Grilled pork chop with pineapple relish

Well hello, Saturday.  So nice to see you!  It's been a long week, and I am over the moon to be sitting on my sofa in my pjs.  I sat down several times this week to blog this recipe but never got around to it, but  c'est la vie.  I would love to say that I'll be more timely in the future, but sometimes life gets in the way.  I'm going to focus on quality in my posting, and not worry about quantity.  In fact, I think I'm doing readers a favor because it gives you less to read, and life is so busy as it is: you are welcome!  (See what I did there?)

Anyhoo, enough of my weekend rambling: on to the food!  This is a great example of how something really simple can dress up a dish in your regular meal rotation and give it new life.  I have made these teriyaki pork chops more times than I count: they are definitely a favorite for my fella.  We typically don't buy bone-in chops, but I follow the marinade recipe although I don't measure: life is too short to be that precise!  

I've also made the blueberry relish and it is great, but this week I tried something different: pineapple!  I have been famous in the past for wasting food so I'm really trying to be more conscientious about buying ingredients that I can use in multiple ways and pineapple is something we already love.  So take a recipe you love, tweak one or two ingredients, and give new life to an old standard.  This relish was great for two recipes: chops and quinoa early in the week and pork lettuce wraps later in the week.

Pineapple relish

1 cup of pineapple, coarsely chopped

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minched

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

sprinkle of kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.  Can be served immediately, but flavors will deepen if given time to chill.  Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Lettuce Cups with Pork

I try to eat healthy as often as I can for a few reasons.  First of all, I like it: it makes me feel good, both mentally and physically.  Equally important is the fact that it allows me to eat things that are unhealthy, with reduced food-guilt.

Lettuce cups are great for those reasons: delicious, and allows you to store good points toward mental food math.  :)

The most important thing for lettuce cups is to use the right kind of lettuce.  Iceburg won't work because it'll break.  I use "living lettuce" from Kroger, but that or butter lettuce would suffice.

For my lettuce cups I used the grilled pork from earlier in the week and added corn, fresh onions, and a bit of bbq sauce to pull it all together.  Simple, tasty, and delicious.