Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Chops With Grilled Pineapple

It's Monday once again and I am hoping you had a wonderful weekend celebrating Mother's Day.  My day was fabulous, spending time with Dan, our children, grandsons, and sons in love who live in Nashville.  We certainly missed our son, daughter in love, and grandson who live in New York City.  I did get to talk with John and Roman.  Hopefully, we will get to spend some time together soon.   We enjoyed a lovely brunch on the porch of the West End Cafe.  The weather was spectacular.

Both of our daughter's were promised some "me" time by their husbands which they got to enjoy together.  They both have busy, busy lives and those of us who are past the years of young children, school, teams, jobs, and so many activities it can make your head spin, know how much a little "me" time is appreciated.  I know I'm prejudiced, but our daughters and daughter in love are all wonderful, caring mothers and certainly deserve every second of peace and quiet they can eek out of their hectic schedules.

My Mother's Day was spent doing nothing but enjoying time with family and whatever else I chose to do for the rest of the day which was a whole lot of nothing.  If you know me, you know I don't do a whole lot of nothing well.  I am really working on staying present, not being busy, busy all the time.  I spent most of the afternoon on the deck enjoying the weather (which was amazing) and putting together some craft projects I have been working on.  Creating is the best way I know to spend a day.  It was an absolutely wonderful afternoon.  We should all do more of a "whole lot of nothing" whenever we can.  Adding beauty to our lives and the world by creating is so good for the soul.

Then, of course, it's the reality of Monday once again.  Time for routine and all the things that need to be done to keep life flowing.  Our 2.5 year old grandson came and spent time with us this morning while his mother went to write.  It was very cool this morning, so we played some games indoors until it was warm enough to go outside.  It was another fantastically gorgeous day.  Look at this picture of me leaning on the deck rail watching Adrian and Pawpaw playing baseball.  The sky looks photoshopped, but it isn't.  That is how the sky looked today.  Simply beautiful!

After Holly picked Adrian up, we had lunch on the deck and then I spent the afternoon working on my projects.  It was cool enough that I had to wear a light sweater, but that was okay.  These are the days we live for.  Dan mowed the grass, I crafted.  Fair enough don't you think?

Before I knew it, it was 4:30.  Then the proverbial question arises, what's for dinner?  Ugh.  No idea.  Time to stand and stare in the refrigerator.  My first thought was chicken, but there were pork chops.  Yes, pork chops!  Quick.  Easy.  Perfect.   Grilled pork chops - even better.  No turning the stove on and we can stay outside some more.  This is a simple recipe from Allrecipes.com with an easy marinade that is delicious.  The chops sort of have the flavor of Asian barbecue.  Yum.  Here is what you need:

6 pork chops
1/4 + 1/8 cup honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
4-6 garlic cloves, minced (depends on how big they are)

Mix the honey, soy sauce, and minced garlic in a small bowl.  Lay the pork chops in a shallow pan.  Pour the marinade over all the chops and turn to make sure both sides are coated.  Let sit for 15-30 minutes.  Grill until the juices run clear and the centers are no longer pink.  Look how beautiful they are  ( and tasted even better).

For the grilled pineapple, cut a fresh pineapple into quarters, remove the core and the fruit of the pineapple by running a knife between the outside skin and the fruit.  Rub a little olive oil on the pineapple so it won't stick to the grill.  Grill on each side until the pineapple begins to caramelize.  Remove and drizzle with just a little honey.  BEST PINEAPPLE EVER!

I cut the pineapple into small wedges and put 3 or 4 pieces on a pork chop when serving.  Deeee-licious.  Tomorrow, I will make a mango, pineapple salsa with the left over pineapple (if there is any).
Mm mm mmm.  Wish you could taste it.

Everything we had for dinner was cooked on the grill.  One of the things I love best about warm weather - cooking and eating out of doors.  The weather is perfect right now and it is so relaxing.  Makes it easy to just "be" and breathe in, breathe out.   No hurry, no worry.  Tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer, so hopefully we will spend as much time out of doors as we can.  There are more flowers to plant before it rains again.

