June 16, 2018

Sweet and Salty Pork Chops

Sweet and Salty Pork Chops. Pork chops baked in a delicious brown sugar and soy sauce marinade. They’re tender, flavorful, and all around amazing.

My daughter was a little premature. She was born at 36 weeks exactly. She also had IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), which meant that she was just a tiny little peanut when she was born. When we left the hospital, she weighed 4 pounds 8 ounces. Her first few months of life, she grew fairy slowly – nothing wrong, just doing things at her own pace. Around 6 months, we introduced baby food – she got excited and started picking up the growing pace. Then around 9 months, we gave her some ‘real food’ at Thanksgiving. From that day forward, girl would literally throw any baby food we gave her, and scream until we gave her whatever ‘real food’ we were eating. And, she did not want just a taste of what we were eating, but a solid portion. Her growth took off.

At some point, when she was screaming to let us know that she wanted more dinner, my husband said something along the lines of, “It’s coming Pork Chop!”, and my son thought that was hilarious. So, the nickname of ‘Pork Chop’ stuck around for a bit. I want to note that I understand that if the nickname ‘Pork Chop’ kept up, it could cause her issues, and I do not take that lightly. But, as a tiny little peanut eating an adult sized portion, and screaming about wanting more, it was cute for it’s time.

All that to say, I’ve only had pork chops a few times in my life, but all the pork chop chat around my house made me think about them, and want them. So, a few weeks ago I made these sweet and salty pork chops for dinner, and they did not disappoint. A word to all who make these: use ALL the sauce in the pan, because none of that delicious stuff should go to waste. It is amazing. And side note, our little pork chop loved these pork chops.

Sweet and Salty Pork Chops

These baked pork chops are marinated in a delicious brown sugar and soy sauce mix. They’re tender, and all around delicious.

No ratings yet

Course: Dinner

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 35

Servings: pork chops

Calories: 289

Ingredients

6 boneless pork chops about 1" thick
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients except for pork chops and olive oil.
Place pork chops in marinade and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
Place pork chops in skillet and sear on each side for about 1 minute.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake until pork chops reach internal temp of 145 degrees. This will be 12-18 minutes depending on the size of your pork chops. Check frequently as you do not want to overcook them.