Decadent Pork Chops that are so easy...

it will knock your socks off! I must have seen a billion recipes for pork and apricot/orange/peach glaze. The idea ... has always perplexed me. I've been too chicken to try it until now, in addition to being sure my DH wouldn't like it. (There are very few things he doesn't like: seafood, excessive sweets and dishes flavored with citrus.) I thought the glaze would be too sweet for his liking. Good thing I had left overs just.in.case.

But I was REALLY surprised with this. Actually, I was more than surprised -- it was superb! And it was so insanely easy I kicked my self (silently, and really it was a mental kick...) for not making these sooner.

We're not big pork chop eaters. We're really not HUGE meat eaters -- thanks to the way we like to work out and what we learn about how our bodies break down food. We have been working for the last year or so on a predominately plant based diet. 2 years ago the bulk of our grocery budget was prepackaged/preprocessed foods. I didn't really put on any weight with a diet like this, but DH did. He put on about 40 pounds. Which is a bad thing, in addition to it costing us way.too.much money every 2 weeks. During his second deployment, we went through a lot of changes and he came home to a meal planning system that involved new recipes and 80% fresh/made from scratch ingredients and a significant decrease in frequency and quantity of meat. I've traded out ground beef for ground turkey in EVERY dish, and I love it. Leaner, cheaper, and just as flavorful. Making these changes (believe it or not) has actually decreased our grocery bill. Who can complain about that?!

And I'll never go back to that 'new mom' cook. Never. It might take a smidge more time to use fresh ingredients, but if you plan it right its just as easy. I learned my meal planning from one of my besties (Val!) and if you ever want to see what my menu looks like, send me a message and I'll share it here with you.

Wow, way to wander off course! Anyway - my point is this. Give these a try the next time porkchops are on your menu, and you'll be amazed!

Apricot Glazed Pork Chops
(You can find the original recipe here. I made a few changes of my own.) 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

4  boneless pork chops
1/2 white onion (chopped)

1 shallot (chopped)
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoon soy sauce (low-sodium if you have it)
2 cloves garlic (minced)

a dash of salt (optional)

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Step 1. 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and saute the pork chops for about 6 minutes on each side or until 90% done. Remove from pan and keep 'em warm.

Step 2.

Saute the onions until browned, about 4 minutes, then add the preserves, soy sauce, garlic, and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thickened. 

Step 3.

Add the 'chops back in the pan and smother them in the sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.. giving time for them to finish cooking and soak in all that flavor.

Ate too fast to get a plated picture!

Step 4. 

Sprinkle some green onions on top before serving. (I did leave this step out... ha!)

And in case you are wondering, DH loved them. Not too sweet, just the right amount of awesome. 

     

 Yoga has been on my mind lately, since my practice has had to shift to a back burner while I deal with my teething infant, college, prep for moving and general yuckiness. Fear not, my good friends, I will be working out some new routines and at the suggestion of a good friend of mine I will start posting my routines for you to look through and try out if your heart desires such.  In addition to continuing to develop my own practice, I am in search of a studio that needs an instructor in Maryland ... I'll keep you posted! For now, I keep my spirits lifted with a few key postures when I'm feeling low (PIGEON! and a few sun salutes when I have time!) and focus on the tasks at hand. 

Love love love!