Asian Pork Chops

This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned the wonderful blog The Keenan Cookbook written by Chris and Rachel.  They post recipes twice weekly and mouthwatering recipes they are.  Chris and Rachel cooked from our blog back in March of 2012 when they made our Apple Dumpings so now it was time to cook from theirs.  There were so many delicious recipes including Grilled ginger chicken with peach salsa, and a perfectly delicious looking Green bean & tomato salad with lime & sesame dressing but the recipe that called to us this month was the Asian pork chops. 

Once again to better fit with our diet I made just a couple of small changes to the recipe.  I substituted Coconut Aminos for the soy sauce and a Medjool date for the brown sugar.  Otherwise I followed the recipe.  I allowed the pork chops to marinate overnight and then grilled them and WOW were they delicious!  Maisie has asked that I use the same marinade on chicken and steak so that is going to happen very soon.  Thank you Chris and Rachel for an awesome recipe and hop on over to The Keenan Cookbook for the original recipe and more amazing food recipes.  

Asian Pork Chops (Adapted from here)

• 4 5-ounce bone in or boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos  
• 1 Medjool date, pitted 
• 2 teaspoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil   
• 1/2 teaspoon 5-Spice power 
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Add all the ingredients except the pork chops and sesame seeds to a blender and process until will mixed.  Place the pork in a large Ziploc bag and add the marinade and sesame seeds.  Seal and place in refrigerator over night to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  Remove the pork chops from the marinade and grill over medium high heat about 4 minutes per side until done.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Enjoy!!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing 
Beef Keema  
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries 
Zesty Zucchini Skillet 
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk 
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Peachy Cola Ribs

I can't believe that for the second month in a row, I almost missed a month of the the Improv Cooking Challenge. Last month I had difficulty getting my act together to just get on the computer and blog, and this month, though I'm more "together", the motherboard on my laptop died so I'm all out of sorts without my computer and I'm now blogging from my iPad mini with pictures from my iPhone. As far as cooking for this challenge, well that was done well in advance, so I'm not a total slacker. After 21 consecutive months of participating and posting with the Improv Cooking Challenge I would have hated to miss a month so I'm glad that I got I this post up, a little late but still within the time frame of the challenge.

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of peaches & herbs! It took me a little while to decide on the direction I wanted to go with the ingredients, sweet or savory and what exactly to make. I did do a bit of back and forth thinking of cobblers and drinks but in the end I decided to make ribs which I would be cook in a spice, herb & cola braising liquid and then slather with a peach & cola BBQ sauce.

The night that I made the ribs we had guests over for dinner and the ribs were a big hit all around. The flavors of the braising liquid really permeated the meat and the BBQ sauce was the perfect accompaniment. Because I braised the ribs I was able to get that part of the cooking done before our guests arrived and then it was a quick finish on the grill with the BBQ sauce right before serving. The ribs were fall off the bone tender and totally delicious! I hope that you'll give this recipe a try

Peachy Cola Ribs

• 1 rack pork ribs, cut into serving portions of 2-3 ribs each
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 10 large basil leaves, julienned
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 TBS. grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 can cola
• 1lb. frozen peaches, thawed
• 18 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Cola-Q BBQ Sauce

In a medium sauce pan stir together the garlic, onion, basil, allspice, ginger, red pepper flakes, bay leaves & cola. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally and simmer until reduced by half.

Place the peaches & BBQ sauce into a blender and process until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Add the reduced braising liquid to the prepared pan and place the ribs curved side up on top of the liquid. Brush the ribs lightly with the peachy BBQ sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place into the preheated oven. Cook the ribs for 90 minutes and then check to see if they are fall off the bone tender. Cook an additional 20 minutes if needed. Remove from the oven and pour off fat & braising liquid.

Heat grill to medium high. Brush the BBQ sauce over all surfaces of the ribs. Place the ribs on the hot grill and cook until the BBQ sauce caramelizes, turning the ribs as needed. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

June 2013 Fish & Chips: Salt &Vinegar Crab Cakes
May 2013 Cinnamon & Sugar: Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars
April 2013 Bacon & Eggs: Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups
March 2013 Carrots & Peas: Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup
February 2013 Hearts & Flours: Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013 Bananas & Nutmeg: Baked Bananas
December 2012 Chocolate & Marshmallows: White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark
November 2012 Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp
October 2012 Oatmeal & Raisins: S’mores Granola Bars
September 2012 Zucchini & Brown Sugar: Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar
August 2012 Tomatoes & Peppers: French Fries Hash Browns
July 2012 Corn & Butter: Fritos Crusted Pollock
June 2012 Cherries & Almonds: Dried Cherry Almond Tart
May 2012 Strawberries & Cream: Strawberry Soup
April 2012 Peanut butter & Jelly: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
March 2012 Potato & Cheese: Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole
February 2012 Ginger & Carrots: Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream: Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries: Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese: Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich

One of the ways we enjoy the meat from my “Rotisserie” Chicken is in Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. 

These sandwiches are delicious, a hot buttered and grilled bun topped with hot pulled BBQ chicken and topped with some nice cold and creamy Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw…DELISH and oh-so easy!

With this sandwich we like soft, white, fluffy buns without any seeds or fancy stuff.   I butter the cut side and grill it in a pan until it’s crispy and golden brown.  The chicken couldn’t be easier as there are just two ingredients, “Rotisserie” Chicken and your favorite bbq sauce (we like K.C. Masterpiece original) mixed together until it tastes how you like, easy peasy lemon squeezy.  The coleslaw is my super simple Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw recipe which can be made a day or so in advance so go check it out and make this sandwich as you won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy!