Hoisin glazed pork chops...

I know it may seem like we don't eat meat all that often - we do have it at lunches or even at breakfast, but we just don't have it nearly as much for dinner any more. I don't think there is any reason behind it - we are just making whatever sounds good when I menu plan and it just happens to not be as heavy on the meat these days! Jeff asked if we could have some pork chops this week, so I pulled some from the freezer last night to make these Five-Spice Barbecued Pork Chops with Asian-Style Succotash for dinner tonight.

We seasoned a few boneless pork chops with five-spice powder and a grill seasoning blend - you can usually find a prepared blend in the market, but we make our own from a mixture of coarsely ground coriander seeds, salt, dill weed, paprika, crushed red pepper, garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper. Once they had fully cooked, we poured over thick and distinctly flavored hoisin sauce to coat the juicy pork.

While we were waiting on the pork, we started on the veggie succotash by heating a couple tablespoons of canola oil and adding some red bell pepper. After a couple minutes, garlic was added and once you could smell its sweet aroma, sliced snow peas, corn and a few green onions are tossed into the skillet. Cooked just until it was heated through, the flavors are freshened up by a jigger of fresh lime juice followed by an injection of heat from a few shots of cayenne pepper sauce. With a hearty piece of shiny glazed pork and a zesty colorful salad on the side, we were quite satisfied by the time our plates were cleaned. I had to remind Jeff that if he didn't stop picking at the leftovers, he wouldn't have any for lunch tomorrow!

Recipes
Five-Spice Barbecued Pork Chops with Asian-Style Succotash