We have smoked pork chops on the Traeger a few times and they cook beautifully, but I decided to spice it up a bit and try something new. On Sunday, I made a delicious recipe that I adapted from Ree Drummond, otherwise known as the Pioneer Lady.  My mom loves the Pioneer Lady!  She is the one that got me watching her show and reading her blog.  The first recipe I tried of hers was her Best Lasagna Ever recipe.  If you want to make some killer lasagna, check that recipe out.  It will change your life.

The recipe was for Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice.    Alex and I are trying to eat healthier, so I decided to use quinoa instead of rice.  I added some mushrooms and grabbed a bag of mixed veggies because I like my fried rice packed with lots of colorful veggies. The fried quinoa was delicious and I look forward to making that again.  I feel like the pork chops turned out good, but they did not brown up like hers did on her blog.  The Pioneer Lady had a good cast iron skilled to get those pork chops nice and golden brown.  (She also has a pretty sweet KitchenAid Mixer that I would love to get my hands on…as well as my mother!  In fact, she has requested a brown one for Christmas!)

 

Pork Chops and Fried Quinoa with Grilled Pineapple

 

Ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple
1 chopped onion
5 cloves minced gloves
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Sriracha
1 jar sliced pimentos, drained
Soy sauce
1 bag frozen carrots, peas, and corn
1 package chopped mushrooms
Olive oil
Chopped green onions
4 pork chops

Instructions:

Cut pineapple into spears. Place whole spears on the grill, turning occasionally. Prepare 1 cup quinoa by following directions on packaging. Put pork chops in a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. After 5 minutes, add 1/2 of the diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic. Keep turning until pork chops are cooked all the way through. Once pork is about finished, add a splash of soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and Sriracha and cook for a few minutes. Move chops and sauce to a glass dish and put in a warm oven until ready to serve. In the pan, toss in the rest of the minced garlic, the other half of chopped onion, and some olive oil. Crack 3 eggs into the pan and scramble. Add frozen veggies, drained pimentos, and mushrooms. Cook until veggies are cooked all the way through. Add the drained quinoa once it is done cooking. Add more soy sauce to taste and throw on chopped green onions after plating the quinoa and pork chops with sauce drizzled on top. Slice the grilled pineapple and use as a tasty garnish!