Oh hey, it’s me again. I know I’ve been quiet on here and now I’m flooding your life with new recipes galore this week. What can I say, when it rains, it pours. I am always cooking up a storm in my kitchen but this week I’m finally sharing some of my creations with you on the blog. These Teriyaki Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts & Mashed Potatoes are one of those crazy delicious creations, you’re welcome.
Valentine’s Day Food?
As I mentioned yesterday, Valentine’s Day seems to be a made up “Hallmark” Holiday. While it might be just that, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate with insanely delicious food! While there is not set in stone “Valentine’s Day” foods, we can certainly guess that most people are looking for something decadent and heart warming, and hopefully something that has chocolate in it in some way, shape, or form.
While this recipe doesn’t have any chocolate in it, you can certainly eat chocolate any time of day in the form of a coffee, hot chocolate, marshmallow, candy bar, morsel, or oh-so-much-more. I’ll leave you with this recipe to make for your someone special (or maybe hint that they make it for you if you aren’t into cooking).
A meal shared with others is probably one of the most romantic things you can do, unless of course you get food stuck in your teeth, spill something on your lap, or *gasp* let out some gas in some form. But hey, if you can find someone who will enjoy a meal with you despite your downfalls, you know you’ve picked a winner 🙂
At Home Dinner Date
This year, instead of spending so much money on a fancy date with a limited menu. Why not treat your bestie to a dinner at home. You can eat delicious food, listen to the music you want, AND wear comfy clothes, sounds like a win-win-win to me.
Something I’ve learned over the years is that cooking doesn’t always go as planned and THAT’S OKAY. It’s not a matter of cooking a perfect dinner, it’s about enjoying the process and enjoying the food that you made. Believe me, not every meal I make is perfect like you see on Instagram. Most of the time it’s a mash up of real food ingredients that taste good because of the spices and the fact that it’s real food.
I not only have the recipe for Teriyaki Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts & Mashed Sweet Potatoes below but I also decided to offer up some pairings for you! I mean, what’s a romantic dinner without pairings.
Dinner Pairing Options
While you can certainly go for a bottle of red wine (my current favorite:) I recommend having a Sassy Spritzer and if you feel so inclined, adding a shot of vodka or gin to it to spice things up.
Drink: A Sassy Spritzer
1 part Kombucha (flavor of choice)
1 part seltzer/club soda (flavor of choice)
Ice
Directions: Pour in a glass & enjoy!
Dessert: Chocolate Strawberry Dipped Marshmallows
Want a little something after this hearty meal? Try out the marshmallows and satisfy the sweet tooth without feeling like you just ate a 500 layer sheet cake. Then you can snuggle up on the couch and call it a night.
Teriyaki Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts & Mashed Sweet Potatoes
This masterpiece came about because my local Lululemon Albany shop was looking for some inspiration to share with their community. They wanted an at-home dinner date option for people to try out. I hadn’t posted a pork chop recipe before AND they were on sale at my local Whole Foods, so I figured, why not! It was easy to make, easy to eat, and left me feeling all kinds of warm and gooey on the inside, oh wait, that’s just me normally.
Make this dish and tag @thesassydietitian and #sassyapproved as well as @lululemon so we can see what you made for your Valentine this Valentine’s Day!
Pro Tip: Make Teriyaki sauce the night before and marinade your pork chops for more flavorful chops and so that you can just cook in minimal time!
Pro Tip #2: you can microwave your sweet potatoes and mash them after 6-7 minutes of microwaving on high wrapped in a wet paper towel to cut down on mess & time!
Teriyaki Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts & Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless pork chops (about 2 chops)
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 lb brussels sprouts washed & halved
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp sriracha or hot sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- 1 lb sweet potatoes peeled & chopped
- 1 tbsp butter or ghee
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- In a medium pot, cover potatoes with water & bring to a boil over high heat
- Reduce heat to low & simmer for 20 minutes or until you can easily pierce sweet potatoes with a fork.
- Turn off heat, drain water, add butter/ghee and mash with a fork or a potato masher, set aside until read to serve!
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Mix together all ingredients with a whisk. Pour 1/4 cup over brussels sprouts in a medium bowl. In a shallow dish, pour the rest over pork chops & let marinade for at least 30 minutes (or overnight).
Pork Chops & Brussels Sprouts
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a large cast iron (or oven safe) skillet, over medium heat add bacon, and cook (turning) until crispy (not burnt!). Remove bacon, place on a paper towel lined dish, set aside and reserve 1-2Tbsp bacon grease, discard the rest.
- Return skillet to stove, add bacon grease, and Brussels sprouts w/teriyaki sauce. Cook 3 minutes so Brussels sprouts get crispy. Push to the outside of the skillet.
- Add pork chops (discard remaining teriyaki sauce) and pan sear for 3 minutes, flip, and put in oven for 15 minutes or until internal temperature of pork chops reads 145°F.
- Serve Pork Chop on top of mashed sweet potatoes with Brussels sprouts on top.
xoxo,
Sassy
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Pin Now, Pork Chop Later
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