Pineapple Salsa Pork Chops w/ Snap Peas & Tri-Color Quinoa

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops

1/2 lb sugar snap peas

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits

1 cup quinoa

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 egg

1 shallot

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs fresh cilantro

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Nonstick cooking spray

How-To

1. In a medium saucepan, rinse quinoa and cook according to package instructions. Prepare rest of meal while quinoa is cooking. When finished, take off heat and set aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, add egg and whisk. In a separate bowl or zip-lock bag, add panko bread crumbs. Season pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then coat in egg, then in panko. Set aside.

3. To make salsa, drain pineapple tidbits (keep the juice!) and put in a small-medium mixing bowl. Mince shallot, then add to pineapple. Coarsely chop cilantro, and add 3/4 of it to bowl (add other 1/2 to quinoa). Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

4. Trim snap peas, and set aside.

5. In a medium-large nonstick frying pan, coat in nonstick spray and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, then add pork chops. When pork has approx. 1 minute left to cook, add half of reserved pineapple juice to pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides and crispy on the outside, and 145 fahrenheit on the inside. When finished, remove from pan and cover with aluminum foil.

6. In the same frying pan, scrape off any residual panko crumbs then re-coat with nonstick spray and add remaining olive oil. Lower heat to medium, then add snap peas. Toss in the oil, and halfway through cooking, add the rest of the reserved pineapple juice to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook peas until slightly softened but still crisp.

7. Serve pork over quinoa with snap peas on the side, and top entire plate with pineapple salsa.

Enjoy!