If you don't have an outdoor grill, you could make these pork chops and the pineapple on a stove top grill.  Quick.  Easy.  Delicious.  As for the grilled pineapple - if you've never had it, it's a must try!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Where the pineapple got it's name:

Christopher Columbus discovered this fruit in 1493 during his second voyage when he landed on the island of Guadaloupe and brought it back to Europe.  He called it "pina de Indes."  (pine of the Indians)
 When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples" (first so referenced in 1664 due to resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone).  Wikipedia

Perfect Barbecued Pork Chops

Yes, I know, it's pork again.  But, here is the reason why.  We had family over for Sunday dinner.  When I went to the grocery, ham was my choice for the menu except, the hams they had were outrageously expensive.  Pork chops, on the other hand, were super extra specially priced.  So, guess what we had?  You guessed it!  Pork Chops.

I purchased two packages of chops, each containing 9 chops, for a total of $14.00.  When you are feeding 9 people, that is a spectacular deal.  Actually, the packages were half price, so I saved an additional $14.00.  Yes!  That is what I'm talking about.

I have to say that barbecued pork chops are one of my most favorite meats cooked on the grill - especially if they are prepared with a good rub and barbecue sauce.  What's not to love?  I like bone in pork chops because then you have that super tasty bone to gnaw on after you finish the chop and the bone adds more flavor.  Perhaps Emily Post would not approve, but if you've never tried it, don't knock it.  Mm mm mm is all I have to say.  Anybody else like to chew on that tasty bone?

Barbecued pork chops were always a favorite meal when all our children were at home.  When our son John was about 14/15 years old, he was almost impossible to fill up.  If you have or have had sons that age, you understand what I am saying.  If you have young sons, this is your warning.  Be prepared.  Learn to fix mass quantities of food when your sons become teenagers.  The reason I say this is one night we had barbecued pork chops.  The girls were both in college and I had fixed a lot of them hoping to have left overs.  Dan ate one, I ate one, Tyler (our youngest son) ate one and John ate 9 pork chops.  Yes, count them Nine, nInE, NINE, pork chops at one meal.  There were no left overs.  Start saving your money now mothers.

This is how I prepared the pork chops for Sunday dinner.  First, I let the chops sit out until they come to room temperature.  About an hour before cooking the chops I put this rub on them.  (I will be making a huge jar of this rub and keeping it on hand).  I found the recipe in a conversation thread about barbecuing and I would give credit where it is due if I had written down the person's name, but I didn't.  So, whoever you are here's a great big THANK YOU!  This rub is fantastic and this recipe covered all 18 chops.

Barbecue Rub Recipe

3 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp black pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne (I used 1 tsp so it would not be too hot for the little ones)

Mix all this together in a bowl using a fork.  With your hands, massage the rub into the chops on both sides.  We have a gas grill, so the grill was heated to medium high.

We did the chops in batches since the grill would not hold all 18.  We placed 9 chops on the grill and let them cook on the first side about 4 minutes.  Flip the chops and let cook another 3 minutes.  These chops were less than 3/4 inch thick so you want to cook them high and fast so they don't dry out.  Take the first batch of chops off the grill, place in a pan and cover with aluminum foil while you cook the second batch.  This allows the juices in the meat to flow through the chops which keeps them super moist.

After cooking the second batch of chops, we put those in a pan covered with foil and let them sit.  Uncover the first batch of chops and using a basting brush, brush one side of the chops with your favorite barbecue sauce.  If you are a frequent reader, you know we love Sweet Baby Ray's original.  When all the chops are coated with sauce on one side, place them sauce side down on the grill while you baste the side facing you.  It will only take 1-2 minutes for the chops to brown, flip them over and let the other side get nice and brown and quickly remove from the heat.  Return to the pan and cover with the foil while you repeat the process with the second batch.  I mean look at those chops in the picture - doesn't it make you want one?

By cooking the chops at a fairly high heat and quickly, they do not dry out and become overcooked.  We all thought these chops were fantastic!  Our son in love was talking about them again last night, about how good they were.  He said his mom always cooked pork chops until they were so dry, and many of us grew up with moms who did the same thing.  Not these chops.  Uh uh, they were outstanding.

I think you will find using this cooking method will give you a really juicy, tasty pork chop that everyone will love!  We actually had left overs this time and we enjoyed them reheated the second night.  They were just as good as the first night!

Even if you don't make these chops, make the rub and keep it on hand for other meats you grill.  It would be outstanding on chicken and other cuts of pork, even steak.  We will definitely be using it often.  Good luck with your pork chops.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“There is poetry in a pork chop to a hungry man.”
Philip Gibbs (NY Times 1951)