Recipe Monday: Glazed Pork Chops with Hawaiian Fried Rice

I know, you can't believe your eyes... 

Raegan is ALIVE!! and  COOKING!!!

Dear friends, I have missed you so very, very much! Even as I sit at my kitchen table typing this, I can't believe it's been over a month since I last blogged. Boy, have I been slacking! Let me catch you up super-duper quickly and then I'll fill in all the frilly little details later...

 
We went on vacation for SEVENTEEN days. We can home and zombied through the next week as we were still on Europe time and we broke the computer with all our picture uploads (Seriously). So that's the majority of my excuses... and the most legitimate ones, I won't waste your time with the other stuff. 


So let's get back on track with this jewel of a new recipe! This ladies and gents, is a summer show stopper. Introducing....

RECIPE MONDAY: 

GLAZED PORK CHOPS WITH HAWAIIAN FRIED RICE

Remember months ago when I sent Brandon to the grocery store and there was a meat sale and he bought a crazy ridiculous number of pork chops? Well we are STILL trying to whittle those guys away... So I came across this yummy looking Pioneer Woman recipe via Pinterest and well, to be quite honest, I was a bit intimidated.

Fried rice looks so easy when you watch the chefs at hibachi restaurants whip it up, but I tried to make it on my own once before... and well... let's just put it this way - a little rice goes a loooooong way, an entire bag of rice goes even further. Lesson learned. 

But the recipe said it was easy, so I figured I might as well give it another stab - so glad I did. This was delicious and not overly difficult! Plus, I had most of the ingredients already! So, I'll cut the chit chat and give you the good stuff!

**NOTE this recipe appears somewhat daunting due to the number of steps, please do not be discouraged. I made each addition of every little ingredient a step so that you could truly see this recipe in a step-by-step process. You can do it, I promise!!

Accidentally left a few things out of the picture:
Pineapple, Butter/Oil, Sriracha, Garlic, Eggs... Obviously a little rusty on my blogging!

What you'll need:

Pineapple

Pork Chops (I used 4 small ones)

White Rice

Butter/Oil (No exact measurement) 

Onion

6 Tbls Soy Sauce

1 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar

2 Tbls Honey

Tbls Sriracha (Give or take, depending on how hot you want it)

3 Tbls Minced Garlic

2 Eggs

1 C Frozen Peas

Pimentos (I left this out bc I don't like them)

What you do:

(1) Grill the pineapple. I just bought fresh pineapple that was already cut up, but you can cut your own if you want to get really sticky... not my idea of fun. If you can find the spears, they work best because you can just stick them on the grill. My grocery store only had fresh chunks so I put them on a skewer to grill them, whatever you can find will work! 

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GRILL: you can just slice the pineapple and stick it in a sizzling skillet until it has a little color on the outside, then set it aside to let it cool.

(2) Make the rice by following the directions on the back of the bag to make 2 cups. (No need for pictures or step-by-step instruction, this part is easy)

(3) Pork chop time! Heat a little butter (2 Tbls)and some oil (1 Tbl) in a skillet, then throw in the pork chops. I peppered my pork chops a bit, and added creole of course... but that part isn't necessary. Cook the chops on both sides until they have some color.

(4) Slice up half of an onion... Alright, you know me well enough to know that there is no way on God's green Earth that I'm going to eat an onion BUT you don't have to actually eat it, just use it to make a little flavor. I promise, this doesn't taste the least bit oniony at the end, cross my heart!

 

 

(5) Toss the slices into the pan and then shake it around until the onion falls between the chops. I shook the pan for about two seconds and then used a fork and just pushed them down. Stir them around for a couple of minutes, until they start to turn golden brown and become translucent.

(6) Add in approximately 4 tablespoons of soy sauce.

(7) Then add the tablespoon of rice wine vinegar.

(8) Next up, the two tablespoons of honey.

(9) And finally, a tablespoon or so of Sriracha... Unfortunately forgot to take that picture. Then shake the pan around and simmer the sauce on low for a few minutes.

(10) Remove the pork chops...

(11) BUT let the sauce cook another minute or so by itself on medium-high eat to let it thicken up a bit. 

Finally, pour the whole thing over the chops! Don't worry, you can still chunk the onions on top before you eat it! 

(12) Now without cleaning your pan add another tablespoon of oil (it's in there, you just can't see it for some reason) and put the heat on medium-high. Toss in the minced garlic.

(13) Add the two eggs and immediately stir it around to give it a rough scramble.

(14) Add the peas and the drained pimentos... Plus a little more soy sauce!

(15) Last add the cooked rice!

(16) Using a spatula turn the rice over every once in a while to "fry" it.

(17) Last, but most certainly not least, toss in the grilled pineapple! Stir it around and cook for another minute or two. This is when I had BK give it the ol' taste test and we added a bit more soy sauce... you steal a bite and decide for yourself.

(18) Finally, put the rice on your plate, then the pork chop (with or without onions) and drizzle a little extra sauce on top! Enjoy!!

Oh heavens, this was a yummy one! I really want to try the hawaiian fried rice again using grilled chicken - doesn't that sound delish!? Hope you enjoy this one half as much as we did!

**Check back in tomorrow for a NEW and EXCITING feature -

TRAVELING TUESDAYS!

Be Blessed!

Raegan