Skinnytaste Teriyaki-Glazed Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa

If you don't follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, then you have been spared a bit of my Skinnytaste obsession.

Seriously, it's an obsession.

Skinnytaste is a blog started by a wonderful gal named Gina. She makes recipes designed to be low in calorie, but not low in flavor. I know that sounds like a catch phrase or a sales pitch, but you guys - this ish is for real!

I started pinning a bunch of her recipes a few months back, and we started making a lot of them. 9 times out of 10 they are a hit in our household. Sometimes they have a little too much flavor for the 3 year old, so I try to give her a simpler version of what we're making. But they're healthy recipes, so you can't beat that. I asked for her new cookbook for Christmas, and was more than thrilled to have received it!

This beauty contains 150 recipes with photos that have me salivating. I have to be careful not to ruin the book! 

We've started making quite a few. Sometimes Travis cooks, sometimes I do. Her recipes are easy to follow, although I do wish she included a time for each one. Occasionally, it ends up taking a little longer than I anticipated. 

The other night I made these Skinnytaste Teriyaki-Glazed Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa, as well Sweet Potato Wedges, courtesy of Skinnytaste. Naturally. 

Sorry for the blurry picture, I was excited to eat!

You are supposed to grill these, but I cooked them on the stove top since it's a wee bit chilly for us to be grilling at the moment.

Ingredients
*Pork Chops:
1/4 c pineapple juice
4 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
5 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz ea)

*Teriyaki Sauce:
1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c pineapple juice
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced

*Pineapple Salsa
1 1/3 c fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Cooking Spray

For the pork chops: Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Put the pork chops in the bowl or a sealable container, pour marinade over them and marinate about 30 minutes.

For the teriyaki sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together the conrstarch and 3 tablespons cold water until dissolved. In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and cok until reduced and thickened, about 4 min. Add the conrstarch mixture and cook until thickened, about 2 more minutes. (Took longer for me, I had to move completely off the heat for it to thicken.) Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the pineapple salsa: In a small bowl, combine the pineapple, jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro. Set aside.

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (or a shallow pan on the stove top). Spray the grill or pan with oil. Remove the pork from the marinade, place on grill or pan, and discarding marinade. Cook chops until no longer pink, 6-7 minutes per side. Spoon 1 tbsp of the teriyaki sauce over each chop in the final 30 seconds of coking time.

Place on chop on each plate, and top each chop with 1/3 cup of salsa.

Here are some tips:

- You need to marinate these for 30 minutes. Don't forget!

- Make the salsa while they're marinating. If you're pairing it with the sweet potato wedges, do that first and get them in the oven as they take about 20 minutes to bake. Then make your salsa. 

- Do the glaze and the chops at the same time if you're cooking on the stove top. Since these cook up quick, your timing should be just right. Mine only took about 5 min on both sides. 

I muddled these steps a little and ended up feeling slightly frazzled. But, everything came together in the end and the flavors were amazing. The glaze is sweet, and pairs well with the sweetness of the pineapple and the heat of the jalapenos in the salsa. 

Also, on a chilly night when I am so wishing for warmer weather, this dish was a perfect little infusion of "island feel" for our evening. 

If you're looking for some lighter dishes (even pasta!) that are still tasty, I definitely recommend trying Skinnytaste out.

Have you tried a Skinnytaste recipe? Are you sick of my Instagram pictures yet? :o)