

While pork cooks, prepare mashed potatoes.  Serve potatoes with pork.
CALORIES: 322; FAT: 10.5g; PROTEIN: 26.7; CARBOHYDRATE: 29g; FIBER: 2.2g

CREAMY MASHED POTATOES
Yields 6 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
Source:  cookinglight.com

4 c. cubed peeled Yukon gold potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1/2 c. 1% milk
1/4 c. low-fat sour cream (Daisy Brand is on sale this week, 5/18/11 to 5/24/11)
3 T. butter
2 T. fresh chopped parsley
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain.  Return potatoes to pan.  Add milk and remaining ingredients; mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.  Taste and adjust seasonings; serve with pork chops.
CALORIES: 215; FAT: 7.1g; PROTEIN: 4.5g; CARBOHYDRATE: 34.5g; FIBER: 2.4g

Anyway, I LOVED school supply shopping as a kid.  What girl didn’t – it was the best part of going back to school, right?  How fun to unpack and label (in best cursive, of course) the unblemished notebooks and shiny folders, my box of 24 perfectly sharpened Crayola Crayons, and a spotlessly pristine pencil case.  Everyone loves a fresh start, right?

And speaking of fresh, before the Pickle requires me to find her more menial labor, I’ll tell you about this fabulous pork chop recipe!

I’ve been doing a little bit of research about the three main types of Asian cuisine:  North East (China, Japan, and Korea), South West (India and Pakistan, for instance), and South East (Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore).  Today’s recipe, as you can tell, has a definite South East Asian flare, and it is deeeeee-licious!

You can recognize a South East Asian – inspired dish by these key ingredients:  citrus juice (usually lime); fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, and mint); salty, pungent fish sauce (as opposed to soy sauce used in NE Asia); and the all-important fiery chili pepper.  A normal SE Asian meal has no ‘courses’; all of the foods are served and eaten together, which is why I shot the whole she-bang for you today.

The pork chops (on sale, did you really have to wonder?) are pounded thin before they take a swim in an incredibly flavorful marinade of honey, garlic, onion, and fish sauce. Sweet, salty, and sour all at the same time – trust me, this stuff is AMAZING!    I can’t wait to try this on pork tenderloin, or chicken thighs and wings.

After a quick turn on a very hot grill, the chops are served alongside steaming hot Jasmine rice, and topped with a cold carrot slaw.  I thought my kids would turn their noses up at this dinner, but would you believe – there aren’t ANY LEFTOVERS?  My youngest ate every last bite and pronounced it to be “really good chicken”.  Go figure.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did – let me know what you think!

SOUTHEAST ASIAN PORK CHOPS

Serves:  5

Source:  Adapted from foodandwine.com

• 2 T. vegetable oil
• ¼ c. honey
• ¼ c. Asian fish sauce (find this on the top shelf in the Asian aisle)
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
• ¼ c. minced yellow onion (the original recipe called for shallots, but I forgot them!)
• 2 t. ground black pepper
• 6 boneless pork chops (on sale), pounded to about ¼ to ½” thick
• Jasmine Rice and Carrot Relish

In a large glass measuring cup, combine the oil, honey, fish sauce, garlic, onion, and pepper.  Place the pounded pork chops in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade into the bag.  Press out the air and refrigerate overnight (I only had 7 hours and they still turned out great).

Fire up your grill.  Brush the grill with oil and cook the pork chops over high heat until nicely charred and just cooked through, about three minutes on the first side and two on the second.  Serve immediately with the rice and the carrot slaw.

JASMINE RICE AND CARROT SLAW

• 1 1/3 c. jasmine rice
• 2 1/3 c. water
• 2 T. lime juice (please use fresh lime juice and pass on the green bottle, blech)
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 ½ t. honey
• 1 T. chopped fresh mint, plus additional for garnish if desired
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

In a saucepan, combine the rice and water and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook over low heat for 12 minutes.  Quickly remove the lid and wipe off any water that clings to it.  Immediately recover the rice and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes.  Fluff the rice with a fork and cover.

In a bowl, combine the lime juice with the vegetable oil, fish sauce, mint, garlic, and chili.  Add the carrots and toss to coat with the sauce.  Serve the carrot slaw over the rice.