Sweet & Spicy Chili Pork Chops with Crunchy Asian Vegetable Salad

Sounds delish doesn't it? I haven't posted a recipe in quite sometime, so I thought I was due. Plus, I am on this new, "try to eat better and be active" kick...we will see how long it lasts. Maybe this little blog here will help me to be more accountable. Who knows!  I recently bought a new cookbook to help me with this little endeavor... Cooking Fresh Food Fast.  The problem I encounter in my house is the timing. After working a ten hour day, I don't want to come home and have to do all of this prep for a meal and then cook it and eat an hour and a half later. I need something quick. On Sunday my husband and I made these pork chops and salad.

I have to be honest though, this is actually the picture from the cookbook, not my "final" result. I don't know how you food bloggers do it. I forget to take pictures and don't remember until my meal is half gone. Who wants to see a picture of a half-eaten meal? So this photo will have to do. Ours looked similar, with the exception of the pork chops being a bit darker. 

Sweet and Spicy Chili Pork Chops
4 boneless center cut loin pork chops
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chile paste
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup green onions 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork, cook three to four minutes on each side. (ours took longer than that because our pork chops were thicker)  Remove pan from heat; let pork stand for 30 seconds. 

While pork cooks, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, chile paste, hoisin sauce and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Add sauce to pork, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Turn pork over in sauce to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Crunchy Asian Vegetable Salad
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup sugar snap peas
i cup sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cups light sesame ginger dressing
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Place first six ingredients in a medium bowl, tossing to coat. Divide salad among four plates, sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds. 

The cookbook wasn't kidding! This meal only took us twenty minutes from start to finish. Prepping of the vegetables took the longest amount of time.  My favorite part about this meal was actually the veggie salad. HOLY freshness. Every bite tasted super crunchy and fresh...a little party in my mouth. I loved it. In fact, I said to Tommy that I could just eat the salad alone and be totally satisfied.  A word of warning though, Aidan LOVES pork chops and we thought he would eat this with us but it was much too spicy for him. 

Happy cooking